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iniBuilds Opens Private Terminals Across Its Airport Network with Global FBOs
Most airport sceneries leave business aviation at the edge of the field. You usually get a bare corner of the apron, maybe a generic hangar, and a long taxi past rows of airliners before you can stop the engines. That has never matched how a Global or Gulfstream actually operates. A real corporate flight starts and ends at a Fixed Base Operator, the private-aviation side of an airport where passengers walk from a lounge straight to the aircraft and skip the main terminal. With Global FBOs for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, iniBuilds is adding that missing piece to its own scenery catalogue.
The FBO first appeared in iniBuilds’ recent teaser for its upcoming Global Jet. The lavish terminal in those images, with a large bar and a two-story chandelier, turns out to be a separate product. Global FBOs is not an airport. It is an add-on that installs a dedicated business aviation terminal into iniBuilds airports you already own.
There are ten locations at launch, covering a wide range of destinations. On the major-hub side you get Dubai International (OMDB), New York JFK (KJFK), Doha Hamad International (OTHH), London Heathrow (EGLL), Chicago O’Hare (KORD), Dallas Fort Worth (KDFW) and Hong Kong International (VHHH). Innsbruck (LOWI), Ibiza (LEIB) and Palm Springs (KPSP) round out the list. Those last three are typical business-jet destinations, whether for alpine ski trips, Mediterranean summers or desert getaways. iniBuilds has already said London Luton, London Stansted and Malta will be the next three locations, and has noted that the list may change as more airports are added.
Each FBO is a fully modelled building, inside and out. The interior has a restaurant, bar, games room, gym and lounge areas, filled with custom furniture and props and backed by ambient sounds and music. In the basement there is a Trophy Room that shows collectible mementos for the iniBuilds products in your library, and the display grows as your collection does. It is a small touch, but a clever one. It rewards long-time iniBuilds customers and gives the terminal a personal feel that a generic building can’t offer.
For flying, the interior matters less than how the FBO fits into the airport. Because iniBuilds builds both the base sceneries and the FBOs, each terminal comes with its own apron, parking positions, ground markings and taxiway connections, all worked into the existing layout of the airport. You shouldn’t see a building dropped awkwardly onto the grass. The FBO is designed to look and work like part of the airfield.
Installation runs through iniManager. Once the product is in your library, you go to a compatible airport you own and choose “Install FBO”. The tool then adds the building, parking and taxiway infrastructure to that scenery. Keep in mind that the FBO package includes no airports. You need the matching iniBuilds scenery for each location you want, although you can buy any missing airports directly in iniManager. At launch, the iniManager listing shows version 1.0.0. iniBuilds is also reportedly working on an option that lets you apply your own branding to the terminals.
The link to the Global Jet is obvious. iniBuilds calls its first business jet a natural fit for the FBOs and says the goal is to let you build your own corporate flight network across its airports, flying between private terminals instead of from the main gates. However, the FBOs are not tied to one aircraft. The apron parking is meant for business and general aviation aircraft in general, so the jets already in your hangar can use them today.
iniBuilds is not the first to bring this idea to MSFS 2024. FSReborn’s Phenom 300E includes its own FBO system. It lets you place buildings of different sizes at any airport you like using an in-sim utility. The two approaches are quite different. FSReborn gives you freedom to put an FBO anywhere, while iniBuilds works only at its own airports and offers a terminal built into each airport’s layout. Which you prefer depends on whether you value flexibility or a polished result at fewer airports.
Global FBOs for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available now for £9.99 plus tax. You can buy it through the iniBuilds Store or directly in iniManager, where you can also pick up any of the compatible airports you don’t yet own.