Learn how to speed up time in a flight simulator, find sim-rate controls, return safely to 1×, and avoid autopilot, weather and timing problems.
To speed up time in a flight simulator, use the control assigned to Increase Sim Rate or Time Acceleration, then reduce it to 1× before descent or landing. The exact command varies by simulator and control profile; search the controls menu for “sim rate” rather than changing the time-of-day clock.
Where is the time-acceleration control?
The safest universal method is to find and assign the simulator’s rate controls yourself, because default keyboard commands can change with the simulator, platform and active control profile.
- Open the controls or keyboard settings. Search for
sim rate,simulation rate,sim speedortime acceleration. - Assign increase and decrease controls. Also bind
Normal SpeedorReset Sim Rateif the simulator provides one. - Stabilise the aircraft first. Establish level cruise, trim the aircraft and confirm that the autopilot is following the intended lateral and vertical modes.
- Increase one step at a time. Watch the attitude, airspeed, route and distance to the next waypoint before selecting a higher rate.
- Return to 1× early. Normal speed should be restored well before a turn, top of descent, approach clearance or weather encounter.
Changing the date or time of day only moves the simulator’s clock and lighting. It does not make the aircraft cover the route faster. Slew mode, position jumps and “skip to” features are also different from true time acceleration.
Which sim-rate control does each simulator use?
Use the command names below as search terms when defaults are missing or an imported controller profile has replaced them.
| Simulator | Control to find | Common caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 | Increase Sim Rate and Decrease Sim Rate | The selected rate is easy to lose track of because there is no dependable cockpit-wide rate display. Our MSFS time-acceleration instructions cover the keyboard commands and safe use in more detail. |
| FSX and Prepar3D | Simulation Rate; R followed by plus or minus is common on default keyboard profiles | Laptop keyboards and customised assignments may require different keys. |
| X-Plane 11 and 12 | Search Keyboard settings for sim speed, including increase, decrease and normal-speed commands | Higher rates can expose performance limits and unstable autopilot behaviour. |
| DCS | Search the general controls for time accelerate, decelerate and normal | Time acceleration is primarily a single-player function and may be restricted during multiplayer sessions. |
| Other flight simulators | Search for sim rate, time compression or time acceleration | Some programmes support only fixed rate steps, while others provide no acceleration during flight. |
How much time acceleration should I use?
Use the lowest rate that shortens cruise without making the aircraft, avionics or weather system unstable. 2× is a sensible starting point; 4× can work during straight, settled cruise when the simulator and aircraft can keep up.
Real waiting time is approximately the simulated time divided by the selected rate. For example, 20 minutes of simulated cruise takes about five real minutes at 4×, although performance limitations can prevent the simulator from achieving the full requested rate.
- Avoid acceleration during take-off, approach, landing, turbulence, icing or rapid configuration changes.
- Reduce the rate before route turns, step climbs and top of descent. Navigation modes can overshoot when guidance updates are compressed.
- Keep monitoring fuel. The aircraft burns fuel according to simulated elapsed time, not the number of real minutes you have waited.
- Allow extra margin when using complex aircraft or external avionics, traffic and weather tools. They may update at a different pace from the core simulation.
Why does the aircraft become unstable at higher sim rates?
High sim rates give the simulator less real time to calculate each second of aircraft motion, while making every autopilot correction appear faster. Oscillation, abrupt bank changes, missed altitude captures and waypoint overshoots become more likely as the rate rises.
If the aircraft starts porpoising or weaving, return to 1×, disconnect the autopilot if necessary, regain a stable attitude and re-engage the correct modes. Persistent vertical hunting may need the separate checks in our guide to stopping autopilot altitude oscillation.
Heavy stuttering is another warning to reduce the rate. A displayed 8× setting does not guarantee that eight simulated seconds are being processed during each real second, particularly when the processor is already limited.
How do I return the simulator to normal speed?
Use a dedicated normal-speed command where one exists; repeatedly pressing decrease is unreliable unless you know the active rate and the simulator’s rate ladder.
Microsoft Flight Simulator can leave users unsure whether they are at 1×. One dependable approach is to decrease the rate to its minimum and then count the required increases back to normal; our MSFS 2024 sim-rate reset procedure explains the 0.25×-to-1× method.
To verify normal speed in any simulator, compare the cockpit clock or chronometer with a real clock. At 1×, one simulated second should take approximately one real second.
Does speeding up time also advance live weather?
No—time acceleration speeds the aircraft simulation, not the source supplying real-world weather. The simulator may advance its internal clock, but live weather can retain loaded conditions, refresh from available observations or interpolate according to its own weather engine.
Do not expect one hour at 8× to produce weather from eight real hours into the future. This distinction is especially relevant in X-Plane 12, where changing simulator time does not advance real-world weather data.