Got Friends is best known for its eclectic lineup of add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, ranging from warbirds and gliders to off-road vehicles and even a canoe. In March, the team at Got Friends revealed via the flightsimulator.com forums that they had begun work on the Aeroprakt A-32, a two-seat, high-wing, tricycle gear ultralight aircraft manufactured by the Ukrainian company Aeroprak. The developer recently provided an update on their upcoming project and revealed some of their motivation for taking on the unique aircraft.
According to the post, Got Friends’ upcoming addon is the result of a collaboration with Andy Humphrey and his company, Heavenbound Aviation of Johnstown, OH. Heavenbound Aviation is the Aeroprakt Aircraft Distributor for North America, as well as one of the leading Sport Pilot training organizations in the United States.
The Got Friends team had initially contacted Heavenbound Aviation for reference photos of two older Taylorcraft aircraft (BL65 and BC12D) used for flight training. “But then something special happened,” according to the Got Friends team. “Andy requested that we bring the A-32 Vixxen into the sim to be used as an IFR training aid for his students. Helping train the next generation of pilots using Microsoft Flight Simulator was an opportunity we simply couldn’t pass up.” Expect the A-32 in Microsoft Flight Simulator to have a high level of fidelity to live up to this partnership.
While not widely used in North America, where Heavenbound Aviation is based, the A-32 Vixxen offers comparable performance to legacy trainers like the Cessna 172 or Piper PA-28 line, but is more efficient and economical. Got Friends states that their version of the A-32 will recreate the Rotax 912iS engine and feature a glass-panel layout based on the Garmin avionics included in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024.
In the same post, Got Friends also included a brief development update on its AS33Me self-launching glider. Got Friends first announced the project back in December 2024, and at the time, the release was planned for “early 2025”. However, according to the team, some timeline adjustments had to be made to ensure the Discus 2C Glider was the first in the Got Friends’ glider fleet to receive a native MSFS 2024 upgrade. But, the good news is that Got Friends reiterated that the AS33Me will be the next release for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Further, we can expect the AS33Me to feature enhanced LX gliding computer simulation, refreshed textures, native electrical FES simulation, and “major coding optimizations”.
While both projects appear to be gaining momentum, exact release dates were not provided by Got Friends in the development update. So be sure to stay tuned to FSElite as more details are revealed.
