We’ve got two very different collections of aircraft on feature with this latest first party aircraft developer stream. The first one was solo developer Michael Johnson who has put together two variants of the Grumman Albatross. Following that, it was the turn of Cameron MacMillan from iniBuilds to show off the A321, A330, A400M and the Beluga for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Here’s some of what we learned!

Flying boats and airliners!

Michael Johnson was first to go featuring his work on the Grumman Albatross G111 and HU16. The HU16 is the classic version of the airplane with steam gauges and a utilitarian cabin in the back. This aircraft flew from the Korean War era and beyond successfully serving a wide variety of roles.

Yes, the nose bubble is modeled and you can move the camera down there and admire the forward view!

The G111 version is a more modern variant with a VIP cabin and modern avionics as a few private G111s are configured.

The Albatross has both airfield and water landing capabilities. It looks like a fantastic aircraft to hand fly and the radial engines look beautiful and sport some great smoke effects on start. Looking forward to taking this one up for a flight or several.

iniBuilds presentation

Cameron MacMillan and Pablo, an A330/A350 pilot, were on hand to represent iniBuilds and they gave us quite a good look at the the A330 in particular as well as a good look at the A321LR.

The A330 got the majority of the screentime with a start-up, takeoff, circuit around the airfield and landing demonstrated. The aircraft is quite similar in operation to the A320 series, by design, though they were keen to point out that the A330 has quite a few differences. The fly by wire system on the real and the simulated aircraft was quite a bit more sluggish feeling intending the mimic the feel of the A300 and A310 – interesting! The aircraft appears to have similar fidelity to the A320neo V2 in MSFS 2020 and that includes the secondary flight plan working, windows in the cockpit opening, as well as performance differences between the different variants and engine options.

Speaking of options, we’re getting both the A330-200 and A330-300 and we’ll be getting the GE CF6 engines as well as the Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines. Reportedly, the rarer Pratt & Whitney engines were more difficult to get data on and are not included.

On the A321LR, we’re getting something very similar to the A320neo V2 with some unique features for the A321. They have also gone ahead and done some remodeling work on the nose and wings of the aircraft correcting some inaccuracies of the model. It’s unclear if they will go back and correct the A320neo V2 in the process. The A321LR does have some unique features with additional flaps so its not a copy and paste but rather an aircraft that reflects many of the unique features of the type.

They also gave us a bit of a demo with the A400M. This sounds like an incredible airplane with range to go from the UK to the US east coast (Boston was named), the ability to land in 600-900 meters, and reasonably detailed systems. Though they report that the simulated detail is somewhat less than on the A330 as the systems of the A400M are partially classified – a similar issue to what we heard with Miltech and their C-17. It still looks like a reasonably detailed experience.

Finally, they showed off the Beluga XL. This A330 variant has a massive cargo hold on top of the aircraft. iniBuilds showed off the ability to load cargo via the EFB and that includes animated payloads. The payload shown off was two partially completed aircraft fuselages – which is just incredible! It will have similar limitations as the real one with a FL350 and Mach 0.7 limit.

Interestingly, the A310 has been updated too. The flight deck, cabin, engines, wings, and exterior have been upgraded using the A300 where appropriate and brought up to MSFS 2024 standards. Great!

While none of these appear to be reaching quite as high as Fenix Simulations A320 series, virtually all of these look to offer quite a bit of value considering their “default” aircraft status. They are anything but when it comes to the fidelity offered in 2024 versus what was initially available back when MSFS 2020 launched.