# FlyByWire Simulations Aircraft: a free A32NX and A380X for Microsoft Flight Simulator

> FlyByWire's aircraft repository is a community project that builds an A320-200N and an A380-800 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is a simulator add-on, not a library, and the code is split between TypeScript instruments and Rust systems simulations.

**flybywiresim/aircraft** — The A32NX & A380X Project are community driven open source projects to create free Airbus aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator that are as close to reality as possible.

- Repository: https://github.com/flybywiresim/aircraft
- Website: https://flybywiresim.com
- Stars: 5,410 · Forks: 1,149
- Language: TypeScript
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-22 · Updated: 2026-09-22 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/flybywiresim-aircraft

## What FlyByWire Simulations Aircraft actually ships

This repository is the build system and source for two Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft: an A320-200N and an A380-800. The README lists the exact configurations the projects simulate or target. For the A320-200N that means the A320-251N model with CFM LEAP 1A-26 engines, an APS3200 APU, Honeywell Release H4 FMS, H2F13 FWC standard, EIS2 S18 EFIS, LGCIU standard 4D, and a set of Honeywell avionics including the ALA-52B radio altimeter, EGPWS, TPA-100B ACAS, TRA-100B ATC, iMMR MMR and RDR-4000 weather radar. The A380-800 is listed as the A380-842 with Rolls-Royce Trent 972B-84 engines, a Pratt & Whitney PW980 APU, and Honeywell AESS for TAWS, ACAS, ATC and weather radar.

The README adds a caveat that matters for anyone planning around it: this configuration may change as the projects evolve. So the table is a statement of intent at a point in time, not a fixed specification. The intended user is a flight simulator pilot who wants an Airbus that behaves close to the real aircraft, and secondarily a contributor who wants to work on avionics, systems or 3D assets in the open. It is not a library you import into another application, and it is not certified training equipment. The project is explicit on that last point, saying the team dislikes the term study-level because it mostly applies to certified training devices, while still aiming at high fidelity within the simulator's limits.

## How the repository is put together: TypeScript panels, Rust systems, C++ WASM

The top level of the repository separates the aircraft from the shared code. There are three aircraft directories, fbw-a32nx, fbw-a380x and fbw-common, plus a small fbw-ingamepanels-checklist-fix package. TypeScript is the primary language, and the topics list includes React, which fits the instrument and display work. A Cargo.toml at the root defines a Rust workspace whose members are the systems crates: a320_systems, a320_systems_wasm, a380_systems, a380_systems_wasm, a320_hydraulic_simulation_graphs, and the shared systems and systems_wasm crates under fbw-common. The workspace pins nalgebra for linear algebra and uom for units of measure, which tells you the simulation code is written with dimensional quantities rather than raw floats.

The build is not a single toolchain. There is a CMakeLists.txt and scripts/build-cmake.sh for C++ compiled to WebAssembly, a pnpm-workspace.yaml and pnpm-lock.yaml for the JavaScript side, and rust-toolchain.toml for Rust. The release profile sets lto and strip to true, and the test profile deliberately raises opt-level to 1 with a comment explaining that this prevents stack overflows during testing, with a note that it can be disabled if it interferes with local debugging. That comment is a useful signal: the systems code is deep enough that debug builds can overflow the stack, which is typical of recursive or heavily nested simulation logic.

The package.json name is a32nx and its version field reads 2024.2.0 with edition development, even though the latest releases listed are v2024.1.0 and v2020.15.0. That mismatch is normal for a monorepo that carries a working version ahead of the tagged release, but it means you should not read package.json as the shipping version. The scripts are grouped by comment banners, with a Generic group for C++ WASM builds and an A320 group that copies base packages and large files into an out directory before the aircraft package is assembled.

## Installing the A32NX or A380X into Microsoft Flight Simulator

The README does not give install commands. It says to download the aircraft from the FlyByWire Simulations website and to read the documentation on how to install and use it. For a simulator add-on that is the correct place for instructions, because the steps depend on the simulator version and the install method. What follows is what the repository itself tells you, not a substitute for the documentation.

The README points at the website as the download source, so there is no package manager command to run:

```bash
# Download the aircraft from https://flybywiresim.com
# Installation steps: https://docs.flybywiresim.com
```

Once installed, the README's own FAQ explains the version question you will hit first. There are two mainline versions: stable, described as a snapshot of development regarded as stable with the current simulator version, and development, updated daily and described as a constant work in progress. The README links to the documentation page on the differences between versions. If you want the version everyone else is flying, check that page before you pick a channel.

Building from source is a different path, and the repository is set up as a pnpm workspace with a Cargo workspace alongside it. The package.json exposes scripts for the C++ WASM build, and the top-level layout includes igniter.config.mjs and build-utils.js. The README does not document a from-source build for end users, so treat the source tree as the contributor route and the website as the pilot route. If you are contributing, the README points to Contributing.md and the Discord server.

## The stable and development channels are the real support boundary

The most practical limitation is not in the code, it is in the release model. The README states plainly that the project does not know when the next update will arrive, because it depends on many factors, and that each stable version is announced through Discord and social media. The releases list shows v2024.1.0 and v2020.15.0 both dated 2026-08-22, with a v2020.15.0-rc3 from 2026-07-04. Two different version lines being published on the same day is a sign of parallel maintenance rather than a single cadence.

That has consequences. If you install the development build, the README says it is updated daily and that minor issues may occur from time to time even though each update is tested. If you install stable, you get a snapshot that may lag the development build by an unknown amount. Neither channel comes with a support commitment. The README routes problems to a known issues list, the GitHub issue tracker, and a Discord support channel, which means support quality depends on volunteers being available.

