Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Will Add 5 Air Racing Classes on October 13
The event will bring together the Reno and Roswell Air Races, plus a wear-and-tear system and a new 1 vs. 1 STOL drag race.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will add the National Championship Air Races on October 13, 2026. The upcoming event will combine the classic Reno Air Races with the newer Roswell Air Races in a multi-lap competition featuring 5 different aircraft classes.
The Microsoft Flight Simulator Team announced the new content on August 27 in its National Championship Air Races announcement. The event will also introduce a wear-and-tear system, giving the races a mechanical layer beyond simply keeping the aircraft inside the pylons.
Here is the release date trailer for the air racing content:
5 classes are planned for the air races
The racing lineup covers several very different types of aircraft. Each class will feature its own signature plane:
- Unlimited Class with the P-51 Mustang
- T-6 Class with the North American T-6 Texan
- Biplane Class with the Aviat Pitts Special S1S
- Jet Class with the Aero Vodochody L-39
- STOL Class with a new 1 vs. 1 drag-race format
The STOL Class will be the biggest format change in the lineup. Instead of joining the multi-lap races, pilots will face another aircraft directly in a one-on-one drag race. It will be a very different kind of test, with no room for a sleepy launch.
To build the aircraft and event recreations, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team worked with the Reno Air Racing Association and dozens of pilots and owners. The announcement confirms the wear-and-tear system, but the team has not yet detailed how it will affect individual aircraft during a race.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PS VR2, and Steam. It is also available through Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming on supported phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs.
Which class will you try first when the National Championship Air Races arrive? Tell us what you think in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Developed by Asobo Studio
Pursue your dream of an aviation career with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. This brand-new simulator is designed to take advantage of the latest technologies in simulation, cloud, machine learning, graphics and gaming to create the most sophisticated, immersive and awe-inspiring flight simulator of all time. To achieve this unprecedented level of accuracy, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is powered by the significantly evolved Asobo Studio engine.
- Genre Simulator
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation VR2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Perspective First person, Third person, Virtual Reality
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer
- Release November 19, 2024
- Publisher Xbox Game Studios
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