Hey everyone!
I have been working my way through the Microsoft Flight Simulator achievements and thought I’d make a little guide listing what I’ve discovered while trying to unlock each one.
Unfortunately, unlocking every achievement is currently impossible due to a combination of missing challenges and bugged achievements. But hopefully this guide will help you get the ones that can be unlocked.
Before you start hunting, make sure you turn assistance off, many achievements will only work when flying on hard difficulty, even ones who doesn’t mention such in the description. There are a few notable exceptions to this however, such as on the landmark and animal spotting achievements where visual aid must be enabled.
It is also worth nothing that some mods will prevent certain achievements from progressing, such as aircraft liveries.
I want to try and list any possible workarounds for bugged achievements and would truly appreciate comments, hopefully we can get a discussion going.
Here’s a summary of which achievements can be unlocked, and which are bugged to the point where you likely wont be able to unlock them. You can find a more detailed description of each achievement further below:
Unlockable Achievements:
By the Book
Start Me Up
Mother Nature
Fill 'er Up!
Challenge Accepted
Stay on Target
On the Green
Light Chop
Look ma, No Hands!
Wheels Up, Wheels Down
Job Shadowing
Back-Up Plan
Service with a Smile
Work for the Weekend
Deadstick Landing
Uphill Climb
Short Stuff
A Few Bumps
Road trip
Frequent Flyer Miles
Pilot Program
Goldrush
Anemoi
Fire and Ice
Instrumental
Night Owl
Century Club
Flight of Fancy
Hydroplaning
Greased
Journeyman
Jack of All Planes (deluxe version only)
Wing Commander
Rubberneck
In the Wild
Landmarks the Spot
Tour Guide
Completionist
World Traveler
SIDs and STARs
World Traveler
Bugged Achievements:
My Way
Saddle Sore
Inaccessible Achievements
Decathlon
The achievements below are listed based on the game score awarded from each, with the easiest ones listed first.
By the Book
Description: Request landing clearance from ATC at a towered airport, without using ATC assistance
Solution: Simply open the ATC window while in the air near an airport and request permission to land.
Start Me Up
Description : Manually start the Airbus A320Neo’s engines, without using Assistance
Solution: This can be done using the built in checklists for the airplane (accessible from the top menu by clicking on the checker marker) open the checklist and manual work your way through each step.
Mother Nature
Description : Adjust the weather during a flight
Solution: You can access the weather and time adjustments menu from the top menu bar during a flight. Simply select one of the pre-made weather settings from the drop down menu and the achievement should unlock.
Rubberneck
Description : Use the Smart Cam to view a star landmark for 3 seconds, from a distance of 550 yards or less
Solution: Just fly over to any star landmark on the map (you can spawn right next to one by selecting it on the world map and choosing it as your departure location) and use the smart cam (by pressing S on the keyboard) to view the landmark for 3 seconds at a close distance. Note that this only works when the Navigation Aid is enabled
Fill 'er Up!
Description : Refuel at any ground fuel station
Solution: Most airports have a fueling area, simply taxi your aircraft over to it and the refuel menu should pop up automatically, as will the achievement. Alternatively you can use the ATC to request a fuel truck
Challenge Accepted
Description : Complete any activity
Solution: This should unlock upon completing any of the two main types of activities, either do a landing challenge or a bush trip leg.
Stay on Target
Description : Use the Instrumental Landing System (ILS) to complete a landing
Solution: Land an aircraft using the ILS landing system, which you can access in all of the big airliners available in the game. If this is your first time hearing about ILS landings you will want to check out some online tutorials as it can be a bit tricky.
Known issues: This achievement doesn’t always unlock right away, and might require several tries. Make sure all assistance is turned off
On the Green
Description: Land on a grass runway, without using any assistance
Solution: Locate any grass runway on the world map, smaller airports are usually marked with a brown airport icon, such as MRSN / Sirena Station
Known issues: Several players have noted that this achievement doesn’t always unlock when landing on a grass runway, and sometimes it will unlock when landing on a regular runway. I managed to unlock it during one of the Nevada Bush Trip desert strips.
Light Chop
Description : Land at an airport where windspeeds are in excess of 5 knots, without using any assistance.
