Building the Perfect Benchmark Flight
Estimated Lesson Time: 35–45 Minutes
Lesson Overview
In the previous lesson, we explored why benchmarking is essential and why professional optimisation is built on accurate measurements rather than assumptions.
Now it’s time to build something you’ll use throughout the rest of the Performance Academy:
Your permanent benchmark flight.
This flight will become your reference point whenever you:
- Upgrade hardware.
- Install a new graphics driver.
- Optimise Windows.
- Change graphics settings.
- Install new scenery.
- Test new aircraft.
- Compare simulator updates.
By keeping every aspect of the flight consistent, you’ll always know whether a change genuinely improved performance or simply produced different results because the test conditions changed.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson you will understand:
How to build a repeatable benchmark flight.
Why every benchmark must remain consistent.
How airports influence performance.
How aircraft complexity affects results.
Why weather and lighting matter.
How to standardise your benchmark route.
How to create a benchmark that can be reused for years.
What Makes a Good Benchmark?
A professional benchmark should be:
- Repeatable.
- Consistent.
- Realistic.
- Challenging.
- Easy to recreate.
The purpose isn’t to produce the highest FPS possible.
The purpose is to produce results that can be compared fairly over time.
1. Choosing the Right Airport
The airport you choose will influence almost every benchmark result.
Airports differ dramatically in:
- Terminal size.
- Number of buildings.
- Ground traffic.
- AI aircraft.
- Static aircraft.
- Photogrammetry.
- Object density.
- Lighting.
- Terrain complexity.
Testing at a small regional airport one day and Heathrow the next makes meaningful comparisons impossible.
What Makes a Good Benchmark Airport?
A good benchmark airport should:
- Be reasonably demanding.
- Load consistently.
- Be an airport you fly regularly.
- Include realistic scenery complexity.
- Not be so demanding that lower-end PCs become unusable.
Suggested Benchmark Airports
Heavy Airports
- Heathrow (EGLL)
- JFK (KJFK)
- Frankfurt (EDDF)
- Amsterdam (EHAM)
- Los Angeles (KLAX)
Medium Airports
- Manchester (EGCC)
- Palma (LEPA)
- Dublin (EIDW)
- Vienna (LOWW)
Light Airports
- Oxford (EGTK)
- Gloucester (EGBJ)
- Smaller GA fields
Choose one airport and keep it throughout the course.
2. Choosing the Right Aircraft
Aircraft complexity directly affects CPU workload.
Examples:
Simple Aircraft
- Cessna 172
- Cub
- DA40
Moderate Aircraft
- Default A320
- 737 MAX
Highly Complex Aircraft
- PMDG 737
- Fenix A320
- iniBuilds A350
Each aircraft uses different systems, avionics and displays.
Switching aircraft between benchmarks invalidates comparisons.
Recommendation
Choose one aircraft that represents the type of flying you do most often.
For example:
If you mainly fly airliners…
Benchmark using your favourite airliner.
If you mainly fly GA…
Use your preferred general aviation aircraft.
3. Weather
Weather has a major influence on simulator performance.
Clouds are one of the largest GPU workloads in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Changing weather between benchmarks makes results unreliable.
Avoid Live Weather
Live Weather changes constantly.
Every benchmark would become different.
Instead, use:
- Clear Skies.
- Few Clouds.
- Broken Clouds.
- A saved custom weather preset.
Use the same preset every time.
4. Time of Day
Lighting affects:
- Shadows.
- Reflections.
- Global illumination.
- Ambient Occlusion.
- Bloom.
- Cockpit lighting.
A sunrise flight places different demands on the GPU than midday.
Choose a fixed time and keep it the same for every benchmark.
A midday flight often provides consistent lighting conditions.
5. Choose a Parking Stand
Many users overlook this step.
Different parking positions can face:
- Busy terminals.
- Empty aprons.
- Open countryside.
Even rotating the aircraft 180 degrees can change the number of visible objects.
Choose one parking stand and always begin there.
6. Taxi Route
Taxiing loads:
- Airport buildings.
- Ground vehicles.
- AI traffic.
- Airport workers.
