Today, Navigraph released the results of its FlightSim Community Survey, providing a look at the preferences and trends among the core simulation community.
The announcement includes plenty of insight, from the most popular simulators to the most appreciated aircraft add-ons, alongside more granular data about the community itself.
Incidentally, we learn that this year, a whopping 23,600 respondents took the survey. It’s quite a large pool of users, albeit we should keep in mind that it’s likely skewed toward core users as opposed to more casual ones.
Below you can see the data about the primary flight simulator software, with the Microsoft Flight Simulator family leading by a long shot with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 still in the lead with 52% and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 following with 24.9%.
X-Plane 12 is far behind, taking only 11.6% of the votes, and reaching only 13.9% when combined with X-Plane 11.
Pepar3D by Lockheed Martin is basically dead in the water at 1.9%.
At the moment when the survey was held (between March 7 and March 17, meaning that the data is at least one month old) 41.5% of respondents still did not try MSFS 2004.
The following two graphs show that in the period when the survey was held, reactions toward the new sim were still mixed. It’s worth mentioning that Microsoft and Asobo have been working hard to improve things. Sim Update 2 is already being tested with significant changes for the better.
An interesting bit of data shows which features users appreciate in add-on aircraft, with system depth, authenticity, and flight model accuracy at the top.
Airliners are the most popular among respondents, albeit the focus of the survey’s pool on core users may have skewed this data point at least partially. Core simmers are known to gravitate toward commercial aviation as opposed to general aviation.
The Airbus family by Fenix simulation is the most popular aircraft add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator by a wide margin, but PDMG is also very popular with a large chunk of respondents flying either the 737 or 777 family by the Boeing-focused developer.
Scenery appears to be the most relevant factor in choosing where to fly, which is rather understandable considering that we’re literally talking about locations.
Speaking of locations, Europe is the most popular region, followed closely by North America, with Asia as a pretty distant third.
The Airbus family by Fenix is considered the best flight simulation product released in the past 12 months. Interestingly, despite the results shown above, almost 20% of respondents consider Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 the best product of the year, followed by the Triple-Seven by PMDG.
The 757 and 767 by BlueBird simulations were voted as the most anticipated products for the next 12 months.
Interestingly, the survey closed before the announcement of the Airbus A320 and A321 by Fenix. We’ll never know whether their inclusion in the competition would have changed the results.
Below you can check out a video in which the developers at Navigraph themselves introduces the survey’s results. You can download the PDF with the full survey results for even more insights.
If you’d like to get into flight simulation but you’re perhaps a bit intimidated by its apparent complexity, you can read our introductory guide, alongside the second episode focusing on installing add-ons, and another showcasing the basic instruments.
You can also read more flight simulation news in the latest roundup article.
