December 3, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
If you’ve been around the flight simulation community more than a day or two, you’ve probably heard or read someone reference “The ABCD, XYZ aircraft is study-level or is of study-level quality”. But what exactly does the term “Study-Level” mean when it comes to our home based simulators?
A Little History
I first heard the term “Study-Level” somewhat late in my use of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 or what can be referred to as FS9 (circa 2005/06. The term really took hold during the early FSX days and continued to be a popular term throughout the life of P3D. 3rd party aircraft developers like PMDG, FSLabs, Majestic, A2A, Level-D (B767), QualityWings and Leonardo are a few that come to mind who developed study-level aircraft for the home simulator.
Overused Term
There are many in the community who feel the term “Study-Level” is misused and/or certainly overused to describe 3rd party add-on aircraft. Their argument, is the only way to truly experience a true study-level simulator aircraft is to experience a full “Level-D”, high-end simulator such as the airlines use to train pilots. While I understand their position on the matter, I do believe it’s OK for us home simulator enthusiasts to use the term.
What Makes a Study-Level Add-on Aircraft
In my opinion and I know others will agree with me, there are a list of areas which if developed into a 3rd party add-on aircraft will make it study-level quality. This list would consist of High-Fidelity Flight Dynamics, Accurate Flightdeck Replication, Complex Systems Modeling, Realistic Avionics, Accurate Aircraft Performance, Detailed Engine Modeling, Accurate and Interactive Checklists/Procedures, Enhanced/Accurate Sound modeling, Failure and Damage modeling.
I think it’s near impossible for any 3rd party developer to meet 100% of each of these above mentioned items outside of a true Level-D simulator. But most who are actively developing study-level aircraft for home based simulators meet these areas within a 90% threshold just fine.
Study-Level Aircraft for MSFS
Before I list some current aircraft developers who produce study-level aircraft for MSFS, allow me to state what is NOT study-level. Default aircraft, and NOTHING from CaptainSim. Yes, I’m still a CaptainSim hater.
Here’s my short-list of 3rd party aircraft that lives up to the standard to be called study-level and are available or planned to be available for MSFS. PMDG, Fenix, A2A, Bluebird Simulations (757), Leonardo, Horizon Sim and Kuro mods of the default Dreamliner comprise the majority of the study-level aircraft that either are currently available for MSFS or soon have plans to be available. I would probably also throw iniBuilds and the team behind the FlybyWire A320 project in this list as well.
More about my own history with study-level aircraft
As I stated at the top of this article, I really became intimately familiar with study-level aircraft back in the FSX days. There was a time in my sim experience that I didn’t feel comfortable and didn’t truly understand the complexities of those early aircraft. But my first foray into a study-level aircraft was with the Level-D Boeing 767. It quickly became my “go-to” aircraft of choice and I took the necessary time to learn the systems and she was a joy to fly. Then came the PMDG 737, QualityWings 757. I soon became somewhat of a study-level snob and would only ever fly these types of aircraft. Today we are truly blessed with so many choices for MSFS in the study-level category with many more on the horizon. While each take a level of effort to learn and truly understand before ever attempting to fly them, I look to these developers as true quality in their overall craftmanship and dependability in the sim. With a few exceptions in the GA or general aviation category, the only airliners I will use are those who produce a study-level aircraft.
If you are new to the world of flight simulation and you are just fed up with the default aircraft or have made the mistake of falling for a CaptainScam aircraft….divert your hard-earned money towards those I mentioned above as you will not be disappointed.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
September 3, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
In recent weeks I’ve had a few emails from readers regarding the various options available or soon to be available in the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. I’m going to sort of summarize the main general question which each asked and provide my own opinion and plan towards the topic.
In a nutshell, the general question was regarding whether to purchase the Fenix A320 and wait out their A319/A321 projects or simply to wait until MSFS 2024 and purchase the FSLabs Airbus series. This is a good question and for many reasons it really is somewhat difficult for me to provide advice. I’ve always been hesitant on telling anyone how to spend their hard earned money. But in this one exception, I’m going to provide my own opinion and the reader can draw from that what they will.
Fenix versus FSLabs
Back in my P3D days I owned all three Airbus offerings from FSLabs and considered myself a very happy customer. Even despite the little stunt FSLabs pulled…I was very pleased with all three of their Airbus A320 family aircraft. So much so that I did hesitate briefly on purchasing the Fenix A320 when it was first released. But at that time, we really hadn’t heard much from FSLabs other than they planned to bring their aircraft to MSFS at some point in time. As I was really wanting a good study-level airliner for MSFS, I went ahead and purchased the Fenix A320 and to this day I’m not disappointed in that decision.
I’m of the opinion that if you truly want a good, study level Airbus A320 in MSFS today, you can’t go wrong with the Fenix A320. Now with their A319 and A321 expansion package the Fenix lineup fills a very much needed gap in the virtual hangar for me and I’m sure for many others.
