5 Key Tips For Microsoft Flight Simulator
“Microsoft Flight Simulator” is the most extensive in-home flight simulator that the world has ever seen, and it’s been that way for decades. It’s not just hardcore simulation fans that are playing MFS, though. Each year, there are countless people that are playing for the first time, and it can be easy to give up quickly if you don’t know exactly what to do.
If you’re thinking about trying out “Microsoft Flight Simulator” for the first time, there are some tips to make the sim more enjoyable. If you follow these five key tips, you’ll find yourself wanting to rush home and fire up your console or PC to take to the skies while perhaps even investing in the peripherals for diehard fans.
1. Tutorials Are Key
For most video games, a lot of us like to simply spam the A button or left-click our mice repeatedly until we’ve skipped through the tutorial and gotten right into the action. While this might work for games like “Call of Duty” where the controls typically remain the same each year, the tutorials are much more important when it comes to simulating flying an aircraft.
For this reason, make sure that you’re paying close attention to everything that’s being taught. People that are serious about learning MFS should download the tutorial in PDF form and keep it handy, just like a real pilot would do in their cockpit.
2. Start Small
Most beginners are going to want to hop right into a jumbo jet on an international flight path, but that should be reserved for more experienced players. To really get into good habits, start out by picking a smaller plane and choosing a short flight path.
Not only will you get the gratification of starting and finishing a flight, but you’ll also be learning a lot more than just setting your plane to autopilot. Being fully engaged is important for picking up any new hobby, and the excitement will have you coming back for more.
3. Stick With One Plane At First
Another aspect of becoming fully engaged with a flight simulator is becoming accustomed to flying one type of plane. Once you learn the ins and outs of a particular aircraft, you’ll become an expert, and there’s nothing quite as satisfying as knowing pretty much all there is to know on a topic.
Start with the smaller single-engine planes and work your way up to the jumbo jets. Eventually, you’ll be an expert at just about every type of aircraft and you’ll be fully immersed in your flight sim experience.
4. Get Some Peripherals
One of the reasons why people tend to give up on a flight sim like MFS so quickly is that they don’t have the proper tools. The game wasn’t truly meant to be played with a mouse and keyboard or an Xbox controller. Instead, see if you can pick up some used peripherals like a yoke system or flight stick.
A lot of the peripherals are compatible with the Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S. “Microsoft Flight Simulator” is available for free on Game Pass, meaning that the money you saved by not buying the game could be put toward some accessories that make the game an experience.
5. Pick Familiar Sites
Among the best aspects of “Microsoft Flight Simulator” is that you can start and end a flight at just about any airport in the world that you’d like. If you’ve ever wanted to see what your house looks like from a cockpit, you can pick the nearest airport to your home. If you want to check out some landmarks instead, the world is your oyster.
From the Las Vegas Strip to the canals of Venice, there are some amazing takeoffs and landings that you can make in “Microsoft Flight Simulator”. Seeing these from the plane for the first time will make you want to see what else you can explore.
