TouchingCloud - Microsoft Flight Simulator!

Short report about Airshow Assistant compatibility with MSFS2024 (tested on dev alpha 7.11.2024)

SMOKES: effects look the same as before, some minor differences in particle velocity may appear. All parameters applied to effects as intended, smoke sources positioning works correctly. Can be considered as working.

FLARES: while flare objects insertion and fall physics works correctly, visual effects (smoke trail and glare) are not attached to the object properly. Can be considered as broken.

FORMATION: AI aircraft insertion works as before. scan feature capture installed aircraft properly, aircraft model/livery can be changed without issues. Finally, helicopters may be inserted into the sim by SimConnect, but this type of simobject has different sim variables for aircraft animation and sounds replay, also helicopters AI flight model should be adjusted for natural visual appearance. Smokes and flares applied to the wingmen properly. Payload appearance may no longer work properly for some 3rd party aircraft due to payload values changes applied by developers for FS2024 migration. Can be considered as partially working.

AERIAL REFUELING: tankers insertion (buddy, intercept and orbit) works correctly, Live mode not tested yet. Tankers have the correct visual appearance, refueling hose and booms animation works properly, custom lights are triggered. 3rd party tankers not tested but expected to work correctly as well. Comms messages played properly. Fuel flow works for default Asobo aircraft as intended, but some issues may happen with 3rd party aircraft as some planes will get fuel system updates/changes. Can be considered as working but compatibility issues with 3rd party aircraft will happen in the future.

Overall, add-on still works, even if some issues exist. SimConnect was not changed much but some system commands no longer work as before — like pause detection, and I am sure there will be dozens of such issues discovered in the future. Most of the 3rd party devs will apply changes to the fuel system or payload of their aircraft, or maybe even geometry and AAR custom switches, it will take months to bring user experience to the same level as we have reached in MSFS2020, so please be patient — you will catch various issues during add-on usage for a while.

I can’t see it being possible to release an add-on on the day one of the MSFS2024 release as it highly likely will uncover some other major issues not listed above. I will provide another report after the add-on will be tested on the release version of MSFS2024, until then — we are still working on various improvements of MSFS2020 version. And yes, it is still supported and will get updated for several next months on MSFS2020 for sure.

alex/tc

Hello, fellow simpilots! This week v3.8 update of AirshowAssistant was released in MSFS Marketplace, which introduces the most awaited feature of the aerial refueling — radio commands. Now you have voice guidance by the tanker commander during the whole process — clearance to join, pre-contact and leave, received fuel counter, distance to the refueling boom tip, and, of course, magic word CONTACT! This quickly created voice system contained some issues, like false pre-contact or return pre-contact messages, but don’t worry — all fixed already and will be available in the next update. This feature is still in development so feel free to share with your ideas how it can be more accurate, informative or enjoyable.

Now let’s talk about something serious. Last time we added Asobo F/A-18 as a buddy refueler, which was an experiment with 1st/3rd party aircraft injection as a tanker. We have not received any negative feedback about this specific refueler so consider the test was passed. This week we worked hard to finalize the refueling system and make it easy to use, so now we are able to convert any MSFS aircraft into refueler, without using its sources, like wingman. It means this aircraft has to be purchased and installed, but that is an awesome thing anyway — it brings completely new meaning for many awesome (and not really) aircraft — some are your favourite, and some you may regret purchasing. Limitations like missing indication lights may exist, but these will be fixed in further updates.

In next v3.9 update we adding these aircraft as refuelers:

A6 Intruder / Deimos (no hose receiver modeled, no indication lights)
Avro Vulcan / JustFlight (no indication lights)
C-130 Hercules (2 variants) / Captain Sim (no indication lights)
Mig-29 / Deimos
MV22 / Miltech (inaccurate refueling pod model)
Rafale / AC
Rafale / CJ Simulations
Rafale / Bruno Thor
Tornado F3 / IndiaFoxtecho (external tanks not visible)
C-160 / AzurPoly (not available yet, wait for aircraft update with refueler livery)

The good thing about 3rd party aircraft is that they are almost perfect for our goal — we just add a refueling container (if it is missing) and it is ready to go, with nice visuals and sounds, correctly placed lights, and, some day, hundreds of liveries of choice. We will add new 3rd party refuelers each update, so feel free to point into the one you like more.
It’s not so simple with 3rd party tankers with flying boom — it does not have required animations applied to be compatible with AAR, so we will need some assistance from the aircraft developer to finish the animation or at least make it hideable. So do not expect these to be added quickly.

And last — thanks to the content creators, AirshowAssistant got a LOT of attention, and now we have incredible plans for the add-on. Not only about aerial refueling, but formation flying as well, especially a mix of both. Stay tuned and keep track for updates — very soon you will get something really awesome!

