This month Microsoft celebrates the 40th anniversary of the beloved flight simulation software with a huge update to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. The new update brings some new aircraft and airports to the game. Headlining the update are some of the most iconic aircraft from history. The Wright Flyer, the Spirit of Saint Lewis, and the Hughes H-4 Hercules ‘Spruce Goose’ will be coming to the flight simulator. A trailer has been released for the new update. The Wright Flyer made history by being the first-ever aircraft to make a sustained flight on December 17, 1903. The plane was created by the brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The aircraft nicknamed Kitty Hawk flew for just 12 seconds with a total distance of 120ft for its maiden voyage. The Wright brothers managed to fly the aircraft for an additional four attempts with the longest being 59 seconds. Kitty Hawk was destroyed after a strong gust of wind picked it up and tumbled it end over end. The aviators learned a lot from the maiden voyage and applied it to the next versions of the aircraft. The Spirit of St. Louis is an iconic aircraft that made the first non-stop transatlantic flight. The plane was piloted by Charles Lindbergh and took off from Long Island, New York, and landed in Paris, France. The voyage took over 33 hours to complete. The Hughes H-4 Hercules nicknamed ‘Spruce Goose’ was built as a transport aircraft for the US War Department. Designed and built by Howard Hughes and Hughes Aviation, the massive plane was built mostly with wood. The plane is one of the largest aircraft ever built and is even larger than the renowned Antonov AN 225. Also added to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 are the Douglas DC-3, De Havilland Canada DHC-2-Beaver, Curtiss JN-4 “Canuck”, and Grumman G-21 Goose. The Douglas DC-3 made a lasting impact on the commercial aviation we know today. The massive update adds the Bell-407 and Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopters as well as the DG Flugzeugbau LG8-18 and DG Flugzeugbau DG1001E Neo gliders. There is also an authentic recreation of the Airbus A310 included in the update. The anniversary update also adds fourteen heliports, fifteen glider airports, and four classic commercial airports to the game. Twenty-four new classic missions from past versions of the flight simulator have been added to the game. The Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 40th Anniversary update is now available for download from the in-game content manager. The update is free for all Flight Sim 2020 owners on PC and Xbox Series X/S. The flight simulator is included in the Xbox Game Pass for those who want to try it out. The full patch notes can be found here.
