What a lovely and surprising announcement we have for you today, dear readers! FlyingIron Simulations have revealed that their Spitfire Mk IXc is coming very soon for MSFS! This legendary aircraft is actually on the final stages of development, and is expected to be released in the next few weeks.
FlyingIron Simulations is a team of two Australian brothers, who have developed some really beautiful, high quality and accurate historical airplanes in recent years. Their Spitfire Mk IX for X-Plane is a beloved airplane, praised for its high quality graphics and flight characteristics. The team is very excited for this new updated version of the Spitfire of MSFS, saying that this new platform has allowed the Spitfire “to look, feel, fly & sound better than ever before. It is pure joy to experience, with immersion that is second to none in civilian fight simulation.”
The Spitfire Mk IX will have its cockpit modelled after the Heritage Flight Simulations CAD Model, which is a perfect replica of the real world cockpit. When it comes to audio, FlyingIron Simulations say that all sounds have been recorded from the real airplane, which will help a lot in providing an immersive flying experience. The flight model should also be highly accurate and “by the numbers”.
There will be several variants on release and shortly after, namely:
- A clipped wing variant (Mk IXe)
- Merlin 66 engine limited to +16lb Boost
- Merlin 70, unlocked to it’s full +25lb Boost. Optimized for higher altitudes
Regarding the release schedule, the Spitfire will now go into a 2-week beta testing period. After that, and everything is deemed ready for release, the Spitfire will go to Microsoft for approval into the Marketplace, which should take an additional 4-7 weeks. Thankfully, the developers will release the airplane on their own website while it’s under review by Microsoft, definitely great news for those eager to get their hands on such an iconic machine!
Finally, there’s an important promise from the developers: the released Spitfire will continue to be updated, specially considering how some systems are not yet fully ready because of the lack of some features in the SDK. As Asobo and Microsoft continue to develop and update the platform, so will the Spitfire continue to get better and better.
So, this is it folks! A very exciting new aircraft is coming very soon, and the teaser images are absolutely beautiful! If you remember, the Spitfire is also under development by another studio, Aeroplane Heaven, but that seems to have been overtaken by this new version from the two brothers of FlyingIron Simulations. Time will tell which one will be the better recreation of this beautiful bird, but one thing is certain: that monster Merlin engine will soon roar in Flight Simulator!
