Announced in June but completely missed by me, Just Flight is starting to talk a bit about their next Microsoft Flight Simulator project and it’s going to be an interesting one for people interested in airliners from the 1970’s. Here’s what we know about their Fokker F28 project.

Vintage airliners

When the jet age began in the 1950’s, the noisy and vibration prone radial powered airliners were given up with smoother turbojets and turboprops taking their place. By the 1960’s, regional jets were starting to appear and Fokker took their expertise with their turboprop F27 design and applied it to a new jet design. The F28 was born! The F28 Fellowship would be used by air line companies from 1969 until the 2000s before many were retired.

Just Flight is looking to recreate this aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator and they have a pretty good start on it too. 4K PBR textures, realistic animations including wingflex, passenger and cargo door operation, as well as a custom coded autopilot and detailed systems are all planned by Just Flight’s dev team. Just Flight also report that they will do the 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 variants.

In the latest update, we’ve seen the exterior visuals on display including multiple liveries from different historical operators of the type. More interior details are sure to follow in future updates so this is just a start.

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Fans of more vintage style airliners with less modern systems, no glass cockpits and plenty of retro charm are likely to find this interesting.

Just Flight have a reputation for putting in visual detail and systems depth in about equal measure and it’ll be interesting to see this aircraft come to fruition.

Plenty of airliners in the works

Microsoft Flight Simulator has, as expected, picked up a significant number of airliner projects. Some are fairly simple (some controversially so) and came out quickly while others like this one and PMDG’s DC-6 are more complex. More are coming over the horizon so fans of airliners will probably not have to wait too much longer for a good variety of highly detailed experiences.

For the latest news on this project, visit the Just Flight Fokker F28 development page on their website.