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.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Innsbruck Airport (LOWI) | Streamed satellite terrain basics | Airline pilot | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ) | Live weather and live traffic mastery | Airline pilot | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK) | Flight planning and ATC + gear | General aviation VFR pilot or Airline pilot | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM) | Build optimization | General aviation VFR pilot | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Barra Airport (EGPR) | Min-max | General aviation VFR pilot or Sailplane pilot | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Innsbruck Airport (LOWI))
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.
Level/Difficulty: Intermediate Key Rewards: Valley approach technique, terrain awareness, confidence flying near high ground
What to Do in Innsbruck Airport (LOWI)
- Learn Streamed satellite terrain. Scenery is pulled from Bing Maps and rebuilt in 3D by Azure, with photogrammetry applied to several hundred cities. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Airline pilot as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- 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.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Daher TBM 930 or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Streamed satellite terrain fundamentals
- Airline pilot selected and functional
- Innsbruck Airport (LOWI) main content cleared
- Ready for Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ)
Phase 2: Early Game (Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ))
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.
Level/Difficulty: Advanced Key Rewards: Short field landing discipline and a genuine commitment point
What to Do in Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ)
- Work on Live weather and live traffic. Real METAR data drives cloud, wind, pressure and temperature, and live traffic can populate the sky with actual flights. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Daher TBM 930 if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- 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.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK).
- Consider whether General aviation VFR pilot might suit your playstyle better than Airline pilot.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Live weather and live traffic integrated into gameplay
- Daher TBM 930 acquired
- Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ) fully cleared
- Ready for Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK)
Phase 3: Mid Game (Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK))
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.
Level/Difficulty: Advanced Key Rewards: High altitude performance planning, plus the sim's most famous single approach
What to Do in Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK)
- Master Flight planning and ATC. 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. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000). It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- 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.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Assistance and realism sliders for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Flight planning and ATC mastered
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000) acquired or in progress
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla (VNLK) fully cleared
- Ready for Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM)
Phase 4: Late Game (Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM))
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.
Level/Difficulty: Intermediate Key Rewards: Low level approach practice, and the beach flyover everyone screenshots
What to Do in Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM)
- Finalize your build. You should be running General aviation VFR pilot or Airline pilot with optimized gear.
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000) should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- 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.
- Rotary wing and sailplane flight models optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Barra Airport (EGPR).
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000) upgraded to max
- Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM) fully cleared
- Ready for Barra Airport (EGPR)
Phase 5: Endgame (Barra Airport (EGPR))
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.
Level/Difficulty: Advanced Key Rewards: Soft field technique, crosswind handling and a genuinely unusual runway surface
What to Do in Barra Airport (EGPR)
- Barra Airport (EGPR) tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- 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.
- The endgame loop: run Barra Airport (EGPR), optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Sailplane pilot for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Rotary wing and sailplane flight models mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Barra Airport (EGPR) fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- 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
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
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 Beginner's Guide
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Tips & Tricks
- 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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