FlyByWire Simulations took to their Discord server to announce the release of their rendition of the Airbus A380 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The project had been in development for almost four years with lots of development and progress updates on the way to release.
About the Airbus A380
The Airbus A380-800 is a very large wide-body long-haul airliner, developed and manufactured by Airbus. It is the world’s largest passenger aircraft and the only one with a full-length double-deck configuration. The “Super Jumbo” first flew on 27 April 2005 and entered commercial service with Singapore Airlines on 25 October 2007. It has a typical seating for 525 passengers and is powered by four Engine Alliance GP7200 or Rolls Royce Trent 900 turbofans. The aircraft can fly distances of up to 8,000 nautical miles. Emirates is the largest operator of the type with over 100 in service.
Key Features of the A380X
The current functionality of the Airbus A380X from FBW features a large set of core systems that allow for an immersive flight from point A to B. The aircraft features a custom flight management system with all ARINC424 leg types being supported. The A380X also comes with accurate representations of the Primary Flight Display (PFD), Navigation Display (ND), Engine and Warning Display (EWD), and System Display (SD) featuring precise MEMOs for numerous systems.
The aircraft’s many systems such as the electrical, pneumatic, environmental, APU, and fire protection have all been fully modeled and simulated. Over 140 failures are configurable through the EFB. Flap load relief systems (FLRS) and auto extension/retraction (AES/ARS) have also been simulated in the aircraft systems and a custom physics-based flex system for the wings, rudder, and elevator has also been implemented.
The A380X also comes with many protection features such as Brake To Vacate (BTV) that automatically manages braking to make it to a runway exit of the crew’s choosing. Runway Overrun Warning/Protection (ROW/ROP) is also included and helps minimize the risk of a runway overrun during landing. The real-world A380’s robust Onboard Airport Navigation System (OANS) has also been implemented along with Radio Altimeters, the Ground Proximity Warning System, and the Terrain Display.
The modeling and textures have also seen the same amount of love as the systems and flight model. The custom-built model was created by the team’s artist Repsol in conjunction with Mike who created the photorealistic textures using Adobe Substance Painter tools. Actual photos of the real-world aircraft were leveraged as the base texture and the roughness maps were added with techniques learned over time from experimentation in the sim.
Closing Notes
The FBW Airbus A380X is available to download using their custom-built installer and comes in two versions: 4K and 8K textures; the lower resolution for those struggling with performance. The aircraft is freeware and hence can be downloaded at no cost. The release is however only an alpha state with missing features being added with updates. A release trailer commemorating the launch of the aircraft has also been published on the FBW YouTube channel which can be viewed below.
Feel free to join our Discord server to share your feedback on the article, screenshots from your flights or just chat with the rest of the team and the community. Click here to join the server.
