Reviews (by Christopher)

These steam gauge overhauls by Black Square are top notch add-ons. They take the bland, boring default Baron and Bonanza and turn them both into something fantastic and they're both now really fun to fly. The 3D steam gauge modeling and texture work looks awesome, very well done, as is the entire instrument panel, it really looks great. Many other aircraft systems are modeled too, that are not modeled in the default MSFS versions, even engine wear and tear is modeled, you can break the engines if you do not manage them properly. The flight model has also been improved over the default which really helps make them more fun and a bit more challanging to fly. I mostly prefer using other sims but add-ons like this make me actually want to use MSFS sometimes. While I do like flying planes with glass cockpits once in a while, it gets boring flying every plane with G1000's all the time. I prefer steam gauges any day, they give the aircraft much more personality and it's fun to learn how to read all the different gauges. Definitely 5/5 stars, not a single thing wrong that I can find. Note: I happened to purchase this package elseware (but I buy lots of add-ons from this site too).

I always liked to try out interesting historical military jets and being this is the first jet aircraft ever made, I had to try it and overall I'm really happy with it, especially considering the price, it is a really fun, challenging and can be rewarding aircraft to fly. Make sure to get this Special Edition version of the plane which was made in 2014, it is a remake of the original which was made back in 2006. There's also other versions available on their site which are not here, like the Nighthawk and two seater but those are also older than this model. They overhauled the very dated original textures , both inside and out as well as improved the modeling and VC instruments. That being said, the modeling of the exterior and the liveries could have used a little more improvement imo. The developer told me that this model has a remade, highly accurate flight model, made with the help of an airline captain that knows flight models very well. Aircraft behavior, as I said, it is a little challenging to learn the aircraft's unique flying characteristics and engine management. As another reviewer stated, you need to be very slow when increasing, decreasing power when below 6,000rpm or the engines can and will flame out. The systems are pretty straight forward and fairly simple for a jet, the actual startup procedure had to be simplified because it required two hands simultaneously which is impossible in the sim of course. The manual is short but well done and tells you all of the most important things you need to know to get started. There is much more thorough documentation on the internet if you want to learn more about the plane. I am using it in P3Dv5, I asked and the developer told me it should work and for the most part it does. There is just one minor issues that I've noticed that I can't say for sure if it's because I'm using P3Dv5 or if it's an issue with the original model itself since I've not tested it in FSX. There are three switches on the right side panel labeled CPitot, the first is the real pitot heater and the second and third switch are actually the right and left generator switches which also seem to be stuck in the off position however, they are always actually tuned on, not off. A bit strange but no big deal for me, as long as they work. For the price, you get a pretty high quality aircraft that is more than it's cost. It is also the only ME-262 that exists for FSX/P3D (besides the old variants).

I love Douglas aircraft and this DC-4/C-54 package by Flight Replicas is an awesome addtion to my collection and it is a joy to fly. It comes with the civilian variant, military variant, firefighting variant as well as the uniquely designed Carvair variant. The 3D modeling is top notch, texture work is super crisp and clean looking making it very easy to read all the many gauges and labels in the cockpit though I do wish it had a bit more of a weathered look to it, the flight model is well done and the sound is good. The planes are fairly easy to fly and land despite it's size. The only thing I think this aircraft is really missing is instrument lights that work during the daytime, it does look a bit dark inside. I originally bought this version for FSX but now I use it in P3Dv5 just fine, all you need to do is just download and install the free updated texture package you can find on their website. No need to buy the P3Dv4 version if you already own this one.

If you're looking for ways to increase the realism in P3D then RealTurb is one way to do it. It really does make winds and turbulance feel much more realistic. The way turbulence works in P3D by default is unrealistic. In fact, I'm some of my PMDG aircraft manuals, it recommends to disable turbulance effects because it is unrealistic and they said "could cause unexpected behavior" of the aircraft.

