Learn how to save and resume a flight in FS2004, locate saved-flight files, preserve aircraft state and fix incomplete or missing saves.
To save a flight in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (FS9), press the semicolon key or choose Flights > Save Flight, give the save a title and confirm it. To resume, open Flights > Select a Flight, choose the entry under My Flights and select Fly Now. This restores a flight session, not merely its route.
How do I save my current FS2004 flight?
Use FS2004’s Save Flight command at any point, including on the ground or in the air.
- Stabilise or pause the aircraft: Press
Pif you need to capture an exact moment. Bear in mind that the flight may still be paused when reloaded. - Open Save Flight: Press the semicolon key, or choose Flights > Save Flight from the menu bar. If the shortcut has been reassigned or behaves differently with your keyboard layout, use the menu or check the standard FS2004 key bindings.
- Enter a recognisable title: Include the route and stage, such as “EGLL to EHAM – cruise”. Add a description if useful.
- Check the default-flight option: Select “Make this the default flight” only if you want this situation to load as your normal starting flight.
- Save the flight: Wait for the dialogue to close before exiting FS2004.
For a long flight, make separate saves after departure, during cruise and before descent. Overwriting one file repeatedly leaves no earlier recovery point if the latest save is damaged or captures an unwanted aircraft state.
How do I resume a saved flight?
A saved flight can be loaded from FS2004’s opening screen or while another flight is running.
- Choose Flights > Select a Flight.
- Select My Flights as the category.
- Choose the title you entered when saving.
- Select Fly Now to load the aircraft and saved situation.
- Check the pause state, parking brake, fuel selectors, mixture, autopilot and engine controls before continuing.
If the aircraft appears frozen after loading, press P once. A saved parking brake, fuel cutoff or cold-and-dark state can also make a successful load look like a failure.
What does an FS2004 saved flight preserve?
FS2004 preserves the simulator situation and much of the standard aircraft state, but third-party systems do not always reload completely.
| Item | What to expect after loading |
|---|---|
| Aircraft position | Latitude, longitude, altitude, attitude, heading and speed are restored. |
| Standard aircraft controls | Fuel, engines, radios, autopilot and many cockpit settings are normally restored. |
| Time and weather | The saved time and weather snapshot are restored; it is not a fresh weather update. |
| Flight plan | A linked plan may be retained, but a saved flight should not be treated as a portable route file. |
| Add-on aircraft systems | Custom FMC, INS, gauge and panel states depend on whether the add-on was designed to save them. |
| External services | Online-network connections, external programmes and identical AI or ATC sequencing are not guaranteed to resume. |
A mistake we see constantly is expecting Save Flight to preserve every custom add-on function. FS2004 records its own simulation variables; an aircraft using separate gauge logic may require its own panel-state or company-route saving feature.
Where are FS2004 saved flights stored?
Personal FS2004 saves are normally stored in the Flight Simulator Files folder inside the Windows Documents or My Documents folder for the active user account.
The main saved-flight file uses the .FLT extension. Weather commonly has a matching .WX file, while a flight can reference a separate .PLN route file. When backing up or transferring a save, preserve the complete matching set rather than copying only the .FLT file.
Why is my saved flight missing or loading incorrectly?
Missing companion files, unavailable add-ons and incomplete custom-system support cause most saved-flight problems.
- The save is absent from My Flights: Check the Documents folder belonging to the same Windows user account that ran FS2004. The displayed flight title may differ from its Windows filename.
- The wrong aircraft appears: Reinstall the aircraft and exact repaint used by the save. FS2004 may substitute another aircraft when the referenced model or texture entry is unavailable.
- The aircraft loads with an incomplete cockpit: Use the add-on’s own panel-state feature if it has one. Loading the same saved flight repeatedly will not restore data the aircraft never wrote to disk.
- The route is missing: Preserve the associated
.PLNfile and load it separately if necessary. Our FS2004 flight-planning instructions explain how route files differ from saved situations. - The aircraft is paused or shut down: Resume the simulator and inspect the saved switches, brakes and fuel controls before assuming the file is faulty.
Can FS2004 save flights automatically?
FS2004’s built-in command is manual, but compatible AutoSave utilities can create recovery saves at regular intervals.
Our library includes FS2004 utilities with an AutoSave option. Choose a tool specifically marked for FS2004, retain several generations of saves and confirm where it writes them. Automatic recovery protects progress, but recurring failures still need separate diagnosis using our guide to fixing FS2004 crashes during a flight.
Is a saved flight the same as a flight plan or replay?
No: a saved flight is a resumable simulator state, a flight plan is a route, and a replay is a recording of previous movement.
Use Save Flight when you intend to continue flying later. Save a flight plan when you need to reuse or edit the route, and use replay or recording when you want to watch the flight again rather than resume control from a checkpoint.