Concorde Flight Simulator Xbox

[Jacinto Man]

Just over 2 weeks ago, DC Designs released its long-awaited version of Concorde for Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC. Following a few updates since then, the supersonic jet is now available for the simulator on Xbox (and PC through the in-sim Marketplace).

Concorde is one of the most iconic aircraft ever to grace the skies. Its long, pointed nose, supersonic speeds and high cruising altitude made it one of the most loved aircraft in aviation. With the ability to reach speeds twice the speed of sound, passengers could be transported from London to New York in just over 3 hours. You will be able to cruise up to around 60,000 (providing conditions allow) and be able to see far and wide in this unique way to travel. Despite being retired, Concorde still holds a near and dear place to many in the world of aviation and DC Designs has brought her to life in MSFS.

As for the flight modelling, DC Designs says that their Concorde can fly realistically at Mach 2.0 and can climb to 60,000ft just as the real aircraft did. It will take some practice to fly the Concorde correctly, which is why a full manual is also included. Finally, four liveries have been included:

Download & Install
Downloading the Concorde is a simple process, using the Just Flight installer to run the process.
When opening the executable file, you are asked to log in to your Just Flight account to verify thatyou own it. You then select your flight simulator folder, and the rest of the process is automated.

Exterior Model
The model of the Concorde looks good. It is certainly screenshot friendly, with several little details added along the skin model, including safety warnings and labels.

There are four liveries included with the Concorde, featuring two different variations of the British Airways livery from Landor to Chatham Dockyard, Air France and also the Singapore Airlines half and half wet-lease that lasted with British Airways for only three years before being blocked by the Malaysian and Indian governments citing environmental and sound issues.

Cockpit and Interior
The cockpit of the Concorde was always small and relatively cramped, with a lot going on around you. Visibility was also somewhat impeded with the pointed nose cone in front, hence the need for the droop snoot when at low speed and low altitude.

Textures are a little more mixed, with the main gauges and panels looking good, but larger areas such as the roof losing out on some detail. Weathering has been applied to all of the panels which do add age to the aircraft, showing that it has been a well-loved and well-used plane over its 27 years of operation (fun fact, the default British Airways Chatham Dockyard livery used featured tail code G-BOAD which was the most flown Concorde with 23,397 hours in flight).

All main systems are functional, including autopilot (with both NAV and GPS systems configurable) and overhead panel with full artificial feel (early age Yaw Damper) integrated. The cockpit is certainly leaning towards the advanced sides of operation, but simplistic enough for even a beginner to slowly find their way around the plane.

Sound
Sounds in the Concorde have been recreated extremely well. DC Designs have done well to get the roar of the Olympus engines at their different stages of throttle output, as well as the burst of the afterburners when doing your takeoff run.

Flight Dynamics
With its delta wing and focus on high speed, Concorde was not always the easiest aircraft to fly. It certainly performed in its rolls, feeling more like a fighter jet than a commercial jetliner at times.

Pitch however can feel sluggish when at low speed and especially in your approaches, meaning you have to focus a lot more time on keeping your aircraft up and steady when on final approach at around 180kts.

What the real Concorde looks like, with nice and clean paintwork and not greeted with ugly panelling at the entrance In fact the real Concorde is not assembled like the DC model..
I bought it to photograph and why I feel I wasted my money and was disappointed on the way the DC skin looks ..... AS ALWAYS THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL.....

The DC Designs Concorde is fully compliant with MSFS native materials and make use of the new simulator's features such as rain effects and sounds, fully reflective glass, native aerodynamic sound structures, the new 'Modern' aerodynamics system with the ability to provoke 'departure spins'.

