Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 6 Restores Bush Flying

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is getting a major quality-of-life push with Sim Update 6, released on August 13, 2026. The headline change is the return of bush flying—an activity built around low, slow navigation by sight—but the update also brings broad system fixes, improved rendering, DLSS support, and mission and cockpit improvements.

Sim Update 6 brings bush flights back

Sim Update 6 is a free update focused on upgrading core features, fixes, and rendering across the simulator. For players who noticed bush flying missing at launch, this update restores it as part of a broader set of improvements.

Release date: August 13, 2026
Key content return: bush flying flights are reintroduced
Navigation style: routes are structured into short “legs” flown visually without autopilot handling the navigation
Aircraft variety: includes planes such as the CubCrafters XCub, Cessna 172, Caravan, and DA62

What the 2024 engine changes for low-altitude terrain

The update’s most noticeable impact for bush flying comes from the 2024 rendering improvements—especially how the simulator builds the ground geometry. The update leverages displacement mapping to shape terrain rather than relying purely on flat texture projection, which matters most when you’re flying just feet or meters above fields, hedges, and uneven surfaces.

As described, the ground detail is increased dramatically—on the order of 4,000 times more geometric detail than the prior version—aimed at making low-altitude passes look and feel more realistic. The result is terrain that better holds up when you skim over reliefs, cliffs, and vegetation like hedgerows and groves, with more convincing variation in how grass and surrounding features appear.

Beyond bush flying: performance, missions, and cockpit updates

Sim Update 6 isn’t limited to the return of bush routes. The update includes hundreds of cross-simulator optimizations and feature changes spanning rendering, missions, avionics, VR, and stability.

Among the highlighted changes:

DLSS 4.5 support and improved image rendering behavior for smoother visuals
Night missions return for unlit airfields in career mode, including lighting corrections across many airports
EFB availability expanded to more aircraft, including the Boeing 787 and TBM
Career progress adjustments, including partial pay for abandoning a mission and removal of penalties when a simulator bug is responsible
Additional fixes across aircraft, avionics, and VR, plus updates addressing crashes and loading times

What to watch next

With bush flying back in the game and the low-altitude terrain improvements finally in place, many players will be testing whether the default scenery holds up consistently across remote routes. The update also sets a baseline for continued refinement—especially around performance and stability—as more issues are ironed out alongside the new rendering pipeline.