Author: Just Flight News

16 January 2024

Thank you all for patiently awaiting an update on the forthcoming Black Square Piston Duke and Turbine Duke for MSFS. Here's an update from the developer, Nick Cyganski:

Six months ago, I made the decision to release my TBM 850 in 2023, in favour of working on the Dukes over the holidays. This has allowed me to spend several months developing countless new features, some of which I believe have never been seen before in Flight Simulator. Many of these new features will also find their way into earlier Black Square releases in future updates. I hope this update will make the wait worthwhile, and that everyone will enjoy flying these two stunning machines as much as I've enjoyed creating them.





I am most proud of my new in-cockpit EFB tablet, which was originally designed to replace the weather radar interface for interacting with the Black Square failure system; however, it quickly became the most complete interface yet for monitoring aircraft systems in MSFS. This includes an options configuration, payload and fuel management, piston and turbine engine visualisers, live electrical schematic, cabin environmental system visualiser and failure options.



I have always been passionate about aviation education, so my goal was to create real-time graphical representations of some of the most complex systems in general aviation aircraft, such that they can be more readily understood by experienced and novice simulator pilots alike. A pilot's understanding of his or her machine is paramount to safety in the air. This understanding is too often compromised by computers and glass panels in our present time. Hopefully these visualisers will help bring a new appreciation of the electromechanical systems behind the touchscreens in modern aircraft, and also the complexity of Black Square's systems simulation.



The Piston Duke will also feature Black Square's new reciprocating engine simulation, which completely overhauls engine starting and propeller feathering, in addition to the fouling, vapour lock, flooding, backfire and turbocharger simulations featured in previous Black Square aircraft. The crankshaft is now driven by the physics of cylinder compression, fuel ignition, propeller drag and friction throughout. Propeller feathering is now driven by engine oil pressure. Watch cold oil flow slowly into the propeller hub through the lines, or from the unfeathering accumulator on the engine visualiser.



Adhering to Black Square's motto, "Unapologetically Realistic", the Piston Duke will also feature instrument stiction and friction physics, meaning that needles can become temporarily stuck, and unstick with engine vibration. You can even tap on the instrument's glass to free a sticky needle and get a more accurate reading. Although it wasn't advertised heavily in the more digital TBM 850, all gyroscopes in Black Square's aircraft are now also physics based, driven by a coupled quadrature oscillator. Watch the electric and pneumatic gyroscopes behave differently as they spin up and down and precess with the motion of the aircraft.



Black Square is proud to announce a partnership with Boris Audio Works for the entire Duke soundscape and hopefully several future aircraft. We hope that Boris Audio Works' exceptional sound quality, combined with Black Square's system complexity, produces an audiovisual experience that you will not soon forget. As an example, while starting the engines, you're not just hearing a recording of an engine start, you're hearing half a dozen individual layered sounds, each controlled by an underlying simulation. From the starter solenoid to the friction on the flywheel, it's a living sound system. Look out for audio preview videos coming soon!



Black Square is also proud to debut the amazing freeware KLN-90B GPS Navigator, brought to you by Falcon71. The KLN-90B joins the ranks as one of the most impeccably accurate pieces of avionics for MSFS. The Dukes will also support PMS50 GTN 650 and TDS GTNxi 650s, a first for Black Square, for a total of 12 hot-swapping avionics combinations. Avionics selection has also been moved to the tablet interface, which offers more reliable hot-swapping and easier selection for multiple GPS providers.



The wait is almost over!  Beta testing will have begun by the time this update is published. The Piston Duke and Turbine Duke are planned to release concurrently in March of 2024. The two aircraft will be available separately, and also as a discounted Bundle. For more information on what differentiates these two aircraft, see the PDF feature comparison sheet or the recently updated product pages. The 150-page manuals for each product will also be made available as the release date approaches. Stay tuned for a series of videos on the Just Flight YouTube channel showcasing the features of the Dukes for Microsoft Flight Simulator!

12 January 2024

We're pleased to be able to tell you that our MSFS Avro Vulcan B Mk. 2, K.2 & MRR is now available to fly on the Xbox platform!

Purchasers of the Xbox version of the Vulcan will be able to experience the same high-fidelity simulation of the Vulcan that was released for PC last November, with the only difference being the removal of the weapons payloads to comply with the Marketplace's no-weapons policy. But don't worry - there are still various payloads that can be added to the aircraft, including the bomb bay fuel tanks and Maritime Radar Reconnaissance (MRR) pods.

Please note that the MSFS Vulcan on sale from this website is the PC VERSION ONLY - you'll need to head over to the Marketplace for the Xbox version.

