PRO SERVICES
Custom simulation software for certified flight training devices
Airfoillabs develops tailor-made simulation software for professional flight simulation - from certification-ready flight models to complete avionics suites, instructor stations, and automated testing tools. We combine over a decade of X-Plane development experience with our own Java-based platform for standalone applications, giving simulator manufacturers a single partner for the entire software side of an FSTD project.
Why manufacturers choose X-Plane - and us
Whether you are building an FNPT, FTD, AATD/BATD, or a full flight simulator, we deliver the software components that make it fly, behave, and sound like the real aircraft - and pass its validation tests.
What we build
Flight models matched to real aircraft data
Our core specialty. We develop and tune flight models against manufacturer flight test data, POH performance tables, and in-flight recordings - covering the full envelope including stall behavior, ground handling, and engine-out characteristics. We work to CS-FSTD(A) validation test tolerances, so the flight model you receive is built for certification from day one, not adapted to it afterwards. Experience across the spectrum: piston singles, turboprops, turbocharged Rotax-class engines, and modern turbofans.
Engine and propulsion simulation
Custom thermodynamic and mechanical engine models beyond what any stock simulation offers - piston engines with per-component behavior (fuel, ignition, lubrication, wear, failures), turboprops, and high-bypass turbofans, including propeller governing, FADEC logic, and startup/shutdown dynamics.
Aircraft systems simulation
Complete custom-coded systems: electrical networks simulated down to individual buses, breakers, and loads; fuel, hydraulic, pneumatic, pressurization, ice protection, and fire protection systems - all with realistic interdependencies and instructor-controllable failures.
Custom avionics and displays
Glass cockpit suites (PFD/MFD/EICAS), FMS and autoflight logic, standby instruments (ISFD), audio and radio panels, and faithful recreations of specific avionics units. Rendered inside the simulation or as standalone applications for real cockpit displays. Our custom vector-graphics toolchain lets us reproduce instrument symbology precisely and efficiently.
Instructor Operating Stations
Custom IOS software built on our Java platform: aircraft repositioning, weather and environment control, failure injection and scenario management, freeze/slew, map displays, flight parameter monitoring, and session recording - designed around your device and your customers’ training workflows, on desktop or touchscreen.
Automated QTG tools
Software that runs Qualification Test Guide cases automatically - setting initial conditions, executing the maneuver, recording the results, and plotting them against flight test reference data with tolerance bands. What traditionally takes days of manual testing becomes a repeatable, one-click process for both initial qualification and recurrent evaluations.
Hardware integration and interoperability
Well-defined dataref and command interfaces for cockpit hardware, control loading, and third-party components; network protocols (UDP/TCP) for multi-computer setups; interfacing with panels, radios, and switch matrices. We design the software so your hardware integrators have a clean, documented API to build against.
3D modeling and texturing
High-detail cockpit and exterior models built in Blender with PBR texturing - from cockpit environments matching the real aircraft’s every switch and placard, to exterior models for visual systems. Optimized for high frame rates on multi-channel setups.
Sound
We record real aircraft - engines, avionics, switches, warning systems, airflow - and handle the full post-production chain ourselves. Implementation via FMOD into X-Plane or into standalone applications, with fully dynamic behavior driven by simulation state.
UI and UX design
Clean, functional interface design for instructor stations, EFB-style applications, configuration tools, and touchscreen panels - designed for the people who operate simulators daily.
Supporting software and tools
Electronic flight bags, weight & balance and performance calculators, interactive checklists, maintenance and diagnostics utilities, licensing and update/distribution systems, and custom development tools tailored to your production pipeline.
How we work
Every project starts with your data and your certification target. From there:
1. Scope and feasibility
We review the available aircraft data, define what needs to be built versus adapted, and identify certification-critical items early.
2. Development in milestones
Transparent, milestone-driven progress with regular builds you can evaluate on your own hardware.
3. Validation
Flight models and systems are tested against reference data within the required tolerances - with automated test tooling wherever it pays off.
4. Delivery and support
Documented interfaces, source code delivery where agreed, and long-term support options. We understand B2B licensing, exclusivity, and IP arrangements, and structure each contract to fit the project.
As a small, senior-only team, you work directly with the engineers building your software - no layers in between.
Track record
For over a decade, Airfoillabs has developed some of the most systems-deep aircraft simulations available on the X-Plane platform - study-level products with fully custom electrical, fuel, and engine systems, custom G1000 avionics, and flight models tuned against real aircraft data, used by tens of thousands of pilots and enthusiasts worldwide. Our current flagship project is a study-level simulation of a modern single-aisle jet airliner, with full custom engine modeling and complete custom avionics.
Start your project
Tell us what you are building - aircraft type, device level, certification target - and we will tell you what we can deliver and when.