Solution: Make sure you turn all assistance off (hard) in the assistance menu which can be found under options. You can create your own weather preset or use one of the pre-build one from the dropdown menu in the weather settings. Alternatively you can fly some of the “Strong wind” landing challenges found in the activities section.
Look Ma, No Hands!
Description : Utilize autopilot for a total of 600 miles
Solution: Simply activate the autopilot on any aircraft that features one, and keep it on for 600 miles. I recommend using a bigger airliner to speed things up.
Wheels Up, Wheels Down
Description : Complete a non-stop flight of at least 300 miles from take-off to landing
Solution : Fairly simple, just fly 300 miles (260.000 nautical miles) or more between two airports, should be doable with any aircraft (even those who can’t raise and lower their wheels)
Job Shadowing
Description : Create a flight plan based on live traffic aircraft, then fly the route without assistance
Solution: Make sure to activate live traffic in the flight conditions menu, small green aircraft symbols should now show up on your world map (might take a few seconds to load) Select any of green aircraft and choose “create flight plan”, then all you have to do is to fly this flight plan. Make sure to turn off all flight assistance in the options menu before flying.
Known issues: This achievement will not unlock if any changes whatsoever is made to the flight plan after creating it. Changing the departure from the runway to a gate, or from VFR to IFR will prevent the achievement for unlocking
Back-Up Plan
Description : Utilize pre-flight pushback service to move aircraft, for a total distance of 1 mile
Solution: Make sure you spawn your aircraft at an airport gate or parking, you can access the pushback feature from the ATC and choosing “ground services”
Service with a Smile
Description : Request each type of pre-flight Ground Service while at an appropriate airport gate
Solution: Spawn your aircraft (you will want to use an airliner) at any airport gate and access the ground services from the ATC menu. You will need to request a catering service, luggage service, power supply, fuel supply, the jetway and the pushback truck. You will also need to spawn at an airport parking and request ramp connection.
In The Wild
Description : use the Smart Cam to view animals for 3 seconds, from a distance of 550 yards or less
Solution: Just like the Rubberneck achievement, this should be pretty simple. You can find animals by searching for “fauna” on the world map. Select the fauna as departure and choose fly. Locate the animals and use the smart cam (press S) for three seconds at a close distance. This only works when the Navigation Aid is enabled
Working for the Weekend
Description : Complete a weekly activity
Solution: You can find weekly activities under the spotlight event landing challenges on the main menu. Simply complete a landing and the achievement should unlock
Deadstick Landing
Description : After receiving landing clearance, switch off engines and successfully land on the runway.
Solution: After receiving landing clearance from the ATC, turn off your airplanes engines and complete the landing. This is easier to do in a smaller aircraft and you can turn the engines off whenever you like, even just before touching down.
My Way [Bugged]
Description : Complete a non-stop 300+ mile flight from parking to parking spot, without assistance
Solution: Complete a 300+ miles (260 Nautical miles) flight starting at a parking spot, and finishing at a parking spot on another airport with assistance turned off (hard) If you’re having trouble finding the correct parking spot or gate without using assistance, try locating the ground personnel that should be stationed at your assigned parking. The game usually recognize a flight as finished when engines and power has been turned off.
Known issues:
Players have been unable to unlock this achievement even if all requirements are met, there is currently no known workaround
Uphill Climb
Description : Land on a runway that has at least 12 degree incline, without using any assistance
Solution: There are several airports with this level of incline, the easiest one to locate would probably be the Bugalaga Airstrip (WX53) which is featured in the epic landing challenges. Make sure assistance is turned off.
Short Stuff
Description : Land on a runway shorter than 2000 feet without using any assistance or bypassing any travel
Solution: There are several short airstrips featured in the various challenges, including the SABA epic landing challenge and several of the smaller strips on the Nevada Bush trip.
A Few Bumps
Description : Land at an airport where windspeeds are in excess of 15 knots, without using any assistance
Solution: Just like with the “Light Chop” achievement, you can adjust the weather settings before flying or during a flight . You can also complete one of the strong winds landing challenges and the achievement should unlock
Road Trip
Description : Taxi aircraft for a total distance of 100 miles
Solution: Just as the description says, taxi for 100 miles and the achievement should unlock
Known issues: Many players have reported that this achievement keeps progressing while in the air, unlocking the achievement without having to do a whole lot of taxing.
