Third-party developers shared more news today about upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons, and if you've just given a cursory glance at the picture above, you know we're flying straight into the danger zone.
Acclaimed DCS World developer Heatblur teamed up with IndiaFoxtEcho to bring a brand new high-fidelity F-14 Tomcat to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Heatblur is known for having created the famous carrier-borne fighter jet for DCS World, a module that is widely recognized as the best F-14 simulation ever made available on home platforms. IndiaFoxtEcho is also known for developing several military jets for Microsoft Flight Simulator including the F-35 Lightning II, the M-346 Master, and the MB-339 (and is currently working on a Tornado).
The developers aim to "make the Flight Simulator rendition of the F-14 as authentic as possible." We also get a quick description of the scope of the project.
"The Flight Simulator version of the F-14 will focus on recreating the core flying aspects of the Tomcat such as accurate flight dynamics, core avionics and using its suite of navigational and other systems. Our teams will strive to bring you as many features as is possible on the Flight Simulator platform while maintaining the bar of quality and accuracy which you all expect."
The announcement comes with a comment from Heatblur;
“Our F-14 has been a labour of love for years, and bringing an authentic experience of this legendary aircraft to a broader audience is yet another step in our F-14 journey. Due to our ambitious internal DCS roadmap, partnering with IndiaFoxtEcho to bring our F-14 to the Flight Simulator platform was a slam-dunk, and knowing the IFE team’s passion for the F-14 matches our own, we enter a new comfortable and natural partnership. We’re super excited for this expansion of our F-14 and new opportunities it presents both to ourselves and the community!"
...and we also get one from IndiaFoxtEcho.
“Since the announcement of Microsoft Flight Simulator we have been willing to bring a state-of-the-art Tomcat to this platform, as we did, a long time ago, for previous iteration of this simulator and we have always been huge fans of the Heatblur DCS rendition.
We are very excited to cooperate with them and we are confident that working together with them we can create a detailed and realistic F-14 for MSFS.”
The aircraft is scheduled to release later this year, and you can check out some absolutely spectacular screenshots below.
We also take a look at new images of Newcastle Airport (YWLM) by Impulse Simulations. Once again, as the ICAO code suggests, this isn't the airport in the UK, but the one serving Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. Development is defined as "well underway."
Last, but not least, NetDesign released Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport (DAAT) serving Tamanrasset in Algeria.
The airport is currently available on Simmarket for $12.96 plus applicable VAT. Below you can check out a list of features and a trailer to see what it looks like.
- 4K PBR textures in multiple layers
- Parallax windows based on real interior photos
- Many details gleaned from tourist photographs
- Reconstruction of the adjacent military base created using satellite imagery
- Accurate Algerian Air Force Su-30MKA and Mi-8's on the tarmac featuring markings from real aircraft
- SKTM solar power plant, which can cause glare for planes on runway 8 approach during sunset
- POI: Tin Hinan Tomb POI not far to the west for sightseeing
- ILS 8 (109.7) and ILS 20 (108.5) are functional
- Runway 20 was tilted slightly to mitigate the misaligned default ILS 20 in order to preserve all navaids that came with the default airport
- Redone aprons and markings matching recent satellite images
- Redone taxiway system and airport/street night lighting
Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, including Game Pass. If you'd like to learn more, you should stay tuned on TechRaptor as we host daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news to keep you updated on the many add-ons coming and released for the sim.
