Google just dragged its 2007 hidden flight sim out of the desktop app dungeon and dropped it straight into your browser tab like a surprise freebie. No installs, no bloat, just open earth.google.com, hit Explore Earth, then Tools > Flight Simulator and you're suddenly a pilot over real satellite imagery. It's janky as hell compared to the big sims, keyboard controls feel like fighting a drunk goose, and you'll probably pancake into terrain on your first go, but that's the whole chaotic charm of it.

The web version keeps the old-school simplicity: pick your plane, spawn anywhere, reset altitude when you eat dirt, switch to satellite view for that photoreal vibe. Google even tossed up a dev help page with the controls so you don't have to guess which key does what. Early X buzz is pure chaos energy, with folks calling it "addictive" and posting clips of their first successful loops over cities.

This isn't replacing Microsoft Flight Simulator or anything serious, it's more like the ultimate procrastination tool for when you want to "travel" without leaving your chair or dealing with loading screens. Casual sky time for the rest of us who can't be bothered with full sim setups. The planet's basically your playground now, no desktop app tax required.