Founded in 2020, Black Square has garnered a reputation for creating “unapologetically realistic” add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) 2020 and 2024. Known for deeply complex, high-fidelity aircraft simulations, Black Square’s product line includes the iconic Starship, home-built Velocity XL, high-performance Piston and Turbine Duke, and the popular single-engine turboprop TBM 850. These standalone aircraft feature custom-built interior and exterior models, custom sound sets, and complex aircraft systems simulations optimized specifically by Black Square.
Black Square’s other aircraft, the Analog Steam Gauge Overhaul series, provides detailed systems modeling, custom interiors, and complex steam gauge cockpits for the default MSFS2020 aircraft, including the Baron G58, Bonanza G36, C208 Caravan, and King Air 350i. These aircraft, however, rely on the default MSFS 2020 aircraft to provide their exterior 3D model and therefore are not standalone.
Released in early 2023, the Analog Baron and Bonanza are a “steam gauge” replacement for the default glass cockpit avionics, interiors, and systems of the Beechcraft Bonanza G36 and Baron G58 found in the Deluxe and Premium Deluxe versions of MSFS 2020. However, as with all Black Square aircraft, the Analog Baron and Bonanza go far beyond a simple cosmetic change, with deep system simulation for nearly every component, including custom-coded electrical, vacuum, and advanced fuel-injected piston engine simulations. Features like persistent wear modeling, hot-swappable avionics stacks, and a complex failure system appeal directly to simmers who crave depth and realism.
With the release of MSFS 2024, significant changes to the underlying code and asset structure made it virtually impossible for these older, modification-based aircraft to function correctly. Instead of trying to port the Analog Series, Black Square went about creating completely new, standalone products – their “Professional Series”. These new aircraft are built from the ground up, with fully native compatibility in both MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024, their own custom exterior models, sound packages by Boris Sound Works, and more advanced features specifically designed to take advantage of the new features in MSFS 2024. According to Nick Cyganski, Founder and Lead Developer of Black Square, the Professional series represents over 1,000 hours of dedication for each aircraft, and roughly doubles the code complexity of each plane compared to the Analog Series. Black Square even put together a PDF documenting all major improvements since the Analog Baron and Analog Bonanza’s original release.
Let’s take a deeper dive into what Black Square has accomplished with its release of the Baron and Bonanza Professional series.
What’s Included?
Just as it did with the Analog Steam Gauge Overhaul series Baron and Bonanza, Black Square, through its partner JustFlight, offers both the Baron Professional and the Bonanza Professional as a stand-alone aircraft addon for $44.99 USD each, or as a bundled product featuring both aircraft for $64.99 USD.
With the Baron Professional series, you are getting three aircraft variants under one title. These are the normally aspirated B58 (of the mid-2000s era), a turbocharged B58TC (a 1984 model), and the pressurized B58P (a 1985 model), also known as the “P-Baron”.
While the standard Baron B58 is a highly capable, 6-place twin, like all non-turbocharged aircraft, the engines reach their optimal performance at lower altitudes. By adding turbochargers to the Baron B58’s engines, the B58TC (Turbo Charged) can maintain sea-level power to much higher altitudes for better speed and altitude capability. The P-Baron (B58P) takes that refinement one step further by providing what many pilots consider the perfect combination of the speed of the B58TC plus a pressurized cabin. This gives the P-Baron high-altitude performance with a comfortable, low-altitude cabin environment, eliminating the need for supplemental oxygen.
Similarly, the Bonanza Professional series features a normally aspirated A36 (a mid-2000s model), a turbo-normalized A36TC (a 2001 model with aftermarket turbonormalizing), and the A36TP Turboprop Conversion, featuring a Pratt & Whitney PT6A. The engine modeled in the turbonormalized A36TC differs slightly from the turbocharging system found in the Baron B58TC in that the turbocharger and wastegate work together to compensate for the decreasing air density as the aircraft climbs. This ensures the engine can maintain its rated sea-level horsepower up to a critical altitude of 19,000’ and not be subject to overboost at sea-level.
Installation & Setup
Installation comes in the form of an installer downloaded from your JustFlight.com account. Authentication and installation location are handled via the installer. While logged in on JustFlight.com, previous owners of the Analog Series Baron or Bonanza (or the Analog bundle) will find a discount code good for an additional 20% off the prices of the Professional Series standalone or bundled aircraft. Once installed, each aircraft will be available within MSFS 2024, separated by type: B58, B58TC, A36, A36TC, etc.
