In all truth, you have only two choices; the IL2 series for WWII action or Lock On for modern jets. Falcon 4 is a wonderful sim with insane depth, but it`s hardcore to the max and can be very, very complicated to program and fly. Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 3 is a bona fide slice of dog excrement pie. Horrid beyond words, terrible graphics, and a CPU pig to boot. Don`t install it even if it`s free.

You best bet, really, is the IL2 series. WWII action with a huge amount of planes to choose from and lots and lots of things to do. You can get anything from the original IL2-Sturmovik sim, which is still very good and will run super fast on newer machines to the new IL2-46 game which has about 200 different planes to fly (fighters, bombers, biplanes, jets), fifty maps to fly over (Asia, Europe, Africa), and an endless variety of things to do. The mission editor is massive and easy to use. There is no other sim that compares to it, and, it`s very easy to get into and have fun with.

Lock On is good, very pretty, runs ok on most machines if you keep the action light. There are six planes to fly, a good mission editor, and two new expansion packs. The A-10 action is good fun.

If you can, find the original IL2-Sturmovik game. It five or six years old, will probably cost about five bucks, and will get you into the air fast, and like I said, on any newish machine you`ll get fantastic frame rates even with heavy air to air action going on. I think you can still get the demo. The newer IL2-46 sim looks just like the original, but a thousand times bigger.

Also, and obviously, you`ll need a flightstick. Saitek is a good choice.