Third-party developers had plenty of news to share about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, on top of several airport and scenery releases.
We start with an update and details about the F-14 Tomcat by Indiafoxtecho and Heatblur, which is still undergoing final testing and the certification process at Microsoft. It won’t be released this week despite some speculation to that effect.
The best-case scenario is a release on December 7, but the developers can’t promise that as it will depend on test results.
The final price will have some variance due to different countries’ VAT, but the current estimate is $34.99 + VAT.
We also learn that it’ll be available on the official in-sim marketplace, on Heatblur’s store, SimMarket, Orbx, and possibly other stores.
The developers are still waiting for Xbox test results to confirm availability and release on consoles. In the best-case scenario, it’ll launch on Xbox at the same time as the PC version, but this has not been promised.
Next is an update on the Fokker F100 and F70 from Just Flight. Significant improvements have been made to the modeling and textures of both the interior and exterior, on top of the coding of the systems. It’ll include the following variants.
- Folding L1 Passenger Door with Integral Airstairs, Small Cargo Doors
- Folding L1 Passenger Door with Integral Airstairs, Large Cargo Doors
- Sliding L1 Passenger Door, Large Cargo Doors
- Sliding L1 Passenger Door, Small Cargo Doors, Additional L2 Service Door.
Cabin doors can be operated from inside the cabin and the L1 door can be operated via a panel with pushbuttons.
The cabin is configured with high-density 2+3 seats in generic colors, but a paint kit will be provided for customization. The developers are also looking into having the supplied liveries come with their corresponding cabin color schemes.
The music player included in the F-28 will make a comeback and will also be improved. Below you can check out a few screenshots.
Cowan Simulation announced that a Robinson R66 helicopter is coming soon, and you can check out a few screenshots below.
Moving on to airports, TechnoBrain broke the silence about its upcoming Tokyo Haneda International Airport (RJTT), publishing a gallery of screenshots. Having been at the airport often lately, it’s shaping up great.
Orbx announced a V2 rework of its old Leeds Bradford Airport (EGNM) in the UK. It’ll include the following.
- Up to date 2023 airport layout
- Fully re-worked PBR ground poly
- Accurately placed custom lighting with realistic color temperatures
- LOD (Level of Detail) optimisations throughout to ensure best performance
- Animated custom jetways
- Highly detailed ATC tower interior with animated air traffic controllers
- New detailed drop off area
- Detailed walkway interior with realistic signage and night lighting
- New baggage facility extension
- Custom stop bars with on and off functionality based on distance
- Custom runway guard lights (wigwags)
- Hand placed animated horses
- Detailed spotting area west of runway 14
- Updated bendy busses, fuel station, barriers, signage, fences and awnings.
We return to Japan with today’s first release, and it’s a lovely landmark package for the city of Nagoya, in the middle of the country. It’s available on the official in-sim marketplace by SamScene3D for $15.99 including the following goodies.
- over 300 handcrafted iconic building models in Nagoya city center
- custom handcrafted bridge models
- handcrafted Nagoya castle and landmarks
- beautiful night effects
- many building rooftops are landable helipads
- compatible with other developer airport addons
- Bonus: recreation of Shirakawa village with its heliport (Terao Disaster Prevention Grounds)
Next, MK Studios released Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport (LEMG) in Spain. It’s currently available on Orbx Direct, iniBuilds, Contrail, and Simmarket for $18.51 (with some variance depending on the store).
It includes the following features.
- Highly detailed and realistic rendition of Malaga Airport LEMG
- Airport interior modeled
- Airport elevation data based on high-quality LiDAR scan
- Custom ground polygons with thousands of lines, markings, and dirt
- Handcrafted 3D models of buildings, jetways, tunnels, and airport facilities
- Realistic lighting for immersive day and night operations
- AI compatible
AMsim and Beautiful Model of the World released Arlington Municipal Airport (KHKY) in the United States. It’s currently available on Orbx Direct for $9.54.
It includes the following.
- Fully modeled Terminal building
- Custom ground markings
- High-resolution custom ground textures, dirt, and other details
- Surrounding buildings fully modeled
- Custom animated runway guard lights
- Animated and static peoples
Lastly, SLH Sim Designs released Maurice Bishop International Airport (TGPY) serving Grenada’s capital, St. George’s.
It’s available on Simmarket for $20.67 including the following features.
- 3D Custom Modeling
- 4k PBR Textures
- Dynamic Lighting
- Corrected Terrain Elevations
- Modelled Terminal Interior
- Custom Taxiway Signs
- Realistic Ground texturing and grunge.
- Added Static Sea Traffic
As usual, I leave you with the mention that, if you want to keep track of the many add-ons released for Microsoft Flight Simulator, we publish daily dedicated news for your perusal.
