The new package was revealed during Gamescom and introduces five race classes, a new wear-and-tear system, and, for the first time in Microsoft Flight Simulator air racing, a STOL class with 1-vs-1 drag racing.
Reno Meets Roswell
Microsoft says the new National Championship Air Races experience combines the legacy of the Reno races with the newer Roswell event.
That is significant because Reno defined modern air racing for decades, while Roswell became the new home of the National Championship Air Races after the end of regular racing at Reno-Stead Airport. Microsoft had already teased the Roswell connection earlier this year, but the Gamescom announcement finally put a release date on the package.
For simmers who remember the original Reno Air Races expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this is not simply the same package dragged into MSFS 2024 with shinier textures.
Microsoft is expanding the concept.
Five Race Classes
The National Championship Air Races will include five different race classes:
- Unlimited Class, featuring the P-51 Mustang
- T-6 Class, featuring the North American T-6 Texan
- Biplane Class, featuring the Aviat Pitts Special S1S
- Jet Class, featuring the Aero Vodochody L-39
- STOL Class, featuring a new head-to-head drag-racing format
The first four classes will be familiar to anyone who flew the earlier Reno expansion.
The STOL class is the new ingredient.
STOL Drag Racing Comes to MSFS
Microsoft says the STOL class will introduce a 1-vs-1 drag-race experience, marking the first time that format has appeared in its air-racing content.
That should create a very different type of competition from traditional pylon racing.
Instead of eight aircraft screaming around a closed course inches apart, STOL racing is about acceleration, precision, braking, and getting airborne and back on the ground as quickly as possible.
In other words, the aircraft may be slower, but the room for embarrassment could be significantly higher.
A New Wear-and-Tear System
The other major addition is a wear-and-tear system.
Microsoft says the National Championship Air Races will be more realistic than previous implementations because aircraft will now accumulate wear during racing.
The company has not yet published a detailed technical breakdown of how the system will work, so it is not clear how deeply mechanical deterioration will be simulated.
But the concept is interesting.
Air racing is brutal on machinery.
Engines spend long periods at extreme power settings, airframes are subjected to high loads, and pilots live very close to the edge of what the aircraft can tolerate.
Bringing some of that mechanical consequence into the simulator could make race strategy more interesting than simply holding the throttle against the stop until something spectacular happens.
Microsoft Worked With Real Racers
Microsoft says it worked closely with the Reno Air Racing Association along with dozens of aircraft owners and pilots to recreate the racing aircraft represented in the sim.
That continues the approach used in the original Reno expansion.
For that earlier project, Microsoft created high-definition scans of 40 real race aircraft and consulted directly with pilots and crews to capture their handling and appearance.
The original package included famous racers such as Voodoo, Strega, Baron’s Revenge and American Spirit.
Microsoft has not yet published the complete aircraft lineup for the new National Championship Air Races package, so we do not yet know exactly how many individual racers or liveries will be included this time.
The Unlimited Class Returns
For many air-racing fans, the headline act remains the Unlimited Class.
These are heavily modified piston-powered racers where classic aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang are pushed far beyond the performance levels their original designers ever intended.
Historically, Unlimited racers have reached speeds exceeding 500 mph around the pylons.
Microsoft notes that the P-51 Mustang will again represent the Unlimited Class in the new package.
That means Merlin-powered noise, absurdly low altitude, and a healthy disregard for the concept of leisurely sightseeing are all coming back.
The T-6 Class
The North American T-6 Texan returns for the T-6 Class.
Unlike the extensively modified Unlimited racers, the T-6 category places greater emphasis on relatively similar aircraft, making pilot skill and racecraft especially important.
The Texan is also one of those aircraft that sits beautifully between trainer and warbird.
It is fast enough to be exciting, heavy enough to demand respect, and loud enough to make subtlety someone else’s problem.
Biplanes Stay in the Fight
The Biplane Class will again feature the Pitts Special S1S.
Microsoft previously described the biplanes as among the most challenging racing aircraft to fly because of their agility and demanding handling.
Their races are slower than the Unlimited category, but the tighter courses and twitchier aircraft can make them every bit as intense.
For virtual pilots who enjoy constantly correcting something with both hands and both feet, the Pitts should feel right at home.
Jet Racing Returns With the L-39
The Aero Vodochody L-39 returns as the representative of the Jet Class.
Jet racing offers a very different experience from the piston categories.
The aircraft are smoother, faster, and carry energy differently through turns.
That means poor line selection can punish a pilot several corners later rather than immediately.
The L-39 was part of Microsoft’s original Reno package and is returning for the new National Championship Air Races.
Multiplayer Should Be a Major Part of the Experience
Microsoft has not yet published a full multiplayer feature list for the October release, but air racing has historically been built around head-to-head competition.
The original Reno expansion introduced competitive multiplayer racing to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Given that the new package includes multiple race classes and a dedicated 1-vs-1 STOL format, multiplayer competition is clearly going to remain central to the experience.
That should make this one of the more social pieces of MSFS 2024 content arriving this year.
Why This Is More Interesting Than Another Aircraft Pack
Microsoft Flight Simulator has no shortage of aircraft.
What it has fewer of are structured activities that give those aircraft something specific to do.
Air racing changes the simulator from an open-ended flying environment into an actual competition.
There are rules.
There are opponents.
There is a course.
And there is someone else trying very hard to arrive at the same patch of sky before you do.
That gives the National Championship Air Races a different kind of replay value from a traditional aircraft or scenery release.
Roswell Gives the Event a New Identity
The real-world National Championship Air Races began a new chapter in Roswell, New Mexico, after the long-running Reno event came to an end.
Microsoft acknowledged the inaugural Roswell event in September 2025 and has now incorporated Roswell into the upcoming racing package.
That helps the new MSFS 2024 version reflect the current state of the sport rather than simply preserving Reno as a digital time capsule.
Reno remains part of the package.
But Roswell represents where the sport is going next.
Coming October 13
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s National Championship Air Races will launch on October 13, 2026 for MSFS 2024.
Microsoft has not yet announced pricing in the official August 27 release, so that remains one of the major unanswered questions.
We also still need a complete aircraft roster, details about how the wear-and-tear system works, and a clearer picture of how Reno and Roswell will be structured inside the package.
But the basic proposition is already pretty compelling.
Five racing classes.
Classic Reno pylon racing.
A new Roswell setting.
STOL drag racing.
And aircraft that may no longer appreciate being run at full power indefinitely.
For MSFS 2024 pilots who think normal traffic patterns could use a few more pylons and several hundred additional horsepower, October 13 could be a very good day.
