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.
Aero Vodochody Ae-45 / Ae-145
The Aero 45 helped restart Czechoslovak aircraft production after the Second World War. Its twin piston engines and enclosed cabin made it a practical small transport for civilian operators. Production began at Aero and subsequently moved to Let at Kunovice.
The Ae 45, improved Ae 45S and later Ae 145 are related developments rather than three names for an identical aeroplane. That progression is part of the interest of the simulator package: a compact utility twin from an era before glass cockpits and the modern business-jet category.
Aircraft / family
Aero Vodochody L-39
Designed by Aero Vodochody, the L-39 Albatros was built around the training role. Instructor and student sit in tandem under separate canopy sections, with a single jet engine in the fuselage. It was widely adopted by military operators, and armed versions also served in light-attack roles.
An L-39 trainer, an armed derivative and a privately operated racer can share a recognisable airframe while carrying different equipment. The simulator's package and model name matter when looking at cockpit layout or comparing a racing version with its military origins.
Aircraft / family
Aero-Works Aerolite 103
Terry Raber's Aerolite 103 combines a high wing, a pusher engine and a very light airframe. Its name refers to the US Part 103 ultralight category for which the original design was intended. The exposed cockpit and compact undercarriage make its construction easy to see.
This is a very different kind of aircraft from an enclosed touring single. Its appeal in a simulator is the close view of the landscape and the simplicity of the machine. The real design's category does not establish the legal status or equipment of every individually built example.
Aircraft / family
AW109 SP 2.0 · X-Trident · X-Plane 12
Four-axis automation and twin-engine management
X-Trident's AW109SP 2.0 documentation lists SAS, attitude and upper autopilot modes, together with automatic hover and take-off functions. FADEC and engine load-sharing are part of the twin-engine model. The developer also distinguishes some flight-model behaviour between X-Plane 11 and 12, so the simulator branch remains relevant.
AW109SP2.0 XP11/XP12 · Autopilot; Flight model
AgustaWestland AW109
The A109 originated with Agusta in Italy and continued through AgustaWestland into Leonardo. Its streamlined cabin, four-bladed main rotor and retractable undercarriage suited executive transport as well as emergency-service and other utility work.
Later developments changed engines, cabin details and avionics. The AW109SP represented by X-Trident is a particular modern version, with its own engine-management and automatic flight-control systems. An early A109 photograph is therefore family history rather than proof of the SP's equipment.
Aircraft / family
Airbus A300-600R
The A300 established Airbus in the airline market during the 1970s. Its broad fuselage and two underwing engines offered a new alternative among large transports. Later developments changed the cockpit, wing details and systems, with the A300-600 becoming a major branch.
Early three-crew A300s and later two-pilot versions should not be described as identical aircraft. The family also became important in freight service. The simulator product's full model designation is the starting point for selecting the right flight-deck and systems documentation.
Aircraft / family
Airbus A310-300
Airbus developed the A310 to serve a market below the larger A300. The first prototype flew in 1982, and the type entered airline service the following year. Its broad fuselage and two underwing engines retain the family resemblance, but it brought a new wing and a shorter cabin.
The A310-300 extended the design's range and used fuel in the horizontal stabilizer for trim management. For simmers, the aircraft bridges two eras: electronic displays and flight management sit alongside a control philosophy that predates the A320's sidestick fly-by-wire family.
Aircraft / family
A321LR · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Hydraulic architecture appears in the cockpit documentation
The A321 guide explains the relationship between engine-start preparation and the yellow hydraulic system's brake-accumulator supply. That is a concrete systems connection within this implementation, rather than a generic A320-family checklist copied onto a longer aircraft.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF p.68; engine-start preparation
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.
Family resemblance does not erase the differences between an A319, an A321 and an A320neo. Fuselage length, engines, fuel arrangements and equipment vary. 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. The family contains different engine and airframe combinations, so the manual's variant labels are useful throughout the systems reference.
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 relationship to the A330 provides family context, while the developer's XL guide identifies the actual simulated aircraft and its specialised 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 catalogue brings the variants together while keeping each developer's description attached to its own aircraft.
Aircraft / family
