iniBuilds Aircraft Development Update - March 2026

[mattY]

Hello!

Since we last did a development update in December, the team have been full steam ahead! With the TriStar Airliner release now well and truly approaching, we wanted to share a new development update covering what we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

Earlier this week we released our “Welcome to the TriStar” video, giving you a first proper look at the aircraft inside Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The response to that video has been fantastic, and today we want to expand on some of the areas shown there with a closer look at systems, sounds, and artwork, along with a few additional previews.

But first, a quick recap of some of our recent aircraft updates for our other projects, including the A300, A340 & A350 Airliners!

Recent Aircraft Updates
Over the past few weeks we’ve pushed several updates across our current airliner lineup, including the A300-600R, A340 Airliner and A350 Airliner.

These updates focused on improving overall performance, system stability, and day-to-day usability across the aircraft. The A300-600R Airliner received a major performance optimisation pass, particularly benefiting the freighter variant and cockpit environments, while the A350 Airliner update addressed a wide range of systems refinements including FMGS behaviour, navigation logic, and display consistency. The A340 Airliner update similarly focused on operational accuracy, with improvements to flight guidance, FMGS functionality, and navigation handling, alongside various visual and audio refinements. As always, these updates are driven heavily by community feedback and reports, and we’re grateful for the continued support as we move into the next phase of refinements across the fleet.

You can find each of the latest update changelogs below:

As always, thank you for the continued feedback and reports, they play a huge role in helping us identify issues quickly and improve the aircraft experience for everyone. Now, onto the Tristar!

TriStar Airliner

With the TriStar release rapidly approaching, many of you will have already seen the Welcome to the TriStar video we released earlier this week. Development is now fully focused on bringing the aircraft to you in sim, and we hope the video helped answer some of your initial questions and provided a closer look at what to expect. If you haven't had the chance the watch the Welcome to the TriStar video yet, you can do so here:

In this development update, we’ll be expanding on several of the areas shown in the video and share a few additional details and previews, so be sure to read on!

Systems 🎛️
One of the defining aspects of the TriStar is its three-crew cockpit, and recreating that environment has been a major focus for the team. As such, the TriStar is getting a Virtual Flight Engineer that brings one of the aircraft’s most iconic crew roles to life. Instead of treating the engineer’s panel as a static background system, users can actively trigger flight engineer “flows” for different phases of operation and receive real-time feedback as each task is carried out. That feedback is more than just text, from authentic switch sounds to spoken callouts from the engineer, the system is designed to make it feel like a real crew member is working beside you. Once a flow is complete, the engineer reports back, giving the aircraft a much more interactive, crew-driven experience that fits the character of a classic widebody like the TriStar.

This allows simmers who may not be familiar with managing the full panel to still enjoy operating the aircraft while the automated engineer handles routine tasks. As we said, these voice interactions replicate typical crew coordination during different phases of flight and help bring the cockpit environment to life, so we can't wait for you to use them!

We haven’t forgotten about the cabin crew either. The TriStar will feature automated cabin crew feedback that reacts dynamically to the current phase of flight. From departure preparation to bumpy air and arrival procedures, the cabin crew will provide an interactive experience that reflects what’s happening in the flight. This helps reinforce the feeling of a fully operating airliner, with the cabin and cockpit working together as the flight progresses.

Another area we wanted to expand on from the video is navigation. The TriStar includes several navigation configurations depending on how you want to fly the aircraft. As we've mentioned previously, there is a navigation mode selector within the PFB, allowing you to define how the aircraft is operated. These options include:

• RADNAV
• INS
• GPS
• INS + GPS.

Each option will provide you with a different experience, from a more modern approach to airliner navigation, all the way to the original navigation methods used on this aircraft. To keep system logic aligned with each operating philosophy, systems such as the PMS (and therefore advanced VNAV capability) is available only when an INS-based option is selected. Alternatively, you can select pure RADNAV or GPS-only, which disables the PMS. This method allows you to tailor the experience of the TriStar to your own preference.

Alongside these systems, we’ve also implemented a moving map display that integrates with the aircraft’s navigation data and imported waypoints. The map will draw up to nine of the current INS waypoints, and show the aircraft's assumed position based off of the INS position, so if you initialise the aircraft wrong, it could think you're in a completely different location!

As you fly along, you'll be able to batch import waypoints from SimBrief if you so choose, these will show up in a list for you to view at any time, which all helps you to keep your situational and route awareness. 

