Microsoft Flight Simulator

43 Achievements

1,000

1000+h

Xbox Series

Saddle Sore

Complete a flight of at least 8 hours with a propeller or turbo-prop aircraft.

0.12%

How to unlock the Saddle Sore achievement in Microsoft Flight Simulator - Definitive Guide

Fuzzmeister J

TrueAchievements

01 Aug 2021 20:41

DO NOT use sim time at all for this achievement!! It will void your progress.

Update: The game seems to crash more often than before. If this is an issue, go to General Options then Data Menu. In that menu turn off Online Functionality.

This seems to no longer work with the CJ4. I'm sure it did on PC before the recent updates, but now that the game is running on Xbox this no long works on Xbox or PC. It must be a propeller or turbo-prop aircraft. I tried multiple times to get the Frequent Flyer Miles achievement and it took about 15 hours with the CJ4. You can use sim time on that flight and get it over with, but DO NOT use sim time at all for this achievement!! "Frequent Flyer Miles" can be sped up, but not this one.

I flew CYHZ to LFPG with the Daher TBM 930 and it took about 8.5 hours. The AI landed the plane in a small pond and continued to the edge of the runway, but it still counted. I chose a gate for both airports just in case that is needed. (Image #1 below)

I used the AI pilot the whole time. On Xbox, click the left stick to bring up a cursor or use a mouse. In the toolbar at the top of the screen is a pilot head icon that says "Flight Assistant". Turn on AI Piloting and use all assists in the options menu. (Image #2 below)

When you start the flight, the plane will be off. Even with assists, I had to turn it on. Click on the Checklist in the toolbar and the categories for "Before Engine Start" and "Engine Start" will need to gone through. The bottom of those checklists will have an autocomplete option. (Image #3 below)

Once the plane is started, the AI will start to taxi the plane and the flight will start. Check back in 8.5 hours for your achievement!

You can go with just about any two destinations that show the flight time of 8+ hours, but I want all the star airports and needed LFPG. The TBM 930 is the fastest plane you can use, but 8 hours is 8 hours. The plane does not matter. This plane will take 8 hours for the flight path I used. A slow plane will take a lot longer, so pick two that show a total time of 8 hours.

01 Aug 2021 20:41

25 Comments

Thank you so much for this guide. I did it the other guide's way and wasted many hours, but this worked perfectly first try! Got it while I was working.

By imaidiot19 on 11 Aug 2021 21:55

Works on XSX?

By Tha Playah360 on 14 Aug 2021 19:29

Yes, it works on console!

By Fuzzmeister J on 14 Aug 2021 20:20

Fuzzmeister J Your guide worked first try, thank you. Tried 4 times doing other airports with 9hr etc times and game always crashed either on approach or mid flight. Yours worked first try. Thanks.

By BraveStoner on 26 Aug 2021 15:31

Fuel 98%? Can i use repair & Fuel button?

By Tha Playah360 on 26 Aug 2021 21:00

Refuel and repair should work. I didnt know about it when writing the guide.

By Fuzzmeister J on 26 Aug 2021 21:31

Tha Playah360 Yeah I used repair and refuel during my flight and had no issues with unlocking the achievement.

By BraveStoner on 27 Aug 2021 08:59

I tryed it two times ober night, and found myself back at the Xbox dashboard the Next day...so the Game crashed! Any ideas? And another question, I connected my Controller with cable and taped the right stick to be „active“, is that necessary? I’m playing on Xbox Series X.
Thanks

By xX SworB Xx on 28 Aug 2021 08:22

I've just done it now on my Series X with no problems, I did have Multiplayer & Air Traffic set to off, so I am not sure if that helped or if the latest update fixed some of the crashes. The First time I tried it, I used Live Weather, and there must have been a tailwind because I woke up and the flight finished in well under 8 hours, the next time I just had Clear Skies and it worked perfectly, thanks!

By Joel78 on 15 Sep 2021 21:29

I can confirm that using Quick Resume on the Series X|S won't prevent you from unlocking this achievement. That means you can pause, go back to the dashboard and even turn off your console if you don't want (or can't) to do it in one go.

By LHTP on 22 Sep 2021 23:32

Crashed twice now around the 7 hour mark. I’ve been using quick resume and kept track of time via the navlog. Lucky I’m working from home so can keep trying but it is frustrating.

