Reviews (by Andrew)

With the release of their ERJ-145 series, whether or not they realize it, the guys over at Feelthere has set a standard that their customers expect from them. Lucky for us, their implementation of the Embraer Phenom 100 meets that standard. There is really not much to say about this add on, which is not to say there is anything bad about it. It’s a great implementation of the Phenom 100. The Cockpit is nice and crisp. The external textures are flawless. Just about everything is simulated. It’s easy to start, and easy to fly. And it’s easy on frames. And under $30 USD, it is very reasonably priced. In addition to the Phenom 100, I’m also the proud owner of the ERJ-145 series, and the E-175 & E-195 line of Embraer regional jets implemented by Feelthere. I’ve come to expect a high level of fit and finish, polish, and professionalism with Feelthere’s products. The Phenom 100 fits perfectly within this criteria. 5 Stars.

Digital Aviation’s Piper Cheyenne is among the best in class addon’s for FSX and fs9. This addon is PERFECT. I can’t find a single thing that I don’t like about this plane. The developer obviously took a lot of time perfecting this aircraft and it shows. And don’t let the publishing date fool you. At ten years old, this is still an excellent product that can go toe to toe with the latest addons. The cockpit is near perfect. Virtually everything is simulated (including the weather Radar). The autopilot works perfectly. The engine sounds exactly like a real turbo prop. It also operates like the real aircraft. Don’t try taking off with the throttles to the firewall. Complete documentation, and a version for FS9 (not included with this package tho), rounds out what I believe is a strong contender for the top 5 FSX aircraft addons of all time. If you’re looking for a light twin turbo prop, Digital Aviation’s Piper Cheyenne has everything you’re looking for. 5 Stars.

The Lionheart Creation Epic Victory tells the tale of a Very Light Jet that wasn’t. The real world implementation of this plane never made it past the prototype phases. I guess the investors got cold feet. Cirrus Aviation, however, just rolled out its first VLJ, and it has a remarkable resemblance to the Epic Victory. This aircraft is Lionheart’s implementation of what was to be the Epic Victory. It’s a great aircraft. Just about everything is simulated. You can also open the door, unload luggage and remove the engine cowling to see the little jet that powers this bad boy, and the front cover of the fuselage. The autopilot is a bit unusual though. It works as designed, it’s just not what you’d come to expect. Read the manual first before trying to operate the autopilot. As with other VLJs, this aircraft is very easy to fly and operate. It’s a carbon Fiber jet, so it’s very light and should be treated as such when landing. The cockpit textures are brilliant, as is the external modeling. Cockpit sounds and engine sounds are also top-notch. The only issue I have with this jet is moving around on the ground. There is a defect in the aircrafts cfg file, because it’s very hard to taxi on the ground. In fact I had to hack the aircraft.cfg file to fix the taxi issue. I’ve also found similar taxiing issues with other lionheart creations addons. That aide, this is a great little jet. Highly recommended. 4 Stars.

I have hundreds of hours of this aircarft in FSX/FS9. I'm not going to spend a lot of time writing an in depth review explaining why this package is one of the best add-ons for FSX and FS9. Let me just say this. A fellow Facebook friend and pilot, decided to resurrect his commercial pilot career and become a First Officer for the ERJ-145LR. In between his academic studies and practice flights in a real ERJ-145LR simulator, he used this addon to practice for his checkride. He passed his checkride with flying colors. This addons doesn't have the in depth systems simulation as the PMDG products. But it doesn't need to in order to be fun to fly and give a decent ERJ-145 experience. And don't forget... with everything this addon does (and it does an awful lot), you also get FS9 installers for when FSX keeps crashing. A few points worth noting. This was developed by Feelthere and published by Wilco. A lot of folks see the name Wilco and immediately think poor quality (after that CRJ-700 abomination, who could blame them). But Feelthere developed the product, not Wilco. Also, this addon models all the systems you will need for a normal flight. Maybe not to the depth of simulation like PMDG, but you probably will never notice, and it certainly isn't necessary. Another point worth mentioning. Look at a real EJR-145. You will notice that it has stubby wings relative to the length of the fuselage. This means its not as easy to hand fly as other aircraft such as the Cessna Citation X, or the Phenom 300, etc. Furthermore, it doesn't have an autothrottle. You have to manage the engines yourself. So if you don't know what you're doing, you can easily get yourself in trouble with this bird. On the other hand, if you don't fly it right, it will let you know. There are automated warnings for just about everything such as, flying too low without gear down, flying too fast, making steep bank angle turns, not in proper take off configuration when doing your takeoff roll). Its a VERY talkative bird. The virtual cabin is a joy to tour with a free camera, and it has a default passenger window view for those instant replays you can record. In summary, if you're on the fence, go ahead and make the purchase. Also, take the time to read through the entire and well written documentation. There's a lot more here than you'd expect for the price. 5 stars.