22 December 2023

A wonderful Christmas present arrived today in the shape of PC Pilot Platinum Awards for two MSFS add-ons which we have been proud to publish this year and which both show off to great effect the talents of their respective developers.

Anyone who has flown the amazing Black Square TBM 850 will be only too aware of the staggering depth of this simulation and this is what PC Pilot's reviewer had to say:

"The aircraft is made to an excellent standard, both inside and out. From authentic instruments to in-depth systems modelling and realistic failures, it easily rivals the most complex aircraft currently available for the Microsoft Flight Simulator platform while having no noticeable impact on frame rates. If you want to get as close as you can to flying a single-engine turboprop on your desktop, this one is for you." (96/100)



Also reviewed is the GCXO Tenerife Airport add-on for MSFS, which we have been enjoying greatly since its release, both for its overall quality and for the level of detail in and around the airport which really do bring it to life. The PC Pilot review concludes:

"The development team have paid near forensic attention to getting the details just right. The terminal feels alive, the apron is always active with something and, given the location, the airport feels like an undiscovered gem. Most impressively, all that detail doesn't come with a performance cost... At just £13.99 it's an absolute bargain." (95/100)



The new issue of PC Pilot (No. 149, Jan/Feb 2023) should be in the usual shops soon and you can also buy it as an E-magazine or take out a subscription on the PC Pilot website. There's plenty in the new issue to enjoy over the holiday and one feature which is sure to be of particular interest to all MSFS users keeping a wary eye on their hard drive capacity is 'Keeping Microsoft Flight Simulator in check - Managing a monster' - some useful tips there!

20 December 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, we’d like to thank you all for the support you have given us in this past year. It's greatly appreciated and we are pleased to see so many of you enjoying our products.

To reflect on 2023 just for a moment, it's fair to say that we spent a little more time than we anticipated on updating and improving our recent MSFS add-ons, but we do think these updates have been very worthwhile and owners of these add-ons seem to have appreciated the enhancements and new features. This has meant, however, that we have not made quite as much progress with some of our other new releases as we had planned, so our apologies for any delays to new aircraft which we had hoped to bring to you sooner!

Looking ahead to 2024, we have a full schedule of in-house releases scheduled for the coming year and the updates below will bring you up to date with development progress on the forthcoming Just Flight titles. We'll be bringing you more regular updates on all these projects over the coming months, both here on the Just Flight website and on our social media channels.

We are also looking forward to some new aircraft from our partners in 2024. Black Square are continuing to expand their impressive General Aviation fleet, with the Piston Duke and Turbine Duke nearing completion and there's plenty more in the pipeline! Bluebird Simulations are also incredibly busy on the eagerly anticipated 757-200/300.

With Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on the horizon, we remain committed to updating and bringing new features to our existing aircraft as opportunities arise. We're looking forward to seeing how we can take full advantage of any new features MSFS 2024 has to offer once we have access to this new simulator.

Until then, all of us at Just Flight wish you a very merry Christmas and health and happiness in the New Year. Thank you once again for your support in 2023!



Since we revealed our A300B4 Professional at FS Expo 2023 our talented artist has been busy with the mammoth task of texturing the rest of the flight deck and the exterior model. In the cockpit every single panel, gauge, knob and lever is being painstakingly recreated to match the equipment in the real aircraft. Right down to the weathering on each individual screw head, we aim to bring you a level of detail never seen before in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Most of the fuselage and nose section has been reworked and countless new details have been added, including highly detailed flap track mechanisms and brand-new models for the CF6 and JT9D engines.

We have made excellent progress with the systems coding, with the electrical, air bleed, air conditioning and pressurisation, APU and fuel systems complete; these have been custom-coded so that all valves, temperatures and pressures will react just as they would in the real world and are affected by environmental conditions and system configuration. Next up is the hydraulic system.

See the A300B4 Professional page for more screenshots.





The 'Tonka', as it is affectionately known, is being developed by the same in-house development team that created our critically acclaimed Avro Vulcan B Mk.2, K.2 and MRR, and with the team having an equal passion for the Tornado, you can expect our next military aircraft to be equally special! 

The Tornado GR1 model has seen some significant improvements since we posted the initial images. Amongt these are remodelled sections of the cockpit for even higher levels of accuracy, various exterior modelling enhancements and upscaled interior and exterior textures to full 8K resolution for the maximum possible texture clarity. The next task for the development team is transferring the already high-fidelity code from the Tornado GR1 in Prepar3D over to MSFS and then improving accuracy and adding additional features to ensure that the Tornado operates as close to the real aircraft as possible.

Work has also begun on the 24 paint schemes that will be included, covering various RAF GR1 squadrons as well as German, Italian and Saudi IDS squadrons.

