How do you fly the Mach Loop in MSFS 2020?

To fly the Mach Loop in MSFS 2020, start near Dolgellau in north-west Wales, follow the valleys through Dinas Mawddwy, Machynlleth, Corris and Tal-y-llyn, then return towards Dolgellau. Use a fast, agile aircraft, clear weather and terrain-aware VFR flying; the route is a valley circuit, not an aerobatic loop.

Where is the Mach Loop in MSFS 2020?

The Mach Loop lies in west-central Wales, within the much larger Low Flying Area 7, commonly shortened to LFA7. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 represents it as ordinary terrain rather than a named point of interest, activity or route with gates.

Centre the World Map near 52.70 N, 3.82 W. You can place a custom airborne departure nearby or fly in from an airfield shown in your installation. RAF Valley, EGOV, lies to the north-west and Welshpool, EGCW, to the east, but both require a transit to the valleys.

These coordinates form a practical simulator circuit, not an official military track. Real aircraft do not follow a compulsory set of GPS waypoints, and MSFS imposes no one-way direction. The clockwise route below is simply easier to learn.

How do you fly the Mach Loop route?

A controlled first circuit should be flown slowly enough to identify each valley before committing to the next turn.

1. Build a broad VFR route. Add the five references above as map pins or user waypoints. Our walkthrough for building a VFR route in the MSFS planner explains the planning tools, but do not expect the resulting magenta line to follow every bend in the valley.
2. Select easy conditions. Use daylight, clear skies, good visibility and light winds for the first attempt. Live weather can hide ridges or produce turbulence and crosswinds that make low-level turns much harder.
3. Begin with terrain clearance. Start roughly 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the valley floor. This gives you time to recognise the route without forcing a steep escape turn when a valley narrows.
4. Fly east from Dolgellau. Follow the broad valley towards Dinas Mawddwy rather than flying the direct GPS line across high ground. Keep the next open section of valley in sight before descending or accelerating.
5. Turn south-west for Machynlleth. Work through the open valleys towards the southern reference. From Machynlleth, turn north towards Corris, then bend north-west past Tal-y-llyn before returning north-east to Dolgellau.
6. Navigate visually. Roads, lakes, settlements and the shape of the ridges are more useful than chasing an exact heading. The in-sim VFR map can confirm your general position, but it is not a terrain-avoidance display.
7. Climb when uncertain. If you lose the valley or cannot see its exit, reduce bank, add power and climb while you still have open ground ahead. Do not attempt a tight low-speed turn against a hillside.

Look through each turn towards the valley exit, not at the slope beside the cockpit. A common mistake is entering quickly, then adding excessive bank after discovering that the valley bends more sharply than expected. Learn the circuit in one direction, then reverse it to practise different sight lines and turns.

What aircraft, speed and altitude should you use?

An agile turboprop or light jet gives the best balance between speed and enough time to read the terrain.

These are simulator training ranges, not real-world operating procedures. The fastest aircraft is rarely the best choice for a first run; at high speed, a few seconds of poor positioning can leave no comfortable turn available.

Judge height above the terrain, not just the barometric altimeter. Surrounding summits approach 3,000 feet above mean sea level, so an indicated altitude of 2,000 feet does not guarantee clearance. After learning the route, 500 to 1,000 feet above ground gives the familiar low-level view while retaining some margin. Use a radar altimeter where the aircraft has one.

For realistic planning outside an unrestricted simulator session, use charts to check terrain, obstacles and controlled airspace. The waypoint sequence on this page is not real-world flight-planning guidance.

Do you need Mach Loop scenery for MSFS 2020?

No add-on is required because the valleys are part of the base MSFS 2020 world. Dedicated scenery may improve local objects or viewpoints, but it is not needed to fly the circuit.

• No route marker appears: this is normal. Search for the towns or use the approximate coordinates above.
• The GPS line crosses a ridge: the planner joins waypoints directly. Follow the visible valley instead of treating the line as a low-level path.
• Ground textures are blurred: check that Online Functionality and Bing Data World Graphics are enabled and that the simulator is not being limited by its data settings.
• Distant ridges change shape or appear late: increase Terrain Level of Detail if performance allows. Our guide to setting Terrain LOD for clearer distant terrain covers the relevant trade-offs.
• Performance stutters near turns: reduce Terrain LOD, object detail or traffic before lowering resolution. Consistent control response matters more here than maximum scenery detail.
• An older scenery package does not appear: FSX and Prepar3D Mach Loop packages are not automatically compatible with MSFS 2020 and should not be copied into the Community folder unless explicitly converted for MSFS.