While Fenix may have had some pain points in their very early days after the release of their A320, they have produced an Airbus A320 which in my opinion is just as good as the FSLabs was back in P3D. As both the A319 and A321 has been built on the solid foundation Fenix as given the A320, and all three from Fenix rival the FSLabs products back in P3D.
The only information we’ve been given from FSLabs is that they plan to bring their lineup to MSFS once the 2024 version releases sometime later this year. While their A320 family was certainly top-notch in quality for P3D, the price tag was certainly a lot more expensive than the pricing Fenix introduced their A320. While FSLabs can certainly price their products however they wish, I believe in order to be competitive they’ll need to fall closer in line to the pricing Fenix set the bar with.
What are my plans?
In short, my current plans are to stick with Fenix for my Airbus A320 family of aircraft. They have won me over as a customer just like PMDG has done with their Boeing lineup. I don’t need duplicate aircraft of the same type in my virtual hangar. It’s already apparent their A319/A321 expansion is just as awesome as their A320 has been and all will provide me countless hours of enjoyment as I fly around the world for many years to come. So my advice to everyone else is to do what you want, but honestly, why wait? Fenix in my opinion is the way forward.
Until next time…
Happy Flyiing!!!
Jerry
August 22, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Fenix released their much anticipated Airbus A319/A321 expansion package companion to their awesome Airbus A320 on Monday and wow….what an impressive package it truly has been. I purchased and downloaded the expansion pack within minutes of the announcement and was quickly flying the Airbus A321 from DFW to DEN which is a real world route I’ve flown on many times and as recent as this past June.
I honestly can’t say enough positive things about this expansion pack. Some in the community have argued against the price which is roughly $52 USD. But how can you honestly complain about getting two high-fidelity, study-level aircraft for this price? I’m sorry but those who say this is overpriced are just out of touch. I spent well over $400 on the same aircraft in P3D from FSLabs. Compared to my total investment in the Fenix at $120. While we may not have the sharklets at this moment in time for the Fenix aircraft, those are coming and they will be free. FSLabs charged $90 each for their A320 and A321 SL models.
Anyway….since my initial purchase of the expansion pack I’ve flown both the A321 and the A319 on multiple flights. I’ve even taken the A319 from DFW down to BOG (SKBO Bogota, Colombia) on a 5+ hour flight. Again, I just can’t say enough about this expansion package or about the awesome developers at Fenix.
Back during my P3D days, the Airbus A319 was my least favorite and I mostly used the A321. But in MSFS, I’m truly loving the sporty feel of the A319 when hand flying it that most likely I will fly the A319 a lot more now.
In my honest opinion, you just can’t go wrong with Fenix. If you’re looking for a study-level, high-fidelity aircraft which rivals the quality and attention to detail of PMDG, Fenix is the way to go. Period!
My time will be somewhat short with being able to get more flights in with the Fenix as my wife and I will be soon traveling to Texas to look at houses. You’ll read more about this next week.
This truly has been an awesome summer of new aircraft releases and hopefully soon we’ll have the Boeing 737 Max from PMDG and of course the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is just around the corner. With all the packing and planning I’ve been doing for the upcoming move to Texas, the summer has flown by.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
July 15, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
You might remember I first mentioned my interest in the new Winwing Airbus FCU back in May when I posted about my brand new purchase of the Thrustmaster Airbus Captains Pack. Well I had placed my order for the Winwing FCU way back on 23 April and had all but lost hope that I would ever receive it. Roll forward 2.5 months and I finally have it in my hands.
The Winwing Airbus FCU arrived nicely packaged to my address via Fedex. The package shipped directly from China and spent nearly a week in Japan, before finally making it to Memphis and then on to Denver. The box you see below had an outer layer of white plastic protecting the box and where the labels were attached.
Upon opening the box, everything inside was protected in styrofoam.
Removing the top layer revealed the included USB cable and hardware to mount the included plastic stands.
and finally the well packaged and protected FCU
Installation and Setup
Unfortunately, the package contains no documentation. I was already expecting this as I had watched several YouTube videos showcasing the unboxing and setup of the WinWing FCU prior to receiving my unit. I realize we’re all trying our best to reduce the amount of paper waste, but WinWing hasn’t even bothered to put together an online user guide that I could locate on their website. But like I said, there are a few YouTube videos which will help walk you through the steps of what needs to be done. The best video to watch is by Easyjetsimpilot and the link to that video is is here.
While I followed step-by-step-by every excruciating step of the above mentioned video, I ran into issues which I struggled to get around. My hardware setup is fairly massive, but certainly not unique. I have over a dozen USB peripherals which I use just for flight sim. These include of course my newish Thrustmaster Captain’s Edition stick, throttles and other side devices, my rudder pedals, my yoke and multiple GoFlight hardware modules I use when flying the PMDG aircraft. I also have a Razr keypad I use for controlling my views along with many other devices. Some are directly connected to the PC and others are plugged into powered USB hubs.
