Flight 2000

Flight 2000, designed by pinball legend Harry Williams and manufactured by Stern Electronics in August 1980, is a four-player widebody solid-state game with an Outer Space theme, featuring artwork by Gerry Simkus and Doug Watson and software by Bill Pfutzenreuter. It holds a genuine distinction in Stern history: it was the company's first talking game, using the VSU-100 speech board.

The playfield is packed with features: two flippers, two pop bumpers, four slingshots, five memory drop targets, a 3-bank of drop targets, three standup targets, two kickers, two spinning targets, dual inlanes, and a mini-post between the flippers. The centerpiece is a 3-ball multiball in which each ball is launched through three separate "lift-off" stages - a maze-like ball lock arrangement at the upper left of the playfield where a captive ball walker delivers the ball to kickers that finally propel it to the top arch.

With 6,301 units confirmed produced between August and December 1980, Flight 2000 was a substantial hit for Stern. Its combination of an inventive multiball mechanism, speech, and a spacious widebody layout makes it a milestone of the early solid-state era that continues to captivate enthusiasts today.