Review of the iniBuilds A350 in MSFS 2020 – Issues and Feedback

[Christopher S.]

I’d like to report some issues with the A350 in combination with MSFS 2020. I’m still using MSFS 2020 because MSFS 2024 currently has too many issues for me. I understand that the A350 is a very complex aircraft and therefore requires a lot of system resources. However, I have never experienced such performance issues with any other aircraft before. Even the unoptimized FlyByWire A380 runs more smoothly and consistently.

For testing purposes, I have reduced all graphics settings to a minimum and even overclocked my CPU. As a result, my GPU is now barely utilized, and I have a stable 60 FPS, which I have locked at 30 FPS to save even more resources.

Flight Behavior Issues

Taxi & Takeoff:

On the ground, the A350 still feels heavy and massive, as expected.

However, once thrust is applied for takeoff, it behaves like a paper plane.

The aircraft constantly veers left on the runway, and due to extreme trimming, it lifts off by itself at V1.

In-Flight Stability:

Once airborne, the aircraft feels unnaturally light and unstable, as if it has no mass at all.

It reacts extremely fast to even the smallest Sidestick inputs, often over-controlling.

In cruise, everything is fine with the autopilot enabled, but…

Landing Issues:

As soon as autopilot is disengaged for landing, the aircraft becomes uncontrollable.

It reacts way too sensitively to wind, and every tiny Sidestick input results in fighter jet-like reactions.

Even every A320 (whether freeware or payware) feels heavier and more realistic than this 200-ton A350.

It almost feels like the Fly-By-Wire system completely shuts off during landing, as the aircraft loses all stability and becomes overly sensitive.

 

Final Thoughts

The iniBuilds A350 was heavily marketed as a realistic simulation with accurate system depth, countless hours in the simulator, and feedback from real A350 pilots. However, I strongly doubt that a real A350 behaves like this.

I am very disappointed with this so-called “premium” product and hope that a future update will address these serious flight dynamics issues.

[nopixar]

Fair and honest review. I’m surprised myself that this Flight model made it through to a final release. The rest of the aircraft is brilliant and up there with the best (especially now with the patch)

Much like you already pointed out I’ve experienced much the same.

Takeoff

The moment you apply any sort of side stick the aircraft just shoots into the air. It’s direct and feels absolutely horrible. A350s and most modern airbuses have something called rotation law which means when you deflect the side stick during rotation you are commanding a rotation rate initially, not an elevator deflection. The rotation should be smooth, and deliberate.. there is also a small delay from your input to the rate being applied. You should be able to set the flight control indicator on about the 5° mark and it will do the 3°/s perfectly every time. No such thing on the INI350. Once you have got out of the unnatural rotation and taken off the controls very noticeably transition into the fly by wire system (which overall is modelled pretty well) Ive put a massive curve on the TCA but still feels odd. 

Handflying

Good flybywire but still very weird. Pitch is fine, roll is strange. You deflect the stick a tiny bit in the aircraft behaves like you’ve just put half deflection in momentarily. This is especially noticeable when landing and you’re making small corrections to the flightpath. As such you end up over compensating for the aircraft over controlling even with good smooth, small inputs. Almost all the videos you see on youtube (even the rw pilots reviewing) struggle with alignment in the latter stages of landing on the INI350. Once you command and release, the aircraft should stay put. It should roll smoothly to what you’re commanding and then hold. Sorry to say it’s horrible to hand fly. Some add-ons are modelled so well that they encourage you to want to hand fly. This is not one of them. 
 

Landing

No flare mode at all. At 50 feet, the aircraft should command a nose down tenancy inviting you to apply back pressure into the flare. No such thing on the INI350. In my last landing, I did absolutely nothing until 30 feet and it just carried on. If I had pulled enough It probably would’ve just hovered down the entire runway. The whole point of the flare mode is to stop that happening. Forget the Autoland, its nonexistent. Just smashes the runway too. No sort of compression on any of the landing gear on touchdown either is like a solid brick hitting the runway.

 

Overall my feelings echo the OP. The rest of the product is in alot of ways groundbreaking. The modelling, the systems the intergration is probably the best on MSFS now. Managing a flight is an absolute dream and the immersion is spectacular (so long as you don’t get  a WASM crash) ….Until you actually have to handfly it and then its like..oh dear…I would have happily sacrificed some of the added features for a good flying accurate aircraft. Please take this constructively I’m not knocking the aircraft. I just want it to be as good as it can be. Please dont leave it as it is as it has the potential to be one of best aircraft ever made with a bit of TLC. I think for the long hauls its back to the Triple7/380 for me sadly. Hopefully it gets better with time.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2 by nopixar

[nopixar]

Following on from the above from this on flightsim.to. Not my work so cannot take any credit but it makes things alot better. Using in conjunction with the TCA sidestick with -40 on pitch and -50 roll. Feels much closer to how it should! 

 

https://flightsim.to/file/89312/airbus-a350-flight-tuning-and-improvements-project

[vada123]

Totally agreed with what you said, Christ👍

This aircraft is definitely not ready to release to the public yet .... need more time to fine-tune and testing. 

Now that explain why I like PMDG that much ... .. . . 

Edited Sunday at 06:39 AM by vada123