Instead, pilots must rely on the air around them to contribute both velocity and lift to their airframes. That’s because these aircraft don’t actually have an engine at all. Gliders require even more subtlety to simulate virtually. That style of flight requires a completely different and far more complex physics simulation, hence the November update. The rotors can be adjusted so that the axis of lift can be tilted forward and back, or side to side, to impart velocity onto the vehicle. While the vehicle itself remains still, the helicopter’s engine spins its wings - called rotors - around the airframe to generate lift. Rotary-wing aircraft including helicopters work very differently. It’s called the “Fluid Dynamics Simulation” module, and it’s incredibly important for the implementation of two new types of aircraft: helicopters and gliders.įixed-wing aircraft - the majority of which can be piloted in Microsoft Flight Simulator currently - generate lift by flying into the wind, using the powerful thrust generated by an engine to create forward velocity that pulls an airplane off the ground and into the air. It will include a number of new aircraft, including those mentioned above, as well as a huge improvement to its already robust physics system. Microsoft Flight Simulator’s 40th Anniversary Edition will be a free upgrade for the base game. But, fundamentally speaking, can we? Should we? I think we should.” “I have to sign a deal and that’s going to take a while. “I flew to Washington and had that exact conversation with people who actually have a Space Shuttle,” Neumann told Polygon in an interview. Speaking with Polygon just a few days before, Neumann also revealed that he and his team are contemplating an even bigger addition - Space Shuttle Discovery. Louis and the Wright Flyer to the game come November.

The stated goal was to promote the game’s 40th anniversary update, which will add iconic aircraft like the Spirit of St. In a recent behind-the-scenes video, head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann took a field trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Microsoft flight sim space