The Paper Flight Bag (PFB) is a period-appropriate take on the modern EFB concept. It is a central hub to many of the relevant control parameters, performance calculations and also provides access to aircraft utilities, all whilst maintaining the analogue spirit of the TriStar cockpit. From the "Auto Complete" functions acting as a flight engineer would, to performance calculations, the PFB provides you with a great deal of customisation and preference. If you are not used to flying aircraft with a complete engineers panel, this can becoming a daunting task. We've give you the ability to utilise the PFB to "Auto Complete" tasks for certain phases of flight, from preflight prep, to descent and approach, all the way to securing the aircraft after your long haul. Once you press autocomplete on an item, you'll hear switches flipping over and this will ensure all the relevant items to that phase have been set and complete.

The PFB also includes a nicely detailed diagram of the aircraft, showing the ground state of the aircraft including passenger and cargo door status', external ground units such as the Air Start and GPU and some basic pushback controls. Beyond this, the loadsheet page further expands on this diagram, showing fuel and cargo load levels in each section, you're able to either directly import from SimBrief - which will populate all sections appropriately, or you can create a custom load scenario yourself. You'll see each fuel tank and cargo compartment fill up or down as you drag sliders and this will in turn affect the CG of the aircraft which you can see on the left of the loadsheet page.

Beyond those pages, we've also included a matrix style OFP page, which is styled to look like a paper printout, which you'd expect to receive from dispatch. This will show your imported SimBrief flight plan, and also allow you to import your route to the INS.

For performance, we wanted to stay true to the period and have the performance cards stylized to look like they were handwritten. They also contain a great deal of useful information, as well as being incredibly intuitive and easy to operate. Take off performance can be completed in 3 easy steps; Press Sync -> Calculate -> Set Bugs & EPR. That's it! You're ready to go, it's much the same for landing calculations, ensure the landing weight & elevation matches what you expect, set the runway condition and whether your antiskid is on or off, click Calculate, and then set. Each time you calculate a take off or landing performance card, you'll see the relevant speeds to use, and for take off you'll see the Take Off and Initial Climb EPRs you can expect to use for that specific departure.

As usual, we've included an easy to navigate chart pad, with options for both LIDO and Navigraph charts to use to your liking. The standard functionality of being able to pin relevant charts is present as well as day/night modes and airport search features.

Sounds 🔊

Obviously sounds are just as critical to the aircraft as any system or visual element. Without a believable audio environment, even the most detailed aircraft can feel flat. For the TriStar, we wanted to ensure the soundsuite truly captured the character of this classic widebody.

To achieve this, we partnered with Echo19, where Tyler was able to gain access to a real L-1011 at the TriStar Experience in Kansas City, Missouri. During this visit he recorded a wide range of high-quality audio directly from the aircraft, capturing everything from engine behaviour to cockpit and environmental sounds. Being able to record audio from an aircraft in this environment allowed us to gather authentic material that would otherwise be extremely difficult to obtain.

These recordings formed the foundation of the TriStar’s sound suite, from which Tyler refined and created a truly stunning audio set. From the distinctive tone of the RB211 engines, to the subtle ambience of cockpit systems and cabin airflow, Tyler captured a huge range of audio that helps recreate the real atmosphere of the aircraft. You can check out a brief behind the scenes of his trip in the video below!

Interior & Exterior Art 🎨
The TriStar is one of the most recognisable widebody aircraft ever built, and recreating it visually has been a major focus for the art team. From the exterior surfaces down to the smallest interior details, the goal has been to capture not just how the aircraft looks, but the 'golden-era' of aviation and the atmosphere it represents.

Cabin Interior
One of the areas we’ve spent a significant amount of time on is the passenger cabin. The TriStar’s interior has a very distinct character compared to modern widebodies, and we wanted to ensure that feeling is preserved throughout the aircraft.

The entire cabin has been carefully modelled with accurate seating layouts, interior panelling, galleys and the iconic vaulted ceiling due to the lack of baggage compartments. Texturing plays a huge role here, with materials crafted to reflect the softer, fabric-heavy interiors typical of aircraft from this era, rather than the sharper plastics and composites found in modern cabins.

Lighting also plays a big part in achieving that authentic atmosphere. Instead of the bright, cool LED lighting found in today’s aircraft, the TriStar uses period appropriate incandescent-style lighting, giving the cabin a warmer tone that feels closer to what was used during that time period. These lighting characteristics influence the entire interior environment, helping recreate the distinctive ambience passengers would have experienced when flying on the TriStar during its operational years.

Lower Lounge & Cargo Bay
Another unique aspect of the TriStar we’ve recreated is the lower lounge configuration, one of the aircraft’s most iconic features. Although the '-500' variant did not typically operate with the lounge installed, we’ve included an optional configuration allowing you to explore this awesome feature. The lounge area sits within the lower fuselage, connected to the main cabin via a spiral staircase, and includes seating areas and a bar-style layout that reflects how some airlines configured the aircraft during the golden age of widebody travel.

