In 2019, we announced our first, most ambitious project ever. This month, we finally pull back the curtain.
iiniBuildsIn 2019, we announced our first, most ambitious project ever. This month, we finally pull back the curtain.
Four Engines. Two Decks. A Global Icon.
The iniBuilds A380 Airliner will be landing later today on the @MSFSofficial 2024 Marketplace! Liveries showcased in the Trailer can now be downloaded via the iniManager.
The time is almost here… the iniBuilds A380 Airliner will be landing next week on the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace! Get ready to experience the worlds largest airliner like never before in MSFS2024!
A closer look at the upcoming iniBuilds A380 Airliner, showcasing the latest cockpit, systems & cabin lighting in action. 💡The Superjumbo is taking shape!
iniBuilds put its long-awaited A380 through its first real test flight this week, flying Cardiff to Heathrow live on the official Microsoft Flight Simulator Twitch channel. Over roughly two hours, lead technical developer Cameron and head of production Mike walked viewers through the aircraft while flying a British Airways-liveried A380 along a route the real jet has used when repositioning after maintenance work in Cardiff.
Given how much airframe there is to render, performance was the topic the team spent the most time on. Their main solution: when every door is shut, the interior cabin geometry simply isn't drawn, and it only loads back in once a door is opened. There's also a dedicated no-cabin option for players who'd rather skip modeling the interior entirely. The team was upfront that this approach won't necessarily push your frame counter higher — the goal is steadier frame pacing and fewer stutters, particularly when looking around the cockpit. For a performance baseline, they're aiming to match roughly what the A350 achieves today, with further tuning planned before launch.
On consoles, an Xbox build is already being tested and reportedly holding up well, and the team confirmed ChasePlane compatibility. A PlayStation 5 version hasn't been ruled out, but iniBuilds indicated there's still work to do before that's feasible.
Rather than a single fixed setup, the A380 is shipping with several swappable options:
Combine all three and one purchase should be able to represent a large slice of A380s actually flying today.
A lot of the underlying systems architecture is shared with iniBuilds' existing A350. The EFB has been reworked to pull SimBrief flight plans, coordinate GSX ground services, and automatically factor in intersection departures when calculating takeoff numbers — no more manually trimming runway length by hand. Additional avionics include CPDLC via Hoppie, an onboard weather radar, Brake to Vacate with runway overrun protection, simulated fuel dumping, and a checklist system that can tell when an item hasn't actually been completed.
Failures can either be switched on immediately or left to occur at a random point in the flight. Beyond straightforward failures, iniBuilds also built out less predictable "situations" — things like an erratic fuel leak, vibration building on a randomly chosen engine, GPS interference, or a bird strike that knocks out an engine and leaves visible airframe damage. The ECAM system is reportedly far more elaborate than what's in iniBuilds' A320-family aircraft, with abnormal procedures running several pages deep.
Cameron described the flight model as effectively rebuilt from scratch for this airframe, with a fly-by-wire rotation law tuned so pilots pull back once at rotation rather than holding continuous pressure. Ground handling gets its own learning curve too: the nose gear has a capped turn rate, and — mirroring the real aircraft — the rear body gear also steers, which keeps the nose wheel from dragging sideways under the aircraft's weight. Idle thrust is enough to keep it rolling when lightly loaded, but heavier weights need a thrust nudge to get moving. At the gate, multiple jet bridges connected to the aircraft at once using iniBuilds' own jetway system.
Beyond confirming the aircraft is coming "soon," iniBuilds didn't give a release date or price during the stream. A "Welcome to the A380" video series is planned ahead of launch, and the studio will have a presence as a platinum sponsor at the Flight Sim UK show in Bristol on October 10–11 — worth watching for any further updates.
We’ve shared a new development update covering the latest progress on our upcoming A380 Airliner, with work continuing across systems, flight dynamics, ground operations, visuals and more.
A major focus has been on increasing the depth of the simulation. The A380 now features aircraft-state persistence, retaining elements such as fuel quantities, switch positions and system conditions between simulator sessions. Potable water and waste are also fully simulated and persistent, including consumption, accumulation and ground servicing. Turnarounds are further supported by our Multi-Jetway Technology, allowing multiple passenger boarding bridges to connect simultaneously at compatible airports.
The EFB and OIS have received significant development as well. Take-off performance calculations include V-speeds, FLEX temperature and stop margins, with support for intersection departures. We’ve introduced the initial NSS Avionics domain, improved chart handling, added an EFB Notification Centre and upgraded our GSX integration to V2, including dedicated notifications and a panel for monitoring ground-service operations.
Inside the flight deck, the A380 includes independent Display Unit management, a fully integrated Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) and Brake to Vacate (BTV) functionality. We’ve continued refining the fly-by-wire system and Vertical Situation Display, while the weather radar now makes use of simulator API improvements to provide adjustable tilt and azimuth. Fuel temperature is also dynamically simulated across the aircraft’s tanks and can trigger the appropriate ECAM indications when operating limits are exceeded.
The flight model has also received considerable attention. The complete landing-gear configuration is represented, including functional body-gear steering, individual gear response using MSFS 2024’s suspension modelling and additional contact points, and dedicated A380-specific fly-by-wire rotation laws. The wings use a custom dynamic wing-flex system, responding continuously to aerodynamic forces, aircraft weight, turbulence and manoeuvring loads rather than relying on a predefined animation.
Failures are being expanded through a comprehensive ATA-based failure-management system, including scenarios such as engine fuel leaks, gradual cabin pressurisation leaks and individual Display Unit failures. Events can be configured to occur immediately or randomly during a flight.
We’ve also revealed that pilots will be able to select between Early-MSN and Modern-MSN configurations, based on Batch 2 and Batch 7 standards respectively. These affect FMS capabilities, flight-guidance logic, displays, protections, procedures and checklist philosophy. Both Rolls-Royce Trent 900 and Engine Alliance GP7200 options are represented as distinct variants, with individual geometry, sounds, start and shutdown behaviour, spool dynamics, thrust response and relevant system behaviour.
Finally, exterior work continues with refined wings, engines and fuselage details, interactive Walkaround Mode elements and a range of custom Immersion FX, including water spray, engine vortices, heat blur, contrails, fuel jettison, engine fire and smoke effects, and visual effects for tail strikes.
Read the full development update here.
From close-up details to the unmistakable presence of the world’s largest passenger airliner, the A380 Airliner continues to take shape as a true Global Icon...
A few fresh beauty shots for your Friday
The official trailer for the iniBuilds A380 aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Four engines, two decks, a global icon. Coming soon!
Boarding the iniBuilds A380 is never a one-jetway affair. ❤️
This week is shaping up to be a big one. 👀
Expect crazy summer deals, a few surprises, and a fresh development update on both our scenery and aircraft projects!
In 2019, we announced our first, most ambitious project ever. This month, we finally pull back the curtain.
Four Engines. Two Decks. A Global Icon.
