iniBuilds has released their much-awaited A350-900 and -1000 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. In this article, I will share my first impressions of the A350, which I have been flying since its release.
I have flown a few short-hauls successfully with the aircraft so far, mainly on MSFS 2024. These were only short flights as I wanted to test the aircraft out before jumping into long hauls. There are still some issues with the aircraft and possible crashes, so I chose a few short-haul flights instead. Once I have had more time with the aircraft, I will share my full review on the iniBuilds A350. Of note, this is a personal copy of the A350 and was not provided by iniBuilds.
Modelling and Texturing
Leading up to the release, iniBuilds showcased the detail they went into with the modelling of the interior and exterior models. They also talked about the textures and what they did differently compared to their previous releases. From what I have seen so far, the external model of the A350 is clean, well done and looks amazing. You can see the individual rivets, the different sections of the fuselage, wires, lights, the tire rubber, and so much more. The detail that iniBuilds has gone into is fantastic.
Inside the cockpit and cabin, the effort they put into the model is very noticeable. In the cabin, you can see the wrinkles and imperfections on the seats and pillows. All the text is also very readable, even from afar. The toilet also flushes as per the community’s request. The cockpit has indents, engravings, and screws all very visible. Overall, the detail is very good, and performance is on par with an add-on like the Fenix A320.
My performance will differ from yours depending on your settings and your specifications. I have also capped my FPS to 30 FPS as a personal preference. Aiming higher will either fall short of 60 FPS or put more strain on my PC than needed, as I currently lack sufficient cooling for high-intensity gaming. This may also be why I find the FMS slightly laggy or slow. I talk more about the FMS issue further down this article.
Personally, I like to have a cabin I can go into during the flight or before. MSFS 2020 does not have a cabin for the A350 due to performance, which is one reason why I have mainly spent time on MSFS 2024. There is also a no-cabin variant on MSFS 2024, which helps to save on performance. However, I find that there is not much difference, and it’s better to have a cabin. It’s also good for camera views back in the cabin so that you have something to look at other than an empty fuselage.
To compare your system against mine and gauge the potential performance, my system specifications used while flying the A350 are:
- AMD Radeon RX6700XT
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
- 32 GB RAM
- 2 TB NVMe Solid State Drive
- No Lossless Scaling or frame generation was used during any of my flights
- I had Navigraph, Volanta and my browser open at the time in the background
Some users experienced several crashes while trying to fly the A350, especially on long-haul flights. These crashes were seen on both MSFS 2020 and 2024. However, I did not experience these same issues. The only crash I had while using the A350 was on one of my first flights, when the simulator crashed back to the desktop while loading from the world map to the flight. This was an MSFS 2024 stability issue rather than an A350 issue, and that was partly my fault for spamming a few buttons.
Systems and Sounds
From what I have seen so far, the systems are quite in-depth. However, I would say there is room for improvement from iniBuilds. My full review will talk more thoroughly about the system specifics after iniBuilds have patched most of the launch issues. The DCDU and the FMS both work well. I would say it’s a little slow, but that could be down to my performance. From cold and dark to startup, all the systems take time to turn on as per the real systems. This timing can also be adjusted in the EFB.
Sounds change throughout the aircraft, whether you’re in the cockpit, in front of the engine, in the cabin or behind the wing. All the sounds are very dynamic throughout the aircraft. The bass and rumble of the engines spooling up sound excellent. Some people have complained about the sounds, but from what I can hear, they are really good and represent the A350 well. Cabin announcements are also all fully automatic and can be heard from the cockpit if you choose.
Electronic Flight Bag
In the A350, there are three screens, with the far left one being used as the EFB in this case. The EFB has everything you would expect from an Electronic Flight Bag. Things like a takeoff performance calculator, Simbrief flight plan import and aircraft failures are all included. iniBuilds also has a maintenance tab for servicing your aircraft, which is dynamic (MSFS 2024 only). The Navigraph integration is also very well done and allows you to see all your charts without leaving the simulator.
The EFB was very helpful on the flights I have flown so far. The GSX integration, especially, is extremely useful because you don’t have to open the menu. I find the GSX menu a bit clunky and slow, but on the EFB, it is fast, smoother and much more well done. I didn’t find any major issues on the few flights I have flown. However, I do find that sometimes there are missing STARS. This is not great if I can’t match those same STARS on my flight plan. However, re-selecting your approach and runway seems to fix this.
Final Thoughts
Over the flights I have completed so far in the A350, I find it a very enjoyable aircraft to fly. It’s capable of both short and long-haul flights, which makes it a great addition to my hangar. The handling of the aircraft definitely will take time to adjust to, and getting used to the systems as the aircraft is very digital compared to the A320 family. I have not been hit with any crashes on MSFS 2024 so far. If you’re a massive A350 fan, then this may be a must-have for you. However, you can wait for my full review.
My first impressions of the iniBuilds A350 are very good. I’m a big fan of the A350, so this release has been an exciting one for me. The aircraft has its flaws, of course, but it also shines in many places. I have only had a few days to test the aircraft, so I am not able to speak fully on the add-on yet. However, in my full review article, I will go into much more detail than this. I will also talk more about the handling, other features and the differences between 2020 and 2024.
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