We’d heard about the new Microsoft Flight Simulator’s mega-realistic scenery, digitally distilled from satellite imagery. We knew the sim could recreate real-time weather conditions on the go, relayed from live climatic data feeds. Even real-world pilots say that the look and feel of the airplanes are, in so many ways, indistinguishable from the real thing. Many people enjoy playing flight simulators or making the occasional orbit in Kerbal Space Program, but most are stuck controlling the onscreen action with nothing more exotic than a keyboard and mouse.

• Route & Waypoints will give you floating markers in the sky to follow all along your flight path.
• As for the engine spool up times on simulated aircraft – that is a reflection of the inaccuracy of that particular flight model and can be changed/edited in the aircraft’s flight dynamics files.
• I can’t express how it felt to see the pilot with his feet and hands off the controls shouting, “you got it, I can’t believe it”.
• Next, they strap on the supersonic T-38 and continue building the skills necessary to become a fighter pilot.
• Several airports have highly realistic hangars, buildings and taxiways.
• It grants the holder the privilege of flying according to Instrument Flight Rules and solely by reference to aircraft instruments.

Only those ratings necessary to perform the work are required. According to the magazine, the FBI analyzed hard drives from a flight simulator the pilot had built using Microsoft Flight Simulator X software. The FBI was able to recover data points from the program that pointed to the southern Indian Ocean. The home flight simulator belonging to the pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had a route plotted into it which ended in the Indian Ocean, officials have confirmed.

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To cover longer distances, consider stepping into an airliner or jet. Both options have quadruple the airspeed of the plane you learned the basics on and can climb to more than three times the altitude. Both options have comparable speed but handle differently due to their size. Some airliners have much larger fuel reserves, in case you feel like simulating an intercontinental flight from the comfort of your home computer. PilotEdge provides “ratings” programs for VFR and IFR pilots.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is quite a big game and not everyone will be able to play it or buy it. If you are looking to get a similar experience then below is a list of the best Microsoft Flight Simulator alternatives. these games are available either for Windows, Mac OS, or mobile OS. These games will do a good job of giving you a Microsoft Flight Simulator experience. Travel becomes efficient and effortless – whether you’re looking to streamline your work days or redefine your weekends.

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Not quite sure if it’s the sim, the aircraft model, or what. Actually both Airbus and Boeing aircraft are fully capable of flying themselves from takeoff to landing. The pilot decided to switch off auto-pilot at the very last moment which caused the accident check out this info. One of the worst things about reading a review of a new flight sim is the creeping realisation that you’re probably going to have to buy a new PC to enjoy all the lovely graphical enhancements that it offers. But FS2002is pretty ground-breaking in that it has better graphics than Flight Sim 2000, and it actually runs faster.

I spent a lot of time flying MSFS before getting into a cockpit for real. Turns out I had developed a bad habit of using the instruments rather than my eyes. When simming I probably spent 80% of my time looking at instruments and the moving map and only 20% looking outside. The biggest surprise for me about IRL flying was that these ratios were reversed, at least in VFR. My experience on sims tells me that you can indeed learn how to operate the machine and prosecute the procedures around it but it cannot help you to fly, nor to be a good pilot.