# Connecting to Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 **URL:** \ **Category:** Maker\ **Tags:** ignition81, perspective\ **Created:** [March 3, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588 "2023-03-03T14:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phil\_Buckler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@Phil\_Buckler](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Phil_Buckler)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588/1 "2023-03-03T14:33:51Z")
I want to develop some screens to control things like, parking brake, afterburner, panel switches and knobs. So I need a way to read and right from MSFS to Ignition tags. Sounds like I need a driver? I don't really know where to begin. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588/2 "2023-03-03T15:25:58Z")
This is a fun idea, but there's some serious hurdles. MS appears to only support C, C++, and C#, or at minimum, a "native" executable. Java probably _can_ make the function calls needed, but it takes some serious dev effort that is probably not worth it. Probably more fruitful, if you really want to pursue this, would be writing an addon in C# that then in turn communicates a protocol that Ignition can understand, such as OPC UA. ---
**Author:** ![justinedwards.jle](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/justinedwards.jle/32/37854_2.png) [@justinedwards.jle](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/justinedwards.jle)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588/3 "2023-03-04T03:30:17Z")
> [@paul-griffith](#): > > writing an addon in C# If you're going to go down this road, you could simply build the whole UI right there. Visual Studio is what I use for C# development. The community edition is free, and it's not too difficult to figure out. Here is the download link: > **[Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition – Download Latest Free Version](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/)** > > Try our free, fully-featured, and extensible IDE for creating modern developer apps for Windows, Android, & iOS. Download Community for free today! ---
**Author:** ![Arnaud\_Declerck](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/arnaud_declerck/32/44872_2.png) [@Arnaud\_Declerck](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Arnaud_Declerck)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 5:02am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588/4 "2023-03-04T05:02:01Z")
Hi, Some project exist to convert the simconnect api to rest api. maybe that's the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_Buckler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@Phil\_Buckler](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Phil_Buckler)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588/5 "2023-03-08T15:07:23Z")
These all sound like great starting points. But, like I said in the begining I don't even know where to begin. To that end I don't even know what words to google to get started or what options there are. From this thread I know have: MS uses C, C++, or C# and the API for flightsim is called simconnect api. What about making Ignition report as a USB device? ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_Buckler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@Phil\_Buckler](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Phil_Buckler)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/connecting-to-microsoft-flight-sim-2020/70588/6 "2023-03-08T15:16:07Z")
> **[SimConnect](https://pypi.org/project/SimConnect/)** > > Adds a pythonic wrapper for SimConnect SDK. here is a bit that might be useful