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 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
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
A330-900 · ToLiss · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Flight-control laws, hydraulics and fuel transfer
ToLiss documents normal, alternate and direct control laws for its A330, alongside hydraulic-flow and surface hinge-moment modelling. Fuel transfers can change centre of gravity. The v1.1 change log also distinguishes simulator branches, retaining X-Plane 11 support while adapting weather-radar behaviour for X-Plane 12. Internal force calculations are not automatically exported control-force telemetry.
A330-900; release sections versioned independently · Systems and change log; v1.1
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
Airbus A340-600
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 stretched A340-600 is therefore not simply an A330 with two extra engines. Its dimensions, fuel system and equipment deserve their own reference. ToLiss's simulator documentation describes the specific flight-control and hydraulic modelling of its implementation.
Aircraft / family
A380X · FlyByWire · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Fuel trim and flight controls are different systems
FlyByWire's A380X documentation separates trim-tank fuel management from the flight-control checks performed with the sidestick. It also identifies autopilot engagement and hydraulic shutdown procedures. Keeping those meanings of trim separate is useful when exploring a large, highly automated aircraft.
SOP snapshot; dated pages; installed aircraft build not observed · PDF pp13,29,40,83; after-start control check and climb
Starship · Black Square · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
What persists between flights
State saving is selective. The guide identifies radio settings, stored routes and user waypoints, engine health and oxygen pressure among the items retained. Some primary operating switches are instead initialized from the flight's starting position. Fuel restoration also has a condition: it applies when the next flight loads with the default fuel levels. The guide records a payload-restoration limitation and notes that the simulator must shut down normally for its native saving mechanism to retain changes.
The tablet adds system visualizers and failure management. Failures can be scheduled or generated using configurable mean-time-between-failure settings, and existing failures persist between flights. These features make the tablet useful for understanding the simulated systems as well as configuring the aircraft.
Black Square Starship User Guide (2025) · PDF pp.87,128,151 · State saving, tablet and failures
757 family · FlightFactor · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Systems, loading and cockpit-building facilities
FlightFactor describes custom hydraulic and electrical systems, a three-channel autopilot with failure dependencies, and loading and fuel changes that affect centre of gravity. The product also provides cockpit-interaction and live-dataref facilities for builders. Passenger, cargo and engine choices belong to the selected package, so those options should be checked alongside the systems description.
757 v2; published XP11/XP12 support · Flight model; FMS/EFIS; custom systems; cockpit interaction
Challenger 650 · Hot Start · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
A business-jet simulation that begins before the cockpit
Hot Start's Challenger includes an FBO environment with fuel orders, de-icing and passenger coordination, alongside a quicker simulator mode. Its Pro Line 21 Advanced avionics are modelled as separate computers exchanging information over simulated data buses. The developer also provides system-study windows, allowing a simmer to inspect the electrical and physical models behind the cockpit indications.
Hot Start Challenger 650 · Product description; Experience, Architecture and Avionics; checked 2026-09-12
C172 NG Digital · Airfoillabs · X-Plane 12
An aircraft with persistent mechanical condition
Airfoillabs describes per-cylinder engine simulation, a custom electrical system and persistent wear in its C172 NG. The published features include tyres, brakes and structural damage, alongside an interactive walkaround and preserved aircraft state. The result is a different product scope from simply selecting a conventional or glass instrument panel; those are developer-described capabilities, not an independent fidelity rating.
C172 NG Digital 1.6.2; XP12 · Flight model; electrical; engine/fuel/gear; versions
Citation Longitude · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Three axes, different control paths
The Longitude guide describes mechanical pitch and roll controls, hydraulically operated roll spoilers and an electronically controlled rudder. Its simulated hydraulic failures can affect rudder, yaw-damper and spoiler authority. The guide also marks locks, disconnects and secondary trim as unmodelled in the documented version. Engine FADEC, the APU and fuel transfer have their own detailed sections.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.39,104,117; simulation notes