The cargo bay surrounding the lounge structure has also been modelled in detail. You’ll be able to explore the structural framing, cargo floor panels, and the lower deck environment surrounding the lounge area. The level of modelling here is something we’re really excited to showcase, as it’s an area rarely recreated in flight simulation with this level of depth.

Texturing & Materials
Across the entire aircraft, the team has applied a highly detailed PBR material workflow, allowing surfaces to respond naturally to lighting conditions within the simulator.

Metal panels, painted surfaces, interior plastics, fabrics and structural components all feature carefully tuned roughness, reflectivity and wear characteristics. These subtle variations help break up surfaces and give the aircraft a more realistic appearance, especially under dynamic lighting conditions during sunrise, sunset or night operations.

POD Variant
Alongside the standard passenger configuration, the TriStar Airliner will also include a distinctive POD variant, offering a unique and slightly more challenging flying experience. This variant features both a visual modification, as well as changes to the aircraft’s flight model, meaning it behaves and should be operated slightly differently from the standard TriStar. The additional external pod alters the aircraft’s aerodynamics and weight distribution, and the flight model has been adjusted to accurately reflect these differences.

As a result, the POD variant introduces several operational changes and performance limitations compared to the standard TriStar. The aircraft’s maximum operating altitude is limited to FL340, with a reduced VMo of 270 KIAS, and reduced thrust takeoffs are not permitted. 

Operational procedures are also different. For example, ATS use during final approach and autoland operations is prohibited. The POD configuration also introduces revised fuel distribution requirements, including the requirement that tank 1 must be a certain degree heavier than tank 3.

These differences mean the POD variant requires slightly different planning and procedures compared to the standard aircraft. For those of you looking to experience something a little different, it provides a really fun & alternative way to operate the TriStar and highlights yet another chapter in the aircraft’s diverse operational history.

Liveries 🖌️
At launch, the TriStar Airliner will feature a wide selection of liveries from operators throughout the aircraft’s long service history.

These will include airlines such as British Airways, Saudia, TWA, Delta, Pan Am, United, LTU, Cathay Pacific, Royal Jordanian, Air Transat, Novair and many more. Each livery has been carefully created with high resolution textures and accurate airline markings, giving you the opportunity to recreate routes and operations from many different eras of the TriStar Airliner's service history, even on release day!

Release Information 🗓️
Now, what you've all been waiting for - we’re excited to confirm that the TriStar Airliner is scheduled to release later this month (March). After many months of development, testing and refinement, the aircraft is now entering its final stages as the team focuses on polishing the last details ahead of launch.

For those attending FSWeekend, you’ll have the opportunity to try the aircraft at the event. We’ll have the TriStar available to experience in person, giving you a chance to see how the aircraft performs, how it handles and hear from the developers themselves ahead of its official release.

Over the coming weeks, we will also begin sharing the aircraft with media partners and content creators, allowing them to spend time with the TriStar Airliner and showcase their first impressions, previews and flights with the aircraft. Alongside this, our official trailer will be dropping next week, offering a closer look at the aircraft in action and highlighting many of the features and details the team has been working on. Be sure to keep an eye on our channels so you don’t miss it!

At launch, the TriStar Airliner will be available exclusively through the Microsoft Flight Simulator in-game Marketplace.
- iniManager version will be released at a later date.

We hope you all enjoy flying the TriStar Airliner once it arrives. As always, our team will be on hand to support you with the aircraft following release, and we’ll be actively monitoring feedback and bug reports from the community. Whilst we are striving for a solid release, you can expect timely updates and refinements as we continue to improve the experience and address any issues that do come about from a wider user base.

Given the wide range of variants and configurations that existed throughout the TriStar’s service life, we strongly recommend taking some time to read through the included documentation. It provides helpful guidance on the different systems, variants, and operational differences, ensuring you can get the most out of the aircraft from your very first flight.

Synaptic A220

The iniBuilds and Synaptic teams have been working very hard over the past few months, as such - the Synaptic A220 is steadily progressing towards release-candidate readiness. We’re just about ready to enter the final stages of testing at the end of the month. We’d like to take a moment to share some of the highlights in our development progress. As always, all screenshots showcased are representative of a work-in-progress aircraft.

Since FSExpo 2025, we have made some serious developmental strides and rewritten many core systems. The Synaptic A220 now includes a completely reworked fly-by-wire system, a custom engine model, lateral and vertical flight guidance, autopilot, autoland, and fully featured electrical, bleed air, hydraulics, and radio systems.

