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Meet the aircraft
The A350 evolved from an early proposal related to the A330 into the clean-sheet A350 XWB programme. Its first flight took place in 2013. Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines power the production family, with the A350-900 and longer A350-1000 serving different capacity needs. The swept wings, curved wingtips and dark cockpit-window surround make the type readily recognisable.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A new cockpit that still rewards attention to the basics
Wuerfel flew the first A350-1000 prototype from the left seat with Airbus test pilot Peter Chandler in command. He liked the wide cockpit view and the ability to share information on the displays without turning away from the other pilot. Hand flying felt precise and responsive for such a large aircraft.
Aviation Week, public reprint at Grams luftfartsblogg, 6 July 2018. Tim Wuerfel’s firsthand evaluation; full narrative read in a public reprint of the Aviation Week report.
Aviation Week, public reprint at Grams luftfartsblogg · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Flightradar24 · 41 min ·
A350 longhaul behind the scenes (in the cockpit with SAS!)
A SAS A350 journey to Bangkok, including the crew's experience of navigation interference.
Real aircraft · Airbus A350
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Meet Airbus A350
The A350 evolved from an early proposal related to the A330 into the clean-sheet A350 XWB programme. Its first flight took place in 2013. Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines power the production family, with the A350-900 and longer A350-1000 serving different capacity needs.
The swept wings, curved wingtips and dark cockpit-window surround make the type readily recognisable. Inside, it belongs to Airbus's fly-by-wire wide-body lineage. The simulator manuals identify the included variants, flight-management features and equipment.
Airbus A350
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Preparing a production aircraft for Project Sunrise
The A350-1000ULR programme responds to Qantas's Project Sunrise proposal for direct flights from eastern Australia to London and New York. Airbus's June 2026 account describes a distinctive challenge: the instrumented test aircraft, MSN707, was also intended for eventual airline service. Engineers had to install monitoring equipment while preserving its cabin and avoiding the invasive modifications possible on a permanent prototype.
The work brought together production mechanics, flight-test specialists and the airline. Sensors monitored the additional rear fuel tank, while heated passenger dummies helped the team study the cabin environment. Test flight engineer Laurent Rossignol described the responsibility of testing the customer's future aircraft. These were development and certification preparations at the time of the report, not an account of passenger service.
Airbus · Flight testing the A350-1000ULR ↗Airbus, June 2026 · A350-1000ULR development
Development milestones
First flight: 14 June 2013 ( 2013-06-14 )
Wikipedia contributors · Airbus A350 ↗Airbus A350 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1374281088
Pilot accounts
A new cockpit that still rewards attention to the basics
Wuerfel flew the first A350-1000 prototype from the left seat with Airbus test pilot Peter Chandler in command. He liked the wide cockpit view and the ability to share information on the displays without turning away from the other pilot. Hand flying felt precise and responsive for such a large aircraft. The demonstration also let him observe an automated emergency descent in reserved airspace, with air traffic control informed in advance.
Returning to Toulouse, he flew the final approach with manual thrust and found himself working to settle on the right power setting in gusts. The touchdown was smooth, and the braking system brought the aircraft towards the selected exit. Taxiing provided a small reminder that size still mattered: Chandler prompted him to slow for a sharp turn, and Wuerfel checked the groundspeed more carefully after underestimating it from the high cockpit. These are impressions of that lightly loaded prototype flight in 2018.
Aviation Week, public reprint at Grams luftfartsblogg, 6 July 2018. Tim Wuerfel’s firsthand evaluation; full narrative read in a public reprint of the Aviation Week report.
Read the full account · Aviation Week, public reprint at Grams luftfartsblogg ↗Accepting a new aircraft takes more than a delivery flight
Hazzard describes accepting Cathay Pacific's A350s at Toulouse as a sequence of preparation, ground checks, flight work and reporting. The acceptance team rehearsed the profile in a simulator when it had been some time since its previous test. Before the flying began, a conference with Airbus engineers covered the build and remaining defects. The first day of system checks could be long, while the pilots were still contending with jet lag after travelling from Hong Kong.
In the air, the crew followed a planned programme with dedicated air traffic control support, while cabin engineers checked the interior. Hazzard particularly notes the A350's responsive handling during low-speed protection checks. Returning to Toulouse usually included an autoland to check that function, followed by data collation and further reports. A different crew brought the aircraft home after technical acceptance and transfer of ownership.
