Find aircraft background, systems descriptions and manuals for the aircraft you are researching. Each note keeps its source and version context close by.
Simulator manuals describe the developer’s implementation. Aircraft background is research-based; pilot accounts describe an individual’s experience. Coverage here is limited to the selected notes and linked resources, not the full contents of every manual.
Airbus A320 family
The original A320 first flew in 1987 and entered service in 1988. Airbus subsequently stretched the design into the A321 and shortened it into the A319 and A318. The family made digital fly-by-wire and sidestick controls familiar to a large part of the airline world.
The A319, A321 and A320neo differ in fuselage length, engines, fuel arrangements and equipment. In the simulator, the original bundled A320neo, the later V2 aircraft and independent developers' products also have their own systems and documentation.
Aircraft / family
A330 (-200, -300, 300P2F) · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The -200 and -300 have different fuel arrangements
The iniBuilds A330 guide distinguishes the -200's centre-tank configuration from the -300 and describes the horizontal-stabiliser trim tank. It also covers hydraulic preparation and engine-specific indications. Engine and airframe combinations are identified by variant throughout the manual.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.77,114; variants
A330-743L Beluga XL · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The BelugaXL has a dedicated operating guide
The BelugaXL's oversized transport role comes with a separately published cockpit and operating guide. It includes its own hydraulic-system preparation. The XL guide covers its specialised cargo configuration.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF p.77; engine-start preparation
Airbus A330 family
Airbus developed the A330 alongside the four-engine A340. The two programmes shared substantial airframe and cockpit work, but the A330 used two engines. The initial A330-300 entered service in 1994; the shorter A330-200 followed in 1998.
The family includes several engine choices, different fuselage lengths and later A330neo developments. These distinctions reach inside the cockpit: engine indications and fuel arrangements are not identical across every version. The simulator products cover different variants, each with its own developer documentation.
Aircraft / family
Airbus A340
The A340 shared substantial programme work with the A330 but used four engines for long-haul operations. The initial -200 and -300 were followed by the much larger -500 and -600 developments, which brought different engines and significant airframe changes.
The A340-600 has its own dimensions, fuel system and equipment. ToLiss's simulator documentation describes the specific flight-control and hydraulic modelling of its implementation.
Aircraft / family
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.
Aircraft / family
Airbus A380
The A380 arranged two passenger decks within a very large four-engine airframe. Its programme targeted heavily travelled routes and major hub airports. The aircraft's wide wing and extensive landing gear reflect the scale of the design.
Airline interiors vary substantially, so a single seating figure does not describe every A380. The simulator products also differ in the cockpit functions and systems they model.
Aircraft / family
A400M Atlas · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Checklists inside the aircraft displays
The NORM button opens the electronic checklist in the lower part of the engine/warning display. A pedestal joystick selects items and the ECAM check button confirms them. Some entries require manual acknowledgement; others detect a switch position and change colour automatically, including the manual's seat-belt example.
iniBuilds A400M manual v1.0, 18 September 2024; documented simulator behaviour · PDF p.34
H125 · CowanSim · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
The manual maps the starter and fuel control explicitly
Cowan’s H125 guide uses TOGGLE TURBINE IGNITION SWITCH for the overhead starter and TOGGLE ENGINE 2 FUEL VALVE for the fuel cutoff. The engine-number binding is the developer’s simulator assignment; it does not describe a second physical engine.
Gathered Cowan MSFS H125 manual · PDF pp.8–9
H125 · CowanSim · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The VEMD guide includes a significant version limitation
The 2022 guide illustrates engine checks and performance pages, but explicitly says the IGE and OGE performance calculations were unfinished in that version. The archived manual leaves the implementation status of later versions open.
Gathered Cowan X-Plane H125 guide · PDF pp.13–19
H125 · CowanSim · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Display popups and a post-flight report extend the panel
The guide allows either VEMD screen to be popped out onto another monitor. Its flight-report description includes flight duration, engine-cycle information and recorded limitations or failures. The manual describes the engine-cycle counters as partial records.
Gathered Cowan X-Plane H125 guide · PDF pp.18–19
Airbus H130 / Eurocopter EC130 · CowanSim · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Give collective and throttle separate assignments
CowanSim’s H130 guide separates the collective axis from the engine twist grip. A user without a second hardware axis can leave throttle unassigned and operate it with the mouse. The guide also recommends an aircraft-specific control profile to avoid duplicate assignments.
Gathered MSFS H130 manual · PDF pp.1–3; undated
