Fancy aping Top Gun: Maverick’s aerial shenanigans? Microsoft Flight Simulator’s new, free, expansion could be just what you need.
Top Gun: Maverick, released a massive 36 years after the original movie, sees Tom Cruise’s Maverick training a new generation of pilots and.. well, we won’t spoil it for you. But now, thanks to a free Microsoft Flight Simulator expansion, you can emulate Cruise’s antics, minus jumping around on Oprah Winfrey’s couch.
You will, of course, need 2020’s Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, as well as being playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming. The expansion, which is out now, adds the following features to the hyper-realistic flight game.
- A “Top Gun: Maverick Edition” livery for the F/A-18E Super Hornet.
- Three training missions for the Super Hornet that will allow you to master radical flight maneuvers including unrestricted take-offs, split S maneuvers, and low altitude, high-speed maneuvering through complex terrain.
- Five high-speed, low-level challenges that require utmost skill to navigate just above mountains and traverse through canyons.
- A carrier deck landing challenge, one of the most demanding operations in the world of military aviation.
- A never-before-unveiled hypersonic aircraft that can attain speeds of Mach 10 and altitudes greater than 150,000 feet above sea level.
- A mission to roar into the stratosphere.
If you’re a Top Gun fan or a fan of military aircraft in general you’re likely to get a kick out this free expansion but, short of installing mods, you won’t be firing off any missiles. And if that’s not enough Top Gun content for you, we heartily recommend you check out YouTuber Legal Eagle’s latest video where he and a former military lawyer point out just how many times the original Top Gun broke military and civilian law.
If you’ve yet to pick up Microsoft Flight Simulator, check out our review here and if you’ve got an Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription you can download it for free.
