Just Flight recently published a new development update on their upcoming Airbus A300B4 Professional for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. The update showcases the artwork on the now fully complete flight deck based on a real airframe (F-WUAB).

The flight deck will be highly configurable, with multiple possible configurations toggleable via EFB or variant-dependent. While they are currently focusing on recreating the A300B4-203 variant fitted with an INS, they will also offer the option to use the UNS-1 FMS and TCAS VSI. A full list of all the possible configurations will be shared prior to the release.

The passenger cabin is nearing completion, with over 200 seats and an interior design that screams 1980s. It’s said to perfectly capture the era, except for the cigarette smoke (which they jokingly considered adding to the feature request list). A dedicated feature update on their cabin progress is coming soon.

Furthermore, Just Flight can finally share external shots of the A300 for the first time in the new platform (as it was initially intended for P3D). Upon platform transition, they decided to start nearly from scratch to meet MSFS’s visual standards.

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The work on the exterior modeling is said to be 95% complete, and the only things remaining are the second engine variant and the wing flex. Every rivet, screw, fastener, panel line, weathered surface, and text decal was carefully hand placed on the exterior, ensuring maximum accuracy. It’s a massive undertaking for an airplane this big.

Their development team has recently revisited the real aircraft to gather more high-resolution images, filling specific gaps in their photograph collection and allowing them to detect certain discrepancies in previously textured areas, which have since been corrected.

Systems-wise, they have now integrated the systems code into their MSFS version of the aircraft, meaning it is now “alive” in the simulator, and their internal testing team can start evaluating it. The systems integration happened later in the development stage because most was already complete due to their original P3D development effort, meaning their first MSFS build already features a highly advanced systems suite.

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The aircraft’s core systems are said to be fully custom-coded, aiming to achieve maximum fidelity. They exemplify the depth by mentioning how the A300 has 10 fuel pumps – two in each fuel tank –and the fuel pressure supplied by each pump is slightly different, varying every time you load into the aircraft, replicating what you’d see in the real aircraft.

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Systems-wise, most of what is still being worked on is navigation-related, such as the autopilot and the INS. Work is progressing well, though, and they will share more information on those soon in future development updates.

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There is still no release date or pricing information, but Threshold will keep you informed as development progresses.

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