MSFS (2020/2024) Tips and Tricks Forum

Squirrel has a Youtube video showing a longer and more difficult method to create such a flight plan. He edits coordinates in .pln and .flt files using a text editor. But none of that is actually necessary using this quicker method. For any street address, (let's say 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue): Open google maps, type in address on the left and then right click on the location icon on the map over on the right, then click "What's Here". That will show you the coordinates of that street address, click on it. That will place the coordinates over on the left of Google Maps nav box, right mouse click on it and select Copy (or Control C). Paste those coo…

Just thought I'd post this link here for those that haven't seen it. Explains all the Camera and View settings and keys, what they do, etc. Straight from Microsoft. https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016003159-Camera-Overview

You can use a free camera mode in MSFS without using a drone mode in similar way to X-Plane free camera mode `c`. You can achieve this by using the developer camera, to do this: You need to enable the Developer mode from the general settings in the sim. Start your normal flight, once you are loaded, in the top down menu, there is a Camera menu, press that and then choose Developer Camera. You can control the camera either from your keyboard or from your mouse by holding Alt + (left, middle or right) mouse button to control the camera. The mouse controls can be summarised like this: Holding Alt + Left mouse button controls the orbit's camera. …

Thanks to RALPH9636 for the tip on Joystick Curves. https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/583617-improving-control-sensitivities-with-joystick-curves/ There are two joystick drivers recommended on the Joystick Curves web site. I recommend the one by Shaul Eizikovich. It has a monitor that shows what is happening with the joystick's axes. For some reason, for "Yaw" on the Source (Physical Device) left side , Destination (Virtual Joystick) needs to be set to "Throttle", not "Yaw." Another problem: I couldn't find a way to set my joystick's buttons using Joystick Curves. So I created a joystick profile using FSUIPC7 in which only the buttons are implemented. …

It is possible to configure Active Pause to another key/key combination using Keyboard configuration: Controls>Keyboard>Menu>Toggle Active Pause. I chose Cntrl-Shft-P. Be sure you have the Filter set to "All."

I have a gaming laptop that does not have a "pause" key -- so was unable to use Active Pause (which is very useful). Since the pause key does not generate a 4 place scan code, it cannot be easily remapped. Programs such as smartkeys will not do it. I cannot fit a separate keyboard into the space....so I spent $24 to purchase a six button item on Amazon that will generate six specific keys or key sequences. Its software is VERY easy to use. I now have it programmed for ENTER, ESC, HOME, END, PAUSE and one other item--but it could be used for an key or combination. The pad is tine and it can be pressed by touch. The company that makes it is iKKEGOL, and it is called the…

I notice that default trees are still too big in MSFS2020. They are often way too much in both length and how much they stretch out over roads and buildings. On my favorite airfields the trees on short final are way to massive compared to the real thing. But there is an easy way to fix that: 1. Locate the file 10_asobo_species.XML . It will reside in your fs-base/vegetation folder. 2. Make a backup copy of the original file in case you need to roll-back your changes. 3. Edit 10_asobo_species.XML in notepad (or your non-intrusive text editor of choice) 4. You will find a list of all vegetation species and their characteristics. Change the entries of t…

I had the problem with my X45 calibrating fine in Windows 10, but in the sim the X & Y axes are stuck full to one side. I had this problem in DCS a few years ago and the same solution works here. Make sure you have the x45 legacy drivers from Saitek. ============================================== First remove the USB plug for your controller from the PC. Press and hold the Windows key on your keyboard and then press the letter R. This will open the Run box. Type regedit and then click ok. The Registry Editor will have a list of folders on the left hand side. Go down into the following folders in order by clicking the + next to the folder name. +…

I remember reading somewhere that MSFS only allowed the original purchaser to use it under their profile. This is not true. I have a Windows 10 Pro computer with multiple local user accounts set up for other family members. I bought the Steam version of MSFS and installed to E:\Games\MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR\ To set up another family member, I logged onto their local user account and had Steam place a shortcut for it on their desktop. After launching by clicking the shortcut, point the install path to the install location you used under the main user account This location needs to be available to all users so if it's under c:\users\username\ it ma…

There is a freeware app called Joystick Curves which allows you to customize the control sensitivities much more extensively than the simple in-game slider. You can set all kinds of curves or just reduce the senstivity linearly - or have a combination of both. https://www.xedocproject.com/joystickcurves.html Using this app I got rid of all my control sensitivity issues without having to touch the flight_model.cfg files. Tutorial to be found here:

This is the link to the MSF official forum with the fix to fps in glass cockpits that works for many of us. This tweak is downloadable and you place it in your community folder. You do not need to modify official files. https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/small-js-config-file-mod-to-gain-10-15-fps-in-airliners-and-glass-cockpit-planes/221308

I found that you can plug or unplug a joystick safely, as long as you hit the ESC button first, and ESC again to resume.

I couldn't find a complete list of available key commands, only lists of default commands, so I created one using the sim's in-game key command menu as a reference. I did this by hand, so I can't guarantee there are no typos ;). It should be pretty accurate though. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oa9MTE7uvwXwY_qu4ds7YASO5c0Hpt9uLOYlwJlJtyE/edit?usp=sharing

No more reshade with Nvidia post processing. Tutorial :

A tech alpha insider gathered 50 tips that that apparently helped others to reduce stuttering. Alas for him, all to no avail. But who knows one or more of the tips can help you. https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/solution-for-stutters-pauses/198328

So I prefer to store my flight simulation flights and flight plan files in an easy to find location. So I create folders near the root folder of my 1 TB d: drive. I am now creating my flight plans at Skyvector, importing them into LittleNavMap, and then saving them as .pln files. When I load a .pln file in MSFS it starts me in the following folder: D:\WpSystem\S-1-5-21-4064563360-2683254180-3332666863-1001\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\ Certainly not easy to navigate to it to place my files there, and absolutely not what I want. So using a trick learned from Reality XP I went to my own preferred folder, copied the …

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My additional tip is: If you have a notebook or an ipad within the same (wlan) network as your MSFS computer, than you can also open a browser on it and use "http://<msfs-computer-ip>:9000". This opens the map on a second device!

This is a simple tweak/tip/trick to improve the CJ4 engine parameters. It's too long for a simple post, so I'm providing a direct link to the entire thread:

If you wish to use the autopilot functions of the sim in aircraft that lack autopilots, follow this procedure. Open the folder containing the folders and files for the aircraft you wish to modify. Under SimObjects>Airplanes>Asobo_NNN you will find a text file called "systems". Make a backup of this file before changing. Next, in the AUTOPILOT section of that file, Change "autopilot_available = 0" to "autopilot_available = 1". Save the file. You may now use keyboard shortcuts to activate and use autopilot functions for that aircraft. You may bind your own shortcuts, but here are some default controls to get you started: Autopilot on/off = z (au…

Many have commented that the default viewpoint is too low.. but you have to sort through a lot of forum posts to find that it is easily adjusted, once and for all. General Options / Cameras / Cockpit Try changing Height to 70 from 50, and Zoom to 55 from 50. If that is not right for you.. just change the values. Then, save and forget!

This is a series of posts containing some performance tables as well as some flying techniques. It's too long for a simple post, so I'm providing a direct link to the entire thread: