Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Adds 5 Air Racing Classes
The free expansion brings Reno and Roswell venues, five race formats, and optional engine wear, while a separate 40-aircraft pack costs $39.99.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024‘s National Championship Air Races are live as a free expansion through Sim Update 7, bringing Reno and Roswell venues and five race formats to the simulator. Four are pylon-racing classes, while STOL is a head-to-head drag event rather than another multi-lap race. The official overview covers the release and its race features.
Five race formats split between pylons and STOL
The pylon lineup pairs each class with a signature aircraft:
- Unlimited Class: P-51 Mustang
- T-6 Class: North American T-6 Texan
- Biplane Class: Aviat Pitts Special S1S
- Jet Class: Aero Vodochody L-39
- STOL Class: a one-on-one drag race
STOL racers face off on a 2,000-foot course, taking off, landing, turning around, then repeating the sequence within strict location and time limits. It asks for a different kind of precision than holding a line around a pylon circuit.
Pilots can race solo in Time Trials, host multiplayer events, or join established multiplayer races. An optional realism setting simulates wear and tear, with engines degrading based on pilot input. Push the throttle too hard and components can take damage, so managing power becomes part of the race rather than a detail to ignore.
A free expansion and a separate paid aircraft pack
Racer Pack 1 is a separate purchase from the free expansion. It adds 40 aircraft, with 10 for each pylon class. The roster includes the P-51D Mustang Strega, L-39C Albatros American Spirit, SNJ-4 Big Red, and Pitts S-1S Miss Diane.
The pack costs $39.99 through the in-sim Marketplace, Microsoft and Xbox stores, and Steam. Buyers can also purchase aircraft individually or choose class packs of 10.
Microsoft worked with the Reno Air Racing Association and dozens of pilots and aircraft owners on the event recreations. The team used thousands of reference photos and measurements for the courses, and 3D-scanned cockpits and other aircraft elements.
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 part of the new competition would you most like to try, the pylon races or the STOL takeoff-and-landing duel? For more on Microsoft Flight Simulator’s racing content and Marketplace additions, 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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