Cockpit
Truly 3D flight deck featuring virtually every switch, dial, knob and gauge from the real Concorde
Instruments constructed in 3D with smooth animations
Fully modelled forward passenger cabin with working doors and custom passenger sounds
Interactive points for Ground Crew operations such as jetway, fuel truck, power truck, baggage loading and catering truck
Crew figures in the virtual cockpit are coded to disappear when you occupy their seats
Aircraft systems
3D modelled dials, ADI, 'whiskey' compass and other high-detail instruments designed to emulate the appearance of the real Concorde
Fully operational fuel transfer and Centre of Gravity balance system, with all 138 lines, 64 pumps and 38 valves correctly represented
Fully automated fuel transfer system for those who prefer a simpler life
Weather radar, fully functional Flight Management Computer (CIVA INS will follow when Xbox can support the required gauges)
Highly realistic flight model - Concorde will only reach Mach 2 and 60,000ft, efficiently enough to reach her destination, if flown correctly
A full operations manual is included in the software and can also be downloaded here.
Liveries
British Airways 1985-1987
British Airways 1997-2003
Air France 1976-2003
Singapore Airlines G-BOAD

DC Designs' Concorde is designed to provide a top-quality aircraft that is extremely detailed, yet less demanding to fly than today's most complex procedural simulators. Equipped with all required avionics, and with custom-coded animations and systems, the DC Designs Concorde is designed to be accessible to all users without the need for intense study while also providing a challenge for those who like to fly complex airliners.

Hello, I would like to share my experience. I am now flying the fourth version and am extremely satisfied with the development of the simulator. With the many tutorials you have taken a giant step to give people like me the opportunity to operate an airplane in the depths of navigation, ILS Vor and so on. I fly A320, Learjet and Cessna.

I use the Gamesir pro 31 via Bluetooth. When I start the simulator, all control panels disappear except for the co-pilot. I can no longer switch views and can therefore neither take a tour of the aircraft nor enjoy the view on long flights.

I can't brake either,only rev Trust works with the directional pad, which is useless on taxiway. On the gamepad, the A B X Y keys are not used. They would be good for landing gear, brakes and trim. The directional pad operates the gas pedal and the landing flaps. The accelerator pedal moves so slowly in the A320 that the aircraft reaches the end of the runway before VR.

In general, it would be good if you could map the keys yourself and if screen operation were still possible. Because thrust on the control pad makes little sense, it would be better on the left pad, so you could move the gas up and down very quickly and achieve fixed positions like climb level even better. General i miss a tutorial.

It's just frustrating and sometimes impossible to pan the tablet back and forth and maintain course, speed and altitude while operating various things like trim, flaps. Be silent about the helicopter. Especially in approaching when you want to fly by hand, the gamepad is simply nicer and somehow closer to reality. It would also Wishfull e to connect a joystick, e.g. trustmaster a huge asset to the game. I'm about to upgrade to the Galaxy Tab S8+. I no longer want to pan around in the area with a 12" tablet when I operate the simulator. So, perforce, I'll stick with my Huawei M8.

i know this workaround, but this isn't a real a solution. Because you lost the overlay when you want to change weather, Navigation or you want to practise landing procedures. you have Always to cut and c onnect the Controller again for every new flight .

Yes, I use a Gamesir Xbox controller. Throttle and flaps on the directional pad, sight on the pad on the left, pitch and roll on the right pad. Roll on the ground with the two buttons on the back right, left, brake by pressing both buttons. A,B,X,Y not used.

So There is my question : Is there any Gamepad, or controller, officially approved for Aerofly FS2023 Android version, wich is supposed (or intent to) be fully compatible FS2023, or do you have an advice on which gamepad to buy ?

The control and view overlays are automatically disabled, except the copilot as pointed out. It took me a while to work out the various xbox buttons but I can access 100% of these views from the comtroller. I am missing nothing. I like the fact that the overlay dissappears, it makes the screen cleaner like a normal simulator.

I like the xbox so much i would not want to fly it any other way. After decades of joysticks I consider the xbox to be far closer to a real aircraft controls and allows me to use Aerofly like the radio-control controllers I am familiar with. The first time i used a twin joystick xbox controller on a simulator I dont want my old expensive joysticks anymore. It also allows you to control rudders without foot pedals - a great advantage imo. You can do everything with 2 hands.

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