I always wished someone would make the city of Tokyo for FSX & P3D and I'm so happy I found this. The developer did a great job with lots and lots of custom and appropriate autogen coverage of this massive city. The city really looks great. It also covers a large amount of area outside of the city proper, like many of the close suburb areas. Definitely 5/5 stars and I will be buying more scenery from SamScene.

Overall it's a fun aircraft to fly. Virtavia aircraft are known to have very few clickables and systems implimented, only the bare bones which is why I usually don't buy their aircraft. This one is not much diferent in that regard, however this plane does have a few little extras implimented, like diferent MFD pages and a couple other things but it's still pretty bare bones. Visually it looks decent enough. The exterior is well modeled and accurate as stated in the description and the VC looks decent. I found I had to move back in the seat a little ways as by default is way to close to the instrument panel. I disagree with the review below, the flight model is not that bad, I think it's decent enough. It's not perfect but it's close enough to make the flights enjoyable. This plane is the only C-17 for P3D so beggers can't be choosers. Overall I enjoy flying it.

Decent pack of airports for cheap. Yeah many don't have a lot of buildings as to be expected for small airports and unpaved airstrips in Columbia, you do get 23 airports as it says. The textures used for the runways and taxi areas looks decent, they certainly look better than default. I have this pack installed in P3Dv5 also.

I'm not sure what the one star review was talking about because this scenery looks awesome. Maybe the developer addressed the original issues because what I saw looked great. I did not see any of the issues the review mentioned. Compared to the free Hawaii Ortho scenery found on flyawaysimulation, this looks better. It comes with photoscenery, mesh and custom overlay. I use it in conjunction with SimHeaven scenery for more autogen coverage. I did see a couple minor imperfections in the mesh but most of it looks fine. The mesh really gives the island more definition (XP12 default mesh is low quality).

I can no longer stand by my past review (Please Simmarket delete it). I loved this program, used it for about 3 years without a problem, then one day when I went to open the app, it told me my product was not activated. I figured no problem, I will just re-enter the key I used before, unfortunately it did not work. I went to RDPresets site and read the troubleshooting guide which said to add it to my antivirus and firewall exeptions but nothing worked. I then emailed RD Presets asking for help, couple days later they email me back saying "everything's working fine on our end." I replied to them "that's nice but it doesn't help me.". I then asked them for troubleshooting advice or a new key to try, they never responded. 5 days later I emailed them again pleading for help, they responded the next day asking me for my purchase receipt which I did send them, then I never heard from them again. I ended up having to buy EnvShade & EnvPlus by TOGA so I could have a way to make P3D look good again. Something else to note, according to TOGA (I emailed them) they said they found bits of TOGA's EnvShade code in RDPresets RDShade, sounds kind of shady doesn't it? I can't recommend this product after what I went through. It's a great app if it works right, if not your sol just like me with no support by terrible developers. Better off buying EnvShade/EnvPlus instead.

The effect of these textures are subtle but it does make the water look better than default in P3Dv5 and it's the only water texture replacement you can find for P3Dv5.

This is my first purchase of Lionheart aircraft. I've read nothing but good things about Lionheart airplanes but never tried one until now. All four in this package really interested me so I bought it and I'm very happy with this purchase. For about $40 you get the Wittman Tailwind, the Pasped Skylark, Fairchild 24 and the Piper Pacer pack. Each airplane in this pack is very unique and lots of fun to fly. All four aircraft are very nicely done inside and out. I really like the style of the texture work in Lionheart planes. The flight modelling feels good in all four aircraft. 3 of the 4 planes come in multiple variants. The only downside is the Piper Pacer does not come with custom engine sound, it uses the default Maule sound however you can find soundpacks on this site for the Lycombing O-320 (also commonly used in earlier Cessna 172's) which was used in most Pacers for more realistic sound. I can attest that all four aircraft do work just fine in P3Dv5 which is the sim I use them in.