Air Pilot, Honourable Company of Air Pilots, June 2023, pages 12–13. Firsthand account by Cathay Pacific acceptance pilot Chris Hazzard; A350-900/-1000 family, published June 2023.
Read the full account · Air Pilot, Honourable Company of Air Pilots ↗Sharing the flight deck on an exceptionally long test mission
Pepin describes the July 2026 development flights of A350-1000ULR MSN707 between Toulouse and Melbourne, including his role as captain on the return journey. Fuel-system and cabin-temperature measurements filled the long hours: the outward flight completed much of the programme, leaving additional test points for the return. Two Qantas pilots joined for that leg to gain experience in the ULR variant alongside the Airbus crew.
Managing fatigue was part of organising the work. Pepin explains that four-hour pilot shifts overlapped, with a change every two hours to support handovers. The crew slept in the rear cabin-crew rest area because instrumentation occupied the new pilot-rest compartments. At least one Airbus test pilot remained in a pilot seat when a Qantas pilot was at the controls. Pepin valued the chance to exchange knowledge during the mission. This manufacturer interview concerns an instrumented development flight, with no airline passengers aboard.
Airbus, July 2026. Manufacturer interview with the captain of the Melbourne–Toulouse return flight; A350-1000ULR development programme, July 2026.
Read the full account · Airbus ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024A350 Airliner
iniBuilds · Released
A350 Airliner
iniBuilds · Released
X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12Airbus A350
FlightFactor · Released
Airbus A350
FlightFactor · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 66.80 m (219 ft 1.9 in) |
| Wingspan | 64.75 m (212 ft 5.2 in) |
| Wing area | 442 m² (4,760 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 115,700 kg (255,075 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 283,000 kg (623,908 lb) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 high-bypass turbofan , 374.5 kN (84,200 lbf) thrust each |
| Maximum speed | 950 km/h (591 mph, 513 kn) |
| Cruise speed | 903 km/h (561 mph, 488 kn) |
| Range | 15,750 km (9,600 mi, 8,500 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 13,100 m (43,100 ft) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Pilot account
A new cockpit that still rewards attention to the basicsAviation Week, public reprint at Grams luftfartsblogg, 6 July 2018. Tim Wuerfel’s firsthand evaluation; full narrative read in a public reprint of the Aviation Week report.
Wuerfel flew the first A350-1000 prototype from the left seat with Airbus test pilot Peter Chandler in command. He liked the wide cockpit view and the ability to share information on the displays without turning away from the other pilot. Hand flying felt precise and responsive for such a large aircraft. The demonstration also let him observe an automated emergency descent in reserved airspace, with air traffic control informed in advance.
Tim Wuerfel
Aviation Week, public reprint at Grams luftfartsblogg · Read the source ↗Accepting a new aircraft takes more than a delivery flightAir Pilot, Honourable Company of Air Pilots, June 2023, pages 12–13. Firsthand account by Cathay Pacific acceptance pilot Chris Hazzard; A350-900/-1000 family, published June 2023.
Hazzard describes accepting Cathay Pacific's A350s at Toulouse as a sequence of preparation, ground checks, flight work and reporting. The acceptance team rehearsed the profile in a simulator when it had been some time since its previous test. Before the flying began, a conference with Airbus engineers covered the build and remaining defects. The first day of system checks could be long, while the pilots were still contending with jet lag after travelling from Hong Kong.
Chris Hazzard
Air Pilot, Honourable Company of Air Pilots · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
A350 aircraft manualiniBuilds A350 aircraft manual postiniBuilds Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Airbus A350Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1374281088 · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
A350 XWB AdvancedFlightFactor · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 A350 Airliner for MSFS-2024iniBuilds · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12History
Flight testing the A350-1000ULRAirbus · June 2026 · production-aircraft instrumentation and test preparationType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 7 profile choices
FlightFactor A350-900 XWB Advanced
FlightFactor · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
FlightFactor A350-900 XWB Advanced: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
iniBuilds A350-900
iniBuilds · Free and Pro · Revision 4 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
iniBuilds A350-900: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
iniBuilds A350-1000
iniBuilds · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
iniBuilds A350-1000: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
iniBuilds A350-900ULR
iniBuilds · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
iniBuilds A350-900ULR: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
Airbus A350-900
Free and Pro · Revision 4 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Airbus A350-900: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
Airbus A350-1000
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Airbus A350-1000: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
Airbus A350-900ULR
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Airbus A350-900ULR: Fixed centering follows the A350's passive sidestick arrangement instead of interpreting load-factor demand as aerodynamic hand force.
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