Welcome to the New Flight Simmer Guide for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. This is a resource center made just for brand new aviation and simming enthusiasts. Here, you will find tons of information that may be beneficial if you are:
- Looking to start this new hobby for yourself,
- Purchasing it for someone else/your child,
- Starting an aviation or simming club at your school or organization
We hope you find this guide helpful! Feel free to explore all the articles on the left panel. You can also use “Article Topics” to hop around headers within the same article.
Brief History of Microsoft Flight Simulator
Making its debut in 1982, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the longest-running franchise at Microsoft, pre-dating even the first versions of popular products like Windows and Office! Over the decades, we went from primitive wireframe graphics to groundbreaking realism, culminating with a digital twin of the entire Earth using satellite data from Bing Maps in our 2020 release. We continue to push the envelope with the latest technologies in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, with deeper realism including advanced physics, flight modeling, avionics systems, weather & atmospheric simulation, aviation career exploration, and more.
Going back over 40+ years, each new version in the series has added new features, introduced additional aircraft types, increased the graphical quality, and improved the fidelity of the flight model and aviation simulation.
Microsoft Flight Simulator in Education and Aviation
While MSFS is not approved for flight training by the FAA, MSFS has fantastic applications within education and aviation, helping to bridge the gap between gaming and cockpit practice, including:
- STEM Education: Physics and Aerodynamics, Geography, Navigation, Technology
- Aviation Practice: Cockpit familiarization, Study-aids for memorizing checklists/emergencies/etc., Procedural Training, Home Cockpit Integration, and airfield, landmark, and terrain familiarization.
- Career Exploration: hands-on introduction to different types of pilot careers, providing inspiration for anyone with an interest in aviation, geography, and meteorology.
Microsoft Flight Simulator cannot replace flight training in a real aircraft, but it can be used to help aspiring pilots gain a greater understanding of their trainer aircraft, quickly memorize the locations of various knobs, switches, and controls, practice flying procedures, and become familiar with the geography, landmarks, and points of interest around the airports at which they are flying. Many real student pilots have found that practicing with Microsoft Flight Simulator at home allows them to more quickly master the techniques they learn in the air from their flight instructor (CFI).
One of the biggest challenges many student pilots face is getting comfortable with radio communications and getting over “mic fright”. Once again, Microsoft Flight Simulator can be an excellent supplementary learning aid. With free online virtual air traffic control networks like VATSIM and IVAO, student pilots and sim enthusiasts alike can practice proper real-world radio procedures at home, gaining experience and confidence with radio communication. For those who want an even more realistic experience to really hone their skills, PilotEdge is a paid service that allows Microsoft Flight Simulator pilots to practice with real-world air traffic controllers. See Enhancing your Experience: Add-Ons and Mods for more details.
Even highly-experienced airline pilots find that Microsoft Flight Simulator is a valuable tool. Boeing in fact has a Virtual Airplane that helps pilots develop procedural competence and build proficiency in a simulated environment.
On YouTube, you can find videos from several real airline pilots who share their experience of using MSFS at home for supplementary practice when working towards a new aircraft type rating!
With Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, aspiring pilots can learn more about the various career paths available to professional working pilots. While many simmers dream of flying for a major airline, this is only one of many career options for commercial pilots. When developing Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, our team worked closely with a variety of organizations — such as aerial firefighting, search and rescue, and coast guard organizations — across the planet to make the simulated versions of these activities. This provides an excellent opportunity for those dreaming of a future working in aviation to try various career paths and find which one appeals to them the most.
About Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is supported by our team with regular updates. It builds on the foundations of Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) but takes simulation to a new level with greater authenticity and realism.
- You can pursue an aviation career with dynamically-generated missions, compete against other pilots in challenges, and explore an even more detailed digital twin of the world.
- As our newest title, it offers many improvements and additional features still being introduced.
- Introduces career mode, which is a progression-based activity where you start as a student pilot and earn certificates to unlock new jobs, manage finances, build your own aviation company, and more. Career types include aerial firefighting, search & rescue, agricultural aviation, and many more. If you want to experience the life of a pilot and play through missions and careers, this version may be for you.
- It also includes a Challenge League to compete against other pilots in skill-based challenges, as well as a World Photographer Mode with objectives for capturing stunning screenshots.
To purchase, visit our Store page.
View the MSFS 2024 Frequently Asked Questions page here to learn about the different editions, including which planes come in each version.