While it is true some of these devices aren’t all used on every flight. Example, I don’t use my yoke when I fly an Airbus and I don’t use the majority of the GoFlight hardware in the same scenario, the thought of having to disconnect and reconnect these devices just to keep the Winwing FCU happy was frustrating. After stepping away from my system for a few hours, I finally figured out that somehow there is a conflict between the Winwing FCU and my Logitech Racing Wheel. OK, I can live with not having the racing wheel connected when running flight sim. So to keep the Winwing happy and allow me to enjoy some Fenix Airbus A320 flying, it’s disconnected.
Overall Opinions on the product
Other than the frustrations I mentioned above, I am mostly pleased with the Winwing FCU. Having it, along with the Thrustmaster Captain’s Pack has greatly reduced the amount of use needed from the mouse and keyboard and I’m very excited about that. Flying the Fenix A320 is just as enjoyable and immersive as flying the PMDG 737-800. For that reason, I’m very happy with the product. The FCU appears to be well made. I have it installed just under my monitor and while this is working for now, I want to do something a little different, but haven’t quite figured out what that will be just yet. Most likely this will be pushed out as I plan to have a much different setup once we move and can live with the way it is for now.
I must admit that I was shocked to learn that upon initial connection with the FCU and their SimAppPro software that a firmware update was required. I could certainly understand if my FCU had been sitting on a shelf in some obscure warehouse for months prior to be ordering it, but I assume with the 2.5 month wait I experienced that my FCU was “hot off the presses” and should have arrived to me ready to go.
But I also think what is seriously lacking with my Winwing FCU experience is their SimApp Pro software. In my opinion it seems to be very clunky in use. But it is what it is and I will live with it.
Final Thoughts
After learning about their future plans during FSExpo to release more hardware devices for the sim, I was excited. But this excitement (at least for now) has been taken back a few notches. But we’ll see what happens over time. If a new product were to be announced (example their EFIS panel) I most likely would wait before ordering it. Especially if the wait for that product is going to be 2-3 months as we’re most likely moving to Texas later this year (read more about this here) and wouldn’t want to place an order while I’m still in Colorado.
So far I’ve flown about 3 flights with the Winwing FCU and as previously stated, I’m really loving the added immersion of not needing to use my mouse to control the functions contained within the FCU hardware. As I have no experience with the other available FCU hardware options, I honestly can say that I’m 100% happy with the Winwing FCU.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
May 27, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Those of you who know me and have been reading my blog posts for the past 13+ years, know that I enjoy the immersion which the flight simulation hobby provides to us. I’ve spent time, money and a lot of effort to build up my home simulator with various controllers from GoFlight (which sadly went bust a few years ago) and when flying my PMDG 737 I rarely need to use the mouse and keyboard during any phase of flight. However, the same can’t be said for the Fenix A320.
Immersion Killer
Yes, ladies and gentlemen….I’ve been flying my Fenix Airbus A320 (and even the FSLabs back in P3D) with a yoke versus a sidestick or joystick controller. But this is about to change as I recently gifted myself the Thrustmaster Airbus Captains Pack which contains the sidestick controller, the throttle quadrant plus to two additional add-on quadrants which control the speed brakes and the flaps. Additionally, for the record….I did attempt to use an older Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick, but just found that I preferred the feel of the yoke versus the stick.
Finally, while I’ve spent the better part of the last 5-6 years flying an Airbus with a yoke, as I’ve been flying computer based sims for well over 40+ years….I only purchased my first yoke about 25 years ago. Before that I had always used a joystick to control whatever aircraft I was flying as yokes really weren’t available way back when.
Why Change Now
Good question! I suppose the really honest answer to this question boils down to the simple fact that I really wanted the same level of immersion with the Fenix A320 (and someday soon the Fenix A319/A321) that I have with the PMDG 737. In addition, a few weeks ago I signed up for the pre-order release of the new WinWing FCU unit which once that is setup I’ll be more immersed into the world of Airbus and not need my mouse and keyboard nearly as much.
But there’s another reason
I’ve found I need to use different sensitivity settings on my old CH Products Yoke when controlling the Fenix A320 than what is needed with the PMDG 737. Half the time I forget to adjust them and when they are setup for the 737, I really struggle with the flare in the Fenix and usually slam harder than I would like onto the runway. The reason I’ve put up with this so long is I tend to fly the PMDG 737 about 75-80% of the time. But I have a feeling I’ll fly the Fenix A320 a lot more now.
Unboxing, Setup and first Use
I must say, I was really impressed with the packaging. The simulated “Red Tape” that reads remove before use made me chuckle. I quickly unboxed it and began setting it all up. In the box you’ll find two long USB cables and two shorter ones. The shorter cables, about 3 inches in length will connect both the flap controller and the speed brakes controller to the main center throttle quadrant. Then one of the longer USB cables can be used to connect this complete unit to your PC and same with the sidestick. Depending on your configuration, you can use the sidestick as somewhat of a USB hub and connect the throttle quad to that. But I have plenty of USB ports and just connected both to the PC.
Once that was done, it was time to download the drivers from the Thrustmaster website. I initially had difficultly getting Windows to recognize the sidestick as by default it is set to work with an Xbox. But there is a switch on the back to change that to PC and once done, Windows detected it just fine. I quickly went through the calibration steps in Windows just to make sure everything worked.
