(Update: releasing September 30th!) Cockspur launching the Cessna Mustang for MSFS in October

Update, September 25th: Good news, everyone! Cockspur has confirmed that the C510 Mustang is actually just a little bit before October kicks in. Set your alarms for the next Friday, at 00:01 CET, and head to cockspur.eu to grab your copy of this new business jet for MSFS!

Cockspur grabbed everyone’s attention a few months ago with the announcement that they were working on a new business jet for Microsoft Flight Simulator: the Cessna Citation Mustang.

MSFS simmers continue to crave good-quality business jets to fly in the simulator. The HJet proved the popularity of this type of aircraft, and the FlightFX Vision Jet is looking like another promising entry into the platform… once it’s eventually finished. The Cockspur Citation Mustang, however, is right around the corner! Sebastian Darrell confirmed to us that the project this on track for a release this October.

The promising Mustang has been moving ahead at a steady pace and is now approaching completion, which is the perfect time to sit down with the development team and get a few more details, not only about the Mustang itself, but also about the company’s curious name, plans for the future, and more. Read below our full exclusive interview with Sebastian Darrell and learn more about what Coskspur is up to for the near future!


Hi Sebastian! Thank you for your availability to talk with us about your work. Tell us a bit more about Cockspur. Are you the sole developer, or is there a bigger team behind the project?

Cockspur was started by myself and another dev as a way for us to do passion projects. We both work full-time with flight simulator development as contractors to bigger studios. With Cockspur, we can do our own passion projects, experiment with different techniques, and do all the aircraft we ourselves want to fly, without it impacting the work we do for clients.

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Why the name? It has sparked some funny comments…

We didn’t really have a name for our studio when we decided to do this. We had some ideas, some really boring ideas and we just couldn’t decide on what to call our studio. One day my phone autocorrected the word “Cockpit” to “Cockspur” while we were talking, and we started using that as a project-name. When we were approaching the release of our first aircraft, the name just stuck. At some point, we just threw our arms in the air and said “Guess we are Cockspur”.

Your focus is now on the Citation Mustang. There are just a few noteworthy business jets in MSFS so far. What do you plan to bring to the table with the Mustang?

For me (Seb) the focus is the Mustang. My partner is working hard on updating the A22. But it is also a balancing act, because we also work on projects for other studios under contract, and then there is family life. I work daytime on contracts and evenings and weekends on stuff for Cockspur. I also have a wife and 2 wonderful daughters that require my time, so it is very much a balancing act. With the Mustang I want to bring a simple to operate, single pilot rated, and capable Jet. I’ve been wanting to bring this aircraft to the table since MSFS was released and I first got my hands on the SDK. I have fond memories of this jet from the old FSX days with the Mustang from Flight1, and I know it was a favorite of many others as well. Last year I saw that no one else was actually making it, and I decided I would try to bring it to MSFS.

The Mustang is a significantly more complex airplane than A22 and the SG 38. What was the reasoning behind such a jump in complexity after those two simpler aircraft?

Well the A22 was a way for us to see if there was a possibility for us to actually make it as a new dev studio. We spent about 6 months on the A22 and starting up Cockspur, planning our roadmap and just setting up a workflow. The Mustang was in reality started before the A22, but before I kicked the Mustang into high-gear, we had to see if it was even possible for us to do this. So we decided to shift focus to the A22 and finish that first. The SG38 was something I had talked about doing for a while but never gotten around to. During my vacation, when the heat was so immense I was thinking “Those flying the SG38 must have it nice in this weather, just the wind and no green-house cockpit”. Then I started thinking about how one would even make the physics of such an aircraft work in MSFS. I started writing code in my head, and once such an idea get to me I just have to do it. And so I did and put it out there.

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How are things going in terms of development? Still on track for a release this year?

Still on track for an October release. We are awaiting the release of SU10 at the moment, but hopefully this will not put too much of a dent in our plans.

Does the Mustang have any special features that you believe simmers will find especially appealing?

There will be quite a few liveries and variants to choose from, and enough static elements for those that enjoy the immersion of flight.

We know there will be a special variant with a Medical Transport interior. What other variants are planned for the release?

You will have the standard variant, High Sierra edition, and Air Ambulance. Each with its own unique interior and static elements.

Are you planning to release the Mustang for Xbox?

Yes, we are. It may not be available on day one, but we will do our utmost to bring this to Xbox.

What about pricing?

24.99 Euro.

Can you tell us anything about your plans after the Mustang is out? Any future new projects on your mind?

Oh, we have many plans. We have a few projects in different stages of development. While the focus for me is the Mustang, sometimes it’s good to take a break, pick up another project for a few hours and then go back to the Mustang with fresh eyes. After the Mustang, it will probably be the Hawker 800XP that will get the focus, and after that the original old-school version of the 800XP, the HS125. After that, who knows! Like I said, many projects in the works, we will have to see what we feel like doing. That is a big part of our philosophy, we do what we want. No pressure, all the projects we do have to be passion projects. We do not want to “make aircraft, release, on to the next”, it’s a lot about the project itself, the research, the passion, that personal connection to that project. We don’t look at the market and say “Ok, that aircraft will make a lot of money, let’s go”. We do the aircraft we want to do.

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Many of our projects that we have started are lesser known stuff of aviation, aircraft that might not be the first on the list for many customers, but for US it is. That is not to say we don’t take influence from the community. A lot of the features of the Mustang have been suggested by the community on our Discord. For example, someone suggested the Air Ambulance, and I thought that was a cool idea, so I made that. It was not at all planned from the beginning. I even managed to get the OK and blessing from “New Zealand Air Ambulance Service” to use their livery and logos for it, so that livery that will ship with the final product is official.

Thank you Sebastian for providing more information about your project. Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers and those who are interested in your project?

Rock on!