Welcome to the sixteenth installment of The Workshop – a series dedicated to the latest news and updates regarding FlyByWire’s work on the A32NX and the upcoming A380. Our previous episodes can be read here. The Workshop is written directly by the FlyByWire team within the FSNews and FlyByWire partnership.
Features of the Week
This week, some features have been merged into the latest development version of the aircraft.
- Custom loading tips in different languages
- Improved RA (radio altitude) callouts
- Fixes to MCDU/FMGC behaviour
- Improved electrical system sounds
New Experimental Build
A new experimental build is now available. New features include:
- Custom fly-by-wire system
- Custom autopilot system
- New engine model with autothrust system
- New Primary Flight Display (PFD)
- Throttle mapping through the EFB
You can get this version via our installer. Keep in mind that the experimental versions are not supported on Discord! We wish to keep the help channels dedicated for users of the Stable and Development builds.
MSFS Marketplace
We are working with Microsoft to include the A32NX in the ingame marketplace and have recently reached a significant milestone in our way there. Stay tuned for future updates!
Fork
While its name might be silly and confusing, a fork is a significant milestone in the history of a project like ours. The term “forking” is a software engineering term which refers to a development group creating its own copy of a project, departing from the base version. Indeed, we are very happy to announce that the A32NX will become its own, independent aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is done with the approval of Microsoft to enable our marketplace integration. It also means that future updates to MSFS will have a significantly reduced impact on the compatibility of the aircraft.
This comes with several changes to keep in mind:
- The A32NX will have to be selected as an aircraft separately from the base A320neo. If you select the A320neo going forward, you will be using the base MSFS version. The A32NX version of the A320neo will appear under the following name: FlyByWire Simulations – A320neo (LEAP)
- The A32NX will no longer work in landing challenges.
- Liveries will need to be updated to target the A32NX, or be made in both versions.
- External programs which identify different aircraft may need to be updated.
This is not done yet, and we will make sure to update you when the changes come into effect.
flyPad Improvements
A new fuel page has been added to the flyPad.
- Ability to view and set current fuel quantity
- Ability to refuel the aircraft
- Option to change refuel speed
Work in Progress
- Complete from-scratch rework of autopilot systems (routing, autoflight)
- Option to change fuel unit on the flyPad fuel page
- Realistic system simulations
- Current work focusing on a from-scratch electrical system and custom hydraulics
- Modular update system (downloads individual parts of the mod which have changed, instead of redownloading the entire package)
- Additional EFB features
- Redesign of global UI with a new sidebar layout and better readability
- Navigraph Charts integration
- More options in the Settings page, allowing tuning of various aircraft parameters
- Takeoff and landing performance calculator
- Avionics rewrite (PFD, ECAM, MCDU and FCU) – for performance improvements and easier code maintenance
Our next episode of The Workshop is scheduled to be published on April 16th, 2021.
