AviNation begins at the birth of the commercial airline industry. Much of the world still isn't sure about this "flying" thing, so you need to build up a tiny countryside airport and prove its worth to the town's mustache-twirling, railroad-loving mayor.

AviNation plays like an enjoyable mix between a social building game and Nimblebit's own Pocket Planes. You need to build everything that makes even a primitive airport purr, including runways, terminals, tarmac, control towers, hangars, and of course, gift shops. Each building gives you coins after a certain amount of time has lapsed, though terminals also let you collect passengers that can be flown all around the world.

You might want to invest in a plane or two, too. Fans of aviation history will adore poring over the plane catalogues in AviNation, which features real models that can ferry around your passengers and luggage. Each plane varies in speed, passenger capacity, and fuel efficiency. You need to keep your fleet's strengths and weaknesses in mind when you send each plane off, as a long flight will earn you more money but will keep you without planes for hours. However, you can earn extra income by letting planes from other airlines make landings at your airport.

While you don't actually fly the planes in AviNation, there's definite joy to be had in building up your own space, sending off your own planes, and managing flights. The game's graphics are remarkable for a Facebook game: while you spend much of your time in a zoomed-out view of your airport, you can zoom in on any part and watch your crew, passengers, and planes bustle around. When the sun rises in the morning, long shadows are cast from buildings and towers.

AviNation has the potential to be one of the smartest games on Facebook. It's certainly ambitious enough. Unfortunately, its current glitches make it a difficult title to muddle through. It might not be the worst idea for Checkpoint Studios to tow AviNation back into the hangar for a bit of a tune-up. A fixed version of the game would undoubtedly soar.