Black Square - Commander 114

Black Square has shipped the first update for the Commander 114, about three weeks after the aircraft launched for MSFS 2020 and 2024 on July 29. Rather than just quietly polishing rough edges, this patch reworks a core piece of how the engine behaves.

New fuel injection model — and a new way to start the engine. The Commander now runs a proper Lycoming continuous fuel injection simulation, replacing the old logic. The practical effect: starting procedure has changed. Lycoming engines don't start like the Continentals most payware GA pilots are used to — cranking with the mixture at full rich will likely flood this one. The correct method is to keep the mixture in idle cut-off while cranking, then advance it once the engine catches. If you do flood it, the fix is throttle full forward and roughly 15 seconds of cranking. In-sim checklists have been updated to match.

EDM 800 engine monitor got a real overhaul, not just a bugfix. The lean-of-peak function now properly steps through finding the leanest cylinder first, then the richest, resetting reference temperatures at each stage — giving more realistic fuel flow numbers for both max-power and economy leaning. A peak-hold display was added (hold the LF button to see the captured peak EGT/fuel flow), sample rate during peak-finding doubled to 10Hz, and the on-screen digit font was redone for legibility.

More to notice on the ground. Magneto checks are more meaningful now: each magneto drops RPM independently, subtle fouling is detectable through the drop itself (not just an obvious sound cue), and there's a new magneto timing failure with its own audio tell. Cylinder temperatures are also individually varied per aircraft rather than uniform across cylinders.

Turbocharger simulation gained manifold pressure feedback, so pushing the throttle now shows a realistic lag before manifold pressure actually climbs as the turbo spools — and a new turbo bearing failure caps how much boost you can get above ambient pressure.

MSFS 2024 quality-of-life fixes: you can now properly walk out via the wing-walk and climb back in through the pilot's seat, a couple of objects that the 2024 LOD system was aggressively culling have been corrected, and a "Show Copilot from Inside" tablet option that shouldn't have been there in 2024 has been removed.

Smaller fixes worth knowing about: a bug that could stop circuit-breaker-protected failures from triggering at all has been fixed, along with excessive solar heating of the cabin, a gear warning light that wasn't illuminating correctly, and various radio/avionics quirks (ADF acceleration, MX170 nav ident button, RNAV511 waypoint sourcing, voltage-drop audio referencing the wrong nominal voltage). The cloud strobe propeller effect is no longer a toggle — it's just on permanently now.

Version 0.1.1 is available now through Just Flight.

My apologies for keeping you all waiting so long for this update. As my projects grow in complexity, and as I strive to experience more of these aircraft in person, development can appear to slow down at times, but I’m always working on new aircraft and features behind the scenes.

Although the Black Square Commander 114 will be the next of my aircraft to release, I would like to start with a long overdue update on the Twin Commanders. I recently developed a new full state saving system for the Twin Commander, and decided to add it to the 114 at the last minute. The system is based on the second of two state-saving methods available to me as a developer in MSFS. This system appears to have better consistency across multiple platforms, which gave me the confidence to add persistence to nearly every custom variable in the aircraft. For the Twin Commanders, this is 445 saved parameters, including failures, and 220 for the 114.

The new full state-saving system allows you to choose the level of persistence that you desire via three toggle switches on the tablet’s options page. The system also monitors the phase of flight to ensure that no inappropriate state is loaded; for instance, if you end your flight after a full shutdown and subsequently start a flight mid-air. All saved parameters have defaults for different phases of flight, or even time of day. If you prefer the default states you’re already familiar with in other Black Square aircraft, simply leave all three toggles deselected.

Another significant new feature added with the 114 are multiple new engine sound layers that depict subtle or severe, normal or abnormal, engine operating conditions. I found the effect of these sounds so convincing that they triggered subconscious knowledge of the engine’s state, which is a capability I hadn’t realised I developed during my real-world flying. Other real-world-inspired sounds include airframe vibration/resonance and nose gear shimmy.

You can expect several technical overview videos covering this aircraft’s new features in the coming days, as the release date approaches. Of particular note are the new avionics, hydraulic gear system and functioning stormscope. The aircraft also features two versions: normally aspirated, and turbo-normalised. The turbo-normalised version is additionally equipped with crew/passenger oxygen and an aftermarket air conditioner.

I’m particularly partial to the 114’s warm interior, which makes it feel like home during cross-country flights or sightseeing over cities at night.

Rather than post an exhaustive list of all the new features here, I hope you enjoy this faux magazine feature PDF that I couldn’t resist making for this cozy piston single. In addition to the Feature Highlights PDF, the full 154 page manual is also now available for perusal.

As is tradition, we also have our First Look video of the Black Square Commander 114 to signal the release of the manual and the beginning of previews from our fantastic community partners.

We will reveal a little more tomorrow but here's a quick glimpse at the the next gem from Black Square, a Commander 114, no less.