How to get the FlyByWire Airbus A380 Working in MSFS2024
January 18, 2025Is The iniBuilds A350 worth it?
iniBuilds has an interesting way of marketing and hyping up the community (My personal opinion) with that said, they delivered with their A350. Not only a marvel of aviation but also in the simulation world now, with possibly the most realistic and in-depth A350 in Flight Simulation. However, with there being limited A350s in the market it's a lower bar to meet.
Now if you've flown the Flybywire A380, you'll be very similar in the A350 cockpit as it shares a lot of the same technology - think of it as a cross between an A330 and A380, cause that's what it really is.
iniBuilds and FlyByWire
Going back to the Flybywire A380, this is where one of my first guess disappointments came in, we've been blessed in the community and spoiled by the Flybywire team. They delivered such an amazing groundbreaking product that we simulator users were blown away by. However I'd say the iniBuilds A350 is around the same level, maybe a tiny bit better, if that - The only annoying thing is, I paid $120 AUD for the A350 and $0 for the A380. For the price point, it is priced extremely high. Don't get me wrong, I can see a lot of effort has gone into this aircraft. In a lot of places that I probably won't explore - like the server room. While it is cool, I just don't see the point of that much - I'd rather see more extensive interaction on the ground like they somewhat have with some of the panels you can operate.
There have been some mixed reviews in the water about the A350 with some claiming it might not be as "Study level" as some believe it to be. One of the best examples of this would be the amazing Youtuber "A330 Driver" Who is a real Airbus pilot. In the clip below he takes the A350 through some "non-standard" operations and can see some of the systems are basic in terms of the bleed air as an example. I agree with his statement though saying that during standard operations, the aircraft behaves how it should mostly but outside of that, it's not a study level. Personally, I would be perfectly happy with - if I didn't pay $120 AUD for it. For that price, I'd expect it to be not flawless, but more in-depth.
Bugs
These days nothing lunches without bugs, which I understand - different systems, addons there are too many veribals that make sure everything is perfect on everyone's systems these days. However, I've found a few on a fresh install of MSFS 2024, which is rather sad to see they might have been missed. These may only be on my end however, my ANF system on ONSANS is the airport navigation system on the ND - after decel on landing the flight plan will clear which means the ANF is no longer available. I found a workaround you can enter the ICAO into the ANF manual and it will load - however, this takes up time, especially if you're pulling off a runway on Vatsim or any network.
How it shoud look
Another is a possible conflict with an addon "Beyond ATC" - something that is growing very popular as more go off the network for AI ATC - my main issue is even though I'll have the "Auto-Tune Raido" it won't change the frequency (This happens maybe 5 out of 10 times. So sometimes it will then randomly it will stop, this becomes problematic when you leave the desk and come back, and suddenly you can't find what frequency you should be on.
There have also been a lot of reports of CTDs (Crashing to desktop) personally I haven't experienced this even with all my add-ons on - a lot are saying during their arrival they will experience their game crashing or during the import of the Simbreif route. Again I personally haven't had any of these issues.
Where the A350 shines
Where I think iniBuilds really shines with this product other than the model, is the EFB - it's easy to use, rather in-depth, and also makes it look factory to the aircraft and not ruin the immersion. The EFB really makes the aircraft feel more complete than most others, for example, the iFly 737 EFB is rather big, and feels out of place - it can be finicky to use and more of an annoyance to me. You'll find everything you need throughout your flight along with ground options and maintenance options all easily accessible.
The sounds, hearing these engines come to life and spool up are incredible, the sound set is really amazing on the A350. They've done a great job capturing the sound of this aircraft and bringing it to life in our simulators. I'd honestly say it's one of the best-sounding aircraft in the simulator and one of the best sound sets in the simulator. The only downside is learning how quiet it is in the real thing - you won't hear too much of the engines in the cabin or flight desk unless you really turn up that volume, but when you do - it's amazing.
Visuals are what you'd expect for $120 AUD, there pretty amazing - following along with the latest viral trend in flight simulators by adding flushable toilets. You'll also have a highly detailed cabin to enjoy along with the ability to control the lighting in the flight attendants panel. You'll also find many areas in which the team went above and beyond from the server room, wheel wells, and inside the engine cowling. The texturing is also quite amazing using all-new technology to make the aircraft perform well and look outstanding.
So is it worth it? Well, I'd say yes... and no - I'm not pleased with the price tag for the area it does lack in, however, the team has done a great job with this aircraft, if the price was around $80 AUD I'd say all day - it's amazing. There are also a lot of comments about iniBuilds' method of marketing and hyping, which rubs people the wrong way, and personally, I am also one of them - however, I'll let people make their own minds on that matter. I'll also add a lot of people-like comparisons - in my simulator opinion, the iniBuilds A350 is close to the level of Fenix but not quite there.
Overall it's a great aircraft, the team has done an amazing job - I don't doubt this aircraft will mature well with updates to fix bugs and add more features, it's just the price point is really high - a trend the whole community is experiencing among other developers.