Fenix Calibration
This caused me to pull a few hairs out at first. Obviously I’m only going to use this setup when flying an Airbus. I’ll revert back to my yoke and other hardware when flying a Boeing. But it took me a few minutes to get the throttle quad to function correctly with the Fenix. Thankfully, they have some good documentation on the Fenix website to assist in this effort.
After some additional time in removing some of the mappings which automatically get applied and which I don’t need, it was time for my first test flight.
Pros and Cons
Naturally there will always be some pros and cons to any hardware add-on. While the Thrustmaster TCA hardware is plastic, it does appear to be well made. The sidestick is the heaviest of the kit and does have a nice feel to it. The buttons and leavers all appear to be smooth in their operation.
However, there are a few drawbacks that I’ve discovered after a few flights. For example, the speed brake is just a lever and will not pull up as it does in the real aircraft to arm the spoilers. However, I just mapped one of the buttons on the engine start panel to arm the spoilers. Also, not really sure what the engineers had in mind when they planned the auto-brake switch as it is a rotating knob versus the push button controls found in the real Airbus A320.
Finally, if you suddenly lose all your Windows and MSFS sounds, it’s most likely because the sound settings have switched over to the TCA Sidestick audio device. This is because the TCA Sidestick has a built in audio device where you can attach a headset if you desire. As this is not something I’ll use, I just changed my audio devices back to my PC soundcard.
Final Thoughts
I really didn’t mean for this to become a review of the Thrustmaster TCA Airbus Captains Pack, but I guess in a way it turned out to be just that. So far I’m pleased with the purchase and am certainly looking forward to receiving my Winwing FCU. I believe the combination of these two pieces of kit will allow me to enjoy the Fenix A320 as much as I enjoy the PMDG 737 from an immersion point of view.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
P.S. I’ve actually been looking very closely at the Thrustmaster Boeing Yoke to replace my 25+ year old CH Products yoke. When/If I do decide to pull the trigger on this purchase, I’ll certainly let you all know.
May 6, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
I mentioned a little while ago when I wrote about the recent delay to system update 15 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 that I would take the time to write about the new version of MSFS2024 which is due to release sometime this year. While we don’t have a release date at this time, if history repeats itself (as it often does) we could expect a end of summer timeframe release. But considering (at least in my opinion) MSFS2020 is absolutely fantastic and should get even better once SU15 drops the wait for me is a non-issue.
A New Sim Really?
Like many, when I first learned that Microsoft/Asobo were working on a brand new sim I was surprised. Of course if you’ve been around the flight sim world as long as I have, you’ve seen many iterations of the sim. After all, Microsoft released six different versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator between the years of 1996 and 2006. Each of these new versions contained new features and functionality from their predecessors and in many ways they each took advantage of the quickly developing PC technology of the day. I firmly believe this is also why we’re seeing a brand new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator some four years after the successful release of MSFS2020. Let’s face it, while MSFS2020 released to us on PC in August of 2020, the planning and actual development began many years before.
Most Popular Sim?
As I’ve said before in other blog posts, when MSFS 2020 released, the flight sim community expanded immensely almost overnight. This is especially true when MSFS2020 became available on the XBox platform almost a year later. While the flight sim community might still be relatively small and niche compared to other game genres, we have proven to Microsoft and Asobo that we’re here, we’re active and we want the very best flight simulation that can be developed for the home flight simulation enthusiast.
We may never really know if at the time MSFS2020 was released, whether Microsoft had the plans at that time for MSFS2024. While they may have speculated it would be a popular release, I think the direction the flight sim community wanted Microsoft to take the franchise has proven to be worth their efforts in continuing the franchise for many decades.
All The Benefits
There are many, many benefits to us as consumers of flight simulation add-ons (including both software and hardware) for Microsoft to continue updating the sim for hopefully decades to come. While the software add-on market has always been relatively strong, the hardware market is also making a huge comeback. The hardware market had sort of become a bit stale in the last few years before the release of MSFS2020. Today we have many different hardware developers creating everything from yokes, joysticks, pedals, throttles and all the various components to truly become free of needing to use the mouse and keyboard. I firmly believe this increase of the number of software and hardware developers is testament to the success of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
MSFS2024
I’m sure everyone has already viewed the teaser videos Microsoft released around the time of the announcement last year. Much of the new mission content are things I’m really not interested in. True, while I will probably spend time doing some of them…it’s just not something I’m overly excited about. For me, what I enjoy about any flight sim is the open world opportunity to fly what I want to fly, wherever I choose to fly it. But what might we expect to be included in MSFS2024 that we don’t have available today?
New Aircraft
I would expect much of what we consider the default aircraft included in MSFS2020 today will be made available in MSFS2024. But there are a few new aircraft which should make their way into MSFS2020 such as the Beluga Airbus and Airbus A300M. But again, these are probably aircraft that I will rarely fly in the sim. But wait…there’s more to MSFS2024.
