How do I hold altitude and speed in MSFS 2024?

In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, stabilise and trim the aircraft, engage AP, then select ALT or ALT HOLD. To reach a different altitude, set it and use VS, FLC/FLCH or VNAV until capture. Speed hold also requires autothrottle or autothrust; otherwise maintain speed with the throttle.

How to hold altitude in MSFS 2024

To hold altitude in MSFS 2024, engage the autopilot and activate altitude hold after the aeroplane is stable, or use a climb or descent mode to capture a preselected altitude.

1. Stabilise the aircraft. Establish a safe speed, sensible pitch attitude and suitable power. Retract the gear, flaps or speedbrake as appropriate, and trim away heavy control pressure.
2. Decide which altitude you want. To remain where you are, you can normally use ALT or ALT HOLD. To climb or descend elsewhere, set that altitude in the selector first.
3. Engage the autopilot. Press the main AP control. The flight director may activate automatically, depending on the aircraft.
4. Select a vertical mode. Use ALT for level flight, VS for a chosen vertical speed, FLC/FLCH/IAS for an airspeed-controlled climb or descent, or VNAV for a programmed vertical profile.
5. Manage the power. Without automatic thrust, you remain responsible for the throttle even when the autopilot controls pitch.
6. Confirm altitude capture. Watch the flight mode annunciator at the top of the primary flight display. The climb or descent mode should give way to an altitude-capture indication and then an active altitude-hold mode.

The annunciator is more reliable than the button light or selected-altitude window. It tells you what the automation is actually doing, rather than what you intended it to do.

Which mode should I use: ALT, VS, FLC, FLCH or SPD?

Choose ALT for level flight, VS for a specific climb or descent rate, and FLC/FLCH/IAS when protecting airspeed matters more than holding a particular vertical speed.

VS does not protect airspeed. If you ask for too much vertical speed, the autopilot will keep raising the nose while the aircraft slows. FLC or IAS is usually the safer choice for a climb in a light aircraft because it trades vertical speed for airspeed instead.

Can autopilot hold altitude and speed at the same time?

Autopilot can hold altitude and speed together only when the aircraft has a system capable of controlling both pitch and thrust.

In most light GA aircraft

Use AP with ALT to maintain altitude, then adjust the throttle manually for the speed you want. Altitude hold controls pitch; it does not move the throttle.

During a climb, FLC or IAS can maintain an indicated airspeed by changing pitch, but that is not autothrottle. Once the aircraft levels and ALT becomes active, set cruise power yourself. In piston aircraft, propeller RPM and mixture can also affect available power and cruise speed.

In aircraft with autothrottle or autothrust

An airliner or suitably equipped business jet can use an altitude mode and automatic thrust at the same time. Select the required altitude mode, engage or arm A/T or A/THR, and verify that the intended speed or thrust mode appears on the flight mode annunciator.

Armed does not mean active. On Airbus-style systems, autothrust may alter engine thrust without moving the cockpit thrust levers, so judge its operation by the annunciator and engine indications rather than lever movement.

How do I maintain altitude manually in Flight Simulator 2024?

To maintain altitude without autopilot, establish a level attitude, set suitable power and trim until the aeroplane remains level with minimal control pressure.

1. Set the attitude. Use the horizon or primary flight display to establish level flight rather than chasing the altimeter needle.
2. Choose cruise power. Adjust the throttle for a sustainable speed and allow the aircraft to settle.
3. Trim out the pressure. Hold the required attitude with the controls, then trim until you no longer need continuous force. Trim relieves pressure; it is not the primary control for making large pitch changes.
4. Correct gently. Make a small pitch correction when altitude begins to drift, pause to assess the result, and re-trim after any lasting power or speed change.

In steady level flight, the practical rule is to use pitch and trim to control altitude and power to control speed. The two remain coupled: adding power can make the aircraft climb, while reducing it can produce a descent, so every significant power change may require a small pitch correction and fresh trim.

Why is the selected altitude not the one the aircraft holds?

The selected altitude is only a capture target; changing the number does not command the aircraft to leave its present altitude.

For example, if the aeroplane is holding 6,500 feet and you select 8,000 feet, it will normally remain at 6,500 until you activate VS, FLC, FLCH or VNAV. Pressing ALT while climbing may instead capture the altitude at which you pressed it.