Frequent Flyer Miles
Description : Fly from LFBD airport near Asobo Studios to KSEA airport near Microsoft HQ
Solution: This is a long flight, so make sure you plan ahead. Create a flight plan from LFBD in Bordeaux/France to KSEA in Seattle/USA. I recommend picking a Boeing 747 and fly IFR High Altitude Airways, as you want to cruise at a high altitude. Make sure you’re familiar with the autopilot before starting.
The total flight is around 9 hours, the achievement will unlock upon touchdown.
Known issues: Not an issue with the achievement itself, but because of the way fuel consumption works in MSFS, you will most likely run out of fuel before reaching your destination.
The achievement can be unlocked with the use of assistance so make sure you activate unlimited fuel, or use the refuel/repair hotkey.
It is not know weather landing midway for a refuel will break the achievement progress or not, the same goes for loading a save game, so I recommend doing the trip in one single session.
Pilot Program
Description : Accumulate 50 hours of flight time in a single pilot profile
Solution: Simply fly for 50 hours in total
Tour Guide
Description : Use the Smart Cam to View 25 landmarks, from a distance of 550 yards
Solution: Just like the rubberneck achievement, this should be fairly simple. Fly over to any landmark on the map (you can spawn right next to one by selecting it on the world map and choosing it as your departure location) and use the smart cam (by pressing S on the keyboard) to view the landmark for 3 seconds at a close distance.
Repeat this process for another 24 landmarks. Remember that this only works when the Navigation Aid is enabled, the achievement progress when viewing all landmarks, not just the ones with a star on the world map
Goldrush
Description : Complete the Nevada Bush Trip, without using any navigation assistance
Solution: The Nevada Bush trips takes about 9 hours to do and is divided up into 25 legs that can be done all at once or one at a time. There is no GPS onboard the Savage Cub so you will need to follow the hints closely, using the timer also helps. This can be a bit tricky in a few places but overall it’s fairly simple (and really fun!)
Make sure you don’t use the “Get me back on track” button on the VFR map, as this will disable the achievement
Known issues: You cannot refuel normally during bush trips, and since they’re fairly long you are destined to run out. To work around this you can use the refuel/repair hotkey (Ctrl + F12) to refuel the aircraft
Sometimes when landing at the correct airport the end screen wont trigger. Try taking off and landing again.
Progress that was made before the recent patch might have bugged the bush trip save games, making you unable to trigger the end screen on your next segment, deleting your bush trip save game and starting over should solve this
Anemoi
Description : Complete the Balkans Bush Trip, without using any navigation assistance
Solution: The Balkans Bush Trip takes about 8 hours to complete and is divided into 16 legs that can be completed all at once or one at a time. The Cessna 172 has a built in autopilot and GPS, making it significantly easier to complete than the Nevada Bush Trip
Make sure you don’t use the “Get me back on track” button on the VFR map, as this will disable the achievement
Known issues: You cannot refuel normally during bush trips, and since they’re fairly long you are destined to run out. To work around this you can use the refuel/repair hotkey (Ctrl + F12) to refuel the aircraft
Sometimes when landing at the correct airport the end screen wont trigger. Try taking off and landing again.
Progress that was made before the recent patch might have bugged the bush trip save games, making you unable to trigger the end screen on your next segment, deleting your bush trip save game and starting over should solve this
Fire and Ice
Description : Complete the Patagonia Bush Trip, without using any navigation assistance
Solution: the Patagonia Bush Trip takes about 7 hours and is divided into14 legs that can be completed all at once or one at a time. The X Club has a built in autopilot and GPS, making it significantly easier to complete than the Nevada Bush Trip
Make sure you don’t use the “Get me back on track” button on the VFR map, as this will disable the achievement
Known issues: You cannot refuel normally during bush trips, and since they’re fairly long you are destined to run out. To work around this you can use the refuel/repair hotkey (Ctrl + F12) to refuel the aircraft
Sometimes when landing at the correct airport the end screen wont trigger. Try taking off and landing again.
Progress that was made before the recent patch might have bugged the bush trip save games, making you unable to trigger the end screen on your next segment, deleting your bush trip save game and starting over should solve this.
