When Contrail surprised the community at FlightSimExpo 2025 by announcing their first in-house aircraft, the reaction was enthusiastic, and a little surprised. A marketplace stepping into aircraft development was a bold move, and the Dassault Falcon 50 was a bold choice to start with. A 2025 release was the original plan. That slipped, as we noted in December, with Contrail shifting the focus to long-form testing and refinement rather than rushing out the door. Then came the cinematic trailer at FSWeekend in March, and things started feeling very close.
With dev update #5 now published, close is starting to look like imminent.
Contrail says testing is going well, a final beta version goes out this Friday, and a release candidate is expected within the next two weeks. No firm release date has been set, but the developer confirms the Q2 2026 target is still on the table.
The systems getting the final polish
Since the last update, the autopilot and flight planner have both gone through significant refinement, driven by testing feedback. For a business jet like the Falcon 50, those two systems matter more than almost anything else, so the fact that they’ve been the focus of the final development sprint is a good sign.
The bigger headline in this update is the weather radar. Contrail says they’re simulating a true weather radar, including support for the Tilt feature introduced in Sim Update 5, which is exclusive to MSFS 2024. The radar can be displayed on the EHSI. On top of that, the MX20 and GNSXLS (both confirmed back in the original announcement) can now show datalink weather, the kind of broadcast weather product typically fed through XM/SiriusXM aviation receivers in real-world retrofitted Falcon 50s.
Ground handling for the ramp crowd
One of the recurring themes in Contrail’s updates has been attention to the full operational experience, not just the flying portion. This update adds a few more pieces to that puzzle:
- A fueling panel to fuel the aircraft manually
- An “OK TOW / NO TOW” sign tied to parking brake status
- Torque link connect/disconnect
- A pushback feature currently in development
A native GSX profile is included for full compatibility, and the developer says animated passengers can board the aircraft.
Cabin complete, screenshots coming
The galley and cabin are now complete, with dedicated interior screenshots promised soon. Interior LODs are still being finalized. The screenshots shared in this update, including the ones above, were captured during a real session with registration N156RE, a real-world FA50 known from the Airstat with Perry YouTube channel. They show the weather radar active in the EHSI, and the newly added logo lights illuminating the tail at night.
What comes next
With a release candidate expected within two weeks, the Falcon 50 is genuinely close. It sits in a fairly uncrowded corner of the MSFS marketplace, and Contrail’s approach to systems depth, real-world pilot collaboration, and ground handling detail suggests this one is built for simmers who want the full picture, not just a good-looking airframe.
We’ll cover the release candidate and final launch as they come. Stay tuned!
