Microsoft Flight Simulator launched on 18 August 2020 and streams Bing Maps imagery with Azure generated 3D buildings across roughly 37,000 airports. The 40th Anniversary Edition arrived with Sim Update 11 on 11 November 2022 as a free update, adding helicopters, sailplanes, seven historic aircraft and the Airbus A310, taking the roster to 37 flyable machines with individual flight models. Live weather and live traffic feed real conditions into the sim, so a departure into low cloud at 03:00 local is genuinely low cloud at 03:00 local.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Set a manual rolling cache in the data options before you fly anywhere twice
Set a manual rolling cache in the data options before you fly anywhere twice. The sim streams scenery every flight, so caching the areas you fly often removes the pop in and cuts bandwidth use dramatically on repeat routes.
2. Microsoft lists 5 Mbps as the minimum connection and roughly 50 Mbps as ideal
Microsoft lists 5 Mbps as the minimum connection and roughly 50 Mbps as ideal. If your terrain looks like grey blobs on approach, that is bandwidth rather than your graphics card, and lowering render distance will not fix it.
3. Turn assistance options off one at a time rather than all at once
Turn assistance options off one at a time rather than all at once. Auto rudder, taxi ribbon, engine automation and assisted takeoff each hide a specific skill, and switching them off individually shows you exactly which one you never learned.
4. Trim is the single biggest gap between new sim pilots and comfortable ones
Trim is the single biggest gap between new sim pilots and comfortable ones. A trimmed Cessna 172 holds altitude with no control input at all, and fighting the stick to hold level flight is the reason most people find long flights exhausting.
5. For repeatable practice, switch live weather to a preset
For repeatable practice, switch live weather to a preset. Real METAR changes hour to hour, so an approach you failed in a 20 knot crosswind may be calm the next time you try it, which teaches you nothing.
6. In the helicopters, bind the collective to a proper throttle axis and reverse it
In the helicopters, bind the collective to a proper throttle axis and reverse it. Trying to hover on a spring loaded joystick throttle is the reason most people bounce the Cabri G2 off the pad and give up.
7. The sailplanes visualise thermals and ridge lift in the sim's weather overlay, so gliding is a reading exercise before it is a flying one
The sailplanes visualise thermals and ridge lift in the sim's weather overlay, so gliding is a reading exercise before it is a flying one. Launch by winch or aerotow, find the column, then circle inside it rather than chasing altitude in a straight line.
8. The 40th Anniversary Edition also brought back 24 classic missions from earlier Flight Simulator releases along with 25 handcrafted airports, 4 classic commercial airports, 14 heliports and 15 glider airports
The 40th Anniversary Edition also brought back 24 classic missions from earlier Flight Simulator releases along with 25 handcrafted airports, 4 classic commercial airports, 14 heliports and 15 glider airports. Those missions are the most structured content in an otherwise open ended sim.
9. World Updates are free and improve terrain, buildings and airports region by region, starting with Japan, then the United States, then the United Kingdom and Ireland
World Updates are free and improve terrain, buildings and airports region by region, starting with Japan, then the United States, then the United Kingdom and Ireland. Install the ones covering areas you actually fly rather than all of them, since each costs disk space.
10. The Dune expansion released free on 3 November 2023 added an ornithopter and Arrakis, which is worth knowing simply because it is the one aircraft in the sim that does not obey ordinary flight planning
The Dune expansion released free on 3 November 2023 added an ornithopter and Arrakis, which is worth knowing simply because it is the one aircraft in the sim that does not obey ordinary flight planning.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For General aviation VFR pilot (A-Tier):
- Focus on Streamed satellite terrain combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000)
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Airline pilot (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Daher TBM 930
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Streamed satellite terrain + Live weather and live traffic: Scenery is pulled from Bing Maps and rebuilt in 3D by Azure, with photogrammetry applied to several hundred cities. Combined with Live weather and live traffic, real metar data drives cloud, wind, pressure and temperature, and live traffic can populate the sky with actual flights.
