I'm no pilot, but I consider myself a (passionate) aviation enthusiast....🙂...And, though, sometimes I like to dig deep into the complexities of the SIM (airliner) offerings from the premier developers; generally speaking, my attachment to (and fascination with) the airliners I fly virtually, is at an emotional level...🙂...so, I tend to forgive (and overlook) the faults and blemishes of the airplanes in my virtual world, more so than the (serious) aviators here would do...🙂...After all, the (perceived) faults and blemishes, as introduced by the developer, are no fault of the airplane itself...each (RW) airplane counterpart standing on its own merit as an iconic symbol of our aviation history, whether e.g. it's the 747-400 or this 340-300, both a dying breed of ageing quadjets. Of course, high-fidelity (SIM) rendition of an a/c we have come to love; and have long waited for, is most welcome, and here is a nice one for us in the MSFS world, for the first time. 

Of all my transoceanic crossings (shared across 330/340/747/777), for about one-fourth of the number, the transport responsibility had fallen to this stalwart long-hauler (A340). Some back-of-the-envelope type calculations to determine the number of times I flew on the A340, using a rough 2-decade period of active international travel from U.S. to East/Far-East, and assuming 2 roundtrips per year (i.e., 8 flight legs per year), had given me 160 flights. So, as guesswork, I divided the total of the 160 flight-legs equally among my 4 major means of long-haul conveyance and concluded that I must have travelled on the A340 type about 40 times. In the current times, the (Chicago -> Frankfurt) LH service (#433) is operated solely by the A343 (A346s and A330s have been retired). 

So, here we go, as I replicate, here today, the (RW) A340-300 (KORD->EDDF) flight (DLH433), completed just earlier this week; that departed O'Hare on Tuesday at 11pm (local), and arrived in Frankfurt on Wednesday at 2pm (local). It flew at 35,000 ft and travelled 4,500 miles, over a duration of about 8 hours. I have copied and pasted the actual route string into the SimBrief Flight Planner (rather than using its default), and the output is shown in my shot #4 below. The exact same (RW) route is then (easily) uploaded into the EFB and MCDU of the A340 (see also the Route MAP shots below of the iniBuilds EFB and the MSFS EFB). 

I thought of doing this flight after watching a recent "A330 Driver" Video of an iniBuilds A340-300 flight from my homebase Chicago to EDDF/Frankfurt. Apparently, this DLH 433 Flight was specifically requested by the admirers of the channel...🙂...Also, as coincidence, a few months ago, while doing some cleaning-up in the basement, I'd come across some (old) airline boarding passes from decades ago...well preserved in a packet...🙂...; including a few stubs printed with flight numbers DLH 433/432/431/430. Many of us will recall that in the earlier times of air travels, long before today's (digital) Mobile boarding passes became the standard, passengers were issued paper tickets (by an agent at the ticket counter), that also served as boarding passes, acting as the physical document to allow pax to board the flight. So, the ticket wouldn't be on your smart phone, but you needed to carry them carefully on person, especially if you were also given one in advance for your onward leg.

Today's flight was a tough (and long) one to complete...with all the distractions we, non-aviators, face in our daily life...🙂... Nonetheless, with 2x/4x sim rate (used at cruise only), I accomplished my objective in one continuous session and did finally breathe a sigh of relief...🙂...when the wheels of this quadjet touched down safely (and smoothly) on the ILS Runway 25C of Frankfurt (see my concluding images). As I touched down, I recalled a few (past) occasions when the landing of the (RW) A340 would be so smooth that the passengers would break into a round of applause...🙂...no such thing here for me, though...Oh well...

On my (eastward) transatlantic crossing today, I enjoyed sightings of a beautiful dusk and nightfall (behind my a/c), and then a most glorious dawn and daybreak straight in front of the flightdeck (see images below). These are the (aesthetic) reasons I hesitate to jump-ahead in my long-haul (SIM) flights; however, it all depends on your own preferences and constraints; how you wish to use your iniBuilds A340 for a long-haul flight. We can also fly this long-haul a/c in short-haul service, which is not uncommon in many parts of the world.

