Microsoft Flight Simulator Xbox PC Gaming

[David76]

Microsoft Flight Simulator has been updated with plenty of new points of interest and new airports.

USA world update 1.11.6.0 is now available for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

It comes with four new airports and almost 50 new points of interest.

In addition to the above, you can expect several fixes and improvements to performance and stability, planes, UI, input, activity, and the world.

The full update notes are below.

Spoiler: Update Notes - 1.11.6.0

Microsoft Flight Simulator – USA World Update​

Airports​

• KATL – Atlanta International
• KFHR – Friday Harbor
• KDFW – Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
• KSWF – New York Stewart International Airport

Points of Interest​

• Chimney Rock
• Crazy Horse Memorial
• Pilgrim Monument, Provincetown MA
• Fort Jefferson
• Washington Monument, Washington DC
• Capitol, Washington DC
• White House, Washington DC
• Wright Brothers National Memorial
• Mount Rushmore
• Biltmore Estate
• Devils Tower
• New River Gorge Bridge
• United States National Arboretum
• Bixby Creek Bridge
• Chesapeake Bay Bridge
• Sunshine Skyway Bridge
• Mackinac Bridge
• Navajo Bridge
• Astoria-Megler Bridge
• U.S. Grant Bridge
• Lowry Avenue Bridge
• Lewis and Clark Bridge
• The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge
• Fort Knox
• Monument Rocks National Natural
• Coronado Heights Castle
• Ellis County Courthouse
• Monument Valley
• Yosemite El Capitan
• Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde, Colorado
• Shiprock, New Mexico
• Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Oregon
• Half Dome, Yosemite
• Dworshak Dam
• Hoover Dam
• Oroville Dam
• Alcatraz (water tower and lighthouse only)
• Fort McHenry, Baltimore
• Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls
• Glen Canyon Dam
• Las Vegas Strip (Night)
• Confederation Bridge
• Johnson Space Center Houston (visitor's center)
• Kennedy Space Center Florida (visitors center)
• Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (memorial site)
• Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii
• National Radio Astronomy Observatory
• Gulf of Mexico, Oil Rigs
• Airport Graveyard, Tucson

Performance and Stability​

• Several crashes were fixed to improve the overall stability of the title
• Optimization on photogrammetry loading
• Offline air traffic aircraft are now properly removed at a long distance. This caused performance degradation over time.

Planes​

• From handling and flight model improvements to auto-pilot fixes, a general review of all planes has been made for this update.

Airliners​

• Fixed: Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental fuel consumption issue
• Fixed: Airbus A320neo fuel consumption issue
• Reduced yaw oscillation on the Airbus A320neo by further reducing yaw gain

General Aviation Aircraft​

• Pipistrel Virus SW121: Fixed – Cruise speed adjusted (previously too low) in the aircraft selection menu
• Cessna 152: 5% more elevator authority
• Cirrus SR22: Fixed – The mixture control is no longer set to Automixture
• Cessna 208 B Grand Caravan EX: Fixed – invisible spoiler removed
• EXTRA 330LT : Engine reactivity increased
• EXTRA 330LT : Fixed full castoring tail wheel animation and allowed up to 90° rotation
• Robin Cap10 : Allowed 90° range of motion for full castering rear wheel

Garmin glass cockpit equipped aircraft ​

• Added visual notification on PFD when deactivating AP
• The flight director is now automatically turned on when AP is enabled and cannot be disabled

UI​

• The data consumption value calculation has been fixed
• Fix input feedback on some devices
• The livery name should now be correctly displayed in the menus
• The weather image in the flight plan should now be correct in all cases
• Some accuracy for the live time have been fixed
• Fixed an issue that prevented the checklist eye button to be selected
• The bushtrip menu should no longer freeze
• Switching from online to offline in the menu should no longer freeze the title
• Fixed some behaviors that resulted in having the World map search not responding

Input​

• Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Quadrant default preset has been added (GA Twin engines configuration)
• CH Throttle Quadrant default preset has been added
• CH Flightstick Pro default preset has been added
• CH Combatstick default preset has been added

Activity​

• The logbook should now properly log unfinished flights (either via return to main menu or via landing and shutting down the engine and Master)
• The landing challenge target should now be properly displayed after restarting the activity

World​

• Streetlights of smaller streets and roads should now be displayed more randomly
• Workers on an airport should no longer randomly freeze and stop being animated

 

[David76]

Microsoft Flight Simulator will get real-time snow and ice alongside VR support from next week, Microsoft has confirmed.

