Really nice! So many variants, so many liveries, so many awesome details in the cockpit. Most of all. it flies convincingly. Plus even though it's a simple plane, detailed engine management, fuses, etc. should keep the switchology folks happy. Super-pleased for the price!
Incredible attention to detail, from the systems to the visuals. With Beechcraft discontinuing the real planes next year, good to see they're still in production by Black Square.
The designer said he'd spent a couple of years sweating over the plane, and that love for the subject matter shows here. The visuals are excellent, a definite step up from their earlier Hughes H-1 and Spartan releases. The flight modeling feels great (within the limitations of MSFS's water handling). It's a real challenge to find the right day and timing to try hitting the boost and coming close to the M.C. 72's speed record. Sounds are excellent, too. A lot of fun for fans of early streamlined planes. As the Supermarine S.6B inspired the Spitfire, you can see the lineage of the Macchi 202 starting to develop here. Recommended for fans of pre-WW2 fast fliers!
Sadly, after initial good support, Laborie abandoned this plane. It was released before MSFS officially supported supersonic flight, and its top speed was unrealistically low. Years have passed since then, but Laborie hasn't updated the plane to support anything approaching its real flight model. It's a shame, because it looks great. But the flight modeling just doesn't resemble the performance of a real Crusader, and Laborie hasn't responded to queries about whether it'll eventually be updated. The F8U is a favorite plane, so this is very disappointing.
It's a fine rendition of the airport. Four stars instead of five because the detail's good but with some airports doing building interiors and surrounding areas, gotta keep the 5 star ratings for over-the-top superb add-ons. My only real complaint is that they placed a lot of stock MSFS aircraft as static parked traffic, and there are a distracting number of white, generic aircraft -- make it feel like a rental car lot. But other than the overabundance of generic white static planes, it's a really nice representation of the airport with good performance, and well-worth the reasonable price.
Updating my review from 4 to 5 stars as BRSimDesigns very quickly updated to version 1.1, which fixed every issue I'd seen reported here or on the MSFS forum. All systems work great and handling feels right at every fuel load. The panel is nicely modeled, with optional vibrating needles on the analog instruments that match what I've seen in real planes. The setup's great for people who like classic 60's/70's panels, but also enjoy turning on the PMS50 GTN 750 when you don't want to futz with tuning VORs. Visuals are the best yet from BRSimDesigns. Love the way the canopy can be cracked (as is common when taxiing the Tiger) or opened all the way. Comes with a nice selection of detailed liveries -- hope to see more from third parties as this is a fun bird to fly with a great panel. There's a white livery if you're thinking of putting repaint skills to the test! If you're a Grumman Tiger fan, you won't be disappointed.
The Hampden sets a new standard for Virtavia's MSFS aircraft. Really happy with it across the board. The exterior model has enhanced detail over versions for earlier sims, and there's an all-new cockpit with detail and texturing that's fully up to the demanding standards of MSFS users. System detail isn't study-level, but it's plenty for folks who want to experience what it would be like to fly a plane like the Hampden. There's a simple autopilot, you can toggle on modern radios, and all the primary/fuel controls work as expected. Unused switches let you toggle weapon and pilot visibility, open the gunner window, etc. Audio is by far the best yet from a Virtavia plane, with full Wwise sound that feels authentic from idle through firewalled throttles. Most important to me, the flight model feels right. Handling is good on the ground and the air, and roll, turn, and climb/descent rates feel right for a plane it is performance class. Speeds match up well with the published numbers. Too often MSFS reviews focus on the visuals, and to me, the best part of flying classic planes like this is the flying experience. Virtavia's flight model captures this well. Lots of other small detail presents, such as antenna and slat differences between indivual aircraft, and both torpedo and bomb loads. VR support is great, and it properly replicates the feel of the cramped cockpit in the "flying suitcase." Really, it's a bargain for $20. I'm a big fan of Virtavia's planes, and I'll settle for a little bit of reduced detail just because they model awesome historical aircraft other publishers haven't touched. But with the Hampden, I don't feel like I've compromised at all. It takes Virtavia's quality up a notch, and it makes me really excited to see what else is coming down the pike. (Really hoping for the F7U, F4D, and F3H!)
Really nice to see Virtavia doing classic military planes, and the visuals here are top-notch both in and out of the cockpit. Some nice details and animations, including folding wings, the tail hook, stepladder, etc. Flies well, with performance in line with the F7F's specs. Roll rate is good, but it does feel like you should be able to pull a tighter turn. Still, overall the flight model feels convincing. (Given there are few folks around actually flying Tigercats nowadays!) The one area I hope Virtavia can tweak is the sound. I don't have an issue with the sound samples or mix in general, but when you throttle back in the v1.0 release, the sounds is like what you hear when a radial engine is idling on the ground. Totally appropriate for taxiing, but not when you're in the air just slowing down. Hopefully this can be tweaked so that the lower-power settings feel more appropriate for sound in the air. The air racer variation with the spinners is nice, as well as the armed versions. Overall, a nice addition for aviation history fans! Would love to see the audio improved, and some glossier repaints from the community, but no regrets for the very reasonable price.