I bought this addon because it was a part of a Wilco Bundle of addons, that seemed like a deal that was too good to be true. As it turns out, it was too good to be true. This plane fell short of my expectations – actually, that’s putting it mildly. This is the worst addon I’ve ever flown. I won’t go into the gory details – It simply appears that they sent to production what was essentially a work in progress. I’ve tried to complete flight assignments using the included FMS, but the interface was so kludgey, I couldn’t even enter a flight plan. That said, the addon did install, and you can start the engines and fly it. That’s the only reason I didn’t give it one star. One a final note; there is tremendous pent up demand for Aerosoft/Digital Aviation’s implementation of the CRJ series of Regional Jets, that is rumored to be released in a next few weeks. That there is such a demand for CRJs that this Wilco’s add on hasn’t benefited from is indicative of this package’s poor quality. 2 stars.

The Feelthere E-Jet series is not as polished as their ERJ Regional Jets series, but is a worthy aircraft for your hanger. The flight deck and cockpit is a little bit kludgey and not as refined as the ERJ-145 series, but it does a great job of capturing the look and feel of the real aircraft. Just about all the systems you will need for a typical flight in the E-jets are simulated. It features an Navigraph updateable Flight Management Computer, complete Autopilot with full autoland capability, thorough and detailed documentation (which includes a tutorial flight), but most importantly, Feelthere also provides FS9 installers of this terrific aircraft. The external textures are top notch, and the virtual cabin is a joy to navigate using a custom EZdock floating camera. But the best thing about this plane is the flight model. The E-175 - 195 series of aircraft features a fly by wire system. This means, wherever you point the plane, is where it flies. Because of this feature, this plane is extraordinarily easy to fly by hand. This plane also includes an autothrottle. So I you wanted to, you could set up a flight that is completely automatic, from take off to landing. But where's the fun in that. Activating the autothrottle to take orders from the FMS is a bit tricky. It uses a hidden clickspot to bind the autothrottle to the FMS if you want the plane to automatically fly the speeds assigned to each leg in the FMS. Be prepared to disengage the Autothrottle and hand fly yourself if the plane doesn't do what you expect when you engage the FMS and autothrottle. It takes a bit of studying and practice to get it right. The overhead panel doesn't look as "polished" as the overhead in the ERJ. But, that's how it is in the real E-jet. This package also includes Feelthere's Call to help with a few of the First Officer callouts. You will like the ability to set the radio freqs in the FMS... that's pretty cool. And as with any other Embraer commercial jet, if you don't fly it properly, it will complain until you do. Don't bother to try and find a better implementation of the Embraer E-Jets for FSX, because you won't. Ditto for their ERJ series of regional jets. Also, I've tried the SSG E-170 for X-plane 10.5.. doesn't come close to Feelthere's E-Jets. And don't forget... you also get FS9 installers of this outstanding aircraft. Put it all together, and I have to give this add on 5 stars.

I have about 15 hours in this aircraft, and while I don't normally write reviews, I felt compelled to write one on this aircraft. Captain Sim obviously stepped up to fill the gap left by PMDG to try and bring a top notch study sim to market. Long story short, this plane could have been great, but it has a few annoying glitches that disappoint me every time I try to do a long haul. The biggest problem is the autopilot won't hold a steady speed or altitude if you trying flying faster than .68 Mach (above FL300). That's the big one. Also, it captures the ILS via approach hold, but rides in the glideslope too high. The remaining issues are low hanging fruit. Minor inconsistencies with the documentation. And callouts... at one thousand feet, it doesn't call out 1 thousand. It calls out ten hundred. Who says ten hundred? That asides it a decent add on, but needs more work. Also, verify you are getting v.1.5 when you buy the addon. That's the latest patch. Its not a patch really, but a separate complete installer. If you purchase a lower version, you will need to figure out how to log into Captain Sim's website to download the 1.5 installer, otherwise, you're going to have an entirely different set of problems.

This is one of the best addons for Flight Simulator. Its available for both FS9 and FSX. The virtual cockpit is outstanding. The flight dynamic matches what's published for this aircraft. An absolute joy to fly. Range of over 3000 nm, speeds approaching Mach 1 and ceiling of 52K feet when you've burned off enough fuel. Fuel FMS with Navigraph support. Just about everything is modeled. Has both 2d and 3d cockpits. however, there are a few bugs that can trip you up. Won't spoil it for you, just have to encounter and fix yourself. Go ahead an buy it. You'll be glad you did.