Beginners Guides for Flight Simulator 2024
For all the newcomers to flight simulation that have arrived over the Christmas period, a few beginners guides to operating and flying some of the stock aircraft in the simulator.
Whether you unwrapped a brand new flight simulator this holiday season, finally invested in that joystick you’ve been eyeing, or just discovered the incredible world of virtual aviation, you’re in for an amazing journey.
Taking the controls for the first time can feel a bit like stepping into a real cockpit – exciting, but also a little overwhelming! With so many buttons, switches, and procedures, figuring out how to get off the ground (and land safely!) can seem daunting.
That’s why I set out some months ago to put together a series of beginner-friendly video guides focusing on the stock aircraft found right out of the box in your simulator. These aren’t about complex IFR routes or intricate systems management; they’re designed to help you understand the basics: how to start up, taxi, take off, navigate, and yes, even land some of the most iconic planes in your hangar.
I’ve also written up a number of functional procedures - which you can buy from Ko-Fi for about the price of a cup of coffee - guiding you through where to look, what to press, what to turn, and so on - to get the aircraft ready for flight.
So, grab your headset, settle into your virtual cockpit, and let’s get you airborne!
Starting the Cessna 172 Classic
A beginners guide to starting and flying the Cessna 172 “Classic” (with analogue instruments) in Flight Simulator 2024. We’re at C56 Sanger airfield, Illinois, USA. The airfield comes with all versions of Flight Simulator 2024. The classic C172 comes with the deluxe, deluxe premium, and aviator versions of Flight Simulator 2024, and is available in the basic version from the marketplace within the simulator.
To start the aircraft, I follow a written functional procedure that breaks everything down into “where to look”, “what switches to flick”, “what levers to pull” and so on - it doesn’t cover everything a real-world pilot might do, but it does cover the basics, and can obviously be extended as you learn more.
You can get a copy of the functional procedure from the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/13ffd29910
Starting the Cessna 172 with Garmin G1000
A beginners guide to starting and flying the Cessna 172 G1000 (with the glass cockpit) in Flight Simulator 2024. We're at C56 Sanger airfield, Illinois, USA. Both the airfield and aircraft come with all versions of Flight Simulator 2024.
To start the aircraft, I follow a written functional procedure that breaks everything down into "where to look", "what switches to flick", "what levers to pull" and so on - it doesn't cover everything a real-world pilot might do, but it does cover the basics, and can obviously be extended as you learn more.
You can get a copy of the functional procedure from the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/6e9d35a99b
This video demonstrates a basic circuit around the airfield, and emphasises the importance of simplifying concerns for new pilots - not trying to do too much at once. We take off, we climb to pattern altitude, we turn to the reciprocal of the runway direction, we fly down-wind while maining speed and altitude, then we turn back towards the runway, descend, slow down, deploy the flaps, and land.
Basic Airmanship Exercises
A run through of some basic airmanship exercises you can practice in Flight Simulator 2024 if you’re just starting out.
In the session we take the Asobo Cessna G1000 for a flight from C56 Sanger, Illinois, and talk about or demonstrate why aircraft pull left, what the mixture lever does, level flight, climbing, descending, standard rate turns, climbing turns, descending turns, steep turns, slow flight, stalls, and then a little bit about “the pattern”.
There’s obviously a lot more to cover about each of these subjects, but the take-away should really be about practicing flying aircraft in an accurate, controlled, and predictable manner - which will serve you well when it comes to flying in controlled airspaces, or under instrument conditions.
To start the aircraft, I follow a written functional procedure that breaks everything down into “where to look”, “what switches to flick”, “what levers to pull” and so on - it doesn’t cover everything a real-world pilot might do, but it does cover the basics, and can obviously be extended as you learn more.
You can get a copy of the functional procedure from the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/6e9d35a99b
Stalls and Spins
A beginners guide to stalling and spinning the Justflight PA38 Tomahawk in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
In the session we take the Tomahawk for a flight from C56 Sanger, Illinois, and talk about and demonstrate stalling and spinning the aircraft - looking at low speed stalls, incipient spins, and fully developed spins.
There’s obviously a lot more to cover about each of these subjects, but the take-away should really be about practicing worst case scenarios in the simulator to test out your judgement, planning, and decision making skills.
To start the aircraft, I follow a written functional procedure that breaks everything down into “where to look”, “what switches to flick”, “what levers to pull” and so on - it doesn’t cover everything a real-world pilot might do, but it does cover the basics, and can obviously be extended as you learn more.
You can get a copy of the functional procedure from the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/2460f9e437
Programming the Garmin G1000
Today we take the Cessna 172 Skyhawk for a flight from Mackay to Hamilton in Australia - but the purpose of the flight isn’t really to fly the plane - it’s to show you how to programme the G1000 by hand - including departure airport, destination airport, en-route waypoints, and procedures (SIDs, STARs and Approaches).
