Black Square releases King Air Steam Gauge Overhaul for MSFS

Go retro with analogue gauges on Microsoft Flight Simulator’s default King Air.

Posted: 13-Oct-2022 @ 23:20z
Black Square releases King Air Steam Gauge Overhaul for MSFS

Developer Black Square has released its second steam gauge overhaul for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this time for the default Beechcraft King Air 350i.

Previously announced earlier this year, the overhaul includes an improved flight model, a completely new interior and a new panel which retrofits the default cockpit instruments with analogue instruments. This also extends its features to a fully overhauled electrical system with every circuit breaker, bus, meter, switch and knob functioning.

Radio and navigational systems from several eras of King Air’s history are included, so simmers can fly without GPS via an original Bendix KNS-80 RNAV system, or with the Garmin GTN 750 (PMS50 or TDS). Also included are swappable radio configurations via several different radio navigation systems such as Collins CTL NAV/COM radios, CTL-62 ADF, GNS 530, IND-42 DME, CTL-92 transponder, APS-65 autopilot, and a Bendix RDR1150XL colour weather radar.

You can purchase Black Square’s Steam Gauge Overhaul from Just Flight for £27.99.

Features

Model

  • Accurately modelled King Air 350 interior ONLY (uses default exterior model), created from hundreds of reference photos, panoramas and technical documentation
  • 100% MSFS native animation code for the smoothest animations and cockpit interactions using either legacy or new cockpit interaction modes
  • 4096×4096 (4K) textures are used to produce the highest possible texture clarity
  • PBR (Physically Based Rendering) materials with real-time environment reflections for superb quality and realism
  • Detailed normal mapping for leather, fabric, plastic, stitches, scratches, carpet and tooling marks, resulting in a texture resolution of 10,000 pixels per square inch (90.0kB)
  • Extensive use of the new MSFS decal system for nearly vector-graphic quality of labels, arrows and exterior detail features

Cockpit

  • Greatly enhanced instrument panel detail compared to default aircraft with every label and marking in its place. If it appears in real aircraft, you can interact with it!
  • Custom-coded steam gauges with low-pass filtering, needle bounce and physics provide ultra-realistic and silky-smooth animations as you’ve never seen before
  • Carefully modelled components match the depth and character of the real instrumentation, based on reference photos, schematics and real-world measurements. Unlike other expensive Flight Sim aircraft, every piece of equipment that appears in a Black Square aircraft is modelled after a real piece of aircraft equipment and will behave the same way in its primary functionality.
  • Every knob, switch and button is interactable and implemented, along with its respective electrical circuitry. Turn systems on and off or pull circuit breakers to see the impact it has on your generators and battery via the analogue meters. Many pieces of equipment respond correctly to electrical configurations with warning messages and diagnostic codes.
  • Fully 3D cockpit lighting technology for every gauge and panel, with ambient bounce lighting for a more immersive night-time experience that won’t leave you fumbling around in unrealistically dark spots
  • 4096×4096 (4K) PBR textures on the cockpit and panel for crisp instrumentation. Even see the fingerprints on the instrument glass!
  • Hideable yokes, adjustable sun visors and other cockpit aesthetics
  • All placards and warning labels from the real aircraft represented

Systems

  • Completely interactable electrical system with 12 buses and 165 circuits
  • Selective state saving for radio selection, radio frequency memory, cabin aesthetics etc.
  • Fully modelled cabin environmental (temperature) system with controls and gauges
  • Crew/Passenger oxygen system that depletes according to pressure altitude, passenger occupancy and the biological demand of each passenger based on weight
  • Electrical bus-tie, relay, diode, and fault logic, AC inverter logic and bleed air valve logic
  • Improved turbine dynamics (ITT, TRQ, Ng, Fuel Flow, Inertial Separator), battery charging circuity and load shedding
  • Engine limit excursions decrease engine health and will eventually lead to failure
  • Emergency gear extension hand pump logic and working propeller governor tests
  • Dimmable annunciators and backlighting controlled via electrical circuits and radio power, and automatically dimming screens via photocell match real-world equipment
  • Remote compass control with automatic gyro slaving simulated with electrical systems

Flight Dynamics

  • The Analog King Air features an improved flight model compared to the default King Air 350i, with tweaks based on operator feedback online.
More From:   Black Square
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Matt Ashwood
Matt is a Freelance Web Designer & Digital Marketer, he discovered his passion for aviation and flight simulation over 20 years ago with FS98. Outside of FSElite, when not building websites or helping his clients improve their online business, he can most often be found flying the virtual skies in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

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