By dancrozier on 10 Jan 2022 15:10

I managed to get it today. I heard the crashes where often caused as you begin the the approach, which made sense based on my timings. To avoid this. I set a long route (Seattle to Rio). After 8 hours I checked for the nearest airport and requested a full stop landing At the closest one and landed the plane manually.

By dancrozier on 13 Jan 2022 16:32

Got it with TBM930! Great guide 👍

By ASHBA KNOWS on 20 Mar 2022 02:04

What the.... The AI always crash on the 7 hours mark. Its the third night I leave it running and I find the plane on the ground after exactly 7 hours...

By UnfurledEmu75 on 27 Mar 2022 07:41

The game likes to crash or act up. It gets a lot of updates that can change how the AI or achievements work. It seems it is still working for others, so keep trying and it should work.

By Fuzzmeister J on 27 Mar 2022 13:58

The AI piloting absolutely refuses to even land anymore. It approaches the destination airport, gets landing clearance from ATC, then just keeps on flying. I tried the suggested route only to end up 800 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Why this game needed to have achievements at all is beyond me.

By nrdsgtbck0121 on 08 May 2022 03:50

Yeah, the CJ4 is now considered a Jet.

By KGI KlikoNL on 15 May 2022 18:16

Basic on True to Life, none of the planes can do this. Max is 7h reach. But yeah with fuel mid-air and unlimited fuel, you can get

By KGI KlikoNL on 20 May 2022 10:55

Can confirm on Series X that disabling online functionality will stop your game crashing mid flight. I tried this achievement 4 or 5 times before seeing TheJudge24's suggestion, after disabling online functionality I got it first attempt.

By XBFALCON on 31 Jul 2022 11:57

I updated the guide to help others dealing with crashes. Thanks.

By Fuzzmeister J on 31 Jul 2022 15:16

Hi

This works with Boeing 747?

By ObservadorPt on 08 Aug 2022 20:52

No, the Boeing 747 is an airliner not a propeller or a turbo-prop so it won't work.

By Ghost Ninja on 08 Sep 2022 14:59

Yeah the CJ4 is now Jet and not Prop. But basic, just put in starting option and then after 8h flying any direction, nearest airport and land is good enough?

By KGI KlikoNL on 27 Jan 2024 16:11

Nice, this worked perfectly.

By WithTheDawn on 06 Mar 2024 21:48

I tried this 3 times with AI piloting and each time midway through the flight the MSFS would freeze. On the last attempt that I unlocked the achievement on, I went into General Options > Data and turned online functionality off. This disabled Bing data, photogrammetry, live traffic and weather, and multiplayer. Doing this seemed to allow the game to run much more smoothly for 8 consecutive hours. So I would highly suggest disabling online functions before attempting this achievement.

By TheJudge24 on 02 Jun 2022 02:03

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Erico360

TrueAchievements

23 Aug 2020 07:48

Achievement is bugged but this is how to unlock it until they fixed it:

Fly LFBD to KSEA in a Cessna Citation CJ4 (over 8 hours).

Backstory:
So I first tried it with the TBM 930 but didn't unlock the achievement. I then tried with the king air but that also wouldn't work.

I messaged one of the guys on this website who unlocked the achievement (cmlj 7) and he told me the achievement popped when completing a flight from LFBD to KSEA in a Cessna Citation CJ4(Frequent Flyer Miles achievement). I just tried it and it worked! it gave me both achievements.

So fly LFBD to KSEA in a Cessna Citation CJ4 (over 8 hours) and the achievement should pop!

23 Aug 2020 07:48

30 Comments

Just to advise, using the CJ4 advised above, it doesn't appear to work if you increase the sim rate to get 8 hours of flight time in less than 8 real world hours (8 hours of in game flight time passed, but only 3-4 real world hours).

This doesn't really surprise me, as despite the in game clock, on the completion screen it shows the real world amount of time taken which I'm guessing is what it uses. So it needs be at least 8 *actual* hours. I'm guessing you probably can use the sim rate, but still need to fly for at least 8 real world hours.

And regarding PilotDude comment above, it doesn't surprise me that method worked, and it's not really bugged, it's just the nature of this achievement and the way the game engine runs, pressing ESC doesn't truly pause the game so spending 8 hours in the escape screen and then landing will show 8 hours on the completion screen which is all it needs.

