Black Square has recently released their steam gauge overhaul for the Asobo King Air 350i, the second add-on in Black Square’s overhaul series for Microsoft Flight Simulator. 

The new study-level remake of the Beechcraft King Air 350i, which is provided as default with the simulator, provides a completely redesigned interior and panel for the mid-range turboprop aircraft. The overhaul features a fully custom and remodelled electrical system, full 3D cockpit lighting for each gauge and panel, improved flight and turbine dynamics, panel state-saving options, crew oxygen system, checklists, flight manuals and custom failures. Users will find an increased level of detail on the various instrument panels compared to the default level which is also replicated in the cabin. 

The Beechcraft King Air 350i is one of the world's most popular business turboprop aircraft due to its versatility. The aircraft is an updated version of Beechcraft’s very sucessful and popular B300 series and features improvements in the cabin, better performance as well as a lower operating cost compared to other models. The aircraft's Pratt & Witney PT6 turboprop engines produce over 1000 horsepower each allowing the aircraft to maintain a speed of 290 knots cruising at 35,000 feet. 

Various radio navigation systems are available from several eras of the King Air’s history, so users can pick and choose how they would like to outfit their aircraft’s avionics suite. The Black Square 350i is equipable with a Bendix KNS-80 RNAV system or they can fly with the convenience of a fully digital Garmin GTN 750, giving the user true customisation over their aircraft. The complete feature list follows down below:

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Model

• Accurately modelled King Air 350 interior ONLY (uses default exterior model), created from hundreds of reference photos, panoramas and technical documentation
• 100% MSFS native animation code for the smoothest animations and cockpit interactions using either legacy or new cockpit interaction modes
• 4096×4096 (4K) textures are used to produce the highest possible texture clarity
• PBR (Physically Based Rendering) materials with real-time environment reflections for superb quality and realism
• Detailed normal mapping for leather, fabric, plastic, stitches, scratches, carpet and tooling marks, resulting in a texture resolution of 10,000 pixels per square inch (90.0kB)
• Extensive use of the new MSFS decal system for nearly vector-graphic quality of labels, arrows and exterior detail features

Cockpit

• Greatly enhanced instrument panel detail compared to default aircraft with every label and marking in its place. If it appears in real aircraft, you can interact with it!
• Custom-coded steam gauges with low-pass filtering, needle bounce and physics provide ultra-realistic and silky-smooth animations as you’ve never seen before
• Carefully modelled components match the depth and character of the real instrumentation, based on reference photos, schematics and real-world measurements. Unlike other expensive Flight Sim aircraft, every piece of equipment that appears in a Black Square aircraft is modelled after a real piece of aircraft equipment and will behave the same way in its primary functionality.
• Every knob, switch and button is interactable and implemented, along with its respective electrical circuitry. Turn systems on and off or pull circuit breakers to see the impact it has on your generators and battery via the analogue meters. Many pieces of equipment respond correctly to electrical configurations with warning messages and diagnostic codes.
• Fully 3D cockpit lighting technology for every gauge and panel, with ambient bounce lighting for a more immersive night-time experience that won’t leave you fumbling around in unrealistically dark spots
• 4096×4096 (4K) PBR textures on the cockpit and panel for crisp instrumentation. Even see the fingerprints on the instrument glass!
• Hideable yokes, adjustable sun visors and other cockpit aesthetics
• All placards and warning labels from the real aircraft represented

Systems

• Completely interactable electrical system with 12 buses and 165 circuits
• Selective state saving for radio selection, radio frequency memory, cabin aesthetics etc.
• Fully modelled cabin environmental (temperature) system with controls and gauges
• Crew/Passenger oxygen system that depletes according to pressure altitude, passenger occupancy and the biological demand of each passenger based on weight
• Electrical bus-tie, relay, diode, and fault logic, AC inverter logic and bleed air valve logic
• Improved turbine dynamics (ITT, TRQ, Ng, Fuel Flow, Inertial Separator), battery charging circuity and load shedding
• Engine limit excursions decrease engine health and will eventually lead to failure
• Emergency gear extension hand pump logic and working propeller governor tests
• Dimmable annunciators and backlighting controlled via electrical circuits and radio power, and automatically dimming screens via photocell match real-world equipment
• Remote compass control with automatic gyro slaving simulated with electrical systems

Flight Dynamics 

• The Analog King Air features an improved flight model compared to the default King Air 350i, with tweaks based on operator feedback online.

The Black Square King Air 350i steam gauge overhaul for MSFS is available on the JustFlight store for £27.99. Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

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