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Often when somebody famous endorses a computer game, the game isn't very good. The legendary Brigadier-General Charles Yeager, US Air Force, first man to break the sound barrier, is an exception, and so is this game. It is demanding and difficult, and you won't master it in a week, but like flying it's well worth the effort.

This is a flight simulator, not a combat simulator or wargame (we are promised those later). The only things you really need to think about are the joystick and throttle. But anyone trying to fly like an arcade game soon learns differently - the controls are very sensitive and very realistically tuned. Part of the program actually teaches you the basic manoeuvres of flying in a Cessna trainer, first with the 'instructor' in control, then with you coping solo.

The core of the program is a Flight Test simulator which allows you to test fly any one of fourteen different aircraft, ranging from World War One fighters to modern powerhouses capable of over three times the speed of sound. You are not told how they perform, it is your job to find out and record it. Particular fun are three fictional aircraft, all similar-looking modern jets with very different ways of behaving in the air.

The program works in real time in a 'world' that has three different airports and a number of aircraft 'obstacle courses'. These can also be used for aircraft racing - at below 100 feet in one case - and for formation flying stunts. These are not to be attempted until you've really worked out how to fly.

Some of the options offered seem unnecessary, like the ability to look through the aircraft's floor or tail, or move outside it in flight to see yourself from a chase plane or a satellite, or employ an eight-times zoom to look at an object.

Altogether this is the best, the most realistic, and the most comprehensive flight simulator that I've seen on the market.