Take a look at this promising F-117 Nighthawk that’s being developed for MSFS

Microsoft Flight Simulator quickly became a popular platform for military aircraft after its launch back in August 2020. Despite not being a military simulator, with no capability to simulate weapons systems or striking missions, MSFS still provides the most detailed world ever seen in a flight simulator, which has naturally drawn the attention of developers of all kinds of aircraft.

That said, the list of military airplanes available for MSFS keeps getting bigger, with some notable choices like the F-35, the F-18, F-14, F-104 Starfighter, Spitfire, and much more. These legendary machines are now available for simmers to fly in MSFS, some more detailed than others, but with most being a great overall experience. Obviously, there are still many iconic planes still missing, so today we’re bringing to your attention a project that was recently unveiled: the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the original stealth aircraft!

The Nighthawk is now being developed for MSFS by Aerial Simulations, who recently began sharing the progress of this project in the official Flight Simulator forums.

AerialSim’s goal is to release an affordable payware aircraft that can be roughly compared to the Asobo F-18 in terms of simulation realism. So, not the most ambitious rendition of an aircraft for MSFS, was still with the potential of being quite fun to fly!

The most impressive aspect of this project so far is the modeling and texturing. AerialSim has shared a few images of the aircraft over the last few weeks, with each new one showing impressive progress both in terms of the iconic external fuselage, but also in the cockpit, which seems represented with a very realistic look and detailed textures.

This seems to be a quickly-evolving project, with marked improvements since it was first unveiled in May. The developer says that after the visuals are done, he will then focus on the flight model and systems, such as the fuel system, which was featured in the latest development update this week.

Overall, this seems to be a very cool new project to follow, especially for the potential to bring a detailed and realistic model of the F-117 to Microsoft Flight Simulator. If it turns out to be more than just eye candy, the better, but the simple possibility of getting this striking aircraft flying in MSFS, with a good-looking model, is already quite exciting!

The F-117 is one of the most unique-looking airplanes ever designed. Some say it looks straight out of a futuristic sci-fi world with its menacing looks, while others question its weird collection of shapes that some have called a “flying tent”. In either case, it’s unmistakable: nothing has looked like it before or after, which is another testament of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division to explore new technologies and achieve breakthroughs on several fronts.

The F-117’s most distinctive feature is the pioneering stealth technology, which is achieved by the unique fuselage that reduces its radar signature to the size of a small bird. However, this comes at significant aerodynamic costs, with the F-117 being known as a notably unstable aircraft that requires a lot of input from its onboard computers to stay aloft.

We don’t know yet if the Aerial Simulations F-117 will feature the notoriously challenging flight dynamics of the real aircraft, but at least the visuals look the part. As usual, we will continue to follow the development of this project and bring you any meaningful updates once they become available. Hopefully we’ll be able to fly the F-117 soon in Microsoft Flight Simulator!