Last week, we shared with you the news that a new developer was developing an airliner for Microsoft Flight Simulator that had a high level of fidelity. Today, we’re excited to introduce Fenix Simulations who will be bringing a high fidelity A320 CEO to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Fenix Simulations’ director, Aamir Thacker, has provided FSElite with an extensive first look at the upcoming aircraft.
This A320 replication is believed to be the “most comprehensive and complete A320 simulator available to desktop consumers.” The entire aircraft has been built completely custom to provide a full-fidelity simulation of the A320 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The product will come complete with a bespoke and complete autoflight suite, ARINC424 rendering, full simulation of fluids and pneumatics and plenty of other features that have yet to be seen in any other aircraft simulation.
Using modern technology, the team has captured the physical appearance of the aircraft to a fine amount of precision. Using five real-world aircraft as a reference, the team has been able to create an aircraft model that very closely matches the real thing. Both the external and internal modelling has been created to a very high standard. In fact, the team went to the next level, adding dirt, grime, oil streaks to locations where it would collect. This gives the airframe an in-service effect. This also extends to the inside with wear and tear throughout and even switches that gradually loosen and sit at different angles after many cycles of use.
With the systems being fully simulated, Fenix Simulations has implemented a full failure system. In total 383 different failures can be triggered at any time. This doesn’t include the circuit breakers which have been fully modelled and all usable from within the flight deck. Real-world and Twitch streamer, Blackbox711 has said “these failure simulations are at a level where I can [use] the addon for my real world simulator-checkflights.” His sentiment is echoed by another streamer, KatiePilot. “As many know, my standards for a high fidelity A320 in any simulator are extremely high. The combination of systems depth of the Fenix A320 and exemplary visuals from MSFS make this a pleasure and exciting to fly – just like the real thing. Not to mention the fun I have failing one of the many systems it has to offer! I am truly ecstatic to share this with the world and bring people closer to the real thing than has ever been possible before.”
If you want to learn more about the failures, then Fenix Simulations has provided a comprehensive list of what has been included so far. You can read it here.
Aamir made a comment about on his favourite features so far with the aircraft. Here’s what he said: One of my favorite features of the flight deck is the LCD simulation we’ve created for this airplane. Apart from just matching the resolution to the real A320, if you get up close and personal with one of the screens on the Fenix Sim A320, you will start seeing individual pixels instead of a single blurry texture.”
He continued, “To top it all off, we absolutely had to simulate the horrible off-axis backlight bleed you get when not viewing the panels head on – so these displays behave just like the real deal, with simulated viewing angles.”
It’s worth noting that everything mentioned so far isn’t a pipe-dream or a hopeful wish-list – it’s all currently completed and being tested by a team of dedicated alpha testers.
To continue following the development of the aircraft, we highly recommend you join the Fenix Simulations Discord community. Likewise, you can also check out their website for more information. We’re also able to tell you that a video of the aircraft in action will be shared via the Fenix Simulations Discord in the next few days.
Following this announcement post, Chewwy94 will be live on Twitch going through the images and media kit. He’ll also be joined by Fenix Simulations’ Aamir answering questions from the community.
This is just a taste of what’s to come from the team. We were lucky enough to have an extensive first look at the aircraft earlier this week. We dig deep into the aircraft and provide you with plenty of information all pertaining to the level of detail this aircraft is looking to achieve. You can even see more screenshots of the aircraft in action.
Over the next few weeks, Fenix Simulations will be doing deep dives into various systems within the aircraft so you can truly understand how the team are making this a high-fidelity aircraft. The first deep dive will focus all on the MCDU and will be here on Friday.