Weather Data Capabilities
Asobo have commented in a few of the developer streams of late that MSFS2024 weather data is going to get some changes from what we know about weather in MSFS2020. Could we finally be able to import historical weather into the sim? Again, time will tell and this is one of the reasons I’m holding out on purchasing ActiveSky FS which I discussed a few weeks ago.
Freeware Marketplace
Now this I’m potentially excited about. The amount of good, quality freeware add-ons that we have witnessed come onto the scene with MSFS2020 is exceptional. While I own a great deal of payware airport sceneries for MSFS2020, I’m using several freeware airport sceneries in some locations as either there is no payware available or the freeware looks and performs better than the payware. But Microsoft have noticed the demand of freeware content and may one day offer it to be available in the Microsoft Marketplace. Like I said, I’m really excited about this as while I keep track of all the scenery I have installed in my sim (which you can see here), having this ability to install from Marketplace and hopefully be notified of any updates is a game changer for me. This of course will also be HUGE for those on the XBox platform. But we’ll see if this comes to fruition.
Release Date
As I’ve previously stated in this article, at this time we do not know when MSFS2024 will be released. While history can always be a good indicator of things like this, we really just don’t know. We may learn more after the FSExpo taking place in June (21-23 June), but I’m going to take a huge guess and say that MSFS2024 will release sometime between August and the end of the year.
Future of MSFS2020
I’ve spoken to many fellow flight simmers and currently it’s about a 70/30 split on whether they’ll move to MSFS2024 once released. This being approx. 70% saying yes to MFSF2024 and approx. 30% have said they’ll stay on MSFS2020 for now. But what is the future of MSFS2020? Well we do know that sometime in 2025, Microsoft/Asobo will release SU16. With SU16 Microsoft/Asobo might bring some of the features that will be available in MSFS2024 into MSFS2020. How much or how little just isn’t known at this time.
800lb Gorilla
I can’t close out this article without addressing the 800lb Gorilla in the room and that of course has to do with all the purchased add-ons from MSFS2020. What will be available? When will they be available and what will it all cost?
Unfortunately we really don’t have an absolute set of answers to those above mentioned questions. What we do know is the vast majority of 3rd party developers have publicly stated while they are just as much in the dark as the rest of us concerning when MSFS2024 will release and the amount of changes required to make their add-ons available into the new sim, they all have plans to make them available for MSFS2024 just as quickly as possible. In addition, most have stated that any already purchased MSFS2020 add-on will not require a full repurchase once available for MSFS2024. However, depending on the level of effort to bring them into MSFS2024 is simply unknown at this time and therefore I suppose there could be a minimal charge necessary to offset any of this development work.
Once again, if history repeats itself….most 3rd party developers will not have access to MSFS2024 until we all have access to it. So the clock starts on any work required on these 3rd party add-ons the very same day we all can make our purchase of MSFS2024, download and install it. While some in our community will be absolute idiots and begin posting in 3rd party developers forums, Discords etc. about when XYZ will be available…I urge everyone to be patient and just wait. It will happen and it will happen just as soon as possible.
In Summary
For me, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be a day one purchase for me. I will take the same, exact approach I did with MSFS2020. I will install it and I will experience it most likely in a default Cessna 172. I will continue to use MSFS2020 as my primary sim, utilizing the PMDG 737, (hopefully the 777-300ER), the Fenix A320 (and hopefully their A319/A321 as well) and patiently wait. At such time these aircraft are available in the new sim, I will add them and progressively utilize MSFS2024 more and more, Then at some point down the road MSFS2020 will be uninstalled and simply forgotten about just like P3Dv5 was.
Oh, One More Thing
Join me in crossing your fingers, toes etc. and perhaps even going so far as asking St. Joseph of Cupertino (Patron Saint of all things aviation) to intercede on our behalf, that from day one, MSFS2024 will open up their camera API functionality so that third party developer //42 can finally bring Chaseplane to MSFS. While over the past couple of years I’ve managed to get somewhat used to the MSFS default camera system, for those of us that used Chaseplane back in P3D this would be a true game changer if it could be developed for the new sim.
If you’ve made it this far, Thank you! My apologies for the lengthy blog post, but there was a lot that needed to be shared. I will continue to share what information I can find on MSFS2024 as soon as more is known. Of course, I’ll blog about all my experiences in the new sim once it’s on my PC. What an amazing time this is for those of us involved in the hobby of flight simulation!
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
April 19, 2024 / admin / 1 Comment
Well blow me down…a few days ago HiFi Simulation Technologies have announced, and somewhat out of the blue I must add, that ActiveSky FS is coming for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Actually by the time I got around to writing this it is already out. ActiveSky FS is officially available for MSFS as of 18 April and many of the Twitch and YouTube content creators have already begun showcasing the new weather engine. Before I provide my opinion, let me say the following.
