FlightControlTools Releases FlightControlSpotter - The Ultimate Tower & Spotting Camera for MSFS 2024 / 2020

FlightControlTools proudly announces the release of FlightControlSpotter, a brand-new utility for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020, designed to bring the excitement of tower views and plane spotting – fast, simple, and immersive.

Perfect for active flight simmers willing to switch to the control tower position in a click, for screenshot artists, flightsim content creators, plane spotters of AI traffic, virtual pilots and controllers in multiplayer sessions, FlightControlSpotter transforms your simulator into a true virtual spotting platform. Fully integrated as an in-sim toolbar panel, the utility gives you instant access to tower perspectives, nearby airport views, or your own custom spotting locations anywhere in the world.

Key Features of FlightControlSpotter

• Nearest Tower View – Instantly jump to the control tower of the closest airport. The panel displays ICAO code and airport name for quick access.

• Spot View by ICAO – Browse airports within a 200 NM range, select a runway or parking position, and teleport to Tower or Spot View to watch live traffic. Save your favorite locations for later use.

• Custom Spot Views – Define your own spotting location by capturing latitude, longitude, and altitude from your aircraft or avatar, then save it with a custom name. You can also manually insert coordinates and altitude of your choice.

• Manage Views Easily – Load or delete your saved views with a simple panel interface. Everything is stored locally for quick retrieval.

• Drone Camera Integration – Built on the default MSFS drone camera, giving you complete freedom of movement, zoom, and angle control.

• Instant Return to Cockpit – Resume full aircraft control at any time with the Take Plane Control shortcut.

Pricing & Launch Offer

FlightControlSpotter is launching with special introductory pricing for the first month:

• Standalone FlightControlSpotter – €12.50 (excl. VAT)

• Bundle (FlightControlReplay 5 + FlightControlSpotter) – €29.99 (excl. VAT)

• Upgrade Price for FlightControlReplay 5 owners – €10.00 (excl. VAT)

Starting September 29th, 2025, standard pricing will apply :

• Standalone – €15.00 (excl. VAT)

• Bundle – €32.99 (excl. VAT)

• Upgrade – €12.50 (excl. VAT)

Availability

Released now, exclusively at SIMMARKET.com, for Windows PC only, Support MSFS24/20 (Xbox maybe later)
Elevate your flight sim experience—whether spotting heavy traffic at major hubs, exploring hidden airfields, or capturing stunning screenshots—FlightControlSpotter makes it all possible.

Quick User Guide PDF Free download here.

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2025Sep 16 by karijno

No Fly-By view?

2 minutes ago, Noel said:

No Fly-By view?

Unfortunatelly FlyBy view should imply too long transition period with this system . FlyBy for now you are able use it via FCR in MSFS2024 (FCR Embedded ). As soon as i ll have way to develop in FlightControlSpotter and FlightControlReplay will be an update for free

3 hours ago, karijno said:

Unfortunatelly FlyBy view should imply too long transition period with this system . FlyBy for now you are able use it via FCR in MSFS2024 (FCR Embedded ). As soon as i ll have way to develop in FlightControlSpotter and FlightControlReplay will be an update for free

Thanks and best wishes.  I did install ChasePlane for MSFS 2020 and to be completely honest would far prefer just a simple addon that does Tower View and Fly-By, that's all.  In fact I will hold off on installing CP when it becomes available for 2024 because I really am fine w/ default camera control--except for its lack of simple Tower and Fly-By views.  I'll bet I'm a bellwether for this idea as well so....hurry up and figure out how to do just that 🤞

When I saw the offer on SimMarket a few days ago, the app (FCS) seemed promising, and I decided to buy it. After several hours of testing it, I believe it still has a long way to go in development to be truly useful.

Here are my main observations:

* The fonts in the menu and the app interface, when accessed via the toolbar icon, are too large and take up too much screen space. Most of the time, the BACK button, which allow to return to the app's main menu, is not visible because it's at the bottom of the interface and there's no scroll-down bar implemented yet.

