FlyByWire Simulations recently released their long-awaited rendition of the Airbus A380 for Microsoft Flight Simulator in an open alpha stage. It has enough operability for A to B flights, but many systems are still under development. 

Their goal is to enable access to outside contributors and developers, provide the community with an early look, and actively work on further developing it over time with more features and tweaks.

Due to the aircraft's sheer complexity and its current open alpha nature, performance is significantly more demanding than that of most payware aircraft. It requires at least an RTX 4080 Super for 1440p@60 at ultra and at least a GTX 1060 6 GB for 1080p at 30 fps on low settings.

The current release (subject to change in the future as it is an early alpha) features a custom flight management system based on their updated fms-v2 implementation, with support for all ARINC424 leg types, holding support, and more. Furthermore, it accurately represents the primary flight display, navigation display, engine and warning display, and system display, with precise MEMOs for numerous systems and integrated checklists for normal and abnormal procedures.

It also includes a comprehensive simulation of the core aircraft systems and 140 potential failures, although full simulation is not guaranteed at this development stage.

Other features include realistic flight control surfaces, dynamic wing flex, Brake to Vacate capabilities, Runway Overrun Warning/Protection, and OANS (Onboard Airport Navigation System), which aids situational awareness by displaying a virtual airport map. 

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Regarding future MSFS 2024 compatibility, FlyByWire has stated that it won't be available for the new platform as soon as it is out due to the significant amount of effort required due to differences in system requirements and 3D model optimizations, among other things. They will not be sticking to any specific timeline at the moment.

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The A380X is available for free on the FlyByWire installer.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

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