Flight planning and ATC + Assistance and realism sliders: The world map screen builds VFR direct routes, low or high altitude airways and full IFR plans with SIDs and STARs before you load in. When paired with Assistance and realism sliders, almost every system can be automated or handed back to you: engine management, taxi ribbon, auto rudder, unlimited fuel, crash detection.
Rotary wing and sailplane flight models scaling: The 40th Anniversary Edition added the Guimbal Cabri G2 and Bell 407 with a proper helicopter flight model, plus the DG Aviation LS8-18 and DG-1001E neo sailplanes with thermal and ridge lift simulation. Both need control setups that fixed wing flying never asks for.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000) | Learning the basics, VFR sightseeing at 110 knots, and any airfield with a short strip. | The most flown light single in the world and the sim's default trainer. |
| Daher TBM 930 | Medium and long range flights when you want jet speed with light aircraft workload. | A single engine turboprop that cruises above 300 knots and climbs to the low thirties, with a Garmin G3000 touchscreen suite. |
| Airbus A320neo | First IFR flights with SIDs, STARs and an autopilot managed descent. | The sim's default narrowbody and the aircraft most tutorials use for a first airliner flight. |
| Airbus A310-300 | Long haul flights and pilots who want more hand work than a modern glass airliner gives them. | Added with the 40th Anniversary Edition, a two crew widebody from an earlier generation of airliner design. |
| Guimbal Cabri G2 | Learning the hover, which takes most people several hours before it stops being a fight. | A light two seat training helicopter and the gentler of the two rotary aircraft added in the 40th Anniversary Edition. |
Location Efficiency
Innsbruck Airport (LOWI) (Intermediate): An Austrian airport sitting in a valley with Alps on both sides, which forces a curved visual approach rather than a straight in. Its circling procedures are studied by real airline crews and it is the standard first hard approach in any flight sim.
Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ) (Advanced): A French alpine altiport with a runway around 537 metres long on an 18 percent uphill gradient and no go around once committed. You land uphill and take off downhill, and there is no second chance.
Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK) (Advanced): The Everest trekking gateway at roughly 2,845 metres elevation, with a sloped runway near 527 metres ending in a cliff at one end and a mountain wall at the other. Thin air also robs your engine of performance.
Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM) (Intermediate): Sint Maarten, where the approach to runway 10 crosses Maho Beach at very low height. It is an easy landing by any technical measure and the most photographed approach in aviation.
Barra Airport (EGPR) (Advanced): In the Outer Hebrides, the only airport in the world where scheduled flights land on a beach. The three runways are marked with poles and the real timetable moves with the tide.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Blaming the graphics card for blurry terrain when the actual bottleneck is streaming bandwidth.
- Starting on the A320neo before ever flying a Cessna 172, then not understanding why the autopilot does something unexpected.
- Holding the stick to maintain level flight instead of trimming, which makes any flight over 30 minutes miserable.
- Leaving live weather on while practising a specific approach, so no two attempts are comparable.
- Buying the 2020 title expecting the 2024 release, since Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a separate product with a separate store page.
Pro Quick Tips
- Set a manual rolling cache in the data options before you fly anywhere twice. The sim streams scenery every flight, so caching the areas you fly often removes the pop in and cuts bandwidth use dramatically on repeat routes.
- Microsoft lists 5 Mbps as the minimum connection and roughly 50 Mbps as ideal. If your terrain looks like grey blobs on approach, that is bandwidth rather than your graphics card, and lowering render distance will not fix it.
- Turn assistance options off one at a time rather than all at once. Auto rudder, taxi ribbon, engine automation and assisted takeoff each hide a specific skill, and switching them off individually shows you exactly which one you never learned.
- Start with Airline pilot, switch to General aviation VFR pilot when ready
- Invest in Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000) above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Innsbruck Airport (LOWI) → Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ) → Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK) → Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM) → Barra Airport (EGPR). See our maps guide
- Streamed satellite terrain + Live weather and live traffic together are stronger than either alone
More Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Guides
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Overview
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Best Builds
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Tier List
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Walkthrough
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Beginner's Guide
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Weapons Guide
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Combat Guide
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Boss Guide
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Maps & Locations
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Crafting Guide
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Classes & Characters
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