• Selection is not movement. The altitude window tells the system where capture should occur.
• A vertical mode starts the climb or descent. The active mode determines how the aircraft reaches the target.
• Capture is not instant. The autopilot should begin reducing vertical speed before the target, enter an altitude-capture mode, and then settle into altitude hold.
• The annunciator settles disagreements. If the selected altitude is 8,000 feet but the active mode says ALT at 6,500, the aircraft is obeying the active hold mode.

If the aircraft flies through the target, reduce an excessive vertical speed and check that altitude capture is armed. Unwanted controller input, a disconnected autopilot or an incompatible approach mode can also prevent capture.

Where is altitude hold in MSFS 2024?

Altitude hold is normally on the aircraft's autopilot panel, glass-cockpit bezel, mode control panel or flight control unit, rather than on a universal MSFS toolbar.

Look for ALT or ALT HOLD. A knob or window marked ALT SEL usually selects the target altitude but does not activate hold by itself. Some basic aircraft have no autopilot, while cockpit layouts and mode names vary between manufacturers.

For keyboard, joystick or hardware-panel operation, search the simulator's control assignments for autopilot altitude, vertical-speed and flight-level-change commands. Bindings are profile-specific, and a command that merely changes the selected altitude is not the same as one that activates altitude hold. Our reference to MSFS autopilot keyboard commands and control bindings lists the relevant functions without relying on a particular cockpit layout.

Why will MSFS 2024 not maintain altitude or speed?

Failure to maintain altitude or speed usually comes from the wrong active mode, unavailable automatic thrust, an unrealistic command or a conflicting control input.

• Only AP is active. The autopilot master can engage while retaining a pitch or vertical-speed mode. Select and verify ALT if level flight is required.
• The aircraft has no autothrottle. Altitude may remain exact while speed drifts because you must control power manually.
• The climb rate is too high. Reduce the selected vertical speed or use FLC/IAS to protect airspeed.
• The requested performance is impossible. Insufficient power, high altitude, excessive weight or too much drag can prevent the aircraft from reaching the commanded speed or climb rate.
• The aircraft is misconfigured. Check the landing gear, flaps, spoilers and speedbrake. Unexpected drag affects both speed and altitude control.
• A peripheral is fighting the automation. Noisy yoke, trim or throttle axes and duplicate bindings can cause wandering, override autothrottle or disconnect the autopilot.
• The aeroplane was badly out of trim. Engage the autopilot from a stable condition and within the aircraft's normal speed and attitude limits.
• Simulation rate is accelerated. Return to normal rate when diagnosing oscillation or missed capture; automation can become unstable when the simulation is heavily accelerated.
• The movement is minor turbulence correction. Small temporary deviations are normal in rough air. Continuous divergence or repeated large oscillations are not.

If the autopilot refuses to activate, disconnects immediately or ignores the chosen vertical mode, use our diagnostic checklist for an MSFS autopilot that will not engage to check trim, mode conflicts, assistance settings and controller inputs.

How do I enter altitude in feet?

Most MSFS altitude selectors use the full value in feet: select 5,000 for five thousand feet and 10,000 for ten thousand feet.

A flight level is expressed in hundreds of feet, so FL100 represents a pressure altitude of 10,000 feet. On a panel showing full altitude values, select 10,000 rather than 100. Use standard pressure when the applicable procedure calls for flight levels and local pressure below the transition level; transition rules vary by region.

Some aircraft offer a metric altitude display or metric standby indication. Check whether the panel shows feet or metres before assuming a surprising selected value is an autopilot fault.

What does manual altitude in feet mean in GeoFS?

GeoFS is a separate simulator, but an altitude marked ft is still a literal value in feet: 5,000 means five thousand feet, not 50 or FL050. To maintain it manually, establish level pitch, set power and trim just as you would in MSFS; MSFS cockpit buttons and control bindings do not carry over to GeoFS.

What happens to altitude hold during an ILS approach?

After glideslope capture on an ILS, the glideslope mode normally replaces altitude hold and commands the descent.

The selected altitude may then serve another purpose, such as a missed-approach altitude set at the appropriate stage for that aircraft and procedure. Do not press ALT merely because the aeroplane has begun descending on the glideslope; that would command level flight and abandon the vertical approach path. Our guide to localiser and glideslope capture in MSFS 2024 explains the full mode sequence.