Remove the copilot in MSFS 2024: hide the crew avatar, disable AI aircraft control, and diagnose payload, assistance and Career Mode limits.
To remove the copilot in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, open the aircraft’s crew, payload or weight-and-balance page and clear the seat marked Copilot or Crew 2, then apply the load. If you mean AI control, disable AI piloting and delegated assistance instead; the visible avatar and automation are separate systems.
Which copilot setting should I change?
MSFS 2024 treats the visible crew model, AI piloting, radio delegation and aircraft autopilot as separate systems.
| What you want to remove | Setting to change |
|---|---|
| Person visible in the other seat | Crew visibility or seat occupancy |
| AI flying the aircraft | AI aircraft control and piloting assistance |
| Copilot answering ATC | Delegated or AI radio communications |
| Aircraft following a programmed route | Autopilot and, where fitted, autothrottle |
How do I remove the visible copilot avatar?
For many default aircraft, seat occupancy rather than avatar customisation determines whether the copilot appears.
- Open the aircraft loading page. Use the pre-flight payload or weight-and-balance screen, the EFB, or the aircraft’s own tablet if it has one.
- Find the second crew position. It may be labelled Copilot, Crew 2, Passenger 1 or by its cabin position.
- Use a visibility switch if one is provided. Otherwise, clear that occupant or set the relevant seat station to empty.
- Apply or synchronise the load. Recheck take-off mass and centre of gravity because removing a payload station can change both.
- Reload the flight if necessary. Some aircraft build their visible crew when the flight loads and do not update the model immediately.
Changing the copilot’s appearance in character customisation usually swaps the character model; it does not necessarily empty the seat. A dedicated crew-visibility switch is preferable because it hides the model without altering aircraft mass.
Third-party and specialist aircraft may control crew models through their own tablet or cockpit menu. A copilot built into the aircraft’s fixed visual model cannot be removed through the simulator’s general settings unless that aircraft provides a switch.
Career Mode can also place an instructor, examiner or required crew member in the aircraft. Test the same aeroplane in Free Flight: if the seat is empty there, the activity is controlling the occupant and may not permit removal.
How do I stop the AI copilot taking control?
Turn off AI aircraft control and unwanted piloting assists; hiding the copilot avatar will not stop automated control inputs.
- Open the Assistance or Piloting settings. The precise layout differs between the in-flight interface and main settings screen.
- Disable AI aircraft control. Also cancel any command that delegates flying to the copilot.
- Review individual piloting aids. Assisted take-off, assisted landing, auto-rudder and similar aids can move controls even when full AI piloting is off.
- Set radio delegation separately. Disable AI or copilot radio communications only if you want to answer ATC yourself.
- Check the aircraft autopilot. Disconnecting AI assistance does not disengage the autopilot or autothrottle.
For a clean baseline, our manual-control setup for new sim pilots explains which automated aids should be disabled before taking full control.
Why are the controls still moving by themselves?
The usual causes are an engaged autopilot, an assistance aid or a duplicated controller assignment rather than the visible copilot.
- Check the flight-mode annunciations and disconnect the autopilot and autothrottle as appropriate for that aircraft.
- Confirm that AI piloting has not been toggled back on through a controller shortcut.
- Look for duplicate pitch, roll, yaw or throttle assignments across every connected controller.
- Check for a noisy or incorrectly calibrated axis using our joystick input troubleshooting steps.
If several devices command the same axis, clear the conflicts rather than increasing dead zones blindly. Our procedure for removing duplicated controller bindings covers the safest way to rebuild the affected profile.
Why does the copilot keep coming back?
The copilot normally returns because the flight, activity or aircraft has restored a saved crew configuration.
- Career activities can enforce instructors or mission crew.
- Saved loadouts may repopulate the second seat when a new flight starts.
- Aircraft-specific tablets can override the simulator’s general payload screen.
- Assistance presets or controller shortcuts can reactivate AI control without changing the visible avatar.
Set the crew configuration in the aircraft-specific interface first, apply it, and then start a fresh Free Flight session. If the person remains only in a particular aircraft, the limitation belongs to that aircraft model rather than MSFS 2024’s global copilot settings.