Discover the best flight simulator airports and routes for scenic VFR, airliner IFR and challenging approaches, with aircraft and setup advice.
The best flight simulator routes pair distinctive scenery with an aircraft suited to the distance: Honolulu–Kahului for easy island flying, Queenstown–Milford Sound for mountains, San Francisco–Los Angeles for airliners, and Innsbruck–Salzburg for Alpine handling. For airport practice, choose a detailed hub plus a nearby quiet diversion airport.
For general flight simulation, that advice applies to Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, FSX, Prepar3D and FlightGear. Airport detail and navigation data vary between simulators, while DCS routes are limited to the airfields included with each installed map.
Best flight simulator routes by flying style
The strongest routes give you a clear purpose beyond simply travelling between two runways.
| Route | Best for | Suggested aircraft | Main challenge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu to Kahului (PHNL–PHOG) | Island scenery, coastal navigation and an uncomplicated introduction to regional flying | Turboprop, regional jet or piston aircraft | Trade winds, overwater navigation and selecting the correct arrival runway |
| Queenstown to Milford Sound (NZQN–NZMF) | Mountain VFR, valleys and dramatic terrain | Cessna 172, bush aircraft or light turboprop | Cloud can close escape routes; Milford Sound also has limited runway room |
| Bellingham to Friday Harbor (KBLI–KFHR) | A first VFR cross-country flight with coastlines and islands as visual references | Training piston aircraft | Similar-looking islands and reduced visibility over water |
| San Francisco to Los Angeles (KSFO–KLAX) | A complete short-haul airline flight without a long cruise | Airbus A320 family, Boeing 737 family or regional jet | Dense terminal procedures and runway changes caused by wind or traffic |
| London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol (EGLL–EHAM) | Airliner procedures, radio navigation and complex ground operations | Narrow-body jet | The cruise is brief, so descent and arrival preparation begin early |
| Innsbruck to Salzburg (LOWI–LOWS) | Alpine VFR or a compact instrument flight | Piston aircraft or turboprop | Terrain, restricted manoeuvring space and rapidly changing weather |
| Princess Juliana to Saint Barthélemy (TNCM–TFFJ) | Short visual navigation and demanding aircraft handling | Light piston or suitable light turboprop | Saint Barthélemy has a short runway and a specialised approach over rising ground; it is not an airliner destination |
Microsoft Flight Simulator pilots can extend this list with our guide to scenic MSFS destinations and matching route ideas. In FSX or Prepar3D, the photoreal Hawaii scenery covering the major islands and upgraded airports makes PHNL–PHOG and longer island-hopping flights much more rewarding.
Which airports are best for practising?
The best practice airport is one that matches the skill you want to learn and has another usable airport within easy diversion range.
- General flying: Seattle-Tacoma (KSEA) provides airline operations, with Boeing Field (KBFI), Renton (KRNT) and several island airports nearby for shorter flights.
- Airliner ground operations: Amsterdam Schiphol (EHAM) is useful for practising runway selection, long taxi routes, holding points and careful chart reading.
- Mountain flying: Innsbruck (LOWI) and Queenstown (NZQN) force you to consider terrain before turning, descending or entering cloud.
- Visual approaches: Princess Juliana (TNCM), Sydney (YSSY) and San Francisco (KSFO) offer recognisable coastlines and urban references.
- Island operations: Honolulu (PHNL) works as a base for routes of several lengths, from local sightseeing to flights across the Hawaiian chain.
Stock scenery quality is not consistent across platforms. A carefully modelled airport in one simulator may use generic buildings in another, although its runways and navigation facilities can still make it valuable. FlightGear pilots can use our shortlist of useful FlightGear airports with stronger scenery coverage rather than assuming every large hub has equal detail.
What is the best flight simulator route for a beginner?
Bellingham to Friday Harbor in daylight and fair weather is our preferred beginner VFR route because it is short, visually distinctive and suitable for a basic training aircraft.
- Start with calm or light winds. Strong crosswinds turn a navigation lesson into a handling test.
- Use a piston trainer. Its speed leaves enough time to identify coastlines, islands and the destination airport.
- Climb to a safe sightseeing altitude. Stay clear of cloud and maintain enough height for an engine-out diversion towards land.
- Identify the runway before descending. Do not chase the first strip of land that resembles an airport.
- Fly a normal circuit. Use the wind to choose the runway instead of landing from whichever direction is most convenient.
Honolulu to Kahului is the better next step. It introduces a longer overwater leg, a busier arrival and faster aircraft without requiring a full-length airline sector.
How do you choose the right aircraft and route?
Choose the aircraft first, then select a route that fits its runway needs, cruise speed and navigation equipment.
- Match the time available: a route that feels compact in a jet may require a long cruise in a Cessna 172. Include taxiing, climb, descent and approach time rather than looking only at distance.
- Check both runways: confirm surface type, usable length and surrounding terrain before loading a large aircraft or a fast jet.
- Plan the arrival before departure: short sectors often reach the descent point before the cockpit is prepared.
- Use suitable weather: learn mountain and island routes in daylight under visual conditions before adding low cloud, icing or strong wind.
- Carry a diversion: choose a nearby airport that accepts the same aircraft and remains clear of the weather affecting the destination.
- Keep the navigation data consistent: differences between the simulator, flight planner and aircraft database can produce missing procedures, obsolete runway numbers or route discontinuities.
For realistic airline flying, start at a parking stand, use a departure and arrival appropriate to the active runway, and load plausible fuel rather than filling every tank. Small VFR flights do not need airline procedures forced into the plan.
Why is a recommended airport missing or inaccurate?
An airport may look wrong because the simulator uses generic scenery, an add-on is conflicting with default data, or the aircraft and simulator have different navigation database cycles.
- Missing approach: the procedure may have changed name, moved to a renumbered runway or be absent from the aircraft's database.
- Broken flight plan: inspect each FMS discontinuity before deleting it. Some represent expected radar vectors or a manual transition rather than an error.
- Duplicate buildings or runways: disable older scenery for the same airport and restart the simulator so its scenery index can refresh where required.
- Historical airport: famous destinations such as Hong Kong Kai Tak are closed in real life and normally require historical scenery rather than a present-day navigation database.
- Poor visual detail: install scenery made specifically for your simulator and version; packages for FSX, X-Plane, Prepar3D and MSFS are not interchangeable.
Our freeware aircraft and scenery library can help improve a promising route, but install only one airport package at a time and test it before adding another package for the same area.