TwoToneMurphy
FLIGHT SIM NEWS
Wednesday 26 August 2026 · Historical Edition · TTM Media

WAIT ON
THE IL-18.

A beautiful old Soviet turboprop with bags of cockpit character — but after flying Nemeth Designs' IL-18D, Murph found the sounds and handling impossible to recommend in its then-current state. Elsewhere: iniBuilds goes deeper on the A380 and A350 V2, Citation X gets a huge free overhaul, and the Pietenpol steals the show.
Archive Edition26 Aug 2026Based on the original programme

Top stories

Flight Sim News · 26 August 2026
Flight Sim News 26 August 2026 programme artwork
Hands-on · Nemeth Designs IL-18D

Great cockpit. Troubled flying.

Nemeth Designs' Ilyushin IL-18D had already reached the MSFS 2024 Marketplace at $39.49 and had received an update before this broadcast. Murph found plenty to admire in the modelling, cockpit depth and multi-station interior — but once airborne, the aircraft’s sound and flight behaviour became the story.

Murph’s Take
“If this is on your radar, my advice to anyone watching: no, don’t get it yet.”

The verdict was specifically about the version tested on 26 August: promising systems and character, but sounds and handling that needed substantial work.

Watch the IL-18 test →
Historical source: Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace, 6 Aug 2026
iniBuilds · Development

A350 V2 confirmed — and 2024 becomes the future

iniBuilds confirmed a free A350 V2 for existing customers, built exclusively for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The current aircraft was also due a v1.2.7 systems and performance update; once V2 arrived, active development of the 2020 edition would conclude. No V2 release date had been announced.

Watch from 37:20 →
Historical source: official / contemporary reference
iniBuilds · A380

The A380 has to “pack a punch”

The latest A380 development update showed persistence, deeper GSX integration, revised avionics and display work, failure-system depth and more. Murph was increasingly interested — but with FlyByWire already offering a strong freeware A380 on PC, the commercial aircraft had a very high bar to clear.

Watch from 42:31 →
Historical source: official / contemporary reference

The week in flight sim

Aircraft · Developers · Platforms
FlightFX · v2.1.4

Citation X gets a sweeping free overhaul

The FlightFX Citation X update effectively broke during the programme: introduced as incoming, it was confirmed live as already released. The free overhaul brought major FMS and navigation changes, predictive autothrottle work, performance calculations, missed approaches, a new inertial-immersion system, wing flex and a reworked EFB. FlightFX also signalled that future feature development would move to MSFS 2024 after a final 2020 backport.

Watch from 1:02:46 →
Developer direction

Flysimware doubles down on vintage twins

Flysimware outlined native MSFS 2024 work for the Sierra C24R and Cessna 414AW Chancellor, while the Piper Chieftain moved toward beta. The bigger message was strategic: the studio was stepping back from jets and leaning into the analogue twins its community knows it for.

Watch from 51:05 →
Murph’s Take · Citation X
Make the plane feel alive.

The scale of the free update impressed Murph, particularly the push toward physical movement and inertial behaviour rather than a perfectly static cockpit.

Aircraft

New releases & previews
26 August Flight Sim News featuring the Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald Scenery Design · Pietenpol Air Camper

The little aeroplane that stole the evening

Released on 21 August for MSFS 2024 at $19.99, Emerald Scenery Design's Pietenpol Air Camper became the counterpoint to the IL-18. The hands-on explored its exposed engine, pulley animations, hand-propping, fuel movement, bush configuration and wonderfully simple flying character.

Murph’s Take
“Absolutely fantastic stuff. It's a great little plane.”

Murph described it as “bundled with character” — exactly the sort of small GA aircraft where the experience matters more than raw complexity.

Watch the Pietenpol →
Historical source: Emerald Scenery Design, 21 Aug 2026
Flying Fries · Free update

Gabriel 2.0 adds a 420 hp monster

Flying Fries released Gabriel 2.0 on 21 August, adding the fictional BK420-MO 420 hp variant alongside reworked geometry, sounds and flight dynamics. Murph had already spent time with the aircraft and gave the update a warm recommendation.

Watch from 59:01 →
Synaptic / iniBuilds

A220 prepares to leave Marketplace exclusivity

On 26 August the Synaptic A220 was still Marketplace-only. Its iniBuilds Store and iniManager release was scheduled for Friday 28 August, giving PC users a local-install option rather than relying solely on Marketplace streaming.

Watch from 47:01 →
Got Friends · Preview

Taylorcraft closes in on release

Got Friends’ Taylorcraft BC-12D was still an upcoming aircraft on this edition, with 1 September being discussed as the expected release. This archive preserves that preview status rather than rewriting the story with what happened later.