The Baron and Bonanza Professional feature Black Square’s dynamic tail number system, which allows third-party paint scheme creators to control the appearance and position of the tail number using a configuration file entry. This also works with the included paint schemes to make a more realistic-looking registration number using the MSFS aircraft registration configuration. However, this feature is pending a fix included in MSFS 2024 Service Update 4 (SU4) and is not available until SU4’s general release.
While not the fault of Black Square (in fact, they have been working diligently to fix this issue), dynamic registration in a pre-SU4 environment in MSFS 2024 can be buggy and result in unintended textures where dynamic registration would otherwise be placed, such as the winglets on the P-Baron. This issue is not present in MSFS 2020 and will be addressed in MSFS 2024 SU4.
Documentation
A 200+ page manual is available for both the Baron and Bonanza via JustFlight.com’s product support page. The manual provides a detailed overview of every avionics component and the equipment installed in each variant of the Baron and Bonanza Professional. Performance numbers, operating limitations, and printed checklists are also included in the manuals. Additionally, over 400 checklist items are provided for 40+ Normal, Abnormal, and Emergency procedures using the MSFS 2024 in-game, tablet-based checklist system. And, if that’s not enough, JustFlight has published a handful of short videos covering the Baron and Bonanza on its YouTube channel.
The Bonanza Professional offers a total of nine paint schemes (six for the reciprocating engine variants, and three for the Turbine Bonanza) and six different interior upholstery packages that reflect the aircraft’s long service history. The Baron Professional also features six paint schemes and six interior packages spanning the aircraft’s five decades of history.
Exterior and interior textures offer the high-quality visual realism we’ve come to expect from Black Square. According to Cyganski, the textures and materials were created to an even higher quality standard than the piston and turboprop Dukes. In the Baron and Bonanza, we get realistic weathering, bug splatters, and even Gelcoat cracks in the finish of fiber-reinforced composite parts. Vents and ducts are appropriately placed and scaled, and in the case of the retractable air conditioner condensers, they operate just as they do in the real aircraft. Doors and cargo compartments are detailed and can be opened or closed using click spots or the Black Square tablet interface.
Bump map textures reveal the inner structure of the wings and fuselage with visible rivet lines running along ribs and stringers when the sun reflects just right. Labels and placards are detailed and legible, which can be especially appreciated using the MSFS 2024 walkaround mode. The Baron and Bonanza also feature toggleable engine covers, control locks, wheel chocks, and an external power cart. Even a simulated propane engine preheater is modeled, and it is necessary to ease starts in colder weather.
On the inside, the cabins of the Baron and Bonanza Professional reflect a range from the neutral leather style popular in the 1990s and 2000s, to a more vintage tweed and fabric look. The instrument panel for each aircraft would be considered well-equipped in today’s used aircraft market, even when outfitted with Black Square’s retro Bendix/King KNS-81 RNAV Navigation System or the KLN-90B by Falcon71. If more modern avionics are your style, both aircraft support a mix of hot-swappable Garmin navigators, including the GNS 430 and 530, and GTN 650 and GTN750 (TDS and PMS), all configurable via Black Square’s tablet interface. In fact, Black Square states that the Baron and Bonanza Professional support double the number of hot-swappable radio combinations than the previous Analog versions.
Systems Simulation & Depth
It goes without saying that the Baron and Bonanza Professional would not be Black Square products if they didn’t include an obsessive level of system detail. While the definition of a “study level” aircraft in flight simulation remains ambiguous, the Baron and Bonanza Professional seem worthy of that description. With a system depth that is roughly double the code complexity of their predecessors, both aircraft will quickly become favorites of realism-focused and casual flight simmers alike, thanks to the level of detail put into the systems operating “under the hood”.
For example, the aircraft in the Professional line have a fully simulated electrical system with 80 circuits (70 in the Baron), where every piece of equipment, switch, and accessory draws a correctly simulated load from the electrical system. Circuit breakers are the push/pull type and come fully interactive; they can be manually pulled or reset, or tripped during a failure mode. Aircraft battery resistance is modeled, along with voltage-based light dimming when the battery is under load, such as at startup.
Black Square’s extensive failure modeling system incorporates persistent wear, allowing for potential failures in nearly every component. The tablet interface provides a live schematic of aircraft systems, allowing the pilot to see how each system is affected in both normal operation and failure modes. My only observation with the tablet interface is that I wish it contained more detail about engine condition besides just an overall health percentage; I’m imagining something that combines the detail of the JPI EDM engine monitor (fuel flow, temperatures, etc.), with the graphical UI of the tablet. But, don’t let that wish mislead you; the tablet interface is still highly detailed and useful.
