Microsoft Flight Simulator

This page will bring readers hands-on reviews of the Microsoft Flight Simulator and news of updates, expansion pack releases and wider user community news. The individual aircraft, their levels of realism, the exact recreation of the flight controls, navigating airports and the experience of traversing continents will all be covered in news, reviews and gameplay reports. The 2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator supports third party content development bringing all the benefits of community generated content, all of which we will report on to ensure that users can maximise their enjoyment of the flight sim from the comfort of their own homes.

Learn more about the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator news here with up-to-date information on the platforms, the new and upgraded aircraft types, more detailed flight decks, airports, landscapes and other game functionality.

Aerosoft releases new destination for Microsoft Flight Simulator

Scenery developer, Aviation-Sim-Design has released Airfield Kyritz for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Kodiak 100 for Microsoft Flight Simulator out now

The latest aircraft from SimWorks Studios is the Amphibian Kodiak 100 Series III for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

HPG Hot Air Balloon lifts off

Hype Performance Group has released the first professionally developed hot air balloon for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

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Flight sim airports - Part I

In this new series, we will explore default Asobo airports and set out a standardised way of measuring prominent design features and compare them to the real airport. So, let’s taxi to the runway at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and see how it measures up.

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iniBuilds’ KSAT San Antonio Airport review

iniBuilds has been known to the X-Plane community for a few years now, having recently released its much-acclaimed A300. With a highly anticipated A310 in development for Microsoft Flight Simulator in the pipeline, as well as a raft of new scenery packages, we test out its newly landed San Antonio Airport in this review.

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Top Mach Studios’ F-22A review

Like the vast majority of folk who read PC Pilot, (surprisingly) I’ve never been offered a flight in a jet fighter. However, over the years there has been a steady stream of aircraft that piqued my interest, including the subject of this review, which is of course the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor.

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FSDreamTeam’s GSX Pro review

Flight simulation has always been about more than just flight. It's about capturing that feeling that an eight-year-old me had the first time I went to an airport, saw my first airliner and took my first flight. While it's difficult to recreate the smell of kerosene in the air as you get off the bus, I’ve always loved trying to get things ‘as real as it gets!’

H145 helicopter upgraded

Hype Performance Group has released version 0.96 of the H145 helicopter for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Asturias Airport for Microsoft Flight Simulator released

Orbx has announced LEAS Asturias Airport for Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available.

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Exploring Orbx’s Melbourne City Pack

Australian-based flight simulator scenery powerhouse group Orbx has released a city enhancement pack for its home city of Melbourne. We pay it a visit and discover why it is such a great flight simulation destination.

Everything you need to know about Microsoft Flight Simulator

The much-anticipated 2020 return of Microsoft’s flight simulator brings a wide range of aircraft from light planes to wide-body airliners.

The most famous flight simulator in the world, Microsoft Flight Simulator’s origins go back to the beginnings of home computing. During the decades that have seen numerous versions of the game, with the eleventh version released in 2020, it has always been at the forefront of computer graphics. The cutting-edge graphics combined with the attention to detail for the controls of its many aircraft makes it one of the most realistic simulators on the market.

Microsoft had a break away from flight simulation between 2012 and 2020. In 2012 Microsoft Flight, a simplified version of Microsoft Flight Simulator was cancelled five months after its launch. This version came six years after the successful 2006 Microsoft Flight Simulator X; the last new full version of the title. While Microsoft Flight Simulator X was repackaged with expansion packs in 2014 for Valve’s Steam digital distribution service, it was in 2019, at the E3 show in Los Angeles, that Microsoft unveiled its plans for the 2020 version.

The 2020 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator introduces ultra-high-definition 4K graphics and as a result, it features highly detailed and stunning aircraft in a realistic world, where players can fly in challenging weather conditions anywhere on the planet; a virtual environment based on actual aerial imagery of Earth and data from satellites. This impressive attention to detail recreates the real-world in stunning detail making the virtual environment more enjoyable for its users.

If you’re looking for updates on other flight simulator platforms, why not take a look at our dedicated page for X-Plane, where you’ll find the latest updates, news and reviews from great flight sims.

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