Fantastic tool that allows so many options when configuring controls, you can tweak things just the way you want. You get a version for practically every flight simulator from FSX, P3D to MSFS. Developer is an amazing guy, very responsive. Don't forget to check out Lorby's website for amazing free tools too.

The downtown area looks good, lots more accurate buildings in the downtown area however, the rest of the city is just flat photoscenery with virtually no autogen or 3D buildings. I like my cityscape scenery to have lots and lots of autogen, this just doesn't cut it for me.

An amazing took for helping me to find places to fly and the best part is it's totally free. Thank you SimBitWorld!

This is my first time trying a helicopter from MP Design Studio and I have to say it's a really good helicopter all around. Visually the 3D modeling is excellent and the texture work is good both inside and out. The exterior is very detailed and the VC is really nicely designed, all 3D gauges which all look really good. They have reflections which adds to the realism and the glass effect looks good, lot of attention to details here. It also comes with cool liveries. As far as flight modeling goes it seems more realstic than most P3D helicopters I've tried, the flight model is very well done. I have a very realistic Bell 206 for X-Plane and this one is not too far off from how that one behaves. All systems are modeled in this helicopter and everything works. I do have a couple minor complaints. The govorner RPM switch is a little buggy and sometimes difficult to get it to decrease and the instrument light switch doesn't work during the day (though the cabin light does oddly enough). Other than that, it's a fantastic model of the Bell 206 and I highly recommend it. In fact, it's the only payware level Bell 206 there is for P3D.

This is a really fantastic airplane that deserves a lot of priase. As another reviewer said, this airplane is a real gem and he's right, it really is. I think the developer's goal here was to create a study level Cessna 172N that is buget friendly and easy on frame rates and he truly has succeeded. PROS - Lots of features - Can choose from bare wheeled version, good for landing on unpaved strips and the version with wheel farings/skirts. - Good number of interesting looking liveries - 3D gauges - All C172N systems are modeled, even the whole electrical system and circut brakers. - Engine management is fully modeled just like A2A planes. You can flood the engine, foul the spark plugs, cause the engine to break or even start it on fire in certain conditions. - Flight model is very precise, better than Carenado Cessna's, it flys just like the real thing making the plane a real joy to fly. -I can verify it works just fine in P3Dv5.4 CONS - Texture work could be better. - Modeling of the gauges looks basic even though they are 3D. - Engine sounds are low quality. It's well worth it to get a C172N sound package (there's one or two you can find on this site), make sure to get one that's for the Lycombing O-320 engine. Earlier C172's like this one use the O-320 while newer C172's use the O-360. In my opinion the cons of this airplane are very minor when you consider all of the features it offers and the super low price. The whole line of Aeroproyecto C172N's are fine addtions to add to your virtual hanger.

This legendary aircraft is my favorite FSX aircraft of all time. If you need a reason to still use FSX in 2024, this B377 is it. It was never updated for P3D so only works in FSX. It's beautifully done (for an FSX plane) and like all A2A aircraft, all systems are functional and fully simulated. This is a study level aircraft and it is so much fun to learn how to fly it because it's so very unique. I love all vintage airliners but the A2A B377 top's them all. If you've never flown it, do yourself a favor, dust off FSX, install it and buy this airplane, you won't regret it.