I have prepared a step-by-step guide to most of the functions in the Garmin G1000 - you can download a copy here:
https://ko-fi.com/s/8d167d5596
Radio Navigation with the Garmin G1000
Today we're taking the trusty Cessna 172 with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite for a flight from Denham to London City, via the Bovingdon, Brookmans Park, and Lambourne VOR stations, before shooting an ILS approach into London City - all in the pursuit of showing you how radio navigation works.
The same principles apply in all aircraft that have NAV radios - so learning about Horizontal Situation Indicators (HSI), Course Deviation Indicators (CDI), Glideslopes (GS) and Localisers (LOC) will be valuable should you ever find yourself in IMC conditions with no GPS (of if you just want to practice, as I often do).
Radio Navigation with Analogue Instruments
Today we take a look at radio navigation using analogue instruments with the basic Cessna 172 that comes with the higher editions of Flight Simulator 2024, and is available from the marketplace for the more basic versions.
We explore VOR navigation - flying radials into and out of VOR stations, we look at ILS, and we also look at ADF/NDB navigation - allowing us to fly arcs around non directional beacons.
Starting, configuring, and flying the Airbus A320 V2
In response to several requests from subscribers, and in the spirit of continuing the “beginners guide” series I’ve been recording recently, today we’re looking at the Inibuilds Airbus A320 V2 that comes with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. We take the aircraft from cold and dark at Stansted Airport, then fly it to Dublin. We programme the route both through Simbrief, and manually, and then fly the route - explaining as much as we can along the way.
To prepare the aircraft for flight, I follow my own hand-written functional start-up procedure - you can get a copy from the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/0c3f36f491
Starting, configuring, and flying the Boeing 737-8 Max
Following on from my recent beginners guide to the Airbus A320 V2, today we’re looking at the Boeing 737-8 Max in Flight Simulator 2024 - starting it from cold and dark on the ground at Stansted Airport, then starting it, configuring it (programming the route by hand), flying it, and landing it at Dublin, Ireland.
Along the way we look at the various cockpit systems, guidance systems, and how we can control the aircraft during both climb, and descent.
To start the aircraft up I follow a hand-written functional procedure of my own design that goes through the essentials to start and prepare the aircraft for flight - telling you where to look, what to press, what to turn, what to switch, and so on. You can get a copy at the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/42f02de13a
Starting, configuring, and flying the Boeing 747-8
Today we work through a beginners guide to both starting and flying the Boeing 747 8 “Jumbo Jet” in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. It comes with the simulator, and while not perhaps as accurately modelled as some of the commercial aircraft, it’s still fun.
Along the way we look at flight planning, the EFB within the Asobo aircraft, the free Lufthansa flight charts, and the various guidance systems on-board.
In the video I work through a functional checklist to get the aircraft started - that tells you where to look, what to click, and so on to get the aircraft started in a somewhat correct manner. You can obviously extend it with further steps if you wish, but it covers the basics. You can download a copy from the link below:
https://ko-fi.com/s/c6f47f0819
Starting, configuring, and flying the Daher TBM 930
Today we work through starting the Asobo Daher TBM 930 in Flight Simulator 2024, and take it for a short flight - explaining how it works along the way. Mistakes are made along the way, but that’s part of the fun - every day is a school day. We also illustrate (quite unintentionally) why written procedures are really useful (I manage to talk and skip steps once again).
To start the aircraft up I follow my own check-list, which differs quite considerably from the checklist built into the aircraft. You can get a copy from the following URL:
https://ko-fi.com/s/daddb9797e
Starting, configuring, and flying the Citation CJ4
A beginners guide to starting and flying the Asobo Cessna Citation CJ4 in Flight Simulator 2024 - one of the most capable, reliable, versatile, and accessible aircraft in the simulator. In the video I work through starting the aircraft from cold and dark, and then take it for a short flight from Sedona, to Love Field in Arizona.
To start the aircraft from cold and dark, I follow a written functional procedure of my own design that tells you where to look, what to press, and how to configure the cockpit at every step of the way. You can download a copy of the procedure here:
https://ko-fi.com/s/0e3a81aaac
Starting, configuring, and flying the Citation Longitude
A beginners guide to starting and flying the Asobo Cessna Citation Longitude in Flight Simulator 2024 - one of the most capable, reliable, versatile, and accessible aircraft in the simulator. In the video I work through starting the aircraft from cold and dark, and then take it for a short flight from Sedona, to Love Field in Arizona.
To start the aircraft from cold and dark, I follow a written functional procedure of my own design that tells you where to look, what to press, and how to configure the cockpit at every step of the way. You can download a copy of the procedure here: