A writer for "The Washington Post" commented that "serious flight freaks will like the racing and advanced maneuvers". According to Gaudiosi, dedicated players will learn "all about aerodynamics and stunt flying"; he considered the latter to be "hard stuff, even with green hoops guiding you". Similarly, Buchanan characterized the Hoops courses as "incredibly demanding", and Atkin cited that mode's Trick difficulty level as "amazingly tough". Bob and John Nolan wrote that people who "love to loop around the skies of "Flight Simulator 5" will go bananas for" the aerobatics; but the pair commented that combat flight simulator players "might get a little edgy once the wow-power wears off." However, Atkin believed that only those "never happy without something to shoot at" could be disappointed by the lack of combat: other players will "be too busy choreographing aerial ballets, pulling off death-defying aerobatic stunts, or just enjoying a quiet soar down the ridge line to miss that stuff". Likewise, Ware called the non-violent gameplay "refreshing", and Buchanan wrote, "If are a battle-weary veteran of air combat sims, "Flight Unlimited" might be just the sort of and relaxation you need."