Jorg Neumann at Asobo, said:

We are pleased to announce that we are preparing a few surprises alongside the VR update launching on December 22.

Everyone will receive a unique Microsoft Flight Simulator-themed livery for the entire launch plane fleet and simmers will be able to fly with the same cute dog-themed liveries that Rufus and Sam flew in their Pitts Special. Finally, given the time of year, the update will add real-time snow and true-to-life ice coverage to the entire planet.

In case you are unfamiliar, Neumann referred to a 2020 Microsoft holiday commercial that featured dogs named Rufus and Sam.

The VR component of the update includes support for headsets from Oculus and Valve. VR will be offered in-menu alongside the simulator itself.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is available on Windows PC. An Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S version is planned for 2021.

 

[Steve]

Any idea how to set a flight plan from the world map? I've flown to some airports but my guidance brings me as the crow flies and I don't end up lined up with the runway!

 

[Dylan]

Any idea how to set a flight plan from the world map? I've flown to some airports but my guidance brings me as the crow flies and I don't end up lined up with the runway!

I think this video from the PC version should help you.

 

[David76]

Today during the gamescom 2021 Xbox Stream, Microsoft announced that there's a lot of new Microsoft Flight Simulator coming over the next few months to the PC and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game.

In what the publisher is calling the "first major expansion" for Microsoft Flight Simulator, the STIHL National Championship Air Races are coming to the game this fall.




"Finally, we are excited to announce our partnership with RARA (the Reno Air Racing Association) to bring the famous STIHL National Championship Air Races, the world's fastest motorsport, to Microsoft Flight Simulator," Microsoft says in a press release.

"Many of the planes can fly up to 500 mph at an altitude between 50 ft and 250 ft above ground. The Reno Air Races represent the first major expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Simmers will now be able to race against their friends or pilots from around the world with the addition of competitive multiplayer to the sim."

The Reno Air Races expansion pack will be available this Fall.




Next up, a new series of "Local Legends" planes are coming to the title, offering vehicles that are famous in a specific region of the world, but don't have such international acclaim. The first of these is coming with the free, incoming World Update VI (which addresses Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) and will show off the Junkers JU-52




As the Legends celebrate the past, Microsoft Flight Simulator is also working with organizations around the world that are shaping the future of aviation.

"We have partnered with Volocopter, a fascinating German company creating one of the most exciting new aircraft in the world, an eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) air taxi for urban flights called "VoloCity"," Microsoft has said.

"In collaboration with the team at Volocopter, we are integrating their electric air taxis and incorporating Volocopter's vision for urban air mobility city operations into Microsoft Flight Simulator. The VoloCity air taxi represents our first step toward the introduction of one of the widely-requested aircraft – helicopters! The VoloCity air taxi will release in November of this year".

 

[David76]

The newly updated Microsoft Flight Simulator development roadmap outlines several minor and larger updates due to arrive by the end of March, with a new World Update and Local Legend coming this month.

Each week will see minor updates to the game's software development kit (SDK) and other third-party tools, and this regular maintenance makes up the bulk of the roadmap. However, every month also has at least one chunkier update to flesh things out.

January 31 will see the release of World Update 7 and Local Legend 2: Fokker FVII, assuming everything goes according to plan. The first Local Legend focused on the Junkers Ju 52, which was sold for $14.99 upon release, and described the series as a way of spotlighting specific regional aircraft.

In a similar vein, February will seemingly kick off a Famous Flyer series, with the Antonov AN-2 starring in the first release scheduled for February 22. Sim Update 8 is also penciled in for the 22nd alongside another round of regular SKD and third-party updates.

Two more updates, World Update 8 and Local Legend 3, are tentatively scheduled for March but don't have exact release dates yet. Microsoft and developer Asobo Studio haven't revealed the subject of the third Local Legend just yet, either. This is also where the current roadmap ends, but the April and June events and patches will apparently be announced around the end of March so players know what to expect as spring continues.