More screenshots on the Tornado GR1 page show some of the upgraded cockpit artwork and freshly created liveries.




Development of the popular Tomahawk has somewhat stalled lately but is now at the centre of our attention and will be our next GA aircraft release.

Our in-house team is currently focusing on upgrading the interior and exterior modelling and texturing in order to bring the product up to our usual high standards. The core aircraft systems coding is now largely complete and we are now integrating the EFB which features in some of our other aircraft and adding new features and improvements to it where necessary.

One area we’ve yet to show you is the avionics stack, which includes a GMA340 audio panel, SL30 and SL40 NAV/COM transceivers and a GTX328 transponder. All of these avionics units are fully functional and operate exactly like their real-world counterparts.

As with our other MSFS Piper aircraft, we’ll be including various GPS options that you can toggle on the EFB as well as other customisation and quality-of-life additions.

A few screenshots showing the latest cockpit artwork are available on the PA-38 Tomahawk page.




The successor to our 146 Professional is currently on track to be our next airliner release and a dedicated coding team is now making significant progress on the aircraft.

Many systems are already complete, including air conditioning, fuel and hydraulics, all of which have been overhauled to ensure they match the differences between the more modern RJ compared to the older 146. Our focus is now on the autopilot and navigation systems, two areas that differ significantly from those in the 146.

One system that we have spent a lot of time on recently is the IRS system, with all modes now simulated and fully functional in the simulator, and work is now continuing on on the ADC system (including ADC 1 and ADC 2 computers) to properly integrate them with the various autopilot modes, the FMS and EFIS signal generators. It’s difficult, of course, to show the complexity of systems coding in writing but as we get closer to release we’ll be able to bring you more updates on the RJ Professional as system coding nears completion.

We can, however, show you the brand-new virtual cabin. It features a high-density 3+3 layout for all three RJ variants (this was a standard configuration for many RJ operators), animated doors that can be opened and closed from the forward galley, retractable airstairs and cabin lighting and chimes which can be controlled from the cabin crew panels. A paint kit will be provided so you can customise the cabin’s colour scheme to match that of a specific operator.

Sone new screenshots have been posted on the RJ Professional page.




In our last F70/100 development update we focused on the aircraft exterior and cabin, but we have also been busy at the business end! Using new reference photographs from an in-service aircraft, the cockpit has been totally reworked with brand-new high-resolution textures and the aircraft will feature an unprecedented amount of detail, right down to individual screw heads and authentic wear and tear representative of a well-used but serviceable aircraft. Many hours have been spent colour matching the various parts of the cockpit and tweaking the materials to give an authentic feel. The textures will be available at both standard and high detail, which you will be able to choose depending on your system specifications.

Dozens of switches and knobs have been totally remodelled to provide the highest levels of detail. Extra detailing has been added to the LCD bezels, and the CRT screens have been reworked to give an authentic curved look which will take you right back to the late 80s when the aircraft first entered service. Work continues on animating switches and instruments, tweaking lighting and integrating systems.

Some new cockpit images have been added to the F70/100 Professional page and we'll bring you more details in 2024.




Our 146 Professional for MSFS will be updated early next year to include the UNS-1 FMS and the brand-new, highly detailed cabin that has been developed for the RJ Professional, an aircraft that shares the same fuselage dimensions. The UNS-1 is currently in the later stages of beta testing, with all intended systems functional in the FMS and integrated with the 146 Professional; we'll provide more information on the UNS-1 and its features closer to release.

Further details of the new passenger cabin have been covered in the latest RJ Professional development update.

The forthcoming 146 Professional update will be free for all owners of the aircraft - see below for a few screenshots of the new UNS-1 unit.









As we announced in November, we'll be working with the Thranda Design team to upgrade our X-Plane 11 GA fleet to X-Plane 12 standards, taking full advantage of everything the new simulator has to offer.

The first aircraft to be upgraded is the Duchess Model 76, which will feature 8K textures on both the interior and exterior, PBR materials with real-time environment reflections and numerous custom animations such as passenger doors which respond to G-forces and air resistance when they are open.

The new tablet EFB which has been successfully implemented in our MSFS aircraft will also be added and will include features such as aircraft configuration states, interactive checklists and various aircraft customisation options. The screenshot below shows the tablet EFB in the cockpit and there will be a new 'Dynamic Livery' feature which lets you customise the colours on the selected livery in real time without reloading the flight.

The tablet EFB will be included in all of our future X-Plane 12 aircraft and the upgrades will definitely bring a new lease of life to these much loved aircraft. Next up after the Duchess will be the PA-28R Arrow III, one of the most popular GA aircraft that we have ever released.