MSFS iniBuilds A320 Review: A Mess
I'm a bit confused as to where this sits - we've got more than enough A320 in the simulator but here we are again with another A320 - At least this one is free. iniBuilds A320, was made in the works with the Asobo team. It feels like a bit of a downgrade in terms of the system to FlyByWire's A320 - but a minor upgrade in terms of visuals.
Level Of Simulation
The level of simulation here, isn't study level by any means but it does bridge the gap from the stock Asobo A320 to a study-level simulation like Fenix - however, we already had an aircraft for that - which in my opinion is far better and free. Flybywire - their A320 has far more system details and just works flawlessly, whereas here it's funky, it's not broken or horrible - it's just odd. However, one big up, is we do have a functioning but very basic weather radar.
Taxing the aircraft doesn't feel right, sometimes you'll use the rudder to the right to keep in line with the centerline then suddenly you'll be in a sharp left turn - and before anyone asks yes my controller is configured correctly and wasn't a controller related issue. Then during another flight after using the EFB Pushback system, the pushback wouldn't detach meaning I'd have the bugged inverted nose steering. No matter what I clicked or did, I couldn't get the nose wheel steering back.
When the nose steering wasn't bugging out, it wasn't horrible at all to taxi, it was quite fine. Nothing amazing, I didn't feel the weight or stress compared to Fenix level, but it is definitely better than the stock simulator A32N.
The EFB
The EFB, Well let's talk about the EFB Tablet, it's interesting, to say the least, it has a nice sleek dark layout, and has all the functions and features you could need. Along with throttle calibration - it just all seems half-finished to me personally. You can load your timbre flight plan into the EFB, however, you won't be able to send it to the MCDU like with Fenix and Flybywire - you'll need to add your timbre into the MCDU separately to get your flight plan imported. Once you do - it does work flawlessly, I'll say that. It feels like systems on this aircraft have been rushed and just half did, using the pushback system on the EFB is a mistake - 9 out of 10 times the tug won't disconnect and you'll be stuck with no nose steering. There is no link from the EFB to MCDU, and it took some time to find how to even add my timbre ID to MDCU to import my flight plan, which by the way on the MCDU go to "MCDU MENU" - "ATSU" - then its "PILOT ID". It took me a few minutes to find that..
MCDU
Moving onto the MDCU, it's slow in selecting its system unrealistically slow - however other than a few inop features - they've made it very easy to click and auto-fill weights and more. There isn't much more to say on the media as it's fairly basic, but more than enough for the average simmer to enjoy
The Sounds
The sounds that Inibuilds have used are nice, there is nothing compared to Fenix - however they're very decent - you can enjoy the LEAP engine roar once you hit toga, and there are PTU sounds in the cabin - that sometimes bug out. If the PTU sounds bug out you'll hear the PTU bark the whole flight on repeat.
The Flight Model
The flight model isn't far off the basic stock A32N that comes with the simulator, it just doesn't feel right - it might be because I'm coming from Fenix's A320 - but it just feels far too heavy and like a wet paper towel. There isn't much more for me to say on the flight model here
Overall Thoughts
Overall, it's free you can't complain too much, however, it just feels like everything has been slapped together and rushed a bit. The system feels clunky and doesn't fully work, most of the aircraft does everything half-done amazingly - but it only feels half-done. Honestly, though it's not horrible, I'm still going to put my hours into it and do another review after a few more hours. I'd say go check it out and see what you think - you have nothing to lose being free