The One-Eleven is a very unique and interesting classic airliner and I think JF did a really good job of modeling it. I've always loved that JF was willing to make so many classic and vintage jet airliners going all the way back to the Comet. I love flying classic airliners like this, they are so unique, fascinating to learn and fun to fly and JF has many to choose from. The JF One-Eleven is very well modeled inside and out. the 3D modeling and texture work is very well done imo. This is a study level aircraft, most systems are accurately modeled, no dummy switches here. As others have said it is very slow for a jet, both in cruise speed and acceleration. This is pretty accurate though because the real airplane came with very small, very underpowered engines for it's size and weight. When stopped on the ground, it takes moving the throttle lever close to 50% just to get it moving so you can taxi when it's heavily loaded. Tip: You need to set the takeoff trim to at least 3 degrees (as it says in the manual) otherwise it will literally not leave the runway no matter how fast your going. A reveiwer below mentioned having issues with the plane nosediving, this is likely because trim was not set properly or the load was imbalanced. I never had any issues with the plane wanting to nosedive in my experience. In fact, the flight model feels good to me. JF has always been good at making aircraft that have accurate feel and performance for their models and they usually fly close to real life. This plane is no exception, it's very underpowered by design which means you are going to feel it. The One-Eleven is another fantastic edition to the JF lineup of classic airliners and if you love them like I do you should give this one a try, I think you'll enjoy it.

African Airstrip Adventures is a very pleasant surprise and a MUST HAVE for the FSX mission junkie and if you like exploring. This is no ordinary mission pack. AAA is a challenging VFR adventure that takes place in a big section of Kenya where you can become a charter pilot for hire in career mode. You can also do free flights in the area to explore on your own. Aerosoft conveniently added saved flights for each airstrip/airport to make it easy to hop in and go exploring free flight in which you can switch to any aircraft you own. In career mode you can only use mostly FSX default aircraft and a couple Aerosoft aircraft (if you already own them) however this does not detract from the fun Imo. it comes with 20 airstrips/airports, most of which are unpaved. The unique unpaved airstrip designs make for extremely interesting and very challenging takeoffs and landings. This is because all airstrips are sloped and extremely bumpy, not your average flat FSX runway/airstrip. Did I mention the animals? There are Elephants, Rhinos, Lions, Leopards, Buffalos, Giraffes, Zebras, Flamingos and other birds. AAA is all about exploring Africa and all its rugged beauty, the package comes with landclass scenery, custom trees and buildings and animations. Aerosoft is always known for in adding lots of small details in their scenery and you will find all of that here as well. There's also a copilot voiceover in the beginning tutorial mission that explains things and there's a dispatcher you talk to in career mode. The only downside I can think of to AAA is that it requires a good pc and FSX tweaked for best performance to get good frame rates (due to the many animals everywhere and the way FSX handles it, not Aerosoft's fault). Keep in mind that the number of animals you see depends on your autogen density setting, higher setting equals more animals but decreased performance. The reason I still play FSX even today is because even after all these years I still keep finding amazing add-ons like this one that just keeps me playing, FSX is never boring when I keep finding amazing add-ons like this one. Do yourself a favor and get it.

Simply Stunning! Another high quality product from Pilots FSG. It's by far the best quality mesh you can get for P3D and it really brings your Orbx scenery and photoscenery to life in amazing detail. Don't waste your money buying dozens of other mesh products that only cover very small areas of the world. Global Ultimate 2024 may be a little expensive but it covers the entire world, every single inch of it, in the highest possible detail. You end up saving money on mesh just buying this one single global package instead. If you are looking for ways to make your sim scenery look more detailed and realistic, this is a must have product to get. I strongly recommend Global Ultimate 2024 and I guarantee that you will be amazed by this product.

This developer makes some of the best quality photoscenery I've ever seen for FSX and P3D. It's very high resolution, very sharp and crisp looking scenery, even at 500 feet AGL it looks great, no joke. In fact, it's so good looking that in the screenshots I thought the buildings were 3D (they're not), it totally fooled me. This scenery covers a huge area for city photoscenery, it goes far outside the city of Chicago itself and seems to cover many suburbs to the north, south and west of the city as well. As I pointed out, it does not however come with any autogen which is a huge shame. Some people don't mind flying over straight photoscenery with no autogen but I need 3D objects. That being said, the quality still impresses me. If you want high quality photoscenery with autogen, I strongly recommend you check out this developer's other products like the Ultra VFR scenery (and check the website). It's also excellent quality with custom autogen included. There is one downside with this developer, and that is the installation process for the scenery. It is more complicated than it needs to be and I can see some people getting easily confused so make sure to follow the instructions carefully and email the developer for support if necessary.

