Fenix Simulations announced today that the much-awaited sharklets update for its Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 for Microsoft Flight Simulator will arrive this week.
According to the announcement (which as usual includes tons of interesting details beyond the scope of this news post, so I encourage you to read it in its entirety), the update won’t affect the Airbus A319, simply because there are so few that gathering data about them is challenging. That being said, Fenix mentions that they will continue working on it.
The update arriving this week won’t just include the sharklets visual model, but also the changes it brings to the flight model, on top of software updates.
Additional changes include improvements to ground physics across the board, while the tiller mapping from the real A320 has now been applied to the tiller input for Fenix.
A custom wingflex model has been built to better represent the sharklets, and it will be implemented in the wingtip fences model as well.
The ADIRS on the overhead panel have been updated to a newer and more common model on all aircraft, and the same goes for the ACP unit. The developers are looking to include the older versions as options in a future update.
Another welcome change is the implementation of the Additional Center Tanks as an option for the A321.
The sharklets also bring updated lighting, including a new NAV light model with accurate shadow-casting for each system and the LED landing and taxi lights, which look rather different compared to the old Halogen included in the wingtip fences model.
We’re also getting plenty of dedicated liveries, specifically 106 sharklet-specific liveries that will come with the update, bringing the total count of officially available liveries to over 600 across the lineup.
You can check out some of them and the rest of the changes in the gallery below.
It’s worth mentioning that (likely due to the absence from the official marketplace) Fenix was not granted access to the DevAlpha of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
As such, they cannot guarantee compatibility out of the box. When the simulator releases, they will “bring compatibility and stability first and foremost, then at a later time assess the new feature set and see what makes sense.”
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is currently available for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
Speaking of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (which is coming on November 18), you can enjoy our hands-on preview with plenty of interesting details for your perusal.
You can also watch our interview with Head of MSFS Jorg Neumann and Asobo CEO Sebastian Wloch, another with Asobo CCO David Dedeine, and one featuring Chris Burnett of Working Title and Brandon Yaeger of Got Friends about their work on MSFS 2024.
Last, but not least, you can take a look at our A-10 flight through the Grand Canyon, our first look at the extensive pilot customization, another at the first mission of the Career Mode, a video featuring the new walk-around move showing off a Boeing 737 MAX up close and personal, and a challenge with the A-10 over the Blue Ridge Mountains.
