Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first pull here is simple: pick an aircraft you have wanted to fly and see how it feels within Flight Simulator. RAF Collection has enough range that it avoids becoming a one-note military pack. You can jump from a Spitfire VB or Hawker Hurricane to a heavy Lancaster, then trade propellers for the sharply different promise of a Vulcan, Phantom II, Harrier GR.7, or Tornado.

That variety is what makes the collection worth revisiting. The roster covers aircraft associated with many periods of RAF history, including trainers such as the Red Arrows Hawk, large transports such as the C-130J Hercules and Blackburn Beverley, flying boats like the Catalina and Sunderland, and more eccentric choices including the SR.53 and Fairey Delta II. If one aircraft does not grab you, there is usually another radically different machine waiting in the hangar.

The scenery component gives the pack a more practical purpose than aircraft collecting. More than 200 military and civil airfields, along with ILS, VOR, and NDB aids, invite you to plan flights instead of merely taking off, turning around, and choosing the next plane. The four WWII historic airfields are an especially fitting destination when you are flying the period aircraft.

You should go in wanting a substantial RAF-themed extension to an existing simulator. The payoff comes from sampling the breadth of the fleet and building flights around its airfields and radio-navigation infrastructure, not from expecting a separate campaign-driven game.

Graphics

The visual draw is the aircraft lineup itself: early propeller aircraft, broad bombers, flying boats, transports, and later jets sharing the same simulator skies. Historic airfields give the WWII portion of the roster a suitably specific place to fly, while the larger set of military and civil fields broadens the scenery available for routes.

Story

RAF Collection frames its subject through an 80th-anniversary tour of Royal Air Force aviation, spanning 1918 to 1998. Its sense of history comes from the contrast between the aircraft included: the Hurricane, Spitfire, and Lancaster sit alongside the Meteor, Canberra, Lightning, Vulcan, Harrier, and Tornado.

That span is more than a decorative theme. Flying a WWII aircraft from one of the four historic airfields gives the older end of the selection a useful historical context, while the later aircraft show how far the collection travels beyond that era. The roster feels curated around lineage and range rather than a single conflict or aircraft type.

A portion of sales was donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund, which gives the anniversary package a respectful commemorative angle. It suits the material: this is a collection built to celebrate a long service history through aircraft and places to fly them.

Overall Experience

RAF Collection is an easy recommendation if you already fly Microsoft Flight Simulator 95 or 98 and want a deep British military aviation theme without being restricted to one decade. The sheer list of aircraft is the headline, but it is the mix of planes, airfields, and navigation aids that makes the expansion feel usable over time.

Its strongest choice is refusing to stop at the obvious icons. Yes, you get the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mustang, Lancaster, and Vulcan, but you also get the Heyford, Victor, Valiant, Buccaneer, Hornet, Vampire, and Swift. That breadth rewards curiosity, especially if you enjoy moving between aircraft categories rather than mastering only one favorite.

The pack is most satisfying when you make your own small aviation itinerary: choose an era, choose a suitable airfield, and use the included navigation aids to give the trip structure. For simulator fans with an interest in RAF aircraft, that is a worthwhile and unusually broad commemorative collection.

Retro Replay Score

7.5/10