Bought this a while back but waited until I flew into KSAV last week before leaving the review. This is a really disappointing package, lacking all sorts of detail, and with lots of inaccuracies. The rental cart lots, for instance, are pictured as elevated structures (with sunken cars) when in fact they're at ground level. Buildings are super-simple with no interiors at all. AI parking is wonky. The roofs are a crazy bright green lo-res repeating texture, where they're a very dark green in reality. The terminal windows bear no resemblance to reality, in addition to not being transparent. The buildings are shockingly low-poly. (It's not hyperbole to wonder if this was originally developed for FS8 or FS9.) It's better than the generic AI-generated default included with MSFS, for sure. But this feels like a straight port-over from FSX (FS9?) and the lack of detail in the structures and textures is really distracting at ground level. I appreciate the aptly named FSXENERY building airports for the sim that wouldn't exist otherwise. But they really need to up their game to make customers buy more of their products. I replaced their KBTV with a freeware alternative that was more accurate and detailed, and after the disappointment of KSAV it's likely the last product I'll buy from them unless they start bringing their airports up to FS2020 specs.
Absolutely beautiful model! A few glitches (ground handling, stopped propeller) were fixed super-quick in the first patch and it now flies wonderfully and feels good on the ground too. If you love classic era aircraft, you'll find more than your money's worth here!
Wonderful add-on! I visited Sitka (by boat) a few years ago and this really enhances the area. The airport looks great, and the bridge and harbor models really flesh out the town. Would be cool to see a few of the local landmark buildings and park details added just to flesh out an already awesome package, but there's way more than enough here to justify the price now! Highly recommended for Alaska fliers.
Beautiful visual modeling of this simple plane, with excellent animations (like the control cables in the cockpit). If you're looking for a plane that flies like a Piper Cub, rather than like a modernized, souped-up Cub, this is your ride! It's the flight model that makes this. The low-speed handling, especially, feels really authentic. Don't let yourself get too slow (which is pretty darn slow in an L-4!) on approach or you'll see just how well stalls are modeled. Only real downside is the sound, which is aliased to the stock Savage Cub, which uses a Rotax engine that doesn't sound like the period engine in a real Grasshopper/Cub. Aliasing it to the C152 sounds a lot more like it should but hopefully Flight Replicas will find a better default sound package for future updates.
Just purchased this and the added elevation detail made Hawaii look so much more like the islands I love visiting. Well worth the purchase price! Also, note that the complaints in some of the earlier reviews have been addressed. I have every payware add-on airport for Hawaii except Hilo, and they all blend perfectly, as do the Honolulu freeware enhancements. I did run into one issue, with the freeware Maui photogrammetry package, and I reported it to Ray and two days later he'd updated the package the fix the waterline issues. I've had other companies I've purchased from disclaim responsibility for compatibility with other packages, especially freeware, but Taburet answered quickly and fixed it the issue super-fast. So you can purchase this confident that the package will make Hawaii more striking visually, and that if you do encounter issues, Taburet's customer service is top-notch!
As this review is written, this product has just launched, and it makes (wonderful) improvements to just a few areas around the world. However, I've never in the history of software development seen a designer so responsive to their customers, so frequent with requested updates and fixes, as I have with Bijan's Four Seasons Pack. This is a good indication that this package is going to have tweaks all around the world before long. Some of these are minor, such as the trees in the LA area parks, while others are awesome, such as the rework of "James Bond Island." The vast majority of those are likely to be missed, of course, if you don't use Bijan's POI markers to seek them out. But that's where the awesome personal aspect comes in: If you buy this, you can ask Bijan to tweak an area, getting rid of photogrammetry trees, adding boats to a sunken marina, etc. So if there's somewhere you want to fly and you have a reasonable request for a tweak (I asked for sunken marina fixes around Lake Chelan, WA, for instance), eventually that personal tweak is going to show up. Though if you all listen to my five-star review and buy this, poor Bijan will likely be so busy that it might be a while before he can get to you! :)
Absolutely stunning for the price! The model detail and polygon count are of the class of a product costing 4x as much. Flies well, ground handling is good, and it feels authentic for a plane of that period. Flying from the back of this thing makes landing an exciting challenge! You'll definitely want to approach the runway from an angle. I'd love to see some documentation added with the history of this plane, as well as a breakdown of the instruments and procedures. That's my only real complaint here, and hopefully BlueMesh can add that in an update or make it available online. After seeing so many recent MSFS releases that were just purchased 3D models with adapted flight models, it's great to see a plane this good at such a bargain price. And it's awesome to see someone recreate such an unusual plane from the early era of aviation! If you like aviation history, classic aircraft, or just want to fly something that's very different from a Cessna or Piper, this is a heck of a deal for less than the price of a cheeseburger in Seattle.
Wonderful add-on at a great price! Like the other South Oak Co Hawaii airports I've purchased, the layout is 100% accurate to the real airports, and the detail is fantastic. The terminal has all kinds of great interior touches -- make sure to fly the drone inside and look around -- and the vehicles, people, etc. around the airport are all well-done. They've also done fantastic work on the shoreline around the airport. The rocks and other details really make everything feel real as you fly the downwind on approach. Highly recommended as a base for Maui exploration!
Great looking scenery, really nice details (love the F/A-18 in the hangar). Nice to have a field to fly military planes from that's populated with static military jets.