Discover Great Britain

Discover Great Britain is an expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator that focuses on some of the famous landmarks of this country. Along with a round trip of 66 new flights around the British Isles, it comes with a new aircraft, the Autocrat J/1, which was produced in the 1940s by Auster, a British company.

We were impressed by the amount of background information that was provided. Each flight has a description along with an overall map, and hints are given for finding landmarks such as Stonehenge. There is also plenty of information and history of the Autocrat J/1.

The new flights have air traffic control flight plans set up so there is no need to navigate for yourself, unless you choose to.

A lot of effort has gone into making the Autocrat look great when flying in the air in Flight Simulator, as the artists have given it a striking colour scheme that includes a map of the UK on the tail. Unfortunately it can be frustrating to fly, as it doesn’t have a good top speed. Using it for longer flights becomes tedious and there is no autopilot, even if flying manually is good practice at 'trimming' aircraft.

When flying, the lack of a convenient compass adds to the frustration. We ended up relying on GPS, which somewhat spoils the sense of immersion when flying a 70-year-old aircraft, and is also less accurate. It especially causes problems when following navigation prompts. Luckily you aren’t limited to the Autocrat, as you can fly the new routes with other aircraft, if you wish.

Despite these issues with the aircraft, the new flight routes are highly enjoyable and Discover Great Britain is recommended for Flight Simulator fans.