* The "TAKE CONTROL OF THE PLANE" shortcut in one of the FCS menus is undocumented (not mentioned in the user manual), nor is it visible or even present in the app. The developers comment on their Discord channel that it refers to a command in one of the MSFS menus, but this would require temporarily exiting the flight by searching for the menu, making it extremely unrealistic and not very immersive.

* When using the spot view from a predefined location (FCS includes predefined spot views from the selected airport's control tower, the runway -one view for both possible directions-, and several parking spaces), and you decide to fly over the selected airport, your plane pauses every time you try to switch between the spot view and the airplane's cockpit, and you also lose control of the autopilot, which makes difficult to properly observe the aircraft in flight from the airport.

* At all the airports I've tested FCS, the tower view is very far away from the actual tower location in all three coordinates, making this view really unusable.

* I tested FCS primarily with one of my favorite aircraft, the FlightFX Citation X, and when used in conjunction with FCS and its camera system, the aircraft would not correctly execute the "Ready to Taxi" procedure (it's part of the default aircraft panel states from the EFB) and appeared to be stuck on the ground, frozen, or unresponsive. I don't know if this is unique to the Citation X, but I suspect any other aircraft with complex or semi-complex systems will experience the same behavior.

SimMarket allows purchasers of the product to review the app, as it is always the case with its published products. I did a brief review of FCS, giving it a generous two stars, but it was removed a day after its initial publication. I believe this is very uncommercial behavior on SimMarket's part.

I think FCS has a lot of potential, but it is still in a very early stage for users to fully enjoy it.

I hope the developers receive this review positively and it will encourage them to continue working hard to improve the app and make it more enjoyable.

You can do better with other tools, FStarter24 for example. You can set your viewpoint to any location with a mouse click and use your controller to move your drone view around on any airport as easy as it gets. 

Edited September 16, 2025Sep 16 by Cap737Delta

8 hours ago, Cap737Delta said:

You can do better with other tools, FStarter24 for example. You can set your viewpoint to any location with a mouse click and use your controller to move your drone view around on any airport as easy as it gets. 

FlightConteSpotter can easily switch with one click to tower view or a custom spot view or choose your tower or parking spot or runways on Msfs2024 , 2020 and soon there will be surprises.  YouTubers around the net used it and anyway and it is very simple and useful . 

Edited September 17, 2025Sep 17 by karijno

FlightControlSpotter is a new addon in this area . I have a lot of good feedback and I always note feedback to be better . It is in active development and I m working to satisfy every request with new free updates in a short term ! BTW TAKE PLANE CONTROL assignment iyou need configure on the standard MSFS assignment shortcut page ! This is a shortcut included in the base sim !
 Stay tuned 

Edited September 17, 2025Sep 17 by karijno

Hi ! 

tomorrow i ll release a free update to FlightControlSpotter v1.02 with these fixes:

- Removed Pause when you Click on Tower or SpotView

- Font size change accordingly with resolution

- Drone Zoom is set to 70% to better follow the user plane

- Adjustment on altitude calculation for Tower and SpotView

Thanks for your feedback !

FlightControlSpotter v1.02 Update is out now ! 

Hi !

I ll be at FSWEEKEND Lelystad next weekend (inside Simmarket booth) with my next iteration of FlightControlReplay and FlightControlSpotter ! Available alpha build for both to test it and give me feedback ! And we will be a new teaser video on FSELITE Stage on Saturday and Sunday !

Come to Simmarket space ! I ll be available discuss about future and new features coming with FlightControlReplay and FlightControlSpotter !

Fabio

 

I'll be at FSWeekend, is this a free update for those who already have FCR and FCS?

Yes ! Free update for FlifhtControlspotter V2 and only small price  upgrade  for V6 upgrade

Edited March 23Mar 23 by karijno