Hi all,I have been waiting for a decent A380 for sometime now having consigned both of the original payware offerings to my hangar - Abacus because of a poor quality and fairly unrealistic flightdeck and AFS because it was essentially unflyable with ridiculous flight dynamics. Now however I see from SimMarket that AFS has released an upgraded version and I note, from a Google search, that Abacus also appear to have an upgrade (or is that just an FSX version bundled with the old fs9 version?). I am very reluctant to fork out any money on the AFS upgrade, given my previous experience with AFS products and Abacus do not fill me with confidence either! Has anyone any experience with the AFS upgrade of the A380? The screenshots look ok but if I buy it am I going to rocket into low earth orbit again after take-off as was the case with the previous version or have they mended their ways and produced a winner? Has anyone bought this yet?Bill

Get the PA A380 and fly it until the Next Level Simulations (NLS) comes out.:)

There's absolutely no point in buying any of the current A380 offerings. They're all shockingly poor quality and bare little resemblance to the actual aircraft at all. The only one that will be worth your money is the NLS version, however it's probably still going to be in development for a little while yet - http://www.nextlevelsimulations.com/If you really must buy something in the mean time, I'd suggest the best you will get is the Overland model and merge it with the Wilco systems. Still not a great combo but far better than the Abacus or AFS which are both quite frankly a joke. There's always the PA freeware as well.

The screenshots look ok

Did you have a close look at them? :wink:I did. Just out of curiosity, seeing the new offer at Simmarket.Not that I cirticize something not being an owner.But before spending some cash it is always good to check thoroughly what you are going to get for your honestly earned money...Follow my predecessors advice on A380. And yes, I am also looking forward to the NLS offering.

I know this is a light add-on but I'd be curious to see what anyone who buys anything in this series actually has to say about it. This series actually could have great FDE's. The VC's to me is something I would have to see on my computer first before I judge it. From the shots the VC looks better than Overland's effort in some area. What's terrible is the liveries offered for this series is both wrong in some cases for the real world airliners that fly them or poorly done. I guess this in itself could tell you allot about the add-on in general. How could a serious effort make the blunder of having an A330 in United Airlines colors or forgetting Delta flies the A319, 320, and 330... The lack of American airlines represented in this package is staggering especially when you consider how many airbuses fly for companies like Frontier and US Airways for example. Again this says allot about this whole effort.

I'd try the Project Airbus model merged with Ken Mitchell's A340 panel ( ab340km_panel.zip ). I added the Airbus displays from ISG (payware) and ended up with an enjoyable A380 package. That upcoming version from Next Level Simulations looks pretty amazing also....

I'd try the Project Airbus model merged with Ken Mitchell's A340 panel ( ab340km_panel.zip ). I added the Airbus displays from ISG (payware) and ended up with an enjoyable A380 package. That upcoming version from Next Level Simulations looks pretty amazing also....

Thanks for all the opinions guys - those views are generally what I expected, particularly bearing in mind AFS's track record thus far. I have been using the Project Airbus model until now and will try your suggestion of Ken Mitchell's panel, but I agree it is probably worth waiting for the Next Level offering, which does look promising.

At all costs, I strongly advise against purchasing this AFS A380 update. The OV model and VC IMHO is not half bad, albeit with very few controls being clickable.Yeah, I've seen the NLS A380. That thing's just one heck of a beauty that you won't miss! Especially considering that this one's for both FSX and FS2004, and its planned LAF simulation like the ones on the A380.....if there were to be one.Dave.

Hello,AFS A380 is laughable Enjoy the reverse effect on the 4 engines :)

I have been using the Project Airbus model until now and will try your suggestion of Ken Mitchell's panel

Way to goRegards.

[...] How could a serious effort make the blunder of having an A330 in United Airlines colors or forgetting Delta flies the A319, 320, and 330... The lack of American airlines represented in this package is staggering especially when you consider how many airbuses fly for companies like Frontier and US Airways for example. Again this says allot about this whole effort.

By that logic, the Overland models are just as laughable. They include mostly East Asian carriers, but does it make the model less worthwhile? For all I know, the exteriors are of high quality and the VCs are quite nice too. The systems simulation is of course extremely basic, but with some modding you can make them very nice aircraft anyhow.

Hello,A little review of some existing Airbus A380 (paywares and freewares)The comparison is only on aestheticsTakeoff and LandingPaywares:WilcoAFSSMS (Overland)Freewares:Project AirbusVerslyusVideohttp://simtube.com/video/4323/Airbuses-A380You made your opinion .. Regards.Gus.