- Taxiway lighting.
Changing taxi routes changes the workload.
Create one taxi route and follow it every time.
Example
Gate → Taxiway A → Holding Point → Runway 27.
Repeat exactly.
7. Departure
Take-off introduces:
- Rapid scenery loading.
- Increased draw distance.
- Terrain streaming.
- Cloud rendering.
- Photogrammetry.
Always use:
- The same runway.
- The same departure heading.
- The same climb profile.
This keeps scenery loading consistent.
8. Arrival
The arrival phase is often one of the most demanding parts of a flight.
Returning to the same airport allows you to compare:
- Approach performance.
- Airport loading.
- Photogrammetry.
- AI traffic.
- GPU workload.
- CPU workload.
Use the same runway and approach every time.
9. Flight Duration
Your benchmark doesn’t need to be long.
A 15–20 minute flight is usually enough.
Example:
- Cold & Dark at Gate.
- Taxi.
- Take-off.
- Climb to 5,000 feet.
- Circuit.
- Return.
- Land.
- Taxi back.
This provides enough data while remaining practical.
10. Record Everything
Create a benchmark sheet.
Record:
Simulator
- Simulator Version.
- Graphics Settings.
- Driver Version.
Flight
- Airport.
- Parking Stand.
- Aircraft.
- Runway.
- Weather.
- Time.
- Route.
Hardware
- CPU.
- GPU.
- RAM.
- Resolution.
- Monitor Refresh Rate.
Every future benchmark should use this exact setup.
Why Consistency Matters
Imagine these two tests:
Test A
- Heathrow.
- PMDG 737.
- Broken Clouds.
- 10:00 AM.
Average FPS:
- 62.
Test B
- Palma.
- Cessna.
- Clear Skies.
- 3:00 PM.
Average FPS:
- 108.
Did your optimisation improve performance?
Impossible to know.
The benchmark changed.
Professional testing removes these variables so only the optimisation itself is being measured.
Common Mistakes
Changing airports between tests.
Using Live Weather.
Switching aircraft.
Changing the departure runway.
Flying different routes.
Testing for only a few minutes.
Forgetting to record settings.
Student Exercise
Today you’re going to create your permanent benchmark flight.
Step 1
Choose:
- Airport.
- Parking Stand.
- Aircraft.
- Weather Preset.
- Time of Day.
Write these down.
Step 2
Create a repeatable flight.
Include:
- Taxi.
- Take-off.
- Climb.
- Cruise segment.
- Return.
- Approach.
- Landing.
Step 3
Save the flight (if supported by your simulator) or document the exact setup.
Step 4
Create a benchmark document containing:
- Hardware specifications.
- Graphics settings.
- Driver version.
- Simulator version.
- Flight plan.
- Airport.
- Aircraft.
- Weather.
Step 5
This benchmark becomes your permanent Performance Academy benchmark.
Use it throughout every remaining module whenever you measure performance.
Student Checklist
Airport selected.
Aircraft selected.
Parking stand selected.
Weather preset chosen.
Time fixed.
Taxi route planned.
Departure standardised.
Arrival standardised.
Benchmark document created.
Permanent benchmark flight established.
Lesson Summary
Congratulations.
You have now created the benchmark flight that will form the foundation of every future performance test in the Performance Academy.
Remember:
- A benchmark is only valuable if it can be repeated consistently.
- Airports, aircraft, weather and lighting all have a significant impact on simulator performance.
- By controlling these variables, you can accurately measure the effects of hardware upgrades, graphics settings, driver changes and simulator updates.
- Your benchmark flight is no longer just a flight—it’s a professional testing environment that will allow you to make informed optimisation decisions based on reliable data rather than assumptions.
Knowledge Check
- Why should you use the same airport for every benchmark?
- How does aircraft complexity affect performance testing?
- Why is Live Weather unsuitable for benchmarking?
- Why should you keep the same parking stand and taxi route?
- How can the time of day influence benchmark results?
- What information should be recorded before every benchmark?
- Why is a repeatable flight more valuable than a random one?
- How will your permanent benchmark flight help you throughout the rest of the Performance Academy?