Orbx reveals its first aircraft for MSFS: the Edgley Optica

The prolific team over at Orbx, mostly known for their outstanding work improving the scenery and airports across many flight simulation platforms, and now seriously devoted to doing the same thing for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, has revealed a bit of a surprise. Their first aircraft for MSFS is under development, and it will be a perfect choice to explore Orbx’s gorgeous scenery: the Edgley Optica.

You may remember us talking about the Optica a few months back, when there was a freeware version of the aircraft for MSFS that was converted from FSX. That was unfortunately not available for very long, and is nowhere to be found. Thankfully, if you’re a fan of the aircraft and its capabilities, Orbx will have you covered in the near future. And there’s very good reason to be interested, because this is an uncanny machine!

The Edgley Optica was designed in Britain as a low-cost alternative to helicopters, allowing the pilot and passenger to fly low and slow while doing observations over the ground below. That is also greatly helped by the bubble-like canopy, which has granted the aircraft the “bug-eye” nickname.

The Edgley Optica project is currently waiting to be relaunched by the new owners, but there’s some operational units around the world, out of the 22 that were manufactured since its introduction in 1979.

Orbx is promising a version of the aircraft that has been “lovingly crafted with a high attention to detail“, and it will include real-world liveries as well as some custom ones from Orbx.

There were no details about a possible release date, but the images that Orbx shared show an aircraft that seems pretty much done, at least when it comes to the 3D model and textures. And it looks very good, ready to take you on many flights to discover the beauty of Orbx’s sceneries in MSFS.

Stay tuned for further updates, we will follow this project and let you know once there are more details and a release date. In the meantime, check the beautiful screenshots that Orbx was kind to share!