By Project959 on 08 Sep 2020 23:31

Someone else try this and let me know, because I just had this pop for me.

1. using a prop plane (I used the diamond da40ng) take off on a flight.
2. hit the ESC key to bring up the menu
3. walk away for 8+ hours and do housework, visit with friends (socially distanced, of course) etc.
4. come back, hit ESC to resume playing, then turn around and land at the same airport you just left.
5. Achievement unlocked.

No kidding. That's what I just did, although I did land at a different airport instead of the same one, and I had already flown about an hour before I hit pause. And I came back after about 7 hours to finish the flight (another 40 minutes.)

I suspect this is bugged, but in a good way for us, I guess. :-)

This worked for me. I used a different plane, but it was the twin engine turboprop. I took off from Cape Canaveral Test Skid and landed a few miles away at the NASA Shuttle Landing strip with a very long pause game in the middle. Popped when I was on the ground. Used co-pilot to fly the entire thing.

By Bobo daMunkee on 23 Sep 2020 17:17

Can confirm I got this to unlock with the CJ4... Not a prop/turbo prop but okay

By KawiNinjaRider7 on 23 Aug 2020 21:04

Lol damn there are 3 100% bugged achievements now.

By meochan913 on 24 Aug 2020 02:32

Hey guys! When using CJ4 ATC constantly notify me the squawk is incorrect. Any idea how to change it??

By meochan913 on 24 Aug 2020 04:50

This unlocked for me as well when I use the CJ4 on the 'Frequent Flyer Miles' LFBD to KSEA achievement.

By Jalrok on 25 Aug 2020 01:07

To change the squawk code in the CJ4, you need to look at your FMS and hit the TUN button on the bottom left. Then hit the CLR/DEL button on the right side of the keyboard, then select ATC1, that should get rid of the code in use.

You should see [] where the old code was. Now using the keyboard, enter your 4 digit code and then select ATC1. It should populate with the new code now.

By raubvogel 89 on 25 Aug 2020 03:40

Does this need to happen in real time, or will it work with the simrate increase?

By scorpian007 on 29 Aug 2020 15:36

Sim rate increases your speed but not the time + some achievements are not working when using simrate somehow.

By Erico360 on 30 Aug 2020 07:14

Achievement is definitely bugged. did a 12+hr flight with the TBM930, landed successfully - went to the gate and shut off so it logged the flight. No achievement.

Currently trying the CJ4 method going from LFBD to KSEA to try and knock out both achievements

By scorpian007 on 30 Aug 2020 08:13

how can we fly in an prop or turbo prob for over 8hrs, when the max range in an beechcraft king air 350i is 1806nm and fuel 539 gal??? with 85ktas???

By ironblader on 31 Aug 2020 12:57

Turn on unlimited fuel in the options

By scorpian007 on 05 Sep 2020 15:24

So just did the frequent flyer achievement, flew for about 9 hours then used sim rate to speed it up a bit and went for another 45 mins or so. Frequent flyer popped but saddle sore didn't. I assume this means of you use simrate increase at all it doesn't work.

By Yurgi Windu on 21 Sep 2020 19:29

So just go this to work, flew from a random airport in Nepal to somewhere in India, flying time was about 9 1/2 hours, auto pilot and co-pilot flew for about 99% of it and co-pilot landed. Never touched the sim rate although I did change destination mid flight and the achievement popped the second my wheels touched the runway. I flew in a Club Crafter X Cub and used low altitude routes. It would appear to be the sim rate increase that causes it not to pop because that was the only thing I did different last time.

By Yurgi Windu on 22 Sep 2020 17:28

The "pause" trick must have been patched. I took off from an airport, hit ESC and walked away for well over 8hrs. Came back to finish the flight and the Total Time of Flight in the logbook was the actual amount of time spent on the flight. Departure and arrival times were adjusted to make the total time make sense. Unless something happened because I started on one day and finished after midnight the next day.

By MightySleigher on 17 Dec 2020 05:56

I just wanted to confirm that as of Jan 16th I got this in the Cessna CJ4 while doing my France-Seattle flight for the other achievement, both popped as soon as I landed and came to a stop.

