Virtual United Airlines

MSFS2020 is gorgeous but really not perfect for us UAL pilots due to the lack of quality aircraft. As a long time MSFS flyer (I remember it on DOS) and long time XP pilot I was excited about MSFS2020 mostly for finally addressing scenery. Of course this excitement was dashed when I found a real lack of more study level type aircraft available. Fortunately with the FlyByWire A32NX (free) the A320 seems to be good enough, at least for me, to make it my go to for vUAL flights. Hopefully this guide will help some of you desperate to use MSFS2020 for your virtual pilot needs.

Step #1 - smartCARS 2 & FSUIPC 7
First you are going to need to install smartCARS 2 as kACARS is not ready yet for MSFS2020. It worked at one point and then stopped receiving data from the sim after one of the updates from Microsoft. So no charter flights for now.

Download and install FSUIPC 7 (64bit) which is the interface between MSFS2020 and smartCARS2.
http://fsuipc.com/

When installing you may get a warning from Windows about it being unrecognized. it is safe to install. Simply accept the defaults and when prompted for the registration, you can simply "skip" as it is not necessary for it to be a registered version to work for our needs.


Assuming you've already downloaded and installed smartACARS 2. Just in case here is the download link:
https://tfdidesign.com/smartcars/app.ph ... rlineid=36

Step #2 - Install FlyByWire A32NX
First go to their website and download the installer:
https://flybywiresim.com/

I would highly recommend only installing the most recent stable version and not trying the experimental releases.

Next is to download the United Airlines Livery. This is the main site for the recommended site for supported liveries:
https://flightsim.to/c/liveries/flybywire-a32nx/

Here's the one I use:
https://flightsim.to/file/12974/united- ... ures-a32nx

You need to extract the zip file into your MSFS 2020 Community folder which is not the easiest thing to find. Nice write up here on how to find it:
https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content. ... ity-Folder

Your folder should look something like this:


Step #3 - Fly!
FSUIPC should automatically start when you open MSFS 2020. Make sure to pick the A32NX and the proper livery. Verify that smartACARS is picking up data from the sim. I usually drop flaps down and up to see if it is picking it up.

vPilot does fully support Vatsim under MSFS 2020. I've already tested and if you haven't flown on VATSIM since the major audio upgrade you definitely need to try again.
https://vpilot.rosscarlson.dev/Download



Full resolution image: https://i.imgur.com/yvoKS7X.jpg


Hopefully this helps!

Thanks very much for putting this guide together, Brian; I'm sure many vUAL pilots who are dipping their toes into MSFS will find it very helpful.

Is FSUIPC7 still required for Smartcars to function with MSFS? I'm finally beginning to slowly make the switch from P3D and am looking to get this set up. I've got the FBW Neo up and running and have a few sceneries now.

Got it figured out, doing my first official flight for this VA in MSFS. This FBW A320 is really pretty good. Not on the level of the FSLABS busses I'm used to in P3D but all in all, I'm pretty darn happy so far. And the visuals in this new sim are gorgeous! Anyways, thanks to your post, I'm squared away!