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Perhaps the most iconic passenger aircraft of all time – Concorde is coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator and we couldn’t be more excited!
The supersonic jet bowed out of service in 2003 after a slump in passenger numbers following a high-profile crash in 2000 and the aftermath of 9/11 but it will forever be one of many people’s favorite planes of all time.
Its sleek lines and pointed nose, plus its ability to fly between London and New York in just a couple of hours represents a point in recent aviation history that has yet to be replicated.
Anyway, the good news is that Concorde is coming to MS Flight Simulator 2020 for both the PC and Xbox from courtesy of DC Designs.
In a post on Facebook, the devs told us: “The conversion of my Prepar3D Concorde has been underway for quite a while now, as when chances have arisen I’ve updated the project as I learn more about MSFS. This means that, far from being started from scratch, Concorde is already in the simulator with most external animations working. In addition, as so much of Concorde is unique, custom code that was created for many features in Prepar3D has carried over perfectly into MSFS. This head-start is what’s allowing me to project a pre-Christmas 2021 launch date for Concorde.
AGAIN, EVERYTHING IS WIP. The images represent the aircraft with only very basic PBR and the original normal maps, basically as she was in Prepar3D. Much of the work over the next month or two will be bringing the modeling and texturing up to MSFS standard with the use of higher resolutions, new decals for stencils, panel lines and rivets, true PBR, and so on.
Levels of detail?
“There will be many questions about how detailed this rendition of the aircraft will be ( just as there were with the Prepar3D version ). First off, the visual detail will be much higher this time around, as MSFS of course allows so much more to be done. The cockpit is being re-built and re-textured, the external model likewise in many areas. The systems fidelity will be slightly higher than that found in the Prepar3D version, mainly due to the fact that I understand more about coding now. Although fans of study-level aircraft will probably not be enamored with this level of detail, Concorde will feature all of the real aircraft’s quirks just as the Prepar3D version did; fuel transfer for pitch trim, step-climb profile for cruise acceleration, nose-droop animations, highly realistic flight model with super-cruise and more. The engineer’s station will again be fully functional, although reduced in complexity as I want this Concorde to remain within everybody’s reach. Custom sounds for the Olympus engines will accompany the package, as well as color schemes for the main operators of Concorde. The paint kit, and a manual the size of a refrigerator, will also be there, but I am hoping to utilize the simulator’s Checklist feature so that new users can follow a checklist for an *entire* Heathrow to JFK flight without having to reference a physical or PDF manual – allowing console users to more easily learn how to properly operate Concorde while actually flying her.
Finally, the new model will make full use of the MSFS decal system, so all panel lines and rivets will become high-resolution decals along with all other markings. The model will utilize all the sim’s lighting; brand-new passenger cabin modeling, and as much of the MSFS support animations ( baggage loading, gates, fuel truck, ground power, effects, etc ) as I can make work with the aircraft to make it as complete as possible. Perhaps the only thing missing at launch will be true afterburners, which are delayed now for MSFS until May 2022. I will use my existing custom afterburner system in their place ( same as that used on the F-15s and F-14s ) until full support comes to the sim.”
So, detailed stuff there and we will be following developments right here in our Flight Simulator hub on PC Guide.
