Pilot Experience Sim announces “study-level” Maule M7 for Microsoft Flight Simulator

New aircraft announcements for MSFS continue to pour in during these early days of 2023. Third-party developers seem keen to set a firm foot into the new year and commit to exciting new projects for the months ahead! Following yesterday’s unveiling of the 767, the DA40, and the Bf 109 this morning, we’re now sharing with you a brand-new project from the team at Pilot Experience Sim, who are in the final stages of development of their very first aircraft for MSFS: the Maule M7!

The Maule will certainly sound familiar to those who’ve flown it in FSX, where it was one of the best default airplanes. This is actually one of the reasons why Pilot Experience Sim decided to take on this aircraft as their first for Microsoft Flight Simulator (they’ve been more into airports). It’s an airplane they loved and found missing in MSFS, so they decided to develop it from the ground up to be a “beautiful study-level airplane“.

The team at Pilot Experience Sim has grand ambitions for this aircraft. They claim that all the systems are simulated, such as the fuel and electrical systems. Even the circuit breakers are planned to be functional, which is always a good sign about the complexity of the airplane.

Kem Bergès from Pilot Sim Experience told us that the Maule M7-235 has been in development for around a year, with three developers working on the project. Recent months have been quite busy with the modeling and animations, which appears to be a key area of focus for the team. Kem told us that each component of the Maule has been designed with great attention to detail and taking into account the manufacturer’s materials for reference. These include the tires and wheel system, disc brakes, cables, and more. Furthermore, everything that moves in the real Maule should also be animated in this version for MSFS! “Nothing was left to chance“, Kem told us.

At this moment, the interior of the Maule M7 is finished and the exterior will be very soon, along with the sound set and texturing. Pilot Experience Sim’s goal is to have a beta version of the aircraft for testing in about two weeks. If all goes well, the Maule should be out sometime in February! A release is planned for PC and Xbox, through the Marketplace and third-party stores.

Pilot Experience Sim seem very confident about their claims for a “study level” simulation of the Maule M7 for MSFS. It’s a term that has been thrown around a lot, sometimes indiscriminately, but the developer’s words in this case seem to be in line with their promises. They hope both enthusiasts and newcomers to the aircraft will find themselves feeling like they are in the cockpit of the real airplane, discovering and enjoying the procedures and taking the Maule for some backcountry flying. With that in mind, the Maule will come with the standard set of wheels and also versions with big tundra tires and floats. A variant with skis is planned for a post-launch update.

And that is all for now! It’s always great to see a cool new aircraft being announced for MSFS, especially when it’s being developed with care, attention to detail, and realism in mind, which seems to be the case with the Maule M7 from Pilot Experience Sim.

For now, enjoy the few preview images that showcase the aircraft’s interior and stay tuned for further development updates very soon, where we hope to see the Maules’ exterior and a few videos showing the airplane in action. Stay tuned!