# Airport Time Machine vs Flight Simulator 2d

The clearest difference is price: Flight Simulator 2d at Free against Airport Time Machine's $4.99. Flight Simulator 2d also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 25 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). Airport Time Machine's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 16) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment and device support there is nothing between them.

Flight Simulator 2d is free to download; Airport Time Machine costs $4.99 up front. Flight Simulator 2d sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Airport Time Machine asks for nothing beyond the download.

Flight Simulator 2d holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Flight Simulator 2d has 4.7K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Airport Time Machine's written reviews are positive against 61% of Flight Simulator 2d's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Airport Time Machine ships an update every 25 months, Flight Simulator 2d every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Airport Time Machine | Flight Simulator 2d |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.3 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/airport-time-machine/id661767360/reviews) | **[4.7 (4.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flight-simulator-2d/id1540648589/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 9 | **4.7K** |
| Positive reviews | **67.3% of reviews** | 61.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 25 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 48 MB | 323 MB |
| Requires iOS | **6.0** | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Big Fat Simulations Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/578114758) | [Spark Games UG haftungsbeschrankt](https://appshunter.io/developer/1641520453) |

## What reviewers say

### Airport Time Machine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/airport-time-machine/id661767360)

Experience the evolution of air traffic control from a humble grass airfield in 1925 to a bustling international airport by 1970. Navigate historical aviation milestones and manage diverse aircraft across multiple eras.

**Highlights:** Air traffic control simulation, Historical aviation eras, Aircraft management, Level progression, Diverse aircraft types, Steampunk era

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Flight Simulator 2d

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flight-simulator-2d/id1540648589)

Experience the thrill of flight in this 2D simulator. Choose from a variety of aircraft, explore randomly generated environments, and master different game modes like transport and landing challenges. Earn rewards to unlock new planes and improve your pilot rating.

**Highlights:** Realistic cockpit controls, Diverse selection of 8 aircraft, Randomly generated, detailed environments, Day and night cycles, Free flight, transport, and landing challenge modes, Daily tasks and gifts for rewards

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 50 TOKENS | $0.99 | one-time |
| 120 TOKENS | $1.99 | one-time |
| 160 Tokens | $1.99 | one-time |
| BUY USA MAP | $2.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| INSTANT AIRCRAFT REPAIR | $4.99 | one-time |
| BUY HEAVYAIR 5 | $4.99 | one-time |
| BUY FIGHTAIR 6 | $4.99 | one-time |
| B2 Stealth Bomber | $4.99 | one-time |
| An-225 Mriya | $4.99 | one-time |
| BUY SPEEDAIR 8 | $9.99 | one-time |
| BUY COMBATAIR 7 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Concorde | $9.99 | one-time |
| Gold Pass | $9.99 | one-time |
| BUY MEGA BUNDLE | $19.99 | one-time |
| BUY GIGA BUNDLE | $28.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fun and entertaining
- 👍 Cozy and relaxing gameplay
- 👍 Good flight physics
- 👍 Decent graphics
- 👍 Offline playable

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitchy controls and responsiveness
- 🐛 Unrealistic flight physics
- 💰 Heavily monetized with in-app purchases
- 💰 Difficult to progress without paying
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to unlock planes in tutorial
- Planes falling out of sky when out of fuel
- Unresponsive controls and delayed inputs
- Frequent crashes on certain devices
- Graphical glitches and visual bugs

**Requested features**

- More free planes and maps
- Permanent upgrades instead of single-use
- Improved flight dynamics and realism
- Expanded gameplay content and modes
- Better optimization and stability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Airport Time Machine free?

Airport Time Machine costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Flight Simulator 2d free?

Flight Simulator 2d is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Airport Time Machine or Flight Simulator 2d?

Flight Simulator 2d is rated higher. Airport Time Machine averages 4.3 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Flight Simulator 2d averages 4.7 from 4.7K ratings.

### Do Airport Time Machine or Flight Simulator 2d have ads?

Flight Simulator 2d shows ads; Airport Time Machine does not.

### Which is updated more often, Airport Time Machine or Flight Simulator 2d?

Airport Time Machine ships an update every 25 months, and Flight Simulator 2d every 2 weeks. Most recently, Airport Time Machine was updated on October 23, 2026 and Flight Simulator 2d on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*