Hi all, Anyone have an opinion on how the Realair Decathlon compares to the freeware one that came out just a little while ago. About 28 years ago I flew a real life Decathlon and the freeware version seems too frisky from what I remember but it was a long time ago. I already have the SF .260 and love it. Is it worth having both from Realair or is the freeware Decathlon good enough? Jon

RealAir just released an upgraded FS2k4 version of their SF260 that puts the older version to shame...smile (well they both are great)... I think you'll find the RealAir Decathlon the best version around that truly captures the real bird. Not taking anything away from the freeware model because credit must be given to the author for their time and effort. You should try the RealAir model because for non other than the fact they took the time and effort to fully bring their models up to FS2k4 standard (like VMAX's 747, CaptainSim's 727, Eaglsoft's Business Jets, etc.) and they care about you and their product. Companies like PSS doesn

Hi Jon,If you have the money, buy the realair one.As the other guy said, not taking anything away from the freeware offering as that is a very good plane, and the developers must have put a lot of time and effort in to it.It is a truly great plane (the realair one) and I have a lot of time for anything from realair, they conduct themselves in such a great manner.So if you have no money, use the freeware one, its a great plane.But if you have some money burning a hole in your pocket get the realair one, I guarentte you wont be dissapointed.Dan.

Heck I plan on buying the Real air Decathlon just to see what is different. I know for a fact from the screenshots I have seen that the RAS gauges are better. And definatly the textures are much better. But I would like to see the Flight Model in action to see how close ours is. We plan on some SDK updates for both our Decathlon and Scout in which I would like to get up to RAS standards. I think it is a good goal to shoot for!! The RAS decathlon looks awsome. And from what Ive heard it is awsome so I am just going to have to buy it :)Kevin LechmanskiLong Island Classics

HI Kevin,That's very noble of you to be so generous. We like your freeware version as well. Tell you what, please e-mail me at [email protected] and I will have a nice surprise for you.Cheers,Rob Young

You won't be sorry if you invest some money in the Decathalon- I've put in a few hours on it over the weekend and it is very sweet indeed.Best,Joel

>Heck I plan on buying the Real air Decathlon just to see what>is different. I know for a fact from the screenshots I have>seen that the RAS gauges are better. And definatly the>textures are much better. But I would like to see the Flight>Model in action to see how close ours is. >>We plan on some SDK updates for both our Decathlon and Scout>in which I would like to get up to RAS standards. I think it>is a good goal to shoot for!! >>The RAS decathlon looks awsome. And from what Ive heard it is>awsome so I am just going to have to buy it :)>>Kevin Lechmanski>Long Island ClassicsKevin,I just reread my original post and it kind of looks like I

The RAS one looks great, I may get it one day if finances permit. For now I am more than happy with the Long Island Classic Decathlon and scout. IMHO they are among the greatest freeware A/C available. Perhaps someone could post a side by side comparison in the screenshot forum. I'll post pics of the freeware decathlon later as I'm downloading it now (I have flown it on my father's computer). Here's a small one of LIC's scout.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/50037.jpg

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Hi Kevin. I have a question about your decathlon. Is there anyway to remove the tinting from the window. On the scout you can open the window so the tinting is not a problem, but on the decathlon the window only cracks open. I've tried removing the glass bmp but that did not work. I love you're planes but would like to brighten the scenery if possible! Thanks in advance.

I was very impressed by the freeware Decathlon.. but the RealAir one is indeed better.. Especially the "in-cockpit" experience is simply in a league all its own.. Hats off to both teams, I'd say in either case you get real value, and lots of enjoyment!

Hey william. In regards to the tinting it is in the model and cannot be changed. we thought it looked good along with the testers but it seems not everyone likes the tint. So which brings me to this. If you want windows without tint email me personally at [email protected] and I can either tonight or tomorrow make a model with windows with less or no tint and send it to you. As for the initial post I did not take offense about anyone saying the Real air plane is better. They are professionals, and as far as I am concerned make the best Payware out there. I still have much to learn and can only hope to achieve the quality of RAS aircraft. BTW we decided to do a Citabria since we already have the scout and decathlon. Why not do all 3 :) I would like to get a shot of my champ, decath, citabria, and scout in one shot. The father and its 3 sons. Plus my neighbor recently bought a 78 Citabria in which he offered me to go up in this saturday. I can't wait!! Best wishesKevinLIC

Kevin, you lucky dawg. Hope you have fun in the Citabria! If you get around to it put a couple of pics in the screenie forum. As I e-mailed you if you go to the trouble to reduce the tinting of the windows perhaps you could post the result in the file library as others may benefit also (could be similar to Real Air offering dirty and clean windshields. Tinted windshields or not: Thank you very much for these aircraft, just got done with another flight. As far as you not being professional Kevin, I do not have any aircraft on my hardrive that have more class and character than the ones you offer for free.