We haven’t heard from Synaptic in a long time with regards to its A220 project for Microsoft Flight Simulator. However, their silence has meant they have been busy working on the plane to go into ever-increasing system depth. Their silence was broken today with a lengthy post on the iniBuilds forum and we’re here to break it down.
The team started by saying that they had made some “exciting new progress” on the Synaptic A220 Airliner for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. They have worked with airline pilots, engineers and ground service workers, along with the support of iniBuilds, to get the A220 closer than ever to the finish line. Synaptic has been working closely with members of the iniBuilds team to ensure that the aircraft feels “cohesive, high-quality, and, above all, truly enjoyable to fly.”
Visually, the team has worked to recreate aspects of the plane. They have utilised 3D scans, real world reference data and new development techiniques. Since we last saw the plane, they have re-built the model to capture every detail possible. There is UV mapping across the plane, realistic visual elements like lighting and materials, along with wear and tear across surfaces. A series of screenshots were shown off in the post, highlighting these details.
For those wondering, there will be a fully modelled passenger cabin, interactive componetns (e.g. engine cowlings, APU maintenance doors, maintenance panels) and other intricate details. Synaptic did not say if these features will be present in MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 or exclusive to the later simulator.
The team are not just making a visually appealing plane, but one that behaves accurately too. There are many complex systems and modelling that are happening with the plane. The team are working closely with their experts to ensure that the plane behaves as expected, based on the refertence material. To put it in their own words: “What usually ends up happening next is that we mimic the physical structure of the system in code with as much detail as is practical. This entails modeling almost every computer, component, ARINC 429 bus, and discrete or analog signal that is documented in operational and technical training manuals.”
This results in the plane being able to mimic non-normal states, without explicitly having to account for them. This emergent behaviour (as they call it), accounts for a strong-foundation for non-normal operations, whilst ensuring that the core behaviour is accurate.
Synaptic say that so far, 646 compents have been modelled so far, including electrical and data buses, right to generators and avionic computers. Everything has been optimised to process in less than 1ms, to ensure smooth performance. The electrical systems is one of the most intricate and essential systems onbaord the A220 and they are simulating real-world voltage and current flows through every connection, including all circuit breakers.
Other areas like the avonics, fuel, and hydraulics systems are all getting just as much attention to faithfully recreate these systems in the plane. Furthermore, there will be a custom flight control system that obeys the modes found on the A220 (note: not called laws on this particular Airbus). This part is still very much being worked on to provide a realistic experience when hand-flying and is being supported by real-world pilots.
There is also effort to implementing Navigraph and default navigational data in the plane, along with an onboard EFB. Recreation of the Mutlifunction Keyboard Panel is also being worked on to a rich level of detail, as well as a a Crew Alert System in the EICAS. Synaptic have also created an electronic checklist system that can be created and modified by the user, using the JSON format. You can see a specific example on the forum post.
Release Date for the Synaptic A220
Whilst this forum post was rife full of information, there is still not yet a confirmed release date. They did want to reiterate that the plane will release for both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 via both the iniBuilds Store and the in-sim Marketplace.
It was confirmed that the launch will be in two phases: first the launch of the A220-300, followed by a free update to include the A220-100.
More Details in May
Finally, Synaptic confirmed that they will host a developer stream in May, where we will get a deeper look across all aspects of the development. They do intend on providing a more detailed release timeline during this stream.
For more, you can check out the entire post on the iniBuilds forum.