In the olden days…
Back in my FSX and P3D days, ActiveSky was an absolute must have in the sim. It was truly a game changing 3rd party product. When MSFS first came out and because Asobo/Microsoft didn’t open up the API for 3rd party weather systems, HiFi Simulations made the announcement that at that time there would be no way for them to bring live weather into the sim. I discussed this in greater detail in this blog post titled “Confused in Cleveland – Weather Addon for MSFS“. According to what I’ve heard, Microsoft has made no changes to the sim as we know it to allow any 3rd party weather systems to function. So essentially ActiveSky FS must have found a way for it to finally work. But it appears all ActiveSky FS is doing is reading the METAR and using default MSFS clouds and other weather elements to depict what is going on around you.
After the initial release of Microsoft Flight Simulator almost four years ago, the built-in weather engine wasn’t very solid. But over the years and especially the last 2+ years that I’ve been using MSFS exclusively, there have been vast improvements made to the weather engine and I personally have been very pleased with what I experience in the sim. I’ve actually been so pleased with it that I really haven’t felt a need to think about any sort of 3rd party weather add-on. Which is why the announcement from HiFi Simulation Technologies comes as such a surprise to myself and many others.
My Impressions
First, let me state up front that I do not own ActiveSky FS for MSFS. Some could argue and question why I would even write a blog post about something that I don’t have any first hand experience with. While this could be a good argument, I’m stubborn and this is my blog site and I can write about what I want to write about and you can read what you want to read. LOL I have plenty of loyal readers of this blog site that look to me for honest reviews and opinions and while I haven’t purchased and used ActiveSky FS, the information I do have is certainly worthy to share.
Like I said, I have viewed several hours of content from both YouTube and Twitch in the past 24 hours and have come to the conclusion that in the grand scheme of things, at this immediate point in time there is no discernable difference between what I saw with my own eyes when showing MSFS with built in weather active versus with using ActiveSky FS. If anything….one of the content creators who I watch often, discovered a couple of bugs in ActiveSky FS which are worthy enough to take a more wait and see approach to this add-on.
I do believe in time, ActiveSky FS would be something I would purchase if and when 3rd party developers such as PMDG, Fenix etc. are able to connect into the ActiveSky FS API for possible weather radar depiction functions which obviously still are missing in MSFS. However, I just can’t see a reason to spend my money on something that at this time doesn’t offer anything better than the default MSFS weather. Of course, one other big advantage of ActiveSky FS at this time is the historical weather options which have been sadly missed in the default system. But this isn’t something I use very often and honestly haven’t missed it that much over these past few years.
The other slightly disappointing fact in my observations with regards to the new ActiveSky FS is their UI or User Interface. It’s basically the same UI from years ago. Of course one could say if that works, why change it? If felt clunky way back in the days of FSX/P3D and still looks the same way today. Perhaps this is something they’ll change in time. But who knows.
Like I said, I’ll keep an eye on ActiveSky FS and hopefully in time the product will offer a lot more than what is available in the default MSFS weather systems. While ActiveSky FS is reasonably priced at $24.99, it’s just not something I’m ready to commit to at this time. But I would encourage anyone reading this to do their own research.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
April 17, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
I realize this is the third “Reader Question” post I’ve made in recent weeks. Yes, that’s true! I’ve obviously been holding out waiting for the release of the PMDG 777-300ER as that will be a day-one purchase for me and within a few days I’m sure I would write about it. So until that happens, and I’m still holding out we’ll have it before CTP on 20 April, (but that is looking less likely) here is another email question/comment from one of our blog readers.
Hello, I’m new to your blog site and have already discovered a wealth of information that has helped me tremendously in my flight sim hobby. I’m considering purchasing the Bredok3D A380 from the MSFS in-game MarketPlace. Do you have any experience with this aircraft? I’ve read that FlyByWire is developing an A380, but as the A380 is my favorite aircraft I’m wondering if the newly released Bredok3D version is worth the money. I have experience with the Fenix A320 and PMDG 737, is the Bedok3D A380 similar in quality? Can you help?
Well….to answer your question, No….I do not have any experience with the Bredok3D A380 and I don’t plan to purchase it. In my opinion it is a waste of money. To take this one step further, I doubt I would even install this aircraft into my system if it were free or if I were given a copy of it. I just dislike these Frankenstein type of aircraft that mostly utilize the default aircraft systems (in this case the default A320). There are just too many developers that have taken this course with releasing add-on aircraft that may look from the outside to be what is advertised, only to find out they utilize the default aircraft. Another example of this is CaptainSim’s Boeing 777 that when released used the default Boeing 747 systems.
I suppose you could consider me a bit of an add-on aircraft snob. I don’t mind spending my hard earned money towards something like the Fenix A320 or the PMDG 737 (or hopefully soon to be released B777-300ER), but I’m just not going to waste my money on this trash. It’s just not worth it in my opinion, especially considering that a freeware version of the A380 will release soon from a reputable developer (FlyByWire) who has a proven track record with their A32NX.
While I can appreciate that the A380 is your favorite aircraft, likewise the Boeing 777 is mine. I’ve never been tempted to purchase anything other than the PMDG version once it releases and it’s been a really, really long wait as I completely uninstalled P3D about 2 years ago once the Fenix A320 and PMDG 737 released. So it’s been more than two years since I’ve flown a 777 in the sim. But the wait will certainly be worth it.