For my flight, I've chosen to use the "EIS1" avionics version of the iniBuilds A340-300 (recall e.g., the early A300 cockpit), a far cry from the (iniBuilds) A350. The main difference is EIS1 uses older, rounded Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) displays, while EIS2 uses modern, square Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs). EIS2 offers higher resolution, larger size, a more modern design, and enhanced navigation functionality, and it also integrates the standby instruments, replacing the analog dials of EIS1. You'll notice, in my cockpit images below, the old-style "round" (standby) attitude indicator; and also, the (analog) altitude and airspeed dials, the latter two gauges being absent in the "EIS2" Airbus cockpit. 

Hope you enjoy this collection of images of a complete long-haul flight, from my virtual world, mimicking my past RW travels with the same aircraft type, and re-tracing the same (transoceanic) airspace route...flown so many times in my distant memory...

Thanks for viewing and happy flying...!

Edited October 10, 2025Oct 10 by P_7878

Nice!  I work these jets when they leave Ohare bound for Europe... its pretty cool to talk to the Lufthansa pilots...  I always try to give them a "guten morgan/tag/abend" haha

Ryan, John, Dave, evaamo: 

Thanks for the responses. Glad you liked...

 

10 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

Nice!  I work these jets when they leave Ohare bound for Europe... its pretty cool to talk to the Lufthansa pilots...  I always try to give them a "guten morgan/tag/abend" haha

Appreciated the note, Ryan...coming from an ATC...🙂...So, who knows, you might have directed my (outbound) DLH flights in the past, so that they are properly headed towards the North Atlantic Tracks...🙂...You're actually not far from the (O'Hare <-> Europe) long-haul airliner flight paths...

Looks like, at least you know a smattering of German...🙂...unlike me. Thankfully all these flights typically use dual-language cabin announcements, depending on origin and destination. It was a bit odd for me to hear both German and English first, but I got used to it...🙂...

10 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

Nice!  I work these jets when they leave Ohare bound for Europe... its pretty cool to talk to the Lufthansa pilots...  I always try to give them a "guten morgan/tag/abend" haha

Dont' forget "Tschuss" Ryan. That's German for Bye! It's pronounced "Choo-iss" and can be used when they leave your sector.
 

@P_7878 Love the pics and the flight commentary. 👍Approach screenshots are cool. I like the burning rubber on the R25C landing. Sometimes at the R25 visitor spotting place just off the Autobahn A5, if the wind is in a certain direction, you can smell the tyre smoke from R25C. 

I also see you have AI traffic enabled and it looks like there are some intersection departures for R25C waiting to line up after you land, which is very typical for R25C, so very realistic.

 

6 hours ago, 787flyer said:

@P_7878 Love the pics and the flight commentary. 👍Approach screenshots are cool. I like the burning rubber on the R25C landing. Sometimes at the R25 visitor spotting place just off the Autobahn A5, if the wind is in a certain direction, you can smell the tyre smoke from R25C. 

I also see you have AI traffic enabled and it looks like there are some intersection departures for R25C waiting to line up after you land, which is very typical for R25C, so very realistic.

 

Thanks for the comments. It is always good to hear from a native about LH and EDDF…

Seems like, we are both fans of the 787…🙂…I’d got my username from an ANA 787-8 emerging out of the Everett  factory doors…

”…smell of tyre smoke from R25C off Autobahn A5…”…🙂…sounds good…so, I picked the correct Runway then…🙂…

Actually, I wanted to land on 25R per SimBrief suggestion. However, after a relaxed dinner…🙂…, for descent when I looked at the EDDF 25R APP plates, I got confused by finding 2 different frequencies for ILS-Y and ILS-Z, to account for noise abatement requirements, that I was not aware of…🙂…Anyway, this A340 nicely autotunes for the chosen ILS approach.

Regarding AI traffic, unfortunately, no, I do not have (cannot have) such add-ons yet on the Xbox, as on PC. So, this is just default AI from MSFS/Asobo; wheel-less airplanes included…🙂…

Cheers…!

Nice set of shots,  thanks for sharing !

