Thranda Design Releases F33A Bonanza for XP12
Thranda Design has recently released the F33A Bonanza for X-Plane 12, positioning the classic Beechcraft as the next step in the studio’s Dynamic Generation Series.


As with other aircraft in the Dynamic Generation Series, the Bonanza’s panel is not fixed in place. More than 60 instruments can be mixed and matched, moved between pilot and co-pilot positions, and saved as reusable presets. Support is included for RealityXP, as well as TDS GTN 650/750 units, GNS 430/530 swaps, and even G1000-style layouts, allowing the aircraft to be configured to suit various training needs, vintage tastes, or IFR touring preferences.


Paintwork is handled in-sim, through Thranda’s dynamic livery editor. Liveries can be adjusted on the fly, with colour selection, roughness and metallic variables, and optional wear layers, before being rasterised to the textures for later use.

The EFB provides options such as covers, chocks, doors, and lighting, a visual weight and balance tool, ground handling, a panel layout editor, and quality-of-life apps, including checklists, a logbook view, and AviTab integration, when installed. Tip tanks can also be toggled from the EFB, with corresponding changes to weight, drag, and handling.


Under the skin, the model is built around 8k textures and full PBR materials, with per-instrument post-lighting and rain effects. An FMOD sound set is used for sounds, layering cockpit clicks, airflow cues, and exterior perspectives, aiming to reflect changes in load, slip, and angle of attack. The Continental IO-520-B piston engine is modelled with detailed performance envelopes, and the electrical system includes buses, tie breakers, and failure modes.
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Thranda says flight dynamics were tuned with input from real-world F33A pilots, so numbers for take-off, climb, cruise, and landing are intended to sit close to the book, while still leaving room for the Bonanza’s quirks, when pushed. For upkeep, support forr the SkunkCraft Updater is in place to handle incremental changes.
Special feature list:
- FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel.
- Over 60 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP AND TDS GTN650 and GTN750)
- Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! (Might require adjustment of default lighting knob)
- New and improved technology for the display of instruments that are embedded within the panel, achieving a sleek finished look while maintaining complete instrument configurability/mobility.
- Comes with 5 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface.
- Save your own presets, and even share them with the community!
- Instruments can be moved in 3D directly, on a 2D pop-up preview window, or by numerical entry for precise placement.
- New multi-digit scroll manipulators throughout the interface: more intuitive, unified look and feel, and much more flexibility in using mouse scroll to edit values, from very small to very large.
- GNS430 and 530 can be swapped out, but a restart of the plane is required, as 430s and 530s are mutually exclusive in terms of compatibility in X-Plane
- Dynamic livery editor (like in the Kodiak, the Beaver, the Wilga, the Islander, the C337, the C172, the C206, the C208 Caravan, the Pilatus PC-6, and the Pilatus PC-12)
- Full PBR control! Create stunning metallic liveries, or matte, sand-blasted look in mere seconds! (Applying the color scheme to the livery may take a few seconds to around a minute, depending on hardware).
- Revamped dynamic livery interface with 4 design presets and 40 ready-to-apply liveries, with the ability of almost unlimited variants.
- New color wheel makes selecting colors for the paint scheme much more intuitive and nuanced, greatly enhancing usability and favoring creativity in livery design.
- Additional control over dirt/grime, adjustable in real-time to dial in the exact desired amount of wear and tear.
- Create "virtual" liveries, based on four common design layouts, and assign any color to any available paint segment.
- Quickly create a 3D preview of livery in real-time, using intuitive controls. Previews include visualization of metallic materials and dirt overlays.
- Apply selected livery in real-time, right in the sim, without the need to even touch a 3rd party image editor!
- Application of design to textures now proceeds in stages, with further information about the process, options, and settings in each pop-up window.
- Ability to down-scale to 4k, 2k, or 1k any dynamic livery design.
- Ability to process the dynamic livery output using the computer's CPU or GPU, configurable in the UEFB (Universal Electronic Flight Bag)
- Option to change the tail number in real-time, or disable it altogether. (Enter a "space" instead of a callsign number to create a blank tail number.)
- Tail number now gets rasterized directly into the plane's livery texture, as opposed to being assigned a separate texture space on a decal.
- This also allows for saving of entire ready-made liveries, to the plane's default "liveries" folder, with the ability to easily share it with the community.
- Easily and quickly create dozens of paint schemes in-sim!
- Also supports 5 traditionally painted liveries, all visible in a convenient pre-selection preview window inside the EFB (Tablet).
- Package size greatly reduced, while adding more livery variety options than ever before!
- Uses SkunkCrafts Updater.
- Excellent hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision.
- Features Continental IO-520-B engine with precisely modelled behavior.
- Rain support
- Implementation of latest lighting technology in X-Plane, including per-instrument post lighting with 3D spill lights, hot-swappable with an "easier-on-FPS" LED strip under the glare shield setup.
- Glass parts done in 8k textures
Feature-rich Universal Electronic Flight Bag (UEFB) with pop-up/pop-out capability with the following features:
- Use it in 3D: you can move it from the pilot's side to the copilot's side, mount it on the pilot’s or copilot’s yoke, or disable it completely in 3D. Mounted on a swivel when mounted on windows, for convenient viewing angle.
- Use it as a 2D pop-up window, or pop the window out onto a secondary screen.
- Use it in VR in either mode.
- Control the brightness of the EFB in 3D or 2D
- Intuitively set up like an iPad with different apps, all documented in the included manual.
- "Universal", because this represents a new generation of Thranda-powered EFB "OS" that allows for the addition of future software and integration of other 3rd party software (such as AviTab, and more in the future).
For full feature information, visit the F33A's product page.


The Thranda Design F33A Bonanza is available via the X-Plane.org Store for $37.95, currently on a 16% discount.
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