Synaptic A220 - FSExpo Update

[Synaptic Simulations]

As development on the Synaptic A220 continues at full throttle, we’re back with a short follow-up update to showcase what the team has been working on over the past few months. From new system implementations to visual polish and community-facing features, June has been a month of tightening bolts and turning new corners. We're excited to share that progress with you here—and for those attending FSExpo, in person at our booth!

Since the April update, and especially following our livestream in early June—we’ve been hard at work incorporating community feedback and addressing internal review notes. With each development milestone, we’ve been able to take a more refined look at how the aircraft behaves, performs, and feels in the simulator.
We’re happy to say that we’re in a strong position moving forward. Thanks to continuous testing and a rapid iteration cycle, bugs are being identified and resolved daily, and every new build pushes us closer to the polished experience we’re aiming to deliver. At the same time, development hasn’t slowed. New features and functionality are being layered in alongside ongoing fixes, ensuring steady forward momentum as we close in on key milestones.

Systems
In our June development stream, we shared a revised roadmap outlining the final phases ahead of release. We remain committed to adhering to this roadmap, with system deep-dives planned for July through September covering electrical systems, display logic, flight data paths, and flight control/autopilot behavior. In line with the roadmap, we’ve been focusing on polishing each of these systems in preparation for their spotlight updates. The electrical system has seen major progress, including a fully simulated APU that mirrors real-world behavior with voltage and frequency ramp-up and proper bus transfer logic. This ties directly into our updated hydraulic and fuel systems, which have been further refined for more accurate integration and behavior under both normal and failure conditions. We’ve also worked on integrating various cockpit zone lighting elements with the electrical system, ensuring they behave accurately in response to power availability and switch states, further bringing the flight deck to life in both day and night operations.

Bringing the aircraft to life goes beyond core functionality, and in recent weeks we’ve made significant strides in layering subtle, interconnected behaviors across all major systems. Synoptic pages such as hydraulics, fuel, and electrical now dynamically respond to aircraft state and system interactions, showcasing cascading behaviors in line with our emergent modeling philosophy.

Under the hood we’ve also made broad performance improvements, resolving memory leaks, optimizing system architecture, and aligning code with our newer, more efficient implementations. These updates contribute to a smoother, more stable in-sim experience across all systems.

On the navigation front, the previously showcased Navigraph integration continues to evolve. The A220 now fully supports SimBrief flight plan uplink directly into the FMS, enabling a seamless and realistic preflight setup. Navigraph charts can also be accessed directly on the aircraft’s display units (DUs), allowing pilots to reference procedures and airport diagrams without leaving the cockpit. This same navdata powers the onboard airport navigation system, which activates automatically as the ND range is reduced, seamlessly toggling between airport layouts and terrain maps based on current settings.

The electronic flight control system, first showcased in the June stream, has also seen key improvements, particularly in the areas of speed trim logic and pitch stability. These changes integrate directly with our newly developed autothrottle system and expanding autoflight modes, resulting in a more cohesive and realistic flight experience across the full flight envelope.

Many of these additions, details, and quirks can be explored live on the A220 at FSExpo—so if you’re attending, be sure to stop by and experience it firsthand! For everyone else, we’ll be diving into each major system in more depth through our upcoming monthly updates, culminating in a cohesive and transparent lead-up to release.

Visuals
As work wraps up on the visual side of the A220, we’ve been addressing feedback from both the community and our trusted team of pilots, engineers, and testers.  From fixing reported bugs to enhancing small visual details, we’ve focused on ensuring a consistent, high-fidelity experience across both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024.

Sounds
We’ve been intentionally quiet about one major component… until now. We’re excited to announce that we’re working with Echo19 to bring the Synaptic A220’s soundscape to life with industry-leading realism! Known for their exceptional work in flight sim audio, Echo19 brings proven talent and expertise, and we’re proud to have the A220 join their growing track record.

Sound development is already underway, using in-house recordings from the real A220. Each sound source is being placed precisely where it belongs—from the sharp, tactile click of overhead Korry switches to the signature “whale” spool-up of the A220’s PW1500G engines. Our goal is to deliver a deeply immersive and spatially accurate audio experience, resulting in a sensational visual and auditory package from the Synaptic A220.

Closing Remarks
Thank you for following along with this month’s late June development update. We continue to make steady progress across all major areas of the Synaptic A220, with ongoing refinement, expanded system depth, and new feature integration driving us toward release.

If you haven't already, watch the FSExpo Trailer of the Synaptic A220! 

FSExpo attendees can expect a closer look at the aircraft in its current state, and we look forward to speaking with every one of you at our stand with iniBuilds at Booth 401! While future updates will continue to break down key systems and development milestones in detail, this wraps up our update cycle for June, we look forward to sharing more with you soon in July!