Black Square’s use of a physics-based reciprocating engine simulation, which models everything from cylinder compression and oil viscosity to realistic effects like spark plug fouling and backfires, adds further credibility to the study-level nature of the Professional line. The turbocharged (B58TC) and turbonormalized aircraft (A36TC) feature what Black Square says is the most advanced turbocharger simulation in MSFS. The A36TP turboprop conversion models a 500 SHP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-21 that improves upon the systems and advanced turboprop engine modeling of the popular Black Square Turbine Duke.
Speaking of the A36 turboprop conversion, it may seem like a novelty, but it is a welcome addition to the package. A true sports-car of an airplane, the 500 SHP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-21 installed on the aircraft is the same engine found on many King Airs. This gives truly rocketship-like performance with eye-blistering climb rates and a takeoff roll less than half of the normally aspirated and turbocharged A36s (but half of the range). While most real-world Bonanza turbine conversions utilize a Rolls-Royce Allison turbine engine, Black Square has stated that the choice for the PT6A was largely driven by the amount of work invested in perfecting the turbine dynamics of the PT6A simulation, most recently demonstrated in the turbine Duke and Starship. This choice was a good one as the A36TP is not only fun to fly, but an amazing performing airplane.
Failure Modeling
Failure modeling is a feature that we’ve seen on several of Black Square’s other aircraft before. For many, the ability to trigger failures adds a new level of realism with operational consequences to how well you treat the airplane. Black Square has modeled this with options for failures based on wear, MTBF (mean time between failures), and randomly occurring and scheduled failures for nearly every component in the aircraft, many with multiple different failure modes.
There are over 100 possible failures, ranging in severity from electrical component failure to total engine failure. Failures can be triggered, monitored, or reset using Black Square’s tablet interface or the panel-mounted RDR 1150XL Color Weather Radar.
Sounds
We can’t skip over mentioning the sounds used for the Baron and Bonanza Professional. Black Square partnered with Boris Sound Works to record the many layers of sounds that have become the Baron and Bonanza’s “soundscape”. From the turbine startup sounds of the A36TP conversion to the deep rumble of the A36’s 6-cylinder Continental engine, the sound set included with the lineup is among the best I’ve heard.
Diehard simmers will especially appreciate the startup sequence of the reciprocating engines, where one can hear details like the snap of the magneto’s impulse coupling in the external view, a loud backfire from an overprimed engine, and even the whistle of the turbocharger in the B58TC.
Conclusion
Black Square’s Baron and Bonanza Professional series offers a high-fidelity, incredibly realistic simulation experience at an affordable price, along with the variety that keeps simmers coming back to the lineup. Load the Baron or Bonanza and you’ll immediately find yourself with several capable aircraft options for your virtual flight. If you’re looking for something to take on a long cross-country, try the turbonormalized A36. Island hopping in the Caribbean? Then the normally-aspirated A36 will do just fine. Want to shoot instrument approaches in solid IMC in mountainous terrain, then the B58TC would be my choice. Or, if you’re interested in experiencing a rocket launch-like takeoff without donning a spacesuit, the lightly loaded A36TP turboprop will satisfy your need to go fast.
The Baron and Bonanza Professional is more than just an update to Black Square’s Analog Steam Gauge Overhaul line. Rather, they represent a total rebuild that takes advantage of the latest capabilities within MSFS 2024, while staying true to MSFS 2020 users. With double the complexity of the previous versions, the Professional series aircraft deliver an unparalleled “study-level” experience, with all of the unapologetic realism that Black Square is known for.
For owners of the Analog Steam Gauge Overhaul Baron and Bonanza, especially those who plan on keeping with MSFS 2020, the Professional series represents a significant step forward in realism and complexity. Many may find features like the tablet interface, more avionics choices, and the introduction of the A36TP to be compelling enough to upgrade their existing purchase to the Professional series (Black Square has put together a summary document for both the Baron and Bonanza, highlighting what’s new and the myriad of improvements). The incorporation of an audio set by Boris Sound Works is the cherry on top of an already great product.
The Black Square Baron Professional and Bonanza Professional are priced at $44.99 USD each from Just Flight. The bundle featuring both aircraft is available for $64.99 USD. Previous owners of the original Black Square Steam Gauge Overhaul Analog Baron or Analog Bonanza (or the Analog bundle) who purchased through the Just Flight store are eligible for a 20% discount on the Professional series.
