To explain why i fell in love with this game as a child, i have to fo back to 1998? My dad was an avid player of Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator, so naturally as any small child i wanted to try what he was doing. And that made me fall in love with classical aircraft.
So a couple of years after that, i got this game, and the things you could do. Building your own strange and wacky aircraft using anything from gigantic oversized toothpaste tubes (i don't know either), or a fairly decent replica of an early 1910's i would say Wright Flyer. Flying around, playing minigames like racing, or finishing surprisingly interesting quests. With a load of different characters to meet and talk to.
Flying from icey mountains and "arctic" research outposts, down to a tropical volcano island or a large swamp. While there are a number of quests to complete, the game is mostly free form, you explore, get rewarded with different parts, from cosmetic parts to new engines and fuel tanks, to parts needed to land at sea, snow, or on a moving aircraft carrier.
Please, if any of this sounds interesting, give the game an upvote, it's such an important part of my childhood and i would love to be able to play it again.