Best Games That Let You Build Planes

There are plenty of games that cater to player creativity, focusing their gameplay loops on designing and constructing spaceships, cars, boats, and even buildings. These games can be great, but few of them focus on allowing the player to build aircraft, and even fewer allow players to test that aircraft with detailed flight simulators.

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While not all of these games feature complex flight models, all of them allow the player to build and test their aircraft in one way or another. These games range from hyper-focused aircraft construction, all the way to open sandboxes that give players an abundance of freedom in what they choose to create.

Updated April 10, 2024 by Harry Ted Sprinks: Creative games are arguably some of the most popular in the industry, with highly accessible games such as Minecraft cementing themselves as household names. A more recent example of a creative game done right is Teardown, though this creativity is more about creative destruction, if there can be such a thing. Flight simulators are also tremendously popular games, especially on the PC, though they have arguably become more niche as gaming has become more mainstream.

It should be clear, then, that there is a market for games that combine elements of both creative titles and flight simulations; games such as X-Plane provide highly detailed, ultra-realistic options for aviation fans, while less focused titles such as 2020's Besiege offer a more accessible experience.

1 Special Mention: KitHack Model Club – A Game About Constructing RC Aircraft

Steam User Rating: N/A

• Currently Unreleased

After the failed Early Access run of Balsa Model Flight Simulator, from the creator of Kerbal Space Program, KitHack Model Club is essentially acting as a re-release for Balsa, which is not even available on the Steam store anymore. While some may balk at the idea of purchasing a re-release of a failed Early Access title, KitHack Model Club is planned to be released as a full game, and owners of Balsa can expect to receive KitHack for free.

KitHack Model Club promises a realistic physics sandbox in which players build and customize model RC vehicles. The game is set to feature a career mode, as well as a sandbox mode, and even Steam Workshop support.

2 X-Plane 12 – A Powerful Flight Simulator With An In-Depth Plane Maker

Steam User Rating: 80%

X-Plane 12 is the most recent entry in the X-Plane series and is, like its predecessors, an ultra-realistic flight simulation game. For fans of realism and flight simulators, X-Plane 12 is a highly immersive simulation, and its Plane Maker software is full of potential.

X-Plane 12 does much to improve on its predecessor, including volumetric clouds and improved lighting, as well as seasonal textures and weather. To design and build their airplanes, players will have to make use of X-Plane 12's Plane Maker software. However, it is ridiculously complex and difficult to use, featuring a steep learning curve.

3 Main Assembly – A Diverse Sandbox

Steam User Rating: 87%

Main Assembly is a diverse creative sandbox that allows players to design and build a massive variety of vehicles with intuitive tools. The game even features (optional) visual scripting for advanced players, as well as Steam Workshop support.

Main Assembly also features online multiplayer, as well as a single-player mode with various challenges to play through, and players can build obstacle courses to test their designs with. Main Assembly may not be entirely focused on building aircraft, but its intuitive tools more than allow for it.

4 Juno: New Origins - A Versatile Simulation With A Solid Career Mode

Steam User Rating: 90%

• Platform(s): PC, Mobile
• Released: 2023
• Developer(s): Jundroo, LLC
• Genre: Building, Simulation

This diverse building game features a heavy amount of simulation and even a visual programming language that allows players to automate their designs. Juno: New Origins gives players the freedom to build all manner of vehicles, including rockets, cars, and even airplanes.

However, despite the creative freedom that it offers players, Juno: New Origins isn't just a sandbox. This title features a full career mode that has players running their own aerospace company, providing players with a heap of content in the form of both hand-made and procedural contracts.

5 Stormworks: Build And Rescue – A Game About Air-Sea Rescue

Steam User Rating: 90%

This game tasks players with heroism in the form of air-sea rescue, designing their own boats and planes out of intuitive building blocks and testing them against the game's harsh environments. Stormworks: Build and Rescue even features Steam Workshop support, allowing players to share their builds and even custom missions.

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Stormworks: Build and Rescue features a career mode that tasks players with the management of their finances and safety, completing missions and designing increasingly complex vehicles to fit the job. However, Stormworks also features a creative mode for those who simply want to build.

6 Flyout – A Highly Detailed And Heavily Simulated Plane Builder

Steam User Rating: 92%

This plane-building game focuses on constructing (and flying) realistic airplanes. In Flyout, players can customize the main body and wings of their plane, as well as the materials and textures, and many of the aircraft's parts are configurable.

Players can also test out their aircraft in Flyout with a heavily simulated flight model, and every change players make to their aircraft can have a major effect on how it flies. Despite Flyout currently being in Early Access, it's already shaping up to be one of the best plane-building games on Steam.

7 Besiege – A Physics-Based Medieval Sandbox

Steam User Rating: 95%

• Platform(s): PC, Xbox
• Released: 2020
• Developer(s): Spiderling Studios
• Genre: Building

This physics-based construction game tasks players with building a variety of medieval siege vehicles using a set of intuitive tools. Besiege features a variety of missions to complete, as well as a level editor and Steam Workshop support.

Most importantly, however, Besiege's variety of creative tools allow players to build airborne vehicles. This extends as far as airplanes, though it can be difficult for beginners to get one working. However, if players are curious, they can always download the creations of other players from the Steam Workshop.

8 Kerbal Space Program – A Space-Flight Game That Lets Players Build Airplanes

Steam User Rating: 95%

Despite its focus on reaching for the stars with complex rockets and space shuttles, it's perfectly possible to build planes in Kerbal Space Program, and this gets even easier with mods. Furthermore, Kerbal Space Program's intuitive systems for building vehicles make experimenting and iterating on designs a breeze.

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Players may need to build an airplane if playing in the game's career mode, as some contracts in the game take place on Kerbin, the player's home planet. Because contracts taking place on Kerbin are arguably easier to complete, it's essential that players learn how to efficiently construct airplanes if they want to succeed.

9 SimplePlanes – A Modern Classic

Steam User Rating: 93%

SimplePlanes features an intuitive building system that allows players to snap various parts together with ease. This simple, well-crafted gameplay design is easy to learn and allows players to express their creativity within minutes of playing.

In SimplePlanes, players can build without any restrictions, and the game's fluid flight model makes testing out creations just as fun as building them. Furthermore, SimplePlanes features mod support that furthers the game's sandbox gameplay and replay value.

10 Trailmakers – A Creative Sandbox Packed With Content

Steam User Rating: 93%

Similarly to Main Assembly, Trailmakers doesn't focus entirely on constructing aircraft, but its intuitive construction systems make building an airplane a fun and engaging task. Trailmakers offers an abundance of systems and similar gameplay to that of other aircraft-building games, but with extra features that boost its replay value and variety.

Trailmakers features both single-player and online multiplayer, as well as a fully-fledged campaign mode. However, for those who just want to build, the game offers a handful of sandbox maps as well. Trailmakers also features a combat system, and its modular building blocks make it easy to build and customize vehicles.

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