Yesterday, we saw the teaser trailer from iniBuilds team for its upcoming A350 Airliner for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The trailer was short and sweet, but as usual, us simmers were keen to learn more. Luckily, iniBuilds supplied even more information to whet our appetite as we await the product.
To clarify, the teaser trailer was designed specifically to showcase the art and modelling work. Over time, we will see more details from the team on other areas of the plane such as systems and flight modelling. So if you didn’t get the details you wanted from this, then hold tight, it will come.
The first main area of focus was on how there will be plenty of maintenance options you will be able to do with the iniBuilds A350. Engine cowlings can be opened to reveal the fully modelled engine interior. The team says visual inspections can take place and that the EFB will show you all kinds of data to perform routine maintenance on. There are also other abnormal situations you will be able to manage. (E.g. brake wear indicators, fueling panel, openable APU cowling, openable engine cowlings, APU Mechanic, visible tire wear, RAT, reactive windshield rain).
Another visual treat coming with the iniBuilds A350 is the implementation of dynamic wear and tear. Introduced on the A300-600R, the dynamic weathering effect will change your aircraft’s visual appearance based on the number of hours your fly. A mid-level weathering effect was shown off, but iniBuilds says that more previews to come. Expect pain to peel away from rivets, oil and dirt will ruin your flaps and control surfaces, and you may even start to see painted screws replaced by unpainted ones.
Stepping into the cockpit, iniBuilds shares that they are working hard on detailing the cockpit as best as possible. PBR materials will be used on a newly learned technique will help them save a lot of memory, whilst retaining a high level of detail. In the trailer, we even got a peek into the avionics bay under the cockpit.
Addressing the concerns of realism and data, iniBuilds made it clear that they have plenty of data and resources to work with. Now that the A350 is over 10 years old (surprisingly), there is now lots of information out there for the teams to work with. Furthermore, they have worked with real-world A350 simulators to help verify the data and flight modelling, to ensure what they are working with is accurate. Not only that, but they have around 12 experts supporting the project; from pilots to engineers all providing relevant data and helping to provide information where there may be some missing bits.
FAQ for the iniBuilds A350
An FAQ for the iniBuilds A350 was shared online giving even more information on the upcoming Airbus aircraft. Some important points included the fact that both the A350-900 (both winglet types) and the A350-1000 will be present at release. They have engine data for A350-900 TRENT XWB-84 and the A350-1000 TRENT XWB-97, where they also have custom data for fuel flow, exhaust gas temperature, N1 values and THR% data.
Other features confirmed to be included:
- FLS Landing System
- Onboard Information System (OIS)
- Replication of close o all the MCDU functions on the A350 including SEC F-PLN. If possible; SEC F-PLN 2 and 3 along with pilot waypoints on the ND via the cursor mode.
- Heading Control Function (HCF)
- 90-60 call-outs
- Animated bogie movement on the landing gear
- SATCOM ON/OFF visual changer
- Full CPDLC functionality via Hoppie
The team is investigating functionality like GPS jamming/spoofing, the A350 ‘What If’ functionality, and things like auto-step climb and acceleration flight.
Finally, iniBuilds confirmed that the A350-900ULR (ultra long range) will come at a later date as a free add-on.
If you want to remind yourself of the trailer, be sure to watch it here. Otherwise, we will keep you posted with what is to come from iniBuilds regarding their A350. Don’t forget, they also released Dubrovnik Airport (LDDU) just earlier this week.
Sorry for the slight delay on this, I was at Oshkosh and the reception/wifi was terrible.
