In June at FSExpo 2023, iniBuilds shared details about its upcoming A300-600 project for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Following that initial announcement, the team has now provided a second update, detailing the progress made over the past few months. There is excellent news as this project moves ahead at a fast pace, with plenty of stunning screenshots and an initial release confirmed before the end of this year!
Starting with the visuals, iniBuilds has clearly put a lot of work into building a highly detailed model of the A300 with crisp, highly detailed textures. The exterior of the iniBuilds A300-600 is characterized by a meticulous attention to detail. From rivets and screws to panel gaps and placards, the high-resolution decal sheets have been used to recreate each aspect.
The cabin and cargo doors, along with the nose gear interphone panel, external power panel, and main cargo door control panel, have also been carefully modeled. The liveries have been designed to reflect each operator’s unique identity, with precise stencils and markings. Take a look at this selection of beautiful preview images showcasing the work the iniBuilds team has put into the graphics of the aircraft:
iniBuilds has also made significant progress with regard to the systems and flight dynamics. The A300-600 incorporates comprehensive systems simulation and a realistic flight model.
This is an airplane that will make plenty of use of the CFD (computational flight dynamics) available in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which will affect how the aircraft behaves both in flight and while on the ground. Furthermore, iniBuilds will have a newly built auto-flight system with enhancements to flight director guidance, autoland, AP handling, and a new LNAV system.
The update indicates that significant work has been done on system updates and refinements.
Release Plan: Stages and Updates
The development update outlines a detailed plan for release. The launch of the A300 for MSFS will be split across a few stages, first starting with the base GE Freighter and Passenger variants before the end of this year, to be quickly followed by a hotfix patch, and then the Pratt & Whitney and EPIC Mod (upgraded avionics) variants in 2024:
Stage 1 Release: GE Freighter & Passenger (v1.00) before the end of 2023.
Stage 1 Hotfix: before the end of 2023 (free update).
Stage 2 Update: PW Update, IDC addition & Bug fixes early 2024 (free update).
Stage 3 Update: EPIC Mod variant (paid expansion) sometime in 2024.
Note that the PW will come at no additional cost!
These are exciting news indeed as the prospect of a new airliner materializes towards a soon-to-happen release in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Enjoy the new images and stay tuned for further updates regarding the iniBuilds A300-600 for Microsoft Flight Simulator!