Today third-party developers revealed new assets and information about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, on top of releasing a new airport.
We start with IndiaFoxtEcho, who provided an update about the F-14 Tomcat it's working on alongside Heatblur, alongside the Eurofighter Typhoon and more active projects.
F-14 TOMCAT
Project is looking good and we are having a lot of fun with it... but we have not completed a Beta test yet (although we are VERY close to it). We have no release date planned, as a lot will depend on the test results and the number of bugs we will need to address.
That is pretty much all we can say at the moment.
And yes, the USS Forrestal will be part of the package (and we have spent most of the weekend playing with it, instead of fixing the bugs in the INS alignment). And NO, the Viking and the Hawkeye in the pictures are just static models.
TA-4J SKYHAWK
This project is moving forward but is suffering from significant delays, but we are trying our best to get it back in-line. In our original plan it should have been released close to the Tomcat, but this is definitely not happening.
We should have new screenshots to show you the progress of the model in a month or so. ... single seater is also being worked on, but priority was given to the twin seater as it is the more complex of the two.
EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON
Again... nothing to see here. Sorry. Mostly because most of Eurofighter team is the same as the Tornado team, and we have decided to focus on the Tornado delivery for the time being. However, we have been reorganizing the project and the workflow...and we have some exciting news we cannot disclose at the moment.
Aside, we should be able to reuse most of the work we did for the P3D vesion for what concerns systems and avionics, so we should be able to expedite the development significantly (once the Tornado is in the Beta stage).
F-16A FALCON
Also for this one we do not have fresh screenshots to show, as everything is in a WIP stage... but it is moving forward and there is a good chance that the project scope will be expanded to include other variants.
UPDATES
Updates to our products are being worked on as I write. Next in line are updates to the F-35 (minor system tweaks), T-45C (miscellaneous realism improvements) and MB.339 (minor system tweaks). They should be available sometime in August.
...AND THE REST
We have also been working on other stuff, like the MB.326 (which is definitely coming, but in 2024) and we have made preliminary work on other models including the Hawkeye, but at the moment we are putting everything on hold to focus on the projects above.
Next, we take a look at the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II recently announced by Iris Simulations.
SimSkunkWorks released a full flight video of its SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (also known as Leonardo SF-260). The aircraft is planned for release before the end of the week on Orbx, JustFlight, SimMarket, and Aerosoft's stores. The official marketplace will also get it, but at a later time.
Speaking of video, we also get one from BeyondATC, showcasing the add-on's "premium voices," which will cost more to use but sound more natural. The product has a pay-to-use model that prompts users to pay by the hour of usage. Standard voices will be cheap, while Premium voices will be more expensive. There will be no ongoing charge if you're ok with text only.
Lastly, El Alcaraván Airport (SKYP) also known as El Yopal Airport in Colombia has been released by Wingsim. It's available on Simmarket for $16.29.
You can check out a few screenshots below.
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 have daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news to keep you updated on the many add-ons coming and released for the sim.
We have also recently interviewed Microsoft's Jorg Neumann about the Antonov An-225 "Mriya" and iniBuilds' CEO Ubaid Mussa on the work of the popular third-party developer.
If you're interested in reviews, you can check out Orbx's Stockholm Arlanda and Oslo Gardermoen Airports, iniBuilds' New York-JFK Airport, and RHDSimulations' Boeing 767-300ER.