Instrumental
Description : Accumulate 50 hours of IFR flight time, including at least one take-off and landing
Solution: You can create IFR flight plans by selecting High or Low altitude airways in the flight plan dropdown menu. Make sure to follow the ATC instructions throughout the entire flight as otherwise your IFR flight plan might get cancelled. It is assumed that your IFR hours won’t be counted until after successful landing.
Night Owl
Description : Accumulate 50 hours of flight time at night
Solution: Simply fly at night
Century Club
Description : Accumulate 100 hours of flight time in a single pilot profile
Solution: fly for 100 hours
Saddle Sore
Description : Complete a flight of at least 8 hours with a propeller or turbo-prop aircraft
Solution: Fly any propeller or turbo-prop aircraft for 8 hours straight, I recommend using a larger turbo-prop with a large fuel tank. Make sure you’re familiar with the aircraft autopilot before flying.
Known issues: None of the propeller aircraft are capable of flying for 8 hours straight without a refuel. A workaround is to use the refuel/repair hotkey (ctrl + F12)
Several players have reported that the achievement does not unlock upon completing an 8 hour flight
Flights of Fancy
Description : Complete flights of at least 300 miles using a prop, yet and airliner
Solution: Complete a non stop 300 miles (260 Nautical miles) flight from one airport to another using a prop, yet and airliner. Prop includes turbo props, so go with one of these if you want to speed things up. The Cessna citation is the only jet in the base game and the airliners include the Boeing 747, the Airbus A320neoand the Boeing 787 (deluxe edition only)
Known issues: Users have reported that miles aren’t counted when using custom liveries
Hydroplaning
Description : Accumulate 50 hours of flight time in rainy weather
Solution: Simply fly in or near rainy weather
Known issues: This achievement is known to progress even when not in rainy weather while using the live weather feature
Greased
Description : Complete every Landing Challenge
Solution: Complete all 24 landing challenges.
Landmarks the Spot
Description : Use the Smart Cam to view 100 star landmarks, from a distance of 550 yards or less
Solution: Just like the rubberneck achievement, this should be fairly simple. Fly over to any star landmark on the map (you can spawn right next to one by selecting it on the world map and choosing it as your departure location) and use the smart cam (by pressing S on the keyboard) to view the landmark for 3 seconds at a close distance. Repeat this process for another 99 landmarks. Just as with the other smart cam related achievements, this only works when the Navigation Aid is enabled
Known issues: Some users have reported that you need to view 100 landmarks in a single flight, as the counter resets when exiting back to the menu.
SIDs and STARs [Bugged]
Description : Land at 26 star airport on the world map
Solution: There are 31 star airports on the world map, some large and some small. Simply land at 25 of them. Worth mentioning that DLC airports bought via the marketplace also counts as Star Airports
Known issues: This achievement is known to sometimes not register certain airports
Completionist [Bugged]
Description : Complete every activity
Solution: Complete all 24 landing challenges and all three bush trips
Known issues: This achievement is known not to sometimes unlock even when completing every activity, there is no known workaround
Decathlon
Description : Complete 10 weekly activities
Solution: Complete 10 different spotlight events found on the main menu
Known issues: There has currently only been two spotlight events, and the second event doesn’t seem to register in the achievement progression bar. This achievement is currently not unlockable
Journeyman
Description : Accumulate 500 hours of flight time in a single pilot profile
Solution: Simply fly for 500 hours
Jack of All Planes
Description : Complete a 300+ mile flight with every aircraft in the standard edition of Flight Simulator
Solution: There are 20 aircraft in the standard edition of flight simulator, fly each one for 300 miles (260 nautical miles) Smaller aircraft are slower and can take up to 3 hours to complete a flight of that distance. Many of the smaller aircraft also lack autopilot, forcing you to manage the controls the entire time, so make sure to pick interesting routes to fly.
I highly recommend making a spreadsheet to track the progress, preferably one with a percentage counter so you can match it up with the achievement counter. Each finished flight increases the percentage with 5%
Known issues: The sim does not track progress on the Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000 from standard of the game, but rather the additional Cessna 172 Skyhawk from the deluxe edition of the game, making this achievement inaccessible to owners of the standard edition
World Traveler [Bugged]
Description : Land Successfully at 500 different airports
Solution: Land at 500 different airports across the world.
Known issues: Some players have reported that this achievement does not progressing properly. The percentage bar should go up by 1% for every 5 airport you land on, which it in many cases do not