Watch from 1:14:23 →

Scenery

Airports & destinations
LFPG · Announcement

iniBuilds takes on Paris Charles de Gaulle

iniBuilds announced Paris Charles de Gaulle for MSFS 2024, immediately reshaping an already competitive scenery market. Murph regarded it as arguably the biggest scenery story of the week.

Watch from 1:16:54 →
Iron Sim · Hands-on

Stavanger packs in a lot of airport

The Stavanger hands-on found a scenery with commercial, cargo, military, helicopter and GA appeal, solid modelling and good performance. The main reservation was night and interior lighting, which Murph felt still needed work.

Watch from 2:41:01 →
MK Studios Tenerife South
MK Studios · GCTS

Tenerife South lands natively in 2024

MK Studios released Tenerife South for MSFS 2024 just before the show. This was the initial release story — not the later September follow-up.

Watch from 1:18:44 →
Scenery watch

FlightTampa appears to tease St Maarten

A familiar Caribbean silhouette set speculation running, but the key historical point is restraint: FlightTampa had not formally confirmed Princess Juliana or the simulator version in the material discussed on-air.

Watch from 1:15:46 →
IM Scenery · Release

RAF Marham arrives for MSFS 2024

IM Scenery brought RAF Marham — home of the UK F-35B force — to MSFS 2024. A smaller release, but a useful addition for military flyers.

Watch from 1:20:56 →

Tools & hardware

Utilities · Controls · ATC
SayIntentions.AI · 26 Aug

SayIntentions lands on Stream Deck

The official Stream Deck plugin went live on the day of the programme. Murph demonstrated COM tuning, transponder entry, PTT, intercom, volume controls and profiles, including virtual Stream Deck possibilities. V3 voices were live in France, Canada, the US, Germany and Austria on this date; UK and Ireland followed two days later.

Watch from 1:35:48 →
Historical source: official / contemporary reference
Utility · Hands-on

AVX Sorter is clever — but not essential yet

AVX Sorter combined add-on organisation, enable/disable controls, automatic grouping, flight prep, conflict scanning, CTD Doctor, Crash Hunt, cleanup and backups. Murph saw real potential, especially in the crash tools, but stopped well short of calling it a must-have.

Watch from 3:20:20 →
Murph’s Take · AVX Sorter
“It's not a must-have.”

Useful ideas, particularly for troubleshooting, but Murph wanted the utility to do more before it became compelling.

Hardware

Wingflex opens GMP pre-orders

The modular Airbus gear and autobrake panel opened for pre-orders on 26 August, with launch pricing from $159 and shipping expected from 1 September. Murph liked the look of it — then returned to a familiar question: where is all the Boeing hardware?

Watch from 1:27:54 →
Hardware

Hoowalt D107 goes near-full-scale

The D107 Airbus throttle quadrant drew attention for its scale, motorised trim system and roughly $1,499 price. Murph questioned some of the visible finish at that price while noting how it compared with far more specialised cockpit hardware.

Watch from 1:30:31 →
Free utility

Bad Weather Finder flips route planning around

Instead of choosing a route and checking the weather, Bad Weather Finder starts with the conditions you want and helps locate airports and routes that match — a neat free tool for anyone hunting for something more challenging.

Watch from 1:26:19 →

Newswire

More from 26 August
Microsoft Flight Simulator

MSFS marks six years with a sale and aircraft packs

Microsoft announced 30% off MSFS 2024 until 1 September and three new ten-aircraft Aviator packs at $39.99 each, opening access to aircraft previously bundled with the Aviator Edition.

Watch from 1:23:10 →
Historical source: official / contemporary reference
FSQuest / OnAir

Fly Pandemic 4 enters its final days

The VATSIM-focused event was running through 30 August. OnAir supported it with dedicated charters and increased payouts, including a larger bonus for flights connected to VATSIM.

Watch from 1:53:02 →
From the desk

A week defined by “alive” aircraft

Across Citation X, the Pietenpol and even the troubled IL-18, the recurring theme was physical character: movement, sound, inertia and the small details that make a simulated aircraft feel like a machine rather than a model.

Before the News

What happened before the desk
28:43 · Unexpected co-host

Mrs TwoToneMurphy takes the spare mic.

What began as a microphone test turned into an unscheduled appearance covering Harry Potter, Rupert Grint, New York and the increasingly serious question of who is actually building the Starship Enterprise Lego set.

Watch from 28:43 →
5:14 · Studio life

The USB-C gadget works. Then the gremlins arrive.

The new hardware behaved — briefly — before the conversation moved to disconnected controllers, a frozen simulator and the usual pre-show ritual of discovering which button has decided not to cooperate.

Watch from 5:14 →