Lufthansa Slogan: ""There's no better way to fly"" ☺️

cheers 😉

9 hours ago, P_7878 said:

”…smell of tyre smoke from R25C off Autobahn A5…”…🙂…sounds good…so, I picked the correct Runway then…🙂…

Actually, I wanted to land on 25R per SimBrief suggestion. However, after a relaxed dinner…🙂…, for descent when I looked at the EDDF 25R APP plates, I got confused by finding 2 different frequencies for ILS-Y and ILS-Z, to account for noise abatement requirements, that I was not aware of…🙂…Anyway, this A340 nicely autotunes for the chosen ILS approach.

 

ILS Y for R25R has a steeper approach with a 3.2 deg glidepath instead of the 3 deg for the ILS Z and the A340s and B777s can both be accommodated although B747 and MD11 (the latter no longer in routine ops at EDDF) are not permitted to land on the Northwest runway (R25R). These approaches fly directly over the Frankfurt stadium  and are much closer to the downtown city of Frankfurt.

 

Having said that, the majority of LH A340s do land on R25C primarily because the LH pilots (and flight planners) prefer this runway as it allows them to conveniently taxi into Terminal 1 and the related apron areas versus landing on R25R which then means a very long taxi back parallel to the runway to then taxi over the elevated flyover that crosses the A3 Autobahn. At the bottom of this ramp (taxiway Papa) are the main arterial taxiways (Lima and November) for all runways, so that also has the possibility of added aircraft congestion leading to extended taxi times into the gate areas from R25R landings. R25L landings are used by the LH A340s if incoming from the southern STARS but again R25C is the most favored when departures are less frequent.

BTW- I call EDDF my 2nd home and is my favorite haunt for photographing aircraft. I love the Dreamliner and have visited Everett several times to see them being assembled there. I have also been known to drive up to EDDF in the early morning fog just to spot the very first arrival of a B787-8 (from ANA) landing when it first began operations at the airport many years ago. 

5 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Nice set of shots, thanks for sharing !

Lufthansa Slogan: ""There's no better way to fly"" ☺️

cheers 😉

Thanks, pmplayer. Certainly, true for you...🙂..., but I do agree. I haven't flown LH since before the Covids....looking forward to a trip in next year or so, in that 777x...🙂...

LH had introduced the Boeing 737 (-100) 60 years ago, and I hope, as the launch customer, their introduction of the 777x is a safe and smooth one. I didn't even realize when they switched the 744 to 748 unexpectedly on me...🙂...thought I was seated on a 744, until I read the seatback pamphlet. This time, I will notice, and get an aisle seat near the wings (as I usually do) to get a good look at those folding wings...

That would make up for they not flying me ever in the 777...🙂...Seriously, all the best to LH and their 777x launch...!

4 hours ago, 787flyer said:

ILS Y for R25R has a steeper approach with a 3.2 deg glidepath instead of the 3 deg for the ILS Z and the A340s and B777s can both be accommodated although B747 and MD11 (the latter no longer in routine ops at EDDF) are not permitted to land on the Northwest runway (R25R). These approaches fly directly over the Frankfurt stadium  and are much closer to the downtown city of Frankfurt.

 

Having said that, the majority of LH A340s do land on R25C primarily because the LH pilots (and flight planners) prefer this runway as it allows them to conveniently taxi into Terminal 1 and the related apron areas versus landing on R25R which then means a very long taxi back parallel to the runway to then taxi over the elevated flyover that crosses the A3 Autobahn. At the bottom of this ramp (taxiway Papa) are the main arterial taxiways (Lima and November) for all runways, so that also has the possibility of added aircraft congestion leading to extended taxi times into the gate areas from R25R landings. R25L landings are used by the LH A340s if incoming from the southern STARS but again R25C is the most favored when departures are less frequent.

BTW- I call EDDF my 2nd home and is my favorite haunt for photographing aircraft. I love the Dreamliner and have visited Everett several times to see them being assembled there. I have also been known to drive up to EDDF in the early morning fog just to spot the very first arrival of a B787-8 (from ANA) landing when it first began operations at the airport many years ago. 

