Does Microsoft Flight Simulator show real planes?
The short answer is yes and no. Through its Live Players feature, Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) does overlay representations of real-world flights based on actual flight data. However, you won‘t see fully accurate liveries and airline paint schemes on those planes. So while it gives a sense of realism, the planes themselves are not visually identical.
Seeing Real Airline Traffic Routes
One of the coolest parts of MSFS is the Live Players option which displays real-time airline traffic from FlightAware. This means you can fly alongside computer-generated representations of actual flights currently happening in the real world. It‘s an awesome way to get a taste of occupying the same airspace as real airline routes.
You‘ll see callsigns, flight numbers, departure and arrival airports, and aircraft types that match real flights. But again, the liveries are generic models.
Adds Realism for Virtual Pilots
As a flight sim enthusiast myself, I love having Live Players enabled. It heightens that feeling of operating in a dynamic, real-world air traffic control environment. I find it especially cool when crossing paths with flights going to or from airports I frequent myself.
Sure, the plane models themselves aren‘t fully accurate replicas. But they move along real airline traffic flows which adds hugely to MSFS‘s immersiveness and realism. It‘s an excellent middle-ground between pure fiction and pure reality.
Option to Disable Live Players
With that said, Microsoft does give you the option to turn Live Players off. So if you don‘t want that injection of reality, you can disable it and fly with just AI traffic. This might appeal more to casual users just looking to freely explore without interference from real flights.
For hardcore aviation fans though, I can‘t recommend having Live Players enabled enough! Seeing real routes overlaid into the sim world takes the realism to another level.
Not a True Real-Time Replica
A common misconception is that MSFS provides a constantly updated, real-time 1:1 replica of the exact position of every flight in the world. This isn‘t quite the case.
While it shows the planned routes and aircraft types, the Live Player planes aren‘t actively tracking the precise longitude and latitude of actual flights. So it‘s more of an estimation of where that flight should be based on its flight plan.
My Takeaway as a Flight Sim Fan
As a gamer who loves aviation, MSFS hits the sweet spot between fiction and reality when it comes to real world planes. The mix of custom liveries for myself, accurate simulated aircraft types, AI traffic, real airline routes, flight plans, airports, and global terrain gives a uniquely realistic and engaging experience that can‘t be matched.
No other flight sim really gives you that true sense of being one small plane occupying a huge, vibrant, living aviation network. Hats off to Microsoft on advancing the genre to new heights!
