The freeware Boeing 787-9 developed by the team at Horizon Simulations will be released this Friday for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The plane, which has been in development for (at least) a little over two months since its announcement on August 25th, had the veil lifted by content creators and streamers over the weekend, although the general public will only have to wait another 5 days to get their hands on the plane themselves.
The release window on Friday sits on the eve of VATSIM’s annual Cross the Pond event, so keep your eyes on the virtual skies Saturday for any pilots plucky enough to try their hand at the new Boeing widebody. Although it ought to be said that per standard practice on the VATSIM, please do not try to fly a plane that you’re not already totally familiar and confident with on the network.
Included will be both engine variants – the General Electric GEnx-1B, and Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, along with a number of highly detailed liveries for both variants. The plane has been constructed with Sim Update 13’s new framework meaning it will take advantage of the EFB that was recently added to Asobo’s stock Boeing 787-10 following its redesign by Working Title.
As with the other 787 variants, you will need the Premium Deluxe edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator in order for this freeware addon to work properly in your simulator, since it takes advantage of systems logic present in that version of the game only.
In real life, the -9 is the most popular variant of the Boeing 787 family with almost twice as many orders on the books as the -8 and -10 combined. However, it has suffered from a number of issues with deliveries following regulatory issues. Most recently on February 24 this year, Boeing was forced to halt deliveries to customer airlines once again owing to an issue with the pressurised bulkheads.
The stoppage on deliveries has not prevented the next-generation jet liner from being one of the most sought after in the aviation world however, with a flurry of new orders being placed at this year’s Paris Air Show in June.
FSElite will bring you any further updates pertaining to the 787-9 as and when we receive them. A list of key features are included below.
Key Features
The Boeing 787-9 by Horizon Simulations offers an array of exciting features and improvements, all thanks to our dedicated team of creators and contributors. Some highlights include:
EFB Enhancements:
– Added EFB performance calculations for the -9 and both engine types (Credit: Kuro).
– Doors page added to the EFB (Credit: Toby).
Model Enhancements:
– Exterior model now features grime, dirt, markings, and more (Credit: Max).
– SATCOM added to the model (Credit: Kuro/Max).
– New default wing textures (Credit: Max).
– RR and GE engines are now split into two separate aircraft in MSFS menu (Credit: Toby C).
– Engine cowlings now have a more realistic grey/matte appearance (Credit: Toby C).
– Engine fan blades have been reworked for better animations (Credit: Toby C).
– Wingflex and engine vibrations have been tweaked (Credit: Andro).
– Engine spinners have been recoloured (Credit: Toby C).
– New Hublot/Parallax window textures (Credit: Jviation).
– Gear compression is now simulated (Credit: Rob B/Adam).
Lighting Enhancements:
– Exterior lighting has been completely reworked (Credit: Nico).
– Cabin lighting now features “mood lighting” in the external view, depending on livery type (Credit: Toby C/Adam).
Cockpit Enhancements:
– Brand new cockpit textures (Optional download) (Credit: Mike).
– Added correct engine displays based on engine type (Credit: Kuro).
– Added Vbar option (Credit: Kuro).
Sound Enhancements:
– Added a new GEnx sound package (Credit: Heavy Division/Toby C).
Flight Model Enhancements:
– Flight model has been reworked to match -9 tables (Credit: Mark Sz/Rob B/Adam).
– Fuel flow reworked to match the -9 figures (Credit: Rob B/Mark Sz/Adam).
– Taxi model reworked to match -9 figures (Credit: Adam).
– Tweaked idle thrust (Credit: Mark Sz). Overhaul of flap configuration (Credit: Rob B/Adam).
– Tweaked drag/lift values (Credit: Rob B/Adam).
– Model matching (Wing area, aircraft length, fuselage width) (Credit: Mark Sz/Rob B).
Miscellaneous Enhancements:
– Added GSX profiles (Credit: Simon).
– Included a -9 Paintkit (Credit: Max/Kuro/Qbit).
– Over 30 stunning liveries to choose from (Credit Max/Zaph/Hakon/Jason/Jordan/Raimbotrax/Silky/Javiation).
– Added -9 tooltips (Credit: David N). Corrected -9 description (Credit: David N).