All I can say is WOW, this is an amazing airplane! The PES Maule is a true gem and is worth more than the asking price in my opinon. There are very few airplanes for MSFS that have this kind of accurate peformance and such accurate feeling flight dynamics. These are the kinds of aircraft MSFS is really missing. This airplane is easily going to become one of my favorites as I fly it more. The 3D modeling and texture work is really good inside and out. You get 3 variants, standard, tundra tire and float plane versions, all come with nice liveries. Comes with a little EFB tablet that has checklists and other options. All systems are simulated and simulated well, even the circuit breakers, I mean everything. It also simulates engine management which is very exciting and also very rare among MSFS aircraft (you can enable/disable this feature). You can really fly this airplane by the book. The only issue I have (it's a small one) is the manuals seems to be a work in progress and is fairly lacking, on photo diagrams and it seems to be hastily written but they do have all the basic info you need to fly the aircraft. I'm sure this will be addressed in the future. Please, do yourself a huge favor and buy this airplane right now, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. PES please keep making more aircraft like this!

Another Amazing A2A airplane. I can tell you that this plane still is the best and most accurate C182 made for a flight simulator. You will not find anything else in 2023 like it when it comes to accuracy and realism. The C182 flys nothing like a C172, a C172 is a gentle, forgiving aircraft. It looks very similar to a C172 but it's a little larger, has a more robust landing gear for bush flying and has a more powerful engine. The C182 is squirrely by nature, on takeoffs, landings and in the air, especially if it's windy. You can't just trim it out and expect to be able to let go of the yoke and have it fly straight and level like a C172. In a C182 you always need to be ready to counteract the aircraft's movements. Due to it's more powerful engine, you can climb very fast, 1,000 fpm no problem. Like all other A2A planes, the quality is all there. Good 3D modeling, texture work and lighting inside and out, the flight model is superb and of course it comes with all the engine management stuff that make A2A planes so much fun. I really am falling in love with this aircraft, it is so much fun to fly. It's becoming my all time favorite single engine airplane for flight simulation. Buy it, you won't regret it.

An interesting piece of history, the B314 is thee classic flying boat of the 1940's and what a unique experience it is to fly it. I've been wanting to buy it for a while, I finally got when it was on sale a couple months ago and I'm glad to finally own it. Ctrl + E does not work on the Pro version of the plane so you need to learn the startup procedures to get it up and running. It does however come with a startup "cheat sheet" that will have you ready to take off in no time, took me maybe 15 minutes of reading to memorize it and now I can have all engines running in less then 10 minutes. The other manuals are a really good read, especially if you're interested in learning the history of the aircraft and the people that flew it back in the day. The texture work is decent, inside and out, the flight physics and behavior in water all feel good and pretty realistic and the sound set is good. Also if your next to shore you can press Shift + P and a tug will appear and pull the plane up on to shore, press again and it will lower you back in the water. Overall it's a lovely aircraft to add to your aircraft collection, especially if you love unique, vintage aircraft like I do. It's well worth the full price imo even though I got it on sale. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

Wow what an improvement! Way better than anything REX Texture Direct offers. Thank you Zinertek!

I love bush planes, I've flown just about all of them out there but this plane is one of my favorites to fly. You get three variants of the plane, Tundra Tire, Floats and Skis. It does not however come with the standard tire variant, it seems Carenado had released that as a separate plane. This plane is so much fun to fly. The unique characteristics of the C185F Skywagon makes each variant fun and sometimes challenging. The engine sounds are quite good, both inside and outside the plane. I could listen to this engine running all day long. I can verify it works just fine in P3Dv5 like most other Carenado planes. So why four stars and not five (I probably should've knocked off two stars but I just like it so much otherwise)? It's VC is pretty dated looking compared to most other Carenado planes. You have to be able to get past that in order to really enjoy the plane. If not for that, it would be a 5 star plane easy. It is still definitely worth the cheap price in my opinion. I would give anything for Carenado to redo the cockpit and do the C185F proud but I guess it's better than having no C185F.

