One of the summer’s most anticipated general aviation aircraft, the Black Square Starship, has been released. For those following the years-long passion project of Black Square’s lead developer, Nick Cyganski, the wait is finally over, with the iconic aircraft taking off into the virtual skies of Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) 2020 and MSFS 2024.
Black Square’s Starship is one of the most advanced aircraft simulations developed for MSFS. It features over 230 possible failures, an accurate recreation of the 14 CRT display Collins AMS-850 avionics suite, advanced turboprop modelling, and much more. The electrical system, the developer’s most accurate yet, features a detailed, triple-fed bus layout and backup batteries for essential avionics. All of which require proper management of cooling and attention to environmental factors, developed using over 10,000 pages of operating handbooks, maintenance manuals, parts catalogues, and electrical schematics.
Failure modeling and instruments are all subject to Black Square’s wear-based, mean time between failure (MTBF), or scheduled failures. Black Square’s new tablet interface allows users to configure options, manage payload, control failures, and monitor engines, electrical schematics, and environmental control systems in real-time, from within the simulator.
Starship’s design pre-dates GPS, and the idiosyncrasies of the original navigation systems have been fully simulated by Black Square. Users can choose between the navigational functionality of the original Starship or utilize modern GPS capabilities, autopilot coupling to the Working Title GNS430. Development was conducted in partnership with real-world Starship owners to ensure the legacy and operational knowledge live on for a new generation of admirers of the iconic aircraft.
You can read our take on what it’s like to fly Starship in MSFS in our article, First Look: Black Square Starship. A comprehensive 190-page manual is available from Just Flight’s product support page for those who want to get a detailed look at each system in the aircraft.
Black Square’s Starship is available for MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 from JustFlight.com for $54.99. Availability through third-party web stores and the MSFS Marketplace will follow.
