Dear Simmers, I have had the CS Yak 3 since February, I want to know how it compares with the Real Air Spitfire, as I am considering to ask Santa for it...

After my IL 2 experience I am heavily biased towards Yak 3 but otherwise I don

The CS YAK is very very nice, if fact it's excellent. But, the RealAir Spit compares to nothing (for so many reasons that I don't have the time to mentione them), put it in uour wishlist. NOW!brEagle

The CaptainSim Yak is indeed a lovely aircraft. However, RealAir had the benefit of their discoveries in VC gauge animation to work with, and as a result there's no comparison between the VCs in these two birds; RealAir wins hands-down. That's not a cut to CaptainSim, it's just that RealAir is using a technique that apparently nobody else in the sim world has implemented yet, and the result is amazing. And of course, I'd defy anyone to create a flight model better than Rob Young. If I were looking for a good WWII fighter, I'd get them both. But I'd get the Spitfire first ;-)thanks,

What Bill said.Greg

I don't think it is a good policy to compare aircraft in this way, though I understand why someone wants to. Each aircraft from each developer has its own strengths and weaknesses.The RealAir Spit is not sold or marketed primarily as a "Warbird"...it is offered as a simulation of a supremely beautiful aircraft in its own right which happens to have the capability for high performance in speed and handling.However I regard it, within Flight Simulator, as having equal status with any GA single prop aircraft, with the addition of some very fine detail in not just the Virtual Cockpit but in all aspects of its design. It is designed to be flown manually and not with autopilot, and in FS2004 we intended it to be simply a joy to fly, whether it is a "warbird" or not.I do not want our aircraft to precipitate an A vs B debate and I respect what Captain Sim do.Nevetheless I do appreciate the nice comments!Kind Regards,Rob Young www.realairsimulations.com

i have both these planes, both are superb, the spitfires gauges are better but the Yak is not far behind on my system, and i would not use this as a reason to choose between them. The Yak wins out in a few areas, notably the removable engine covers and beautifully sculptured engine, also the yak has a working gunsight and guns; i know they are only visual but it adds to the effect, that said their are guns avaialble for the Spitfire and i have fitted the Yak's guns to my Spit. i find the yak much harder to fly than the Spit, i may be wrong but i think the Yak has much higher wing loadings and higher performance.What would be nice as both Planes have a "racer", is to give them a shake down in some sort of pylon race, with possibley a P51 and P400 joining in the mele for good measure

http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/100749.jpgthis would definatly make for an interesting race,BTW neither of these 2 aircraft have guns or gunsights :)

HI Bruce,Though it might appear ungrateful to discourage you to compare since you were generous enough to purchase both aircraft, I really do not see the point in racing the two aircraft. The Spitfire stands on its merits aesthetically as I am sure the Yak does in its way.As with all aesthetic matters, this is not a race or even a comparison of engine covers, both aircraft have a beauty of their own.Why not let that rest and enjoy both for their own unique qualities. The world is full of needless competition as it is.Rob Young

Real life Yak 3 owns the Spitfire :D Nasty recoil on the cannon though.

Hi Rob...I agree, it is not a contest. It is a plethora.Cheers,Braun Tacon

HI Braun,Long time no hear! Hope you are well and you're thriving. Don't see you here very often. Thanks for getting in touch.Kind Regards,Rob

>Real life Yak 3 owns the Spitfire <http://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair1.gif

I'll let the performance figures speak for themselves:Spitfire Mk.XIV:Max. Speed = 448 mph at 26,000 ft.Ceiling = 44,599 ftRange = 850 milesYak 3:Max. Speed = 407 mphCeiling = 35,100 ftRange = 559 milesI'll leave it to those who have flown either or both to comment on how they would have fared facing off against one another. Frequently the balance would shift based on altitude, turning rates, diving rates etc., and most of these high-performance planes had an optimum altitude at which they were most potent.This will give you a flavour of what is usually considered:http://www.odyssey.dircon.co.uk/Spitfire14v190.htmAlastair

Looking at this thread, why do we not hold online "reno" style races?Would be quite fun I think.Dan.