January 4, 201412 yr Author I will not have the time to test it this night, thoroughly, and I also own the NEO, as you know, but the first two flights, in terms of flight dynamics and FBW, including a CAT3 autoland were - REMARKABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I chose the weather scenario I had saved from this morning, with gusting winds and showers, and the 321 nailled the autoland, down to what I am yet to see in any other aircraft for X-Plane 10 ( well, not quite true, because the A380 also by Peter also does it in perfection! ). The NEO, in this last patch, has also tuned autoland and it's now much better than it was, but handflying this bus is simply amazing! I look fwd for the 3d panel! Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
January 5, 201412 yr Okay, I want an Airbus in my stable. Which would you recommend as being the most complete and worthy of my hard earned dollars.
January 5, 201412 yr Author Very very difficult to give you an answer Vincent :-/ I like both, very much. The Peter's Airbus A321 ( I also own the older A380 ) are simply the best Airbuses I have ever used in a PC-based flightsim, including the AMIGA version ( early nineties :-) The FSLabs for FSX / P3D could change my mind, but there is always something different in the feel of flight in X-Plane, compared to FSX... I like my Aerosoft AXE, and would LOVE to have one with such features in X-Plane 10 ( it's very very didactic ), but flying an approach under bad ( really bad ) weather, injected by ASN, etc..., simply doesn't compare to the feel I get in X-Plane 10. As I believe I once told you guys, I had the chance of an hour sim session ate Air Portugal trainning Center at LPPT, and of course, chose to fly the A320 on various circuits around LPMA, under extreme weather conditions. I have long been trying to find a flightsim, and an airbus add-on, that brings me as close to that experience as I can. I also use the memories from the various jumpseat flights I was able to do in buses, most of them from takeoff to land ( the advantage of having some captains flying gliders too :-) ) Well, PETER's A321 is simply the closest to real simulator I could find so far - I can't find words to describe it's quality, smoothness, plausibility! But then, Peter's Airbus doesn't come with a very complete FMGC like the NEO, and the NEO is also constantly updated and the author is doing it's best to make it better from version to version. Then, the panels in Peter's bus are still 2D, and with my new monitor and my close vision problems ( I'm in the year of the half century... ) I sometimes had problems reading the FCU. But! a 3D version is coming, for free, so... Do you see how complex it is? It took me months to decide to buy Peter's bus, but thanks to Ralf, who kept saying that it was really good, and he also owns the NEO, I finally decided to buy just the CFM version, but I will now add all others! They're both very very good, it's one in it's own. Now... If I had to choose just one, I would probably go for the Peter's bus. Why? 1) I don't care about fancy cockpits, and I really don't mind using 2D ( sometimes I even prefer ) 2) I do not like to spend hours following all of the detailled procedures for a flight. Most of the time I start my sims for less than 15', for a small circuit, and my choice is to fly under bad weather conditions. When at work, at the MetOffice, I often go to near the active rw just to watch the landings when wind, shear, turb are tricky :-) 3) One thing that completely spoils my pleasure in a flight simulator / addon is to see a great looking aircraft, with lot's of systems modelled, etc... then take it up and feel it has nothing to do with the real thing... ( not saying this about the NEO - no way!!! the NEO is really vry good!!! ). Well, not a great help, I believe :-( P.S. I still can't record movies on my PC. I have long been trying to find the time to start doing it, and it would be great to show you a video of a complete flight in Peter's A321 and the NEO.... Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
January 5, 201412 yr I own Heinz 787, FF 777, FJS 727 A320 NEO and Peter's A320/380 as my tubeliner fleet. The one I fly most is Peter's A320. I think the reason is the superb flight model and it is free of bugs. I know about it's limitations, but if I use it I don't run into bugs. So all my flights with it are satisfaction of what I expect. Like Jose I had the pleasure of many jump seat flights and one hour in a full motion sim, no Airbus but a 744. Flying Peter,s bus comes close. My satisfaction after simming comes from flying, not from cockpit preparation and keying things into a computer simulation within a flight sim. You have to find out what type of simmer you are. Beware of the NEO. It's a nice model with a lot of features. But it has it's bugs and does not fly too well.
