Microsoft Flight Simulator is too slow to keep up with this third-party F-15 add-on

Microsoft Flight Simulator is an outstanding flight sim, but it's very light on high-performance machines: There are plenty of jetliners and prop-driven small craft, but not a single afterburner to be seen. That will change later this month, though, when simulation add-on developer DC Designs unleashes its take on the famous F-15 Eagle fighter.

The package will include the F-15C, D, E, and I variants, all "accurately rendered," although as ObsidianAnt noted in the preview video above, they're not intended to be high-fidelity, "study level" simulations. Instead, the overarching goal here is to digital pilots the chance to have some fun with a screaming machine that can do things no other plane in the game is capable of, in a "vast and highly detailed world" that no other flight sim can match. The DLC will also include a full operations manual, paint kit, and eight liveries:

F-15C

493rd FS based at RAF Lakenheath
173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard
144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard
1st Tactical Fighter Wing, Langley AFB, Virginia

F-15E

336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina
391st Fighter Squadron, 'Bold Tigers', Mountain Home AFB
391st Fighter Squadron, 'Tiger Meet' 2005

F-15I

N 69 Squadron 'Patishim' (Hammers)

It seems unlikely that players will be able to deploy any of the Eagle's arsenal—that's a whole different flavor of simulation—but if you want to climb from floor to ceiling in seconds or try your luck at a super-fast flyover of New York City, this is definitely going to be your plane of choice. In fact, this bird is a little too fast for Flight Simulator to handle: The description on Just Flight warns that the game currently doesn't support supersonic flight, meaning that unless and until the flight model is updated, the F-15 will top out at Mach1. (Which, for the record, is still really fast.)

DC Designs' F-15 package will be available through Just Flight for $37/£27, although anyone who already owns it for "legacy platforms"—Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Prepar3D—can snag it for $13.50/£10. It's set to come out on either January 20 or 21.

Thanks, Polygon.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.