Good stuff with interesting tidbits. Reminds me of driving on the (I-294) Expressway around here, but I am never close enough to smell tire smokes...🙂...though I catch glimpses of airliners in the sky, flying just above my windshield; easy to get distracted...

BTW, your explanation tells me why sometimes at Frankfurt, we would end up taxiing seemingly for ever to reach the gate, especially after landing. I will try the 25R (ILS-Y and ILS-Z) approaches with this A340 for myself.

You mention Terminal 1. Yes, on occasions, I've spent a few hours relaxing in the Star Alliance lounges located in that terminal. Agree, Frankfurt is a heaven for airliner-spotting...for enthusiasts like us...always found whiling away the layover time there rather enjoyable...with all kinds of big airliners sauntering around...along with a German brew on hand...and a bratwurst...ignoring any health concerns for a moment...🙂...

[BTW: Are you the Mark Aldridge of my FSX days...🙂...?]

20 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

[BTW: Are you the Mark Aldridge of my FSX days...🙂...?]

The very same.😉

2 hours ago, 787flyer said:

The very same.😉

...Wow...Actually, I should have asked "...of my FS9 days..."... 🙂... nice running into you here in this Screenshots Forum...

I recall flying the (PMDG) 747s you'd repainted. You'd painted one for the LH 747-8I, after LH had introduced the type, and I'd flown in it for the first time...both in the RW and in my virtual world...

Some of us, have been around here...since a while...🙂...and a few names are hard to forget...thanks for all that you do...pure works of passion...🙂...and as freeware contributions...

Edited October 11, 2025Oct 11 by P_7878

31 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

...Wow...Actually, I should have asked "...of my FS9 days..."... 🙂... nice running into you here in this Screenshots Forum...

I recall flying the (PMDG) 747s you'd repainted. You'd painted one for the LH 747-8I, after LH had introduced the type, and I'd flown in it for the first time...both in the RW and in my virtual world...

Some of us, have been around here...since a while...🙂...and a few names are hard to forget...thanks for all that you do...pure works of passion...🙂...and as freeware contributions...

Yep! that was quite a while a go. Haven't painted in a long time now, but it was really enjoyable painting those PMDG B747s - well over a hundred I believe. Glad you enjoyed some of my work. And yes D-ABYA was the first B747-8i and I was also at EDDF when that flew in for the very first time IRL.
Back then in my "FSX days" I was also creating freeware EDDF scenery with quite a bit of detail. Nothing up to the quality standards of today's scenery, but it was one of the most accurate Frankfurt sceneries of its time and used a fair amount by VATSIM and IVAO simmers.

Anyway, glad to have bumped into you again 😄. I always find your flight commentaries very interesting with the quality/selection of the screenshots to support that particular flight. I always enjoy reading them. Keep up the great work! 👍

Thanks, Mark. 

Some of these bygone FSX memories are now coming back...🙂...

 

7 hours ago, 787flyer said:

...Back then in my "FSX days" I was also creating freeware EDDF scenery with quite a bit of detail. Nothing up to the quality standards of today's scenery, but it was one of the most accurate Frankfurt sceneries of its time and used a fair amount by VATSIM and IVAO simmers...

Yes, I do recall that scenery of yours... years before we got the (so-called) MEGA Airport Series sceneries from Aerosoft...🙂...In fact, I did a bit of look-up just now and found the following right here in this Avsim Library; the date of your submission was 23rd, June, 2012...🙂...not sure if that was your latest version...

Yes, v6.1 was the latest rev of that scenery 13 years ago. In fact, I do know some simmers were using this scenery in early versions of P3D before the enhanced Aerosoft airport came along.It certainly brings back memories.
Its amazing how time flies and the sim platforms have moved on leaps and bounds since then.😉

Anyway, I digress. I hope you have fun flying the A340. 😀 The reports seem to be quite good regarding functionality and stability. I am glad you were able to make a full Atlantic crossing without any issues.
Just out of curiosity, did you use the default Chicago O'Hare or use a scenery addon? I haven't flown to the States yet within MSFS2024. Just been doing some relatively short 2-3 hr hops in Europe having only installed the new sim recently. Currently using the default A320 NEO from Ini just to get a feel of what you can do in the sim.