I’ve been a bit lax on X-Plane reporting recently but I did want to partially redress that with a report on aircraft maker Thranda who has been busy releasing and re-releasing products for X-Plane 12. In the last couple of months they have released a BN-2A Islander, re-released their Kodiak 100, and come up with a Cessna 172M and I thought it’d be worth having a look at all three.

June: BN-2A Islander

Arriving on June 1st, Thranda’s take on the BN-2 Islander is the third such aircraft to come to X-Plane in recent years making the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft unusually popular among X-Plane developers.

The aircraft features 8K textures with both standard liveries as well as their dynamic livery editor which lets you create a custom colour scheme on the fly including the ability to alter PBR controls to create a dirty airplane or a very shiny one with just a couple of clicks.

FMOD sounds include the ability to custom mix the set adjusting in real time. Each individual button has its own unique sound and there are plenty of extra sounds over the typical that includes engine cool down sounds.

The aircraft has a fully configurable 3D instrument panel, a hallmark of recent Thranda releases, with over 50 instruments to choose from. Those include the Aspen EFD 1000 and support for the RealityXP GTN650 and GTN750. There are 5 panel presets to start from which makes the overwhelming number of customizations a bit easier to manage.

It also has some optional settings such as bubble windows, tundra tires, and optional de-ice system letting you reflect the configuration of Islander that you want.

The Thranda BN-2A Islander for X-Plane 12 is available for sale through the X-Plane.org Store for $34.95 USD.

July: Daher Kodiak 100

One of my favourite X-Plane 11 aircraft was Thranda’s Quest Kodiak. The original release from Thranda came out 6-years ago now and unfortunately Thranda have indicated that the original required rebuilding to get it to X-Plane 12 meaning that this new release is entirely separate. That has caused some complaints in the community.

This new version reflects the aircraft’s new owner and designation (Kodiak 100) and is packed with a ton of new features. Its got 8K textures, land and amphibian variants, options including wheel fairings, tundra tires, skis, mudflaps and cargo pod. The Kodiak is a G1000 aircraft through and through so you don’t have the configurable cockpit like we’ve seen on some other Thranda aircraft but it does let you choose between default G1000 bezel and S-TEC55 autopilot controls.

The sounds are, like on the Islander mentioned earlier, FMOD and are mixable.

Thranda’s X-Plane 12 only Daher Kodiak 100 is available from the X-Plane.org Store for $34.95 USD. There’s unfortunately no upgrade price for folks like me with the X-Plane 11 version.

August: Cessna 172M

Rounding out the trio is Thranda’s Cessna 172M which, like the two prior, has a high degree of customization. Over 50 instruments, 4 panel presets, and interchangeable yoke styles make this Cessna extremely customizable. If you wanted to train on a Cessna 172 and you wanted it to be configured in the same way that your trainer aircraft was configured… Thranda has you covered.

This 172M also has the dynamic livery generator complete with the full PBR control letting you dial in the exact amount of wear and tear. This is in addition to 9 traditionally painted liveries.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, yes, the Thranda 172M also packs in an advanced FMOD system with its own mixer and dozens of custom sounds.

The Cessna 172M from Thranda is available on the X-Plane.org Store for $39.95 but is currently on sale for $29.95 at time of writing.

Other thoughts

Thranda has been one of the better known aircraft makers for X-Plane over recent years and is right up there for me with Aerobask when it comes to making quality, high fidelity, experiences at the higher end of mid-range pricing.

The common features between all of these are the extremely high resolution textures, custom livery generator, custom sound mix, and two out of the three have a completely customizable cockpit letting you put it together any way that you want. It’s a remarkable technology set and I can see why these aircraft attract plenty of attention.

I haven’t reviewed any of these yet but I did want to highlight their release as they had metaphorically flown under my radar over the summer.