AERIALFOUNDRY - CAF CF-18 HORNET MILITARY PACK V2.0 FREE
This package was the first payware addon I have purchased for FS9. It is also a perfect example of why payware addons are worth the money that they cost. Externally, the models are flawless. Are the right pieces are where they should be, the liveries are accurate, and the overall presentation is stunning. The lighting is high quality, wingtip vortices occur naturally, and yet it still manages to avoid excessive FPS hits. The panel is also top-notch quality, all the advertised clickables work as advertised, with the possibility to do a complete cold-start procedure through the pop-up 2D panels (I suspect that there would be more switches to flip in real life, but this package includes enough to provide immersion without having to memorize 32 steps). My only qualm with the 2D panel would be that there doesn't seem to be clickable buttons to adjust AP settings (I may be mistaken in this, but who gets a fighter to cruise on AP for anyway?). The HUD is of high quality, easily readable, and has a very good refresh rate -- it doesn't lag behind the aircraft as some freeware HUDs have the tendancy to do. The VC is of the best quality I have ever sampled in FS9 (remembering that this is my first payware addon). I haven't found anything clickable in the VC, which may be somewhat of an immersion damper for those who prefer to only fly with the VC. The HUD is slightly degraded in VC mode, and a lack of brightness adjustability for it (although the red and yellow may be easier to see than the green in VC, I have not tried) can make it harder than necessary to read -- although I am without a TrackIR, and I'm sure that those who fly with one (particularily the vector expansion) would not be too bothered by the VC HUD (although unlike the 2D HUD, in VC mode the display does lag 1/4 to 1/2 a second behind the aircrafts movements. In terms of flight model, to my knowledge this package was tested by a real life hornet pilot leading me to believe that it behaves authentically (it certainly doesn't feel over- or under-modeled), save for the airbrake which seems overpowered for the effect that I have read it has in real life. To summarise, this pack does everything right and has sold me entirely on the idea of paying for addon planes -- there is no disputing that this pack is worth the price. My only suggestion would be a bundle of all 3 aerialfoundry packs for a less than full-price cost be considered, as while the quality is undeniable, a lot of what is in each package are common traits, making buying all three at full cost seem a bit much. If you like the CF-188 or F/A-18 you can not go wrong with one of aerialfoundry's packs.