One of the best things about Microsoft Flight Simulator is just how open it is to going “off the beaten path.” Yes, its a flight simulator that manages to handle bush planes and airliners, fictional hypersonic prototypes, sailplanes and fighter jets. But it can also do some quirkier things and in this article I’m going to look at a bunch of them.

Got Friends? These folks probably do!

I haven’t written much about Got Friends on the blog and I intend to redress that error starting today. These folks have put together a collection of some truly interesting products. Their Wilga 35/80 series, Discus-2c Premium, and Mini-500 are serious payware level products that I will have to check out at some point. They also came up with something called Astro ONE with a futuristic almost TRON-esq racing series for the sim.

There’s also some interesting freeware products that they do too. A freeware version of the Discus 2c, a Fokker Dr. I, expansions for some 40th anniversary airplanes, and….a canoe. Yeah. Have a look!

There’s also the lake skipper which looks like a precursor to the work they did for Astro ONE.

Quirky, weird, maybe cool looking, and this last bunch is free.

Head back to the 1930’s

Red Wing Simulations are doing something really interesting with Microsoft Flight Simulator. They have their own custom scenery package that is modeling various airports and scenery collections which on the face of it isn’t too groundbreaking but for MSFS they are doing something a little different. It’s the 1930s that they are building out. Perfect for some of the heritage types that the sim has.

Check out the growing collection right over here.

A Cessna 182RG just like the old days

While Carenado are coming out with a Cessna 182RG for Microsoft Flight Simulator with all of the usual acoutrements that you’d expect from that team, this freeware Cessna 182RG is a throwback to an early version from the early days of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Basic polygonal structure and all! It’s not a serious simulation but it is a fun one and it let’s you experience the early days in modern MSFS. Download that here.

The scrapyard monster

Another freeware oddity. Check out The Scrapyard Monster, a seemingly random assortment of objects slapped together out of the imagination of Flying Fries. This is a pretty wild modification but one that leans into the fun side of MSFS’ ability to let developers put together a wide variety of experiences.

Camp out!

Bush plane flying gets an enhancement with this $15 add-on by Parallel 42. It lets you place various campsite items around a parked airplane. And you can configure exactly the configuration you want – per plane!

Learn more about it here!

There’s probably more…

These are just a few of the oddities, the funny, and off the beaten path options for Microsoft Flight Simulator. There are probably more, infact, there’s almost certainly plenty more available now and into the future but if you wanted to spice up your MSFS flying with something a bit … different. Here are some great places to start!