Drifter 582 Ultralight released for MSFS, free demo available

Ant’s Airplanes has released its first aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator: the Drifter 582, a two-seat taildragger ultralight that should be a great choice for some low and slow sightseeing flights in MSFS.

The Drifter’s most interesting feature is the unobstructed view to the outside, with most of the aircraft hardware behind the pilot. This gives the impression of being seated in a flying chair, with just the nose at the front with its simple instruments and fiberglass fairing. There’s no enclosed fuselage and both seats are open to the air.

Ant’s Airplanes may be a familiar name to some simmers, particularly for the impressive Tiger Moth that they developed for FSX some time ago. The developers are now launching their first aircraft for MSFS, with a detailed model of the Drifter 582 completely rebuilt for this new platform.

This new ultralight for MSFS features two models, one with wheels and another with floats, with 13 liveries included in the package. The developers promise authentic sounds from the Rotax 582 two-cylinder engine, along with realistic animations in several elements such as the pilot and passenger models, tie-downs, wheel chocks, and more. A nice addition is a tablet that provides access to some aircraft configurations and user preferences. The tablet also includes a simplified autopilot for those times when you want to enjoy the scenery hands-free.

The Drifter 582 presents itself with some impressive visuals. You can check it out for yourself at no cost, since Ant’s Airplanes provides a handy freeware demo that perfectly showcases the model and its performance, without some features only available in the payware version. This demo includes only the wheeled variant, with no pilot or passenger models, no GPS, radio, or tablet (and its associated features).

To try out the Drifter 582 and see if it’s your cup of tea, download the free demo here. For the full package with all its features, check Ant’s website for links to several stores where you can make your purchase of the Drifter 582 for MSFS at $17.95 / €15.80.