Such a beautiful representation of the city of Chicago and surrounding areas. This type of scenery is perfect for sightseeing in helicopters, ultralights and other slow flying aircraft and there is a lot to see, lots of square miles covered. Nothing beats the beautiful skyline of the city of Chicago, especially around the time of sunset and at night. Drzewiecki Design really makes some spectacular scenery, I will certainly be buying more cities and maybe even some airports. I strongly recommend it, especially if you can get it on sale.

This is a great plane overall and fun to fly. The exterior looks good, shiny PBR. I have seen better but still looks good. Decent number of liveries to try your taste. The VC looks good overall with some drawbacks. It looks like most gauges were modeled in either 2D and 2.5D instead of 3D though they are fairly easy to read and most of the rest of the cockpit is modeled in 3D including buttons, switches and knobs. Button/switch decals text is easy to read and sharp, I have no problem finding the switch I need. Lighting looks pretty good. Comes with only standard GPS but you can always spring for the FMC add-on that is available for the plane. It integrates an FMC and other things to help you navigate if you want to fly like a pro. Good animations. The flight model feels really good to me. I enjoy hand flying it though it has autopilot. It feels somewhat similar to flying the Carnado S550 Citation, kind of sporty and smooth but a fully loaded 35A feels heavier than a fully loaded S550 so not quite as maneuverable. The engines are a bit slow to react so have to keep that in mind, just need small adjustments because while it's slow to respond, it responds powerfully. It really has a unique feel to it that I really do enjoy flying this airplane. I think this plane is worth the asking price, though I would expect to see more 3D gauges for a $40 airplane. Overall I do recommend this plane. It's pretty well done, fun and unique to fly. At the current sale price it's more than worth it.

I bought this CRJ bundle from the in-game Marketplace. I agree with Sandro's review, these CRJ's look amazing, the aircraft systems are all modeled but like many other MSFS aircraft the flight physics and ground handling are terrible, not very realistic at all, feels very arcade like. The plane won't even stall. I reduced power to idle, watched the speed drop and drop but the CRJ still kept flying somehow. I even pulled all the way back on the yoke and held it there with throttle still at idle and it still would not stall. It's really too bad because it's a beautiful looking airplane, inside and out. I really hope they can improve the flight model though it seems flight physics in MSFS itself are not realistic. This is why I still mostly use X-Plane 11 and 12 as well as P3Dv5. Every time I buy a MSFS aircraft I usually end up feeling like I wasted my money cause the physics are so bad compared to other flight sims. MSFS is not a real flight simulator, it's a simcade and because of that developers making planes for MSFS are limited in how realistic they can make airplanes fly. Study level aircraft for MSFS? What a joke that is.

Wow this sound set is amazing! I installed it to my good old Captain Sim 727 and everything sounds absolutely fantastic. This is a very detailed, very high quality sound set, it really breaths new life into the old Captain Sim plane. It really takes the realism and immersion factor to a whole new level, especially with some good quality headphones, than you can truly appreciate all the lovely sounds of this fantastic classic, old school airliner. I love the sound of the engines, both inside and outside the cockpit. The developer really captured the sounds beautifully. Even just the smallest throttle adjustments and you can hear the engine noise change in pitch too and the ambient cockpit noise is very well done and sounds great as well as the noises that happen when you land like tires hitting the runway, etc. The APU sounds more realistic and just about every button, switch and knob in the cockpit sounds different from each other. This is the first time I've tried a sound pack from Turbine Sound Studios and I have to say, I'm very impressed. I strongly recommend this sound pack for anyone still flying FSX planes, I know I will certainly be buying more packs from this developer.