Check out the entertaining and creative aerial refueling demo by Into the Blue Simulations! And what is most important — accurate procedures and valid approach to the refueling process are displayed. While many trying to catch the basket in same manner as arrow hits the target, in this video you can find how it happen in RL — first take position behind the left wing of the tanker, hold it for a while — to get used to the turbulence, set the throttle lever for required airspeed, feel the weather. Once you get stabilized — slowly approach the basket and insert the probe into it. Do not rush, do it smooth and clean. After basket locked, stay behind the refueling pod, slightly below, to minimize wing turbulence. Watch signal lights for distance guidance, your eyes may cheat you if you will predict the distance visually. Once refueling is complete, move to the right side of the tanker and wait until your buddies will fill the tanks too (well, some day they will be able to). Stay calm and do not be afraid to fail and start over again, we are all here to learn something new. Good luck!

And some news regarding future updates. We are working on advanced tanker routes — at the moment three made: buddy, interception and orbit. These are not linked with difficulty levels directly, but still will affect the complication of the refueling process. First one is simplest — AI aircraft join the formation with you as a leader and wait for pre-contact. Second — tanker will appear away from you, its flight path will intersect yours so you can’t miss it, but will need to join the formation quickly. And last one — tanker will move in circles at random location, so you will need to find it first, then join formation, and last — refuel even when it turns around.

I was busy with personal stuff this week so wasn’t able to finish everything, also several bugs was reported which require further investigation. But don’t worry, work is going on, stay tuned!

Attention, Microsoft Flight Simulator pilots! Christmas is coming earlier this year, and your present has arrived! We are thrilled to release the long-awaited addition of aerial refueling to the Flight Simulator world. This is not just a nice looking feature — it’s real, and it’s a challenge that won’t be easy.

Prepare for the thrill of mid-air refueling with two options: the drogue system and the flying boom system. Choose your favourite aircraft and master the art of precision flying.

Over 50 aircraft are already configured and ready for aerial refueling, ensuring a wide variety of flying experiences. But that’s not all — you can make ANY aircraft compatible by simply setting the contact point position before takeoff.

We provide two tankers for your refueling missions: the KC-46 and the Il-78, and as a bonus, the MQ-25 refueling drone. The list of available tankers will continue to expand, so let us know which one you’d like to see next!

To accommodate pilots of all skill levels, we have implemented three difficulty levels: Rookie, Pro, and Ace. Each level is designed to fit different types of pilots—from casual flyers to advanced aviators, and true heroes ready for the ultimate exercise.

And that’s not all — many more features are on the horizon, so keep an eye on future updates.

And now sad stuff 😔 We are still fighting with sim limitations, so not all features work as expected yet. The update landed on the MSFS Marketplace this week contains several bugs which may affect your flying experience:

— rookie mode does not work with helicopters and aircraft with small wing span (like F-16), choose different difficulty level to avoid it

— if you try to use AAR right after Airshow was installed or updated, tanker will not appear; that is SimConnect issue which we can’t avoid anyhow, but for the clearance warning message will appear in next update with further instructions

— some aircraft may have non-refualable tanks, which cause incorrect fuel indication and «infinity refuelling»

— tanker airspeed is incorrect compare to the selected value

— some airplanes (mostly by DC/SC Designs) has custom self-refueling script which activates when you engage built-in refueling probe or receptacle doors

But you know what is awesome? 😁 All these bugs were fixed already and a new update was sent to the MS for approval. So we are all waiting for next week’s Marketplace update with excitement. Happy flying!

Aircraft compatibility table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qRnXrvNaPtnUJD7HON4hR1jJBUM4tECMb6BktFr3hUw/

Ah, completely forget, we have increased the add-on price to $19.99. As a gratitude for everyone who has helped us during past development, it was on sale for $2 during Summer sale so I believe it’s a fair deal. Thank you, guys!

You are able now to spawn up to 3 wingmen (same aircraft model/livery due to SDK issue). Separate formation and interval selectors both for flying and landing/take off procedures. Adjustable wingmen behaviour — latency, accuracy, acceleration and manoeuvrability controls.

Same smoke applied to each formation plane, as smokes system not designed for individual adjustments. Flares applied only to a main aircraft but will be added or others as well in further updates.

We are planning to add presets system for each tab — smokes, flares and formations. You will be able to make a collection of config presets, order them properly, and then jump from one to another by a hotkey during flight for ultimate air show experience.

PC users — https://msfs.touching.cloud/mods/airshowassistant/

PC/Xbox Marketplace — 29.02.2024