Laminar Research

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Laminar Research is a small software company based out of Columbia, South Carolina, and is dedicated to providing software that accurately reflects the laws of physics. Laminar's flagship product is the flight simulator X-Plane, but it also produces two other programs, Space Combat and Young's Modulus.

Laminar are often criticised^{[citation needed]} for being overly small and parochial, particularly with its software development. The most common criticism is that the programs are more private toys of the founder and lead programmer, Austin Meyer, with features that reflect his whims rather than the long-term desires of the customers^{[citation needed]}. Others counter^{[citation needed]} that this is one of Laminar's strengths—unlike other companies, Laminar hands out the personal e-mail address of someone who can—and does—add user-requested features, and point out that Laminar consistently hold their own in the face of competition from industry giants such as Microsoft Flight Simulator. In addition to this, Laminar is no longer a one-man company, Meyer having enlisted the aid of other people to help with both programming and customer relations.