By FF7 Bryan on 18 Jan 2021 22:14

Does anybody know if this achievement must be done in one sitting, or if you're able to save and return to finish the same flight? I was 6 hours into my flight (saved intermittently) but got kicked out of my flight and forced to download the new update. I pulled my save file back up but the stopwatch was reset. I still have several hundred miles to go so I don't want to waste my time finishing the flight if it isn't gonna count

By DJBringa on 30 Jul 2021 23:19

@DJ: Loading a save resets your time, so I don't think it would work. I'm on my 4th try thanks to updates and crashing.

It's going very slow. The AI pilot goes really high and the plane bounces in the air going about 180kts. It took almost 15 hours for my first attempt that go to the airport, I read comments and tried to land and missed. I had to turn around and set a new runway and it didn't pop.

Update: After 5 very long tries, I completed the flight from LFBD to KSEA with the CJ4 and only got frequent flyer miles. This must have been patched.

By Fuzzmeister J on 31 Jul 2021 10:26

Playing on Xbox, i did my frequent flyer flight earlier today in the CJ4 which was well over 8 hours but this didn't pop on landing like the Frequent Flyer achievement did. Looks like i'll have to do another flight

By VOODOO85 on 01 Aug 2021 12:03

@Voodoo, same for me. I left it overnight, and got frequent flyer in a cessna citation cj4, and got flights of fancy, but saddle sore didn't pop. sad face.

By imaidiot19 on 01 Aug 2021 16:14

Wish I’d read some of these earlier but for me also citation does not work for saddle sore.

I left mine on co-pilot and the reason I think it often crashes on landing is the altitude gets bugged out.

After all that flying I had to bail out of his attempt as when nearly at the runway as it said “500 feet” for the warning I could see my altimeter read 900+ feet!

I successfully adjusted and circled for another ILS landing but only got my frequent flyer achievement 😩

By SILVAF0XX on 02 Aug 2021 01:01

Actually am I talking rubbish?? Is the alt meter above sea level or ground level? I’m guessing it has to be sea right??

If so ignore my previous comment… it’s just my co-pilot seemed to be be heading for the tarmac like the plane in Die Hard 2!! 🙈

By SILVAF0XX on 02 Aug 2021 12:32

Ok, i just popped this totally unexpected (on Xbox). I started a 300+ mile flight in a CUB CRAFTER X CUB and let the AI Pilot do the whole flight whilst i left for work. My partner was going to check when the flight had ended and switch off the Xbox. By mistake though, either i had accidentally paused the game or the hair band around the thumbsticks wasn't tight enough and the game paused due to inactivity with only 15NM of the flight completed. My partner had also forgotten to check on it.

Came home from work to discover Xbox still on and a flight distance of 295NM remaining. I cancelled the destination and changed it to the nearest airport and landed (manually) and the achievement popped despite the flight time only being 15 mins or so but having been started 8+ hours earlier

TL:DR - popped on Xbox after leaving Xbox paused for over 8 hours by mistake

EDIT: It also gave me 5% towards the achievement for flying a 300 mile flight with each aircraft in the base game

By VOODOO85 on 03 Aug 2021 15:07

@SilvaF0XX it's ground level. I've landed above 500 several times. You can't go off course for this achievement, so let the AI land as bad as they want and it should pop.

By Fuzzmeister J on 04 Aug 2021 18:26

A little off topic I suppose, but how do you prevent the game from pausing due to inactivity? I have my controller plugged into the xbox, but it still pauses when the xbox begins to go idle.

By CuddIe Bunny on 05 Aug 2021 18:04

@Cuddle Bunny
this worked for me
Settings > Preferences > Idle options
Try to toggle off "Show me things when idle"
I left dimming on

By VA771 on 05 Aug 2021 18:28

@VA771, this method worked perfectly! Thank you so much!

By CuddIe Bunny on 07 Aug 2021 02:21

I just want to confirm that you can set your co-pilot to fly from two far apart airports and then after 8 hours change using the flight assistant to just land at the nearest airport and it will work.

By Spreadeh on 08 Aug 2021 00:10

This solution no longer works, at least not on the XBox, but the other solution by Fuzzmeister J popped it first attempt just now!

By InfiniteLogic on 08 Aug 2021 00:44

By PilotDude on 06 Sep 2020 05:37

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