A new independent studio, FLAIR SIM, has announced the Boeing 787-8 for X-Plane 12. The announcement was made on the developer’s new website, which describes the 787-8 as the studio’s first aircraft. The studio shows a work-in-progress screenshot of the flight deck, taken in X-Plane 12, and notes that the visuals may change before release.
The 787-8 is the original and shortest version of Boeing’s Dreamliner family, a twin-engine widebody airliner built largely from composite materials and used mainly on long-haul routes. It was the first 787 variant to enter airline service, which began in 2011.
FLAIR SIM says it is building the aircraft one system at a time, using the real aircraft as its reference. According to the developer, each system starts from real-world 787 operating documentation and is checked against it chapter by chapter.
Where X-Plane has no native model for a system, the team writes its own code. The list includes an FMC with SimBrief import, LNAV and VNAV, electrical, fuel and fuel jettison systems, the RAT and ice detection, along with the PFD, ND, EICAS, CDU and EFB displays. Where the simulator already handles something well, the team says it will drive the existing system instead. The studio also says the displays, including EICAS alerts, are driven by live system states rather than by a table of preset values.
The aircraft is planned for X-Plane 12 on Windows only. No X-Plane 11 version is planned, and other platforms may be considered after release. FLAIR SIM says a closed beta will be held, with testers chosen from its mailing list closer to release.
No release date has been announced, and the developer says it will not give one until it can keep it. Pricing has not been set either. Further information and the mailing list sign-up are available on the FLAIR SIM website, which the studio says is the main channel for development updates for now.
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