Two weeks ago, Bluebird Simulations put its “Ultimate Feature Breakdown” online alongside a brand-new website, which sounded somewhat like a closing argument for a project that has been in development since 2022. It turns out the argument was not finished. The developer has now posted a PDF on its Discord server, calling it “the current 757 feature list”.
It’s the most complete picture of the 757 the community has had, but it also comes with one line worth keeping in mind: “Note that a comprehensive failure suite will be added AFTER release but the systems are built with failures in mind,” the developer wrote, along with a note that a few more items will still be added before launch.
The failure question, revisited
This is not new information, strictly speaking. When the 757 entered stage 2 of beta testing back in April, Bluebird’s FAQ already stated that the initial release would ship with a limited failures implementation and that the comprehensive system would follow post-release. What has changed is the emphasis. Two months out from the end of Q3, with the aircraft in testers’ hands, the developer is repeating the point.
At $80, the 757 sits in the same bracket as PMDG and Fenix, and failure simulation is part of what buyers at that tier expect on day one. That is the tension here, and Bluebird seems aware of it, hence the second half of the sentence about systems being built with failures in mind.
The feature list backs that claim up in places. The fire protection section lists fire and fault injection, both random and user requested, along with detector faults and two-loop voting for fire indications. The oxygen system is described as having built-in failures including closed valves, leaks, empty tanks and low volume states. The indication section mentions radio altimetry with inoperative and failed component logic passed into configuration warning errors. So the hooks exist. What is coming later is the structured suite that ties them together and puts them in front of the user.
A feature list written like a maintenance manual
The organisation of the document is part of the story in itself. Rather than a bullet list of selling points, Bluebird has grouped everything by ATA chapter, from 21 Air Conditioning through to 70 Engine, with the EFB, model, flight model and sound package documented separately.
Some of the headline numbers we already knew. Over 500 circuit breakers are mapped to their correct electrical bus, with over 200 functional at launch and more being added over time. Over 300 EICAS messages are simulated. The exterior model carries more than 100,000 rivets and screws, and the virtual cockpit has over 1,000 animations. Those figures have been climbing steadily since the FSWeekend trailer in March.
What is new is the surrounding detail. The Warning Electronics Unit is described as fully simulated across two independent circuits, with speakers modelled and all warning and caution inhibit logic in place, plus time delays for each warning set to manufacturer specification. The CRT displays are coded in C++ for performance reasons. The electrical section lists hundreds of relays and contactors in their corresponding ATA chapters, accurate load shedding, and a dynamic schematic diagram of the electrical system inside the EFB.
Elsewhere, brake temperature drives a custom physics simulation for braking efficiency. Icing builds up on the windshield wiper blades and components as a visual cue for pilots. The cabin interphone system lets all three flight attendant zones call the flight deck, with cabin alerts for uncomfortable temperatures, cabin secure announcements, and reminders about the fasten seat belt sign during descent. The IRS simulates gyro drift, which we first heard about during the January update video where founder Shervin Ahooraei described the systems as “truly study level”.
Cabin temperature, meanwhile, is tied to passenger count from boarding, door and window states, wind and weather, and pack effectiveness. The document notes two different cabin configurations for the -200 based on door exit type. Worth remembering that the initial release covers the -200 with both Rolls-Royce RB211-535E and Pratt & Whitney PW2000 engines, with the -300 following as a free update.
Where this leaves the release
The EFB documentation is the clearest signal of progress. Back in April, the EFB was the one major component still at roughly 50 percent and the main focus of stage 3 testing. The PDF now lists it in full: cockpit presets, fueling, weight and balance, ground services, doors and cabin, maintenance with brake disc temperatures and RAT status, an ACARS dashboard, operational flight plan, weather and NOTAM, map, charts, interactive system synoptics, and a ground proximity page using recorded flight data.
Bluebird has not announced a specific release date. The Q3 2026 window still stands, which leaves roughly two months, and the team previously said a date announcement would come a few weeks after entering stage 3. For MSFS 2024 users, the situation is unchanged: the launch build will be compatible rather than native, with a native version to follow as a free update.
The full document is available in Bluebird’s Discord server, where the developer posted it to members.