There is also a scope limitation the README acknowledges directly. On whether a given real-aircraft feature will be implemented, it says the team does not guarantee every detail will eventually be represented, and that a great deal of time is spent on software design and gathering references before a feature is offered. So a missing system is not a bug report you can expect to close on a schedule. If you need a specific avionics function for a specific flight, check the known issues list before assuming it is there.

## FlyByWire versus a payware Airbus add-on

The obvious alternative is a commercial Airbus add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The difference is not primarily fidelity, it is the operating model. A payware add-on sells you a product with a vendor who has a commercial incentive to answer support tickets, publish a roadmap, and ship on a schedule. FlyByWire gives the aircraft away, publishes the source under GPL-3.0, and asks you to use a Discord channel and an issue tracker when something breaks. The README states the aircraft are completely free and open source, including SimBridge and other FlyByWire projects on GitHub.

A second alternative is the default Airbus included with the simulator. That aircraft requires no installation and no version decisions, and it is maintained by the platform vendor. The trade-off is depth: the FlyByWire projects target a specific configuration down to the FMS release, FWC standard and radio altimeter part number, and the README frames the goal as an extremely accurate simulation based on technical data and real-world testing. If your interest is a quick flight rather than systems behaviour, the default aircraft is the lower-friction choice.

A third comparison is against other community aircraft projects. Those tend to be narrower: one aircraft, one team, a smaller codebase. FlyByWire is unusual in sharing systems code between two aircraft through fbw-common, which is why the Rust workspace has both a320_systems and a380_systems crates sitting next to a shared systems crate. That sharing is an advantage for consistency across the two aircraft and a risk in the other direction: a defect in the shared crate can surface in both.

## Licence and the cost of keeping a fork alive

The repository is licensed GPL-3.0. For a pilot installing the aircraft, the licence mostly does not change anything: you download and fly. For anyone modifying and redistributing, GPL-3.0 is a copyleft licence, so derivative distributions carry obligations the project does not spell out in the README. This is not legal advice, and if you plan to ship a modified build, read the LICENSE file at the repository root rather than the README summary.

Upgrade cost is the more concrete question. Because the project publishes stable and development channels, staying current means deciding which one you are on and re-checking when a new stable version is announced. The README says announcements go to Discord and the social channels listed at the top of the file. There is no documented automatic update mechanism in the README, and the README does not document rollback, so if a development build regresses you should assume you are reinstalling rather than reverting with a command. The changelog is the record of what changed; the README points to .github/CHANGELOG.md and to the pull requests, and it notes that the project does not keep a feature list.

For a contributor, the cost is the toolchain. A working build touches pnpm, Cargo, and CMake for the C++ WASM components, and the test profile's raised opt-level exists because debug builds can overflow the stack. That is a real setup burden before you can run a single test.

## Where the README leaves you on your own

Two gaps are worth naming. The first is installation: the README delegates entirely to the website and the documentation portal, and gives no commands, no directory paths inside the simulator, and no uninstall steps. That is a reasonable division for a consumer add-on, but it means the repository alone is not enough to get flying.

The second is the release naming. The releases list contains v2024.1.0, v2020.15.0 and v2020.15.0-rc3, while package.json reports version 2024.2.0. Nothing in the README explains how these lines relate, and the README's own FAQ answer on version differences points to the documentation site rather than explaining it in place. If you are debugging a report of a bug in a specific build, get the version string from the installed aircraft rather than inferring it from the repository, because the repository's own version field is ahead of the tagged releases.

The repository does include contributor-facing agent files, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md and GEMINI.md, at the top level. Their content is not in the README, so their conventions are something a contributor has to read directly before opening a pull request.

## Conclusion

Adopt it if you fly Microsoft Flight Simulator and want a free, high-fidelity Airbus narrowbody or widebody, and you are willing to install from the FlyByWire website and read the documentation rather than the README. Do not adopt it if you need a training device, a non-MSFS simulator, or a supported commercial product with a guaranteed release schedule: the project states it does not know when the next update will arrive. Before installing, verify which version channel you are on, since the README separates a stable snapshot from a development build that is updated daily, and confirm your simulator version against the documentation.

## FAQ

### How do I install the FlyByWire aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

The README says to download the aircraft from the FlyByWire Simulations website and to read the documentation on how to install and use it. It does not give install commands in the repository, so the documentation portal is the authoritative source.

### How do I install the FlyByWire aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024?

The README does not separate installation instructions by simulator version. It points to the same documentation portal for install steps, so that page is where you check whether your simulator version is covered.

### Are the FlyByWire aircraft payware?

No. The README states they are completely free and open source, including SimBridge and other FlyByWire projects that are publicly accessible via GitHub. The repository is licensed GPL-3.0.

### Why is my version of the FlyByWire aircraft different from what other people are using?

The README explains that there are two mainline versions: stable, a snapshot of development regarded as stable with the current simulator version, and development, which is updated daily and is a work in progress. It links to a documentation page describing the differences between the versions.

### When is the next FlyByWire update?

The README says the project does not know, because it depends on many factors, and that each new stable version is announced through Discord and the listed social media channels. There is no published schedule.

## Sources

- [flybywiresim/aircraft on GitHub](https://github.com/flybywiresim/aircraft)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/flybywiresim/aircraft/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://flybywiresim.com)
- [README](https://github.com/flybywiresim/aircraft/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/flybywiresim/aircraft/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/flybywiresim-aircraft