This cool Microsoft Flight Simulator plugin lets you earn a living as a bush pilot

There’s so much freedom in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Pick a spot anywhere in the world and you can be taking off, landing on, or flying over it a moment later in any aircraft you choose. Fun as that is, there’s something to be said for a bit of progression, starting small and working your way up instead of becoming the captain of a 747 on a flight over Tokyo before you’ve even completed the tutorials. 

If you’re looking for a some structure in Microsoft Flight Simulator, there’s a really neat plugin called NeoFly that can give you some focus and an extra bit of challenge. I’ve been using it and not only does it work extremely well, it’s made flying a lot more fun.

NeoFly is a bush pilot plugin, and with it downloaded and running on my PC I can select from a list of short but often challenging missions. They may involve transporting cargo, flying passengers between small airports, or taking important VIPs from one place to another. There are some critical missions, too, like delivering medics or firefighters into a difficult landing zone where there are no airstrips or runways. There’s even a bit of intrigue like cargo airdrop missions and “secret passengers” who can only be transported at night. I’m sure that’s totally on the level.

The plugin works great on a second monitor, if you’ve got one. All you need to do is pick a mission, then select the corresponding starting airport and airplane in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Make sure you’re in a parking area with your engine off, and the plugin will get the mission started. NeoFly shows a series of green lights in its tracking tab if you’ve got the starting mission requirements correct, which may involve using the MFS menu to tweak the payload weight of your plane to simulate the mission you’re attempting.