Bottom line and my complete open and honest opinion for you. WAIT!!!! Don’t spend your money on the Bredok3D A380 as in the long run I think feel you’ll be disappointed. Especially when you state that you have experience with the Fenix A320 and PMDG 737. Trust me, even without flying the Bredok3D A380, I can tell you the level of detail, level of quality and level of immersion in the Bredok3D A380 will be absolutely NOTHING like the Fenix or PMDG and I’m more than certain that the FBW team will blow everyone out of the water with their A380 once released.
If you’re just craving some larger, long-haul type aircraft until the FBW A380 releases, then have a look at the Horizon Simulations Boeing 787-9 or the Kuro Boeing 787-8. Both of these are fine freeware representations of the Boeing Dreamliner.
There are far too many other quality aircraft which you can fly until the FBW A380 releases. Have you tried the Horizon Simulations Boeing 787-9 or the Kuro Boeing 787-8? Likewise, the Headwindsims Airbus A330-900Neo is likewise a fairly descent aircraft which I also have in my virtual hangar.
Scammers/Scamware
Final thoughts on this subject. Some in the community refer to Bredok3D, CaptainSim etc. as scammers and call their products scamware. While I’ll stop just short of calling them scammers and development of scamware, I will just say that buyers must beware of what they are getting from these types of developers and this is part of the problem. Since the release of MSFS 2020, a very large number of newcomers have entered the hobby. This is a very good thing for the hobby, but these individuals haven’t been around to witness the behavior of developers like this in the past and don’t understand the questions to ask. They just see a shiny, new Airbus A380 and think that will be a quality aircraft. Unfortunately, developers like Bredok3D, CaptainSim and many others like them are not going to stop doing what they are doing until such a time that their Frankenstein projects no longer sell.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
December 24, 2023 / admin / 0 Comments
It’s hard to believe the end of year is just days away. The year really went fast, but I guess that is also part of getting older. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about some of the MSFS add-ons which released this year and also wondering how it compares with 2022. During 2022 we had some really amazing and much needed add-ons appear on the scene. Most notably the Fenix A320, PMDG 737-800 and GSX Pro. To be brutally honest, 2023 hasn’t really been as exciting as 2022 and much of that has to do with developer delays.
Most of us speculated that PMDG might be able to get their Boeing 777 out before the end of the year and Fenix had also hoped to release their Airbus A319 and A321 airliners. But unless something changes in the next few days, we’ll have to wait until 2024 for these. I recently wrote about “What’s in store for us in the new year”? Have a peek at that article and see if you agree on some of my non-scientific speculation.
I’ve come up with a short list of the add-ons that I added to the sim in 2023 that truly impressed me.
Horizon Simulations Boeing 787-9
Anyone who publishes their top add-ons for 2023 and does not list this one at the very top or very near the top needs their head examined. In my opinion, prior to the release of the Horizon Simulations Boeing 787-9 we were absolutely starving for a truly capable long-haul, widebody aircraft. Naturally, the Horizon Sim 787-9 wouldn’t have been possible without the AAU2 Aircraft & Avionics Update released back in June. This revolutionized both the default Dreamliner and 747 in MSFS and of course the developers at Horizon Simulations capitalized on that and released their aircraft. The truly awesome thing about the Horizon Simulations Boeing 787-9 is it’s freeware. Pending you own the Premium Deluxe version of MSFS, this aircraft is 100% free. In addition to the bit about it being free, in my opinion it is just as good as the QualityWings 787 from P3D which we most likely will never see in MSFS.
Kuro Boeing 787-8
Directly behind the above mentioned Horizon Simulations 787-9 is the Kuro 787-8. These two could be interchangeable as for what might go into the #1 spot or the #2 spot. I’m ranking the Kuro behind the Horizon simply because the Horizon Sim 787-9 was released about a month before the Kuro. But they are both grade A representations of the Boeing Dreamliner and both (again in my opinion) exceed the QW Dreamliner which again, I must say we’ll never see in MSFS.
Headwind Simulations Airbus A330-900
While I believe this aircraft may have actually released back in 2021, it really didn’t catch my attention until earlier this year after it had had plenty of time to get all the kinks worked out. This was my first Airbus widebody to ever fly and I’ve had pretty good luck with it. While I’m mostly a Boeing sim guy, this has been a fun aircraft to fly and I highly recommend checking out the Headwind Simulations Airbus A339X.
Various Airport Sceneries
I’ve added some really awesome airport to MSFS over the past year. While I can’t be 100% certain that every one of these are new to 2023, they are new to me in the past year. FlyTampa EHAM, iniBuilds KPSP, Flightbeam KMSP, MKStudios EIDW, Dominic Design KPHL and KIND (along with a few others that I am pretty sure were released in late 2022) all are excellent representations of their real world counterparts.
