Microsoft has opened beta testing for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 7. The first test build, version 1.9.10.0, confirms that the upcoming National Championship Air Races will be part of SU7 while introducing fixes for aircraft, ATC, Career Mode, traffic and developer tools.
The biggest confirmation in the initial release notes concerns the National Championship Air Races.
Microsoft says the new racing mode will be released as part of Sim Update 7 and will become available for beta testing in an upcoming flighting build. The racing content itself is not included in version 1.9.10.0, but several changes in the current beta appear to prepare the simulator for its arrival.
The complete National Championship Air Races experience is scheduled to launch on October 13. It will combine traditional Reno-style pylon racing with a new Roswell venue, five racing classes and a head-to-head STOL drag-racing format.
Three aircraft connected to the upcoming racing experience receive attention in the first SU7 beta.
The North American P-51 Mustang gains missing exterior and cockpit collision models along with fixes for canopy-glass flickering, shading and level-of-detail issues. The Aviat Pitts Special S1S receives improvements to ground contact, canopy interactions and its passive aircraft models.
Microsoft has also corrected the tinted canopy glass on the Aero Vodochody L-39, making it clearer and more consistent with real-world references.
Those aircraft represent the Unlimited, Biplane and Jet classes of the upcoming race mode.
The beta also adds a 10-percent margin above an aircraft’s never-exceed speed, or Vne, before excessive velocity may cause a crash. That adjustment could prove especially useful once pilots begin pushing racing aircraft toward their mechanical limits.
New Black-Box Recording System Added
Sim Update 7 introduces a new black-box system designed to record events within the simulator’s aircraft systems and allow developers to review them afterward.
The electrical system is the first area to receive black-box records. While this is primarily a development and troubleshooting tool, it could help aircraft creators identify failures, track unexpected system behavior and diagnose problems reported by users.
Microsoft has also expanded the pneumatic and environmental-control systems with new variables for external air-start and air-conditioning units. Turbine-engine developers gain another variable allowing external control of commanded N1.
These changes may not immediately affect every simmer, but they give aircraft and ground-service developers additional tools for creating more detailed systems and airport operations.
ATC, Career Mode and Traffic Fixes
The first beta includes several smaller but useful corrections across the simulator.
ATC should once again display the option to request takeoff clearance when a hold-short line is positioned unusually close to the middle of a runway. Microsoft has also adjusted the logic used to select or generate aircraft registration numbers.
Career Mode receives a fix for parking assignments unexpectedly changing as rotorcraft reach their designated spaces. The update also corrects a briefing-screen shortcut that appeared when the free camera was unavailable.
Airport traffic should behave more reliably, with fixes for AI aircraft parking in taxiways or stopping only halfway inside assigned parking positions. Ground aircraft should also be less likely to clip through one another.
Additional corrections cover the Garmin G1000 NXi, world-map airport selection, photo-mode overlays, aircraft lighting, cameras, accessibility and several simulator crashes.
Remember That This Is a Beta
As with any test release, pilots should expect unfinished features, regressions and compatibility problems.
Microsoft specifically warns that outdated Community-folder packages may cause unexpected performance or stability issues. Anyone participating in the beta who encounters crashes or unusually long loading times should temporarily move Community packages outside the simulator before testing again.
Pilots should also back up important controller profiles and configuration files before joining a beta build.
The first build is mainly a foundation for what comes next. The update’s most anticipated feature—the National Championship Air Races—will arrive in a future beta, giving pilots their first opportunity to test the new racing experience ahead of its October release.