January 5, 201412 yr Author Lovin'It !!! Circuit at LPPT, for a change :-) - I'm not a liveries nuts, but I really have to find a good Air Portugal paint for this one :-) Flying this model is really rewarding! Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
January 5, 201412 yr I just bought the A321 IAE today, the download links came very quickly and I already did a few test circuits around LOWI. Sadly, the PFPX flightplans don't work properly within Peters FMGS, SIDs and STARs are missing also, and the GPS waypoints within many RNAV SIDs and approaches don't get recognised by the FMGS. The SID from LOWI's RWY 08, and the LOC/DME approach into RWY 26 are all about LOC and NDBs and both worked wonderfully. I flew the circuit completely by hand, and yes, this piece of software comes closer to my experience in the full flight simulator than anything else I've tried over the years of simming. It's a little bit difficult to handle a visual circling in mountainous terrain with the 2D panel and without the possibility to use Track Ir, but it shouldn't take too long until the 3D cockpit gets released, right? It had to do the whole circuit 3 times, and on the lest attempt, the sun stood already quite low, there was some weather going on with nice clouds hanging in the mountains (SkyMaxx Pro), and when I turned into final and the God Rays came through the clouds, it really gave my goose bumps. YES, I love this sim, and I have to admit that, even though the FMGS is quite basic, I really like this Bus! I haven't fired up FSX in the last 2 weeks at all! ;-)
January 5, 201412 yr Sorry, I had to delete a double post. The mobile theme of the forum doesn't work too good on my iPhone.
January 5, 201412 yr SInce I've never been exposed to an actual Airbus Simulator, I have to say I'm leaning toward JAR's A320 for more of the immersion/system factor. Looking at Peter's website he seems to have taken his queue from Austin and fully focused on the flight dynamics and not the bells and whistles for the average simmer.
January 5, 201412 yr Author I can't agree more with you Michael, but I also understand Vincent's view, because it was my way of looking at it too, for quite a long while, and I still use the NEO, of course! But indeed the systems simulation in this A321 may go deeper and be more carefully implemented according to the real thing, in some aspects, than the NEO. I really think that Peter should make his "manuals" for the A321/21 lines available to the public, because they provide a lot of important information for people who, just like me, ar in the fence... I have used all the buses in msfs, starting with the PSS, then the Feelthere, there was another one in between I no longer recall, finally the great Aerosoft AXE. In X-Plane 10 I have the A380, also great to hand fly, but with a more limited systems and even FMGC simulation, the NEO A320, and now Peter's A321. Flight model and FBW-wise, Peter has by far captured the "spirit" of the modern Airbus line of tubeliners, and the features modelled, albeit the limited FMGC functionalitty, are still many! I would like to have the superb didactic aspect of the virtual FO of the AXE in this version :-) Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
January 5, 201412 yr The only solution for the true enthusiastic: Buy both! ;-) Here are some impressions of my very enjoyable base training at LOWI:
January 5, 201412 yr 1) I don't care about fancy cockpits, and I really don't mind using 2D ( sometimes I even prefer ) He,he....... I confess, I do care about fancy cockpits. In fact, I won't even think about "wanting" a simulated aircraft, that's not up to todays standards in graphics. I do look at some of the pics posted, and think "yuk". But that's me. Besides, Boeing builds most of their panels, just down the road from here. I just like it to look real, before messing around with the switches, and so forth. But then, I've always mentioned for many years, that graphics are just as important as flight dynamics, for the illusion I prefer. Back in the early days of X-Plane, I considered the planes to be toilet paper tubes with wings attached. If the simulated plane didn't look good from the outside, or inside......I just couldn't care about flying it. And why should I? I had been renting and owning a real one at the airport next door. I really need the best illusion of flying possible. That's asking a lot, but we've been getting there. I don't care to backtrack. It's the current videos of X-Plane flying just below the cloud bottoms, that make me want to invest in flight simming again. The graphics look good. The illusion of reality is there. And the cockpits need to look good also. 1998 style doesn't cut it, as I've seen some excellent looking virtual 3D XP cockpits. The developers will just have to spend the time...
January 5, 201412 yr After pondering this AC for many months, I finally decided to take the plunge(especially with the upcoming 3d panel). I still have a lot of reading to do to get up to par with this model. I haven't flown 2d panels in a while but, I thought we could look left and right. I tested a couple of 2d panels in other AC (cessna wide panel and x737) and they seem to render left and right views just fine. Is that not an option here? It's not a huge deal but I just thought it should work. Don't get me wrong, it does look left and right and I see a cartoonish female first officer on the right but the AC renders as though it expects 3d. There are no details etc. just a blue/green framework. Is this just how it is? Pilots: Looking down on people since 1903.
January 5, 201412 yr Author Yep, it looks rather basic in as far as side views go.... But, the 3d cockpit is in it's way! I look forward for it :-) Hope you enjoy the flight dynamics and the FBW model ;-) Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
January 5, 201412 yr Yep, it looks rather basic in as far as side views go.... But, the 3d cockpit is in it's way! I look forward for it :-) Hope you enjoy the flight dynamics and the FBW model ;-) Thanks for the reply. I haven't had a chance to take it up yet. I've been too busy pouring over the manual. I am curious what is the best way to add STARs or SIDs to the fms routes. I assume it has to be done manually as waypoints? Pilots: Looking down on people since 1903.
Create an account or sign in to comment