First Look: ToLiss Airbus A330-900

With the release of the ToLiss Airbus A330-900, FSElite takes a first look at the brand new aircraft for X-Plane.

First Look: ToLiss Airbus A330-900

Back in April, shortly after the release of A320NEO, we were told that the next aircraft to join the ToLiss fleet was to be an undisclosed Airbus A330. When I heard it was going to be the newer A330-900 NEO version, I was very excited to have a new type to fly that will be more and more popular with different airlines and routes as more airframes are purchased. 

So as a first look, let’s take Condor’s big bright stripey green bird for a delivery flight from Toulouse to Frankfurt, and see what it can do. 

The first time loading the aircraft up, it immediately brought a smile to my face. It is like seeing an old relative with a brand-new facelift. It is the same familiar Airbus cockpit that any other ToLiss customer would have seen, but with new features and enhancements. Before getting into these changes and setting the aircraft up, let’s take a walk around the outside to check that the team has prepared the aircraft for delivery. 

Walking around outside helps you understand the sheer size of the aircraft. Although the A330-900 has the same fuselage as the A330-300 it has brand new wings, engines and beautifully redesigned blended winglets. I think that the ToLiss team has produced their best external model yet with this release. 

As we do a walk around, you can see the intricate detail that they have paid attention to, such as the landing gear struts, brakes, springs and hydraulic lines that are all present. The fuselage is peppered with sensors, pitot tubes, antennae and angle of attack indicators which makes the aircraft appear very well made. The texturing of the engines is a personal favourite, with heat tempered bare metal on the exhaust of the engines being very well finished. 

As we climb the stairs and head into the cabin, the front galley is modelled with detail. Moving through the front cabin, the first-class suites look inviting with different textures based on the materials they represent. Towards the back of the aircraft with a swift walk-through economy with equally nice texture and modelling work, is the huge rear galley which services Condor’s 270 economy flyers. Now, back up to the flight deck. 

Entering the flight deck, it’s not just the systems in a cold and dark state, the texturing here feels cold too. There is lots of detail, with wear and tear and different material based texturing but the colour in bright lighting seems too grey. When the lighting is less intense, the cockpit looks and feels more realistic and pleasant to the eye. 

We connect the two GPUs from the Interactive Simulation Control System (ISCS) menu which can now be accessed from the tablet allowing you to stay within the realm of the simulation rather than an external menu. Turning them on springs the aircraft to life with lots of beeps and pings from systems running through automatic checks. Preparing the A330neo is much like any other Airbus. We load the aircraft with 21 VIPs to take delivery for Condor but not much more is loaded. I chose to manually enter the short flight plan because there is nothing I like better than pushing buttons, even if they are virtual. Alternatively, you can import flight plans through exporting from SimBrief through the ISCS. 

When we load a departure runway into the FMS, we can use the ISCS to figure out our V speeds. These are pulled from the menu using the FMS to save some vital seconds on a turnaround. 

One of the ‘facelift’ panels in the NEO aircraft is the Digital Radio and Audio Integrating Management System panel or DRAIMS for short. This panel is a one stop shop for intercom, transponder, TCAS and radio panels all into a condensed panel with a large digital screen. This is a godsend when flying on VATSIM as you don’t have to fiddle around with two stacked knobs, you simply punch in the frequency and hit the switch. Very simple. So, we punch in a fresh Squawk code on the ATC page and keep the transponder in standby mode, ready for taxi. 

With a practically empty aircraft, we quickly start the APU and request that the stairs disengage in the ISCS and a tug to connect from better pushback although there is an alternative pushback option that comes with the aircraft and operated from the menu. 

The brand-new APU smoothly spools to life, and we disconnect the GPU to run on our own power. All loaded, we release the parking brake and allow the pushback to line us up for our taxi out to 14L. Switching the Airbus’ engine mode selector to ignition, and flicking Engine two to start, the giant Rolls Royce 7000 engine slowly spins to life. This does take some time compared to the older engines and we were pushed back into position before the first engine was even fully running. We follow the steps for engine two and say goodbye to the tug. The sound of both engines and APU have been recreated very well as they grow from a slow whine building to a cacophony of rushing air at idle is a real treat from both inside the cabin and out.

