Today was a packed news day for Microsoft Flight Simulator’s third-party developers, with lots of new assets for upcoming add-ons, announcements, and a relevant release.
First of all, we get new screenshots of the F-16 Fighting Falcon from SC Designs and DC Designs, alongside a development update.
“A huge amount of work has been done on the F-16s this week with the assistance of DC Designs, as we wanted to get the package ready for Sim Acoustics, who will be performing the custom sound work using recordings from a real F-16!
To that end, the F-16C cockpit was completed this week, and the F-16D rear-seat cockpit added and the detail built up. The rear seat will have fully functioning flight controls and also will have every switch working ( although not all with functions connected to the sim itself ).
The MFD screens and HUDs will be repeaters from those in the front seat, and we recently had the chance to check out the super-cool FLIR effect for night flying at low altitudes! In addition, some paintwork has been done and we have decided to select a mixture of standard low-viz schemes along with some of the more spectacular paint jobs that have been applied to the F-16s over the years. There are so many to choose from that we of course cannot include them all ( although the paint kit will be included so that users can create their own schemes ) but at least 10 schemes will be included with the package at launch.
Further additions to the aircraft include chocks, covers, and boarding ladder detail, while pilot flight suit patches and customizable helmets will be added soon. We’re waiting eagerly for the November launch of the Asobo FA/18E Super Hornet to see what we can include in the package ( HUD collimation etc ) before launching with Just Flight, hopefully in December.”