The Fw 200 was a record-setting airliner in a class of its own!


The 1920s and 1930s witnessed incredible advances in aircraft innovation and accomplishments. One of the highlights of this era was transatlantic travel, as exemplified by Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic journey in May of 1927. The nascent airline industry, inspired by rapidly evolving technology, sought to offer transatlantic service, and started with airships. In October of 1928, the Graf Zeppelin completed the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight in history. The massive airship lifted off from Friedrichshafen, Germany and flew to Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA completing the journey in 111 hours and 44 minutes.

Continue reading about Local Legend 19: The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor!

World Update XVIII provides pilots the highest resolution yet for the stunning scenery of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland!

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, collectively known as DACH (Deutschland, Austria, Confoederatio Helvetica), offer an incredibly diverse array of landscapes and architecture to explore. Highlights include the Swiss Alps, mountain lakes, expansive forests, historic castles and cathedrals, and modern architectural feats.

The Microsoft Flight Simulator team partnered with Bing Maps, Vexcel Imaging, Maxar Technologies, Gaya Simulations, and Orbx Simulation Systems to bring these countries to the Microsoft Flight Simulator world in all-new ways. The update serves as a fusion of recent aerial photographs, digital elevation models, TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface modeling, hand-crafted points of interest, and airports.

Continue reading about World Update XVIII!

Enjoy discounted pricing during our Top-Rated Scenery Sale!

For seven days starting on August 20th, save up to 63% on the following items:
 

To purchase these discounted items, visit the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace, select ‘Featured’, scroll down to ‘Special Offers’, then select ‘See All’ and look for the savings.

The sale runs from 10am PDT (1700 UTC) on Tuesday, August 20th, 2024 through 10am PDT (1700 UTC) on Tuesday, August 27th, 2024.

A few days from now we will celebrate the fourth anniversary of the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator on August 18, 2020. From all of us on the team, we want to share a message of sincere gratitude to everyone in the flight sim community for making the last four years truly special. Whether you're a long-time veteran sim pilot, someone brand new to the hobby, a third-party developer, or a content creator, it's because of YOU that we've been able to deliver four years of ongoing support at a sustained rate of nearly two major releases per month since 2020. Stay tuned to our Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels for some special anniversary videos over the next few days!

Earlier today, we released a small update to Local Legend 18: Westland Scout & Wasp. You can read the release notes on our forums here.

We hosted our latest Developer Livestream on Twitch yesterday. If you weren't able to watch it live, you can catch up on everything you missed by watching the VOD on YouTube below:



In addition to answering many questions from the community, the panel of Jorg, Seb, and Martial also shared new information about the following topics:

• World Update 18: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
• Local Legend 19: Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
• Aircraft & Avionics Update 3
• Famous Flyer 10: Boeing 707-320C
• World Update 19: Brazil
• And much more!

This was the last monthly Developer Livestream that will focus primarily on Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020). Starting next month, we're very excited to begin sharing much more information about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 with you during the lead-up to its launch on November 19!

Finally, some of our team members will be on the show floor at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany next week. If you're attending this event, be sure to stop by the Microsoft Flight Simulator area and say hello! It's always a genuine thrill for us to meet members of the flight simulation community!

- MSFS Team

Click here to continue reading the Development Update!

Earlier today, we released a small update which contains the latest navdata and another round of improved airports from community members participating in the World Hub closed alpha test. You can see the full notes, including a list of every updated airport, on our forums here.

As we announced last week, our panel of Jorg, Seb, and Martial will be discussing Microsoft Flight Simulator and answering many of the community's most frequently-asked questions during our next Developer Livestream on Wednesday, August 14 at 10:30am PDT (1730 UTC).  As always, this event will be broadcast live on our Twitch channel. If you would like to pre-submit a question to the panel in advance, you can do so using this web form. For those of you who plan on attending the livestream, we'll see you in Twitch chat next week! If you won't be able to watch live, we will upload the recording to our YouTube channel so you can watch at another time of your convenience.

- MSFS Team

Click here to continue reading the Development Update!

For simmers in the Northern Hemisphere, July and August are frequent vacation months. To anyone currently enjoying time off work or school, we wish you a happy and restful break! We hope you're able to enjoy some quality time in the virtual skies of Microsoft Flight Simulator!

Our team is currently working hard on the upcoming Sim Update 16 (tentatively scheduled for September 5) and, of course, the November 19 launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024! Even though everyone is super focused on these two upcoming releases, our panel of Jorg, Seb, and Martial will be taking the time to talk to the community and answer many of your most frequently-asked questions during our next Developer Livestream on Wednesday, August 14 at 10:30am PDT (1730 UTC).  As always, this event will be broadcast live on our Twitch channel. If you would like to pre-submit a question to the panel in advance, you can do so using this web form.

- MSFS Team

Click here to continue reading the Development Update!

Earlier this week, we released World Update XVII: United Kingdom & Ireland. This update includes 16 TIN cities, 79 Points of interest (POIs), and 5 handcrafted airports. As with all World Updates, it is available to download for FREE from the in-sim Marketplace.

Also this week, we launched Local Legend 18: Westland Scout & Wasp. These two Cold War-era British military helicopters come together in a bundle from the in-sim Marketplace for USD $14.99. You can read more about the Scout and Wasp on our website.

We also recently released a small update for Local Legend 16: Short SC.7 Skyvan. This update is available from Content Manager.

Whether you’re exploring Ireland and the UK with the new World Update, flying the Fisk arrival into KOSH, or visiting any other part of the world, we wish everyone happy flying this July weekend! The sky is calling!

- MSFS Team

Click here to continue reading the Development Update!

The United Kingdom and Ireland are renowned for their intricate history, iconic architecture, and beautiful landscapes. From the northern reaches of Scotland to the southern tip of England, this region offers a fascinating mosaic of natural, and human made elements. The update includes 16 TIN cities, 79 Points of interest (POIs), and 5 handcrafted airports.

Microsoft Flight Simulator partnered with Bing Maps, Gaya Simulations, and iniBuilds to create this latest spectacular offering for aviators. Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update XVII merges recent aerial imagery, digital elevation modelling (including LiDAR coverage), TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface modeling, and hand-crafted airports.



Continue reading about World Update XVII!

Earlier this week, we hosted our July Developer Livestream on Twitch. If you missed watching it live, you can view the VOD on YouTube below. In addition to answering many questions from the community, our panel also discussed Sim Update 16, the upcoming Boeing 707, and revealed the location of World Update XVII: UK & Ireland!



World Update XVII will release next week on Tuesday, July 23.  Among the many new POIs and bespoke airports included with this FREE update will be Farnborough EGLF, arriving in the sim just in time to celebrate the Farnborough International Airshow!

As a reminder, we are hosting an upcoming community event! If you live near or are able to travel to Cologne, Germany on August 24 and would like an opportunity to mingle with some MSFS team members and other flight sim fans, you can express your interest by filling out the form at this link!

Finally, to any pilots or aviation enthusiasts attending EAA AirVenture Oshkosh next week, all of us here on the MSFS Team wish you safe travels and a wonderful time in Wisconsin! We wish we were there with you!

- MSFS Team

Click here to continue reading the Development Update!

Enjoy discounted pricing during our Microsoft Flight Simulator Summer Sale!

For 15 Days starting on July 17th, save up to 85% on more than 2550 items.

To purchase these discounted items, visit the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace, select ‘Featured’, scroll down to ‘Special Offers’, then select ‘See All’ and look for the savings.