Looking ahead to 2024
With regards to all the aircraft I mentioned in this recently blog post titled “What’s in store for us in the new year?” I failed to mention the FBW A380X. Based on some of the screenshots and updated information which was released around the middle of December, the project is coming along and hopefully we may see this aircraft sometime in the new year. Also, iniBuilds also just announced their plans to release an Airbus A350. I’m not sure if we’ll see that in 2024, so time will tell.
I’m also really hopeful that someone will someday, someday really soon release a quality Dallas/Ft. Worth KDFW airport. The Asobo version is ok, but it really doesn’t do this awesome airport justice. FSDreamTeam has always been the developer to make DFW, so hopefully it is on their list for the new year.
Of course, I’m really excited to see what Microsoft/Asobo releases with MSFS 2024. I know this is a sore subject among the flight simulation community. I provided some of my thoughts and opinions way back in June which you can read about if you so desire. But I’m really excited about MSFS 2024 as I believe this new sim will be a truly amazing upgrade to what we have now.
Well….that’s about all I can think of at the moment. Yes, I do believe perhaps 2022 was a much bigger year for add-ons….but while 2023 might have been a bit of a sleeper, I think 2024 will really blow our socks off.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I look forward to all that the new year has in store for us.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
P.S. I started writing this blog post in very early December. The teasers from PMDG regarding their 777 and the assumed 737 MAX began gaining serious traction around the middle of the month. As I’ve always released my “Top Add-ons” blog post just before Christmas, I did have hopes that I might need to edit it and slot in a new PMDG release. After all, if PMDG had released either the 777 or the 737 MAX in the calendar year 2023, that release would have been my #1 add-on of the year. However, as the 777 only went into beta testing around the 17th, I don’t anticipate it releasing until sometime in the first quarter of 2024.
December 6, 2023 / admin / 0 Comments
We’re in the final weeks of 2023 and it has me wondering that we have to look forward to in the new year. Of course the biggest possible thing could be the next iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, I’m sure you know that a brand new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator is being released sometime in 2024. While many do not see this as a good thing, I certainly do. I believe Microsoft/Asobo have hit certainly roadblocks in MSFS 2020 and the only way to carry it forward is to release a brand new sim which hopefully will have everything we love about MSFS 2020, will have fixed everything we dislike about it and lay the ground work for an even better simulator for decades to come. While MSFS 2024 is certainly something to look forward to, many of us are still very much in love with 2020 and looking forward to a few new goodies.
PMDG 777
Yes, one of my favorite simulator aircraft should be available to us in the first half of 2024. While there is no date and it is only my speculation, but I think we will see this in the first quarter of 2024. But don’t hate on me if that doesn’t work out. Thankfully we’ve had a really good Boeing 787 Dreamliner to keep us busy the past few months. But the void created by not having the 777 is a really big one. Let’s hope I’m right and we’ll see it sooner rather than later in the new year.
Fenix Airbus A319 and A321
In a very much unexpected announcement a few months ago, the devs at Fenix announced that we would soon have their version of the Airbus A319 and A321 before the end of 2023. I don’t believe they’ll make that deadline since they also had to delay the block 2 of their Airbus A320 which was originally planned to be released at the end of October. With the delay for the A320 block 2, I would expect the A319/A321 to be delayed until sometime in the first half of the year. While I would like to be as optimistic about the A319/A321 as I am with the PMDG 777, we’ll just have to see when block 2 comes out and how successful that is to then determine just how much longer it will be before the A319/A321 arrives.
Bluebird Simulations Boeing 757
Bluebird have been teasing us with status updates on their Boeing 757 throughout the last quarter of this year. While it was originally believed that the 757 would release before the end of the year, Bluebird announced several months ago that would not be possible and they would not rush the product just to get it out to us. I also believe we’ll see the 757 release in the first half of the year.
PMDG 737 MAX
Could we have the PMDG 737 MAX before Microsoft 2024 arrives? Of course we don’t know when MSFS 2024 will drop. If history repeats itself, then it might happen in the late summer timeframe. But who really knows. Robert Randazzo, the CEO of PMDG has stated several times that PMDG have no plans to announce any release date for the MAX. We’ll just wake up one day and there it will be. But could this happen in the first or second half of 2024?
iFly 737 MAX
In the past 24 hours, iFly have teased a few screenshots of their Boeing 737 MAX for MSFS 2020. To be honest, I haven’t really paid a lot of attention to this product and don’t know just how far along they are in the process. From what I’ve heard the iFly 737 MAX was successful in P3D and I would imagine we can expect nothing less for MSFS. I did own the iFly 737 when it released for FSX many, many years ago. iFly managed to release their 737 before PMDG by just a month or so (if memory serves). But just as soon as PMDG released their 737, I bought it and never looked back. So with this said, regardless of what iFly does, I believe I’m going to hold out for the PMDG MAX.
Bottom Line
We must all practice patience and understand that these are all highly detailed and complex add-on aircraft. None of these above mentioned developers are known to rush a product out the door just for the sake of releasing it. They will release when they are ready and as a consumer, this truly is the very best policy.
I truly believe 2024 will be another really great year for flight simulation. What a great time to be involved.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
