Just in time for Christmas, the talented folks over at Flight Sim Labs reveal more details and some tasty screenshots of their new Concorde. As many simmers already know, Flight Sim Labs produced the most true-to-life simulation of the Concorde for FSX and P3D. It’s only fitting that they update their popular add-on for P3D and eventually bring it to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Andrew Wilson posted an update on their forum showing off some of the work they’ve been doing to develop the next gen Concorde simulation. For those that missed the initial first look, I recommend you read our previous article for tidbits that will provide some additional insights into the Concorde’s development.
Andrew explains in the forum post that the external model has been reworked using the latest PBR technologies. They will include all the liveries that the Concorde flew in with each production aircraft configured with its individual weight and balance properties – which you guessed it, means that each airframe will handle in uniquely different ways. For example for those flying the Pepsi variant, it’ll be important to watch your airspeed as prolonged time spent cruising at Mach 2 may result in damage to the airframe since the darker paint retains more heat.
The details don’t stop there however. Special effects will be added to simulate how the reheats react to various lighting conditions. During the day, you will see the reheat spray rings and pre-ignition sequence. At night, the diamond cone will illuminate the surrounding environment during takeoff as well as spark as you barrel down the runway. Engine smoke will also appear and dynamically change depending on atmospheric conditions and engine power.
In terms of systems depth, Flight Sim Labs will be sure not to disappoint. For example, the main landing lights situated at the forward wing root will result in buffeting, so it’ll be important to be mindful of when you deploy them. Furthermore, when in supercruise, the aircraft will settle into a cruise climb which is simulated so precisely that the aircraft is never more than 50ft from the calculated profile. Since all of the switches, dials, and rotary selectors are individually simulated, the team developed a “virtual flight crew system” which means that as a single pilot, you will be able to rely on your flight engineer and first officer to carry out real world procedures while you focus on flying the airplane.
For those who like connecting external devices, Flight Sim Labs will allow you to display important information on a tablet or phone. They demonstrate how one may utilize this feature in a screenshot that shows the Concorde EROPS chart which depicts the diversion commit points depending on how many engines are available. The diversion points are carefully calculated using weather and aircraft performance and was used in real life by British Airways during flight briefings.
We highly recommend you read the full post as we’ve only covered a few of Andrew’s talking points. As always, stay tuned for more updates as they come out. We at FSElite are incredibly excited to hear more as we’re sure all of you are too. Until then, check out some screenshots below:
