Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW), one of the world’s busiest and largest hubs, is now available for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, courtesy of Imaginesim. Following a recent development update confirming the project was in its final stages, the scenery has now been released.
This is a major release in more ways than one. DFW is huge—both in size and in the scope of operations. Imaginesim highlights that the airport spans over 17,000 acres, an area larger than Manhattan Island, and serves 88 million passengers annually. As a core hub for American Airlines and a key cargo gateway, DFW connects to over 260 destinations worldwide, including ultra-long-haul flights like Qantas’ 17-hour route to Melbourne.
Imaginesim says this scenery is the result of thousands of hours of work and research, aimed at capturing the complexity of the airport while maintaining strong performance. Key features include:
- All seven runways modeled across the full airport grounds
- Five detailed terminals (plus the under-construction Terminal F)
- High-definition building textures
- A custom SafeGate™ Visual Docking Guidance System
- Interactive, bespoke jetways with dedicated animations
- Comprehensive cargo facilities
- Optimized performance, even in complex airliner cockpits and dense AI environments
- A custom configuration interface via the Imaginesim Operations Center
- Instantaneous cache loading and low simulator impact
One small detail is something that’s not in just yet: the Skylink train animation, a feature that Imaginesim says is coming soon in a future update.
Furthermore, as Brian, one of our readers, points out in the comment section below, the taxiway layout around Runway 17R/35L appears to be more than a year out of date. He notes that he previously contacted the developer about this issue following the trailer release, but if the current version matches that footage, the layout has not been updated. It’s worth taking note of — and if this turns out to be accurate, perhaps worth requesting an update from the developer.
Update (April 14): We contacted Imaginesim for clarification regarding this issue. A representative from the development team responded, stating that the taxiway layout has been designed in line with future real-world plans.
The package is now available exclusively from Imaginesim’s, priced at £24.99. At the time of writing, no release date has been announced for availability on third-party stores or the in-sim Marketplace, but Imaginesim does promise that an MSFS 2024 compatible version is forthcoming, and it will be free for those who purchase the MSFS 2020 version.
