National Championship Air Races Will Arrive in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on October 13
Sim Update 6.1 is available on all platforms, while iniBuilds has shown more of its upcoming A380 Airliner.
National Championship Air Races will arrive in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on October 13, giving players a confirmed date for the new racing mode. The timing was confirmed in the September 3 weekly briefing following the mode’s public preview at gamescom 2026.
At gamescom 2026 in Cologne, attendees tried four-player private lobby races at the XBOX booth. The four fastest racers, with one winner selected each day from Thursday through Sunday, received remote-control P-51 Mustang prizes.
More Microsoft Flight Simulator announcements from gamescom
The XBOX broadcast also confirmed that City Update 16: Italy and Local Legend 25: Heinkel He 70 Blitz are available now. Lufthansa’s 100 Years liveries are also in development and will arrive at a later time.
Sim Update 6.1 is now available across all platforms. Version 1.8.16.0 is a small follow-up that addresses issues identified after Sim Update 6 launched three weeks earlier. The previous update’s release was covered in our Sim Update 6 coverage.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 6.1 patch notes
Sim Update 6.1 focuses on maintenance rather than new content. The briefing identifies the following scope for version 1.8.16.0.
- Version: 1.8.16.0
- Availability: All platforms
- Changes: Fixes for a few issues identified since the release of Sim Update 6
New aircraft and the upcoming A380
FlightFX has released V2 of its Cessna Citation X through the in-sim Marketplace. The free update includes improvements and fixes across the business jet, with version 2.1.4 identified as the current changelog release.
Got Friends also released the Taylorcraft BC-12D on all platforms for both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020). The aircraft is the team’s final release for the older simulator, allowing future projects to focus on features such as walkaround mode, avatars, new physics, environmental effects, and newer SDK tools.
The Taylorcraft includes a Craft Pad for changing avionics, equipment, propeller setup, and realism options. Got Friends also highlighted the aircraft’s flight model and its Continental A-65 engine, along with feedback from Taylorcraft and A-65 pilots who recognized the behavior of their aircraft.
Meanwhile, iniBuilds provided a detailed look at its upcoming A380 Airliner. The presentation covered the aircraft’s exterior walk-around, high-fidelity systems, quality-of-life features, and functioning showers as the team continues work toward launch.
Community Fly-In Friday is continuing the sixth-anniversary circumnavigation of Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020). After starting in Bordeaux and completing three eastbound stages, the group has reached Chongqing, China, with Fukuoka, Japan, next on the route.
Will you take part in National Championship Air Races when it launches on October 13? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, 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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