We Set the flaps to position 1, conducted a quick flight control check and released the brakes. I have noticed that when the flaps move, the sound is almost non-existent from either inside or outside of the cabin which is a shame. The lightly loaded beast crept forward for a brake test. Whilst taxiing out to the runway and manoeuvring around the hangars, you have to pay close attention to the 64-metre wingspan as to not clip the pretty wing tips and to watch out for CRJs. Although we taxi using no additional thrust due to our light load, it was on and off the brakes to keep the aircraft in sensible taxi speeds with the new brakes getting a good workout before we reached the holding point for 14L. 

With our final checks done, lights on, seatbelts and portable devices signs on, we switch to TA/RA on the DRAIMS and enter the runway. Advancing the thrust levers to 50% triggers a slow spool of the engines which in turn brings the noise as the brakes try hard to hold us. Brakes released and the throttles click into the flex detent, we jump forward and down the runway which gives a real sense of the power the Trent 7000 engines are capable of. Before we know it, we push past V1 and pull back on the stick as the aircraft begins to climb like a homesick angel. The deep thud of the gear locking into place underneath us which sounds authentic as the LNAV kicks into action. The climb to 36,000ft takes just minutes with only a few people enjoying the services behind us. 

During the cruise we decided to have a look at another brand-new system the aircraft is equipped with, the ATSAW or Airborne Traffic Situation Awareness. The ATSAW displays information from the aircraft around us on the ND based on ADS-B technology. The settings are accessed on the third FMGC located on the pedestal. Here you can see the aircraft around you and clicking on one further displays information such as altitude, ground speed, vertical speed and the wake turbulence category. This allows aircraft to manoeuvre more safely in uncontrolled or busy airspace with better awareness of the traffic around it.

After an hour or so in cruise, it was time to prepare for the descent into Frankfurt. Reducing the MCP to 4,000ft the A330 begins its nose down towards terrafirma. At 10,000ft we turn the external lights on, set the pressure in the FMCG, return the passengers to their seats and decide on a flap 3 approach. We also tried out another feature of the brand-new aircraft, the Heads Up Display (HUD) for the approach. The A330-900 is a slippery beast and struggles to slow down to the restriction whilst maintaining the vertical speed so a touch of speedbrake does the trick. 

At 220 knots and 6,000ft long final, we prepare the jet for the approach. Engaging the LS function from the glareshield changes the appearance of the HUD and we see the overlay of the runway, the projected Localiser as well as the other data from the PFD all in front of us on the HUD to reduce the scanning made by the pilot flying. This does take some getting used to, I found myself still glancing down at the PFD. 

Gear down selected as we intercept the glide, setting flaps to three to slow to VAPP speed. Even with the gear down and flaps set to three, this bird does not like slowing. One more touch of speedbrake and we are on a stable approach to runway 25L. Disengaging the Autopilot and hand flying the aircraft over the threshold was a dream. The aircraft is responsive but stable even at low speeds. Proceeding down towards the ground, past 50, 40, 30 and slowly raising the nose whilst retarding the throttle to idle. After a long float due to the higher sight picture that the bogeyed landing gear gives you, we plant the brand-new addition to the Condor fleet down with a surprising -110fpm. 

The automatic braking, reverse thrust and speedbrakes slow the aircraft to a crawl quickly as we vacate the runway and complete the after-landing checklist. We taxi in, whilst watching those all-important wingtips with some taxiways limited to only a metre wider than our wingspan and kick start the APU. 

No water cannon welcome for us as we pull into the gate to be received by Condor executives at the gate. Selecting the engines to off, they wind down and all goes quiet. There is no rest for this young airframe, so we leave the aircraft in a turnaround state, ready for revenue passengers. 

The ToLiss A330-900 is a much needed and exciting long-haul airframe to experience within X-Plane. As the airframe is relatively new, it helps to future proof the platform as we see classics retire in the real world. With many more customers taking delivery of their airframes every week, it will bring new destinations and routes to fly in the virtual world for those that enjoy replicating real world flights. In my view, the A330-900 has the best modelling of a ToLiss aircraft yet with the system depth and flight model we have come to expect from a well established developer. Of course there is work to be made to the texturing in the cockpit but I am sure and hope that the team are working hard to put the cherry on top of their A330 cake. 

To pick up your A330-900, head over to the X-Plane store where it is now available for $89.99. Stay in your seats for a full review of the Airbus A330-900 by ToLiss coming soon to FSElite.

A special mention and thank you to Emma Bentley who provided me with a great livery.

More From:   ToLiss
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Jordan Williams
Jordan works for an independent music venue business operating in the US and London. Discovering flight simulation with FS98, he followed the natural progression up until P3D, where he switched platforms to X-Plane 11 flying everything from fast jets, helicopters to airliners.
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