I have long missed the ability to save in-flight situations in MSFS 2020 for payware aircraft. This would be such a useful function for many things –interrupting long trips; practicing ILS landings at a specific airport; recovery from a CTD etc. I could never get it to work

 However, I think I have found a way by utilising a freeware program called FlightRecorder (FR) (flightsim.to) which creates videos.

 My test case used the JustFlight BAE146 on a flight from CYLW (Kelowna) to CYVR (Vancouver) for my test. I created a flight plan in LittleNavMap including both a SID and STAR with approaches. I have a shortcut to FR in my Task Bar.

 Phase 1 - I start the sim and load the 146 at RWY34 with the engines running. I load all the avionics and the flight plan into the FMC. I then load FR and start recording the video. Next, I take-off, and when airborne, select autopilot on the runway heading, then connect the flight plan via LNAV and climb until I reach selected altitude.

 Once in stable flight I then decide when I want my in-flight saving to occur, stop the recording in FR and save the *fltrec” file in FR for this recording (In setting up the FR program you have to identify a folder for saving these files). The aircraft will continue flying with the settings I originally chose.

 Then exit flightsimulator.

 Phase2 - next reload the same aircraft at the original take-off airport with engines started, and reload the flight plan data in the on-board FMC – both of these steps are important to carry forward to the reactivation of the desired in-flight, (at this time you could also load the other original avionics data, but this can wait until your saved flight is under way). 

 Load FR and open the *fltrec” file you had saved – now the video will start to play from take-off.

 In the FR window you will see a sub-window with the recorded flight profile and the actual position of the aircraft at any time. Click the pause in FR and drag the aircraft icon to near the end of the flight profile where you want to reactivate the flight.

 Click “stop replay” in FR and the aircraft is immediately flyable and in your control; quickly turn on the autopilot, switch on the altitude hold, switch on LNAV to bring in the flight plan, configure the “direct to" command in the FMC to the next waypoint, adjust the throttles to suit, and enter the avionics you need for the future landing at the destination airport. Now you should be flying where you left off and can continue with your flight.

 I think it vital that you note that when you exit the video in Phase 2, the aircraft assumes the parameters in place at the Phase 2 start position, ie if you don’t enter the flight plan at that time it will not be there for the reactivated flight, ditto avionics, etc.

Not much more hassle really than the old FSX/P3D saved flight startups.

 Caveats - I suspect in Phase 1 you could start the video closer to the in-flight location you want to save, but I have not tried this. I also tried this in the payware FlightControl Replay program without success but did not pursue this further since I had it working in the Flight Recorder program. Whether it will work in other 3^rd party aircraft I don’t know, maybe someone could provide feed-back on their experience.

 I hope some of the principles identified here will allow simmers to experiment with their own situations.

 Nigel

Vancouver

Both FStarter24 and FlightSave have saving and loading of flight situations in MSFS. Using a PMDG 737 or PMDG 777 that has a proper save functions of airplane variables and flightplan together with any of these apps will let you start a saved flight at any time.

These apps works fine with most airplanes.

 

Edited January 8, 20251 yr by rksoftware