The flight management system has also been completely rewritten from the ground up to enable tighter coupling with other systems, better performance, and hopefully a reduced risk for fatal errors and crashes. This has enabled us to model intricate behaviors with other systems, such as automatic nav-to-nav transfer on approach, the transition from DMC (data concentration unit module cabinet) to PFCC (primary flight control computer) guidance during autoland, and accurate engine model predictions for climb planning.

We’ve been continuously following our core principle of emergent behavior, and with it, we’ve monitored the actual logic used in the A220’s crew alerting system to create our own systems code that triggers CAS and INFO messages with accurate input conditions, activation logic, and even timing delays matching the real aircraft’s 100ms precision. The system consists of 3,350 different inputs routed through the data concentration unit module cabinets from various other systems on the aircraft, and we’re currently working on filling in the missing inputs. The screenshot below gives a glance into what that process looks like, with several messages still being triggered unnecessarily due to missing data that we need to provide.

The past couple of years have been a unique blend of exciting breakthroughs and of countless sleepless nights spent following rabbit holes and chasing wild geese. Our codebase has now grown to over several hundred thousand lines of Rust and TypeScript code, representing 985 modeled components, 1026 electrical connections, 427 data buses such as ARINC 429, AFDX, analog, and discrete. We’re working steadily to ensure a capable aircraft on release day, and hope you share in our excitement as we approach the big day!

The Next Project
As the TriStar project wraps up, we're excited to begin switching our focus to the next big project, the iniBuilds A380 Airliner!

This is a project that has been quietly progressing behind the scenes for some time. From the beginning, our goal has been to approach the A380 with the same philosophy that guided the development of the A340/A350 and most recently the TriStar, applying the lessons learned across systems architecture, performance optimisation and overall product structure to ensure the aircraft meets the highest standards possible.

Work has been ongoing across multiple departments for some time. Systems development and sound workstreams are well and truly underway, laying the foundation for the aircraft’s core functionality and overall flight experience. However, we want to talk about something that is essential to every major aircraft project we take on: data collection and real-world reference gathering.

To build an aircraft of this scale and complexity, accurate reference material is one of the top priorities to obtain. Over the past months we’ve been conducting extensive research and gathering large amounts of documentation, measurements and operational data to ensure that the aircraft we recreate reflects the real-world counterpart as closely as possible.

For the A380 project, one of our primary goals has been to ensure that the aircraft’s external geometry is as faithful to the real aircraft as possible for the sim. To achieve this, the modelling process began with extensive real-world reference collection, including thousands of high-resolution photographs. These references allow us to verify proportions, surface curvature, panel layouts and structural features directly against the real aircraft rather than relying solely on drawings or publicly available documentation.

Our team enjoyed being in and around the A380 at a recent airshow!

The same level of attention has also been applied to the flight deck. Using a large collection of cockpit reference photography alongside measurement data and scan references, the cockpit geometry has been carefully recreated to accurately represent the layout, proportions and ergonomics of the real A380 flight deck.

We have also conducted several real-world reference collection trips, including visits to full-motion simulators and real aircraft, allowing our team to capture additional photographs, measurements and operational details directly from the source. This hands-on research helps ensure the cockpit environment reflects the real aircraft as closely as possible.

Throughout development we are also working with real-world A380 pilots who are reviewing the aircraft and providing feedback during the process. Their input helps validate areas such as cockpit layout, operational workflows and subtle design details that are often difficult to capture from documentation alone.

Combining this real-world feedback with our extensive photographic and scan-based references allows us to refine the aircraft to a level that closely represents the real A380 experience within the simulator.

As development progresses we’ll be sharing more insights into the aircraft, including deeper dives into systems, sounds and artwork, but for now we wanted to close this section with a very early sneak preview of the iniBuilds A380 Airliner!

We are much further ahead in development than the above pictures (as you can see from our teaser below 😉 ) but wanted to take a step back to walk you through the behind the scenes of some of the development. 

 

Final Remarks
Thank you for taking the time to read through this extensive development update. We're glad to be able able to share more insight into what the team has been working on behind the scenes periodically.

The team is now full speed ahead on bringing the TriStar Airliner to release. We’re incredibly excited to finally get this aircraft into your hands and see the routes & operations the community will recreate with it.

To celebrate the upcoming release and FSWeekend, we’ll also be running special discounts this weekend across a selection of our aircraft. If you’ve been looking to expand your hangar, this will be a great opportunity to pick something up!

Long Haul Legends Deal: https://inibuilds.com/collections/long-haul-legends
- Valid until 22nd March 11pm UK

As always, thank you for the continued support from everyone in the community. We can’t wait to share more with you very soon. ✈️

iniBuilds team ❤️