Microsoft has released the 40th Anniversary Edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator adding two realistic helicopters with 14 heliports, two gliders with 15 new glider airports, a true-to-life Airbus A310-300 and seven iconic historic aircraft, including the Hughes H-4 Hercules.

Four classic airports have also been introduced along with missions from the franchise’s past. The update also introduces technical advancements in flight dynamics and improvements to the DirectX 12 graphics engine.

The Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition is available as a free update for existing players.

Classic aircraft:

• 1903 Wright Flyer
• 1915 Curtiss JN-4 Jenny
• 1927 Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis
• 1935 Douglas DC-3
• 1937 Grumman G-21 Goose
• 1947 Havilland DHC-2 Beaver
• 1947 Hughes H-4 Hercules.

Helicopters:

• Guimbal Cabri G2
• Bell 407.

Gliders:
DG Aviation LS8-18
DG-1001E neo

Airliner:

• Airbus A310-300.

Airports:

• Hong Kong Kai Tak
• Meigs Field in Chicago
• Princess Juliana International in Sint Maarten
• First Flight Airport, Kitty Hawk.

Classic activities from previous Flight Simulator titles:

• First Flight at Kitty Hawk
• San Juan Island Run
• 1st US Airmail Route, 1918
• Aleutian Cargo Run
• Grand Canyon Scenic Tour
• Transcontinental Speed Record
• The Hell Stretch, 1918
• Charles Lindbergh, New York to Paris
• Hawai’ian Vacation
• Flying blind across the channel
• Meigs Field
• Spruce Goose
• Rome-Naples Airline Run
• Sitka Approach
• Monsoon
• Caribbean Landing
• Hong Kong at Dusk
• Waimea Canyon
• Mount Rushmore
• Miami by Moonlight
• San Francisco Sunset
• Mendenhall Glacier Tour
• 1950: Frontier Airlines
• Alaskan Floatplane Pilot

Tutorial missions for Gliders:

• Aerotow
• Winch Launch Training
• Winch Launch Training, Advanced
• Basic Handling
• Slipping Approach and Landing
• Thermal Identification
• Ridge Soaring.

New features

• Live traffic has been updated with various quality-of-life fixes
• New memory defragmentation system for DX12
• Supports new NVIDIA technologies such as DLSS3 and Reflex on supported graphics cards
• Improved atmospheric simulation with a focus on thermals
• New CFD airflow display visualisation for aircraft that are CFD-enabled
• 3D thermal visualisation can be enabled on the weather panel.

More information is available on the Microsoft Flight Simulator website.