PMDG and iniSimulations joined by newcoming Fenix Simulations are all working on some high fidelity airliner options for airliner fans flying on Microsoft Flight Simulator. There’s been a lot of news in the last few days so let’s have a look at what’s going on!
Airliner time!
Until I got into civil flight simulations in a more serious way, I really had no idea how much of a big deal the ‘tubeliner’ crowd was. Dominated by streamers and content creators showcasing entire flights and high fidelity airliner operations, there’s a big market and a big appetite for these airliner experiences. It looks like fans of Microsoft Flight Simulator that are looking to dig their teeth into some more serious airliner operations are going to have some more options on the menu.
Here are three that you’re going to want to pay close attention to over the next little while as they work on delivering their airliner experiences to the still new Flight Simulator.
iniSimulations A310
Yes, the same iniSimulations that drew a lot of attention with their A300 and A310 series on X-Plane is now working on the same kind of high fidelity experience with an A310 for Flight Simulator. iniSimulations have delivered some impressive options for the X-Plane crowd and that is looking likely to translate over to MSFS as well.
They have announced the iniSimulations A310-300 for MSFS and have released screens along with a few details of their work. According to their development update, they are working on systems, flight modeling and 3D art. I am curious to see how rapid progress might but as the developers have already delivered impressive models and systems on X-Plane.
No release dates have been given at this point.
Some already very impressive screenshots have been released. For more, visit their development update which also includes news on their efforts in X-Plane 11.
PMDG and the 737-700
Progress is being made by PMDG on their 737-700. The development update takes on a bit of a muted tone as they relate to some of the challenges of developing in the new environment, however, with their DC-6 project successfully released I suspect that they still have their processes under control.
The latest development update indicates that they are still on track for a late 2021 or early 2022 launch date. This is something that they announced many months ago and took some flak for but have ultimately been vindicated as the project progresses.
PMDG’s FSX releases were and still are regarded highly and their DC-6 MSFS release has been an impressive on as well so I have high hopes for the product.
The latest update is mostly focused on how the aircraft looks and how the new sim lets them craft with impressive levels of detail. No cockpit shots are available as it sounds like there’s a lot of debug code and visuals still to be cleaned up so it seems likely that a follow-up article will begin to detail features, functions, and the depth of what PMDG plans to do.
They also tease that the product pricing and structure will “make it easier to own a PMDG product” in the sim. FSX releases have traditionally been expensive with some hitting the $99.99 USD mark.
For now, enjoy some of the latest screenshots and visit their development update to get the word from them. Stay tuned for some exciting updates from this developer!
Fenix Simulations
Finally, we have another airbus in the form of the A320 from Fenix Simulations. The name appears to be new in the simulation sphere but the developers sound like they are seasoned veterans (will have to dig into that more when I have some time) as they have set the lofty goal of producing the most detailed simulation of the A320.
Previous updates have included details on how they plan to use algorithms to determine GPS satellite location and accuracy levels to degrade navigation performance realistically or how their simulation of the A320 will include a wide variety of systems failures. Their 3D modeling also looks impressive. Check out some of these screenshots.
Visit their most recent update which just happened a few days ago to get the details!
More to come
There are many more airliners out there for MSFS with some good ones already released while there are also some of questionable quality. With these three, it looks like the fidelity levels will be high or very high and they will have the kind of features and functionality that the most discerning airliner flight sim pilot is going to want.
Keep an eye on these! I think we’re in for some good things with them.
Stormbirds 
Why are coming so many airliners and no decent GA aircrafts !
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As I mentioned in the introduction, these types of aircraft are very popular with the flight simulation crowd. Perhaps moreso than GA aircraft.
There are a decent number of what we might call medium fidelity GA types available now. What kind of GA type would you like to see?
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“They also tease that the product pricing and structure will “make it easier to own a PMDG product” in the sim.”
I just hope they haven’t forgot about that $99 discount they’ve promised to all early purchasers of their NGXu for Prepar3D.
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I am looking for decent modern GA like SR22, glass cockpit. Not the joke from Asobo.
The justflight turbo arrow is probably alright but only steam gauges.
How are the G36 or Da62 with the mods ?
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Ok, so you’re looking for a more modern GA aircraft with a glass cockpit setup. What other features would elevate it beyond the more basic modeling level that we’ve seen from the default types like the SR22 and DA62?
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There’s 2 free mods for the TBM 930 that greatly improve the realism of the aircraft and make it quite worthwhile (Mugz & Working Title). I’d suggest starting there.
I can personally highly recommend the Turbo Arrow. While it is indeed steam gauge, it’s a genuine work of art and a pleasure to operate.
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The good news is that it seems like the 737 is only a month-ish away (according to the latest news from PMDG)!
It’s a fantastic, engrossing addon in P3D and it will be that much better in MFS 🙂
The Fenix is a VERY cool project. They’ve taken a high-end, literally professional-grade Airbus simulation that is stand-alone from any sim, and have integrated it into MFS.
If it releases in the state promised and in the price range hinted at, it will fundamentally disrupt the “Study Level” market segment.
Having iB make the leap to MFS is also fantastic news. If they bring their Beluga to MFS, I’m in FOR SURE!
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