I am in the process of starting a review on the A380 from Wilco on another site, and I must say that I kind of like it.. So far the only things I can complain about is the lack of a TCAS and the model isn't quite right, but until the real world A380 becomes more prevelant in aviation we won't really know. Otherwise it's a nice looking plane compared to another that I am currently looking at for review, in fact everytime I get somewhere with the review they release another patch and mess it up even more so I have to start all over. I found the A380 kind of refreshing.

Dear Fred and the Wilco team,>We are used to release highly realistic embarked systems for>the aircraft we publish. That's the reason why we have>launched our 'Pilot in Command' label, intended to bring to>hard core and casual users the most realistic simulation of>popular airplane (i.e. 767, A320, ERJ,...).and i would say not only my hat is off to you guys for that. You have done excellent work in the past!>Wilco Fleet : A380 is not a 'Pilot in Command' product. most of us, including myself, have learnt that the hard way>Our A380 has been developed before the A380>maiden flight and has been released before the ending of the>Airbus program.Well, i would assume that the Airbus programme will continue for a long long time into the future and that there will be many more airplanes comming from Toulouse or Finkenwerder for the comming decades ;-)>On the other hand, if you're looking for a quality aircraft,>with eye-candy features (luxury cabin, cabin>announcements,...),the eye candy, as i said before, convinced me that i would be getting a quality product in all regards, esp since it is a flight sim and not a presentation for good interior design in the first place, so i think one should not always trust the package or the screenshots for that matter...(not to mention that i am quiet sure the Titanic style A380 interior will be limited to the simulations and mock ups ;-))>vector gauges PFD, ND, E/WD and functional>MCDU, combined with an affordable price, then, Wilco Fleet :>A380 is definitely the recommended add-on. well, it is not a lot cheaper than the latest 767 and 727 but it seems to me a lot less capable>Our team is standing to answer all questions you may have but>by e-mail only and through our website (we are a small team>and can't participate to forums). Based on constructive>remarks, we are always open-minded to work on a patch.that sounds like a good idea, however i am a little sceptical as how much improvement could be done without major recoding, apart from doing a major repaint campaign on some liveries.Nevertheless, i belive that the biggest problem many of us have is that there appears to be a misconception between what you offered and what we came to expect. Probably your reputation as a great company blinded us somewhat (not blaming that on you) and we expected something of highest standards from you and now many of us feel disappointed, some betrayed. Additionally, the price being in the region of the advanced payware add ons furthered our misunderstanding too. I am sure that despite its obvious and sometimes less obvious shortcommings, the 380 is something for the casual pilot who wants to get a grip on flying real aircraft in FS2004, something like a stepping stone between a default plane and a complicated level-d or PSS or PMDG jet. If you had made that clear, there would be a lot less complaining going on here and elsewhere.>Thank youglad to be of help and it is nice to see some feedback on this issue from you.>Fred Goldman>Wilco Publishing>http://www.wilcopub.com

Fred:I admire your courage for at least posting some sought of explaination regarding the A380. With that said:Wilco would have done well to look at the "Perfect Flight" (oxymoron) A380 offering and learned from that. The positive feedback regarding their product can be counted on one hand and the vast vajority have dismissed it, and for the most part Perfect Flight as a whole, as a sad joke.You reference the fact that you did not have complete information so it made it impossible to get totally accurate avionics, flight model, etc. Fair enough. However:That really explains very little concerning the very poor quality of the product. For instance, battery switches have two settings: "ON" and "OFF", did you really need to have detailed A380 schematics to make them functional? Likewise the overhead is only about 30% functional and many of the rudementary switches and functions are very similar to the other Airbus models and without a doubt at least those could have been functional and a best effort made.Next, look at the 3D cockpit bitmap. Yes, you have never been in a A380 so you cannot have every intricate detail. BUT, you did render the entire Cabin in detail!!! You took a best guess effort and did a decent job there, so why did that not translate to the flight deck. For instance, the colors are mismatched, blurry and very sophmoric. You guys didn't even render a cockpit door on the rear wall! In this case, even if you had taken parts from an A340 bitmap it would have been far, far better visually than the current offering.On to the FMC. Here too, a great deal of functionality is ommitted, and some of that is VERY basic!Next, look at the external visual model. There is a FREEWARE A380 here at Avsim that puts your visual model to SHAME! In particular, look at your engines on your model which, to put it mildly, look horrific!!! In the wing view, the slats are hanging on for dear life, the thrust reverser animation is wrong, and the gear truck configuration is wrong. These have been immediately spotted by simmers on this forum whose only exposure of an A380 are pictures on the news and the Airbus website...how come they were missed by Wilco? There is no excuse.I fully understand that this is no PIC product, however, simmers expect basic functionality at the very least. The A380 offering from Wilco cannot be simply explained away by simple lack of detailed A380 specs since we all understand that they are not readily available. The offering is honestly sloppy, poorly rendered, and appearing to be spit-wired together.Fred, there are times where we have to fall on our own sword and admit that the emperor has no clothes. In the case of the A380, not only does the emperor have no clothes, he is stark raving naked and the crowd that once admired the emperor are laughing and pointing hysterically.In the case of the A380 and its GREAT many disappointed customers (as illustrated on this forum alone), trying to explain it away is going to be like teaching a pig to sing...you will only waste your time and you will p*ss off the pig.As a long time customer of Wilco (I own just about ALL your products), I am greatly disappointed that you chose to release this and I hope you can appreciate the spirit in which this post was meant. I leave you with this: There is already one company who is pumping out garbage and they have already established a reputation for garbage. Wilco, has a reputation for releasing many high quality titles and therefore, when one votes with one's wallet for Wilco, one expects to receive a product that is at least akin or better than previous Wilco titles. When you release a product like the A380, no excuses can explain away the fact that you will tarnish your formally good name, force your customers to cast a very cynical eye regarding your further releases, and even drive away customers (and potential customers) for good. I would assume that that was not your intention. I don't presume to tell you how to run your business, BUT, I pray that maybe one or two points I've made will at least give you pause for thought. Regards,Mike T.

Dear Mike T.I entirely agree to you!You explain/say all things correctly!Unhappyly iam a costumer of Wilco A380 :( (maybe the firsts one)We only wants a better A380 for fs2004With best regardsTercio Sampaio

OKay, I have to recant my statement on the A380... After spending some time with it and coming to the realization that half the stuff they say works in it, DOESN'T! I think I was just initially floored by the exterior and how pretty the plane looked... You guys are all right!!!

Wilco:You must pay attention to what Mike T. said. That is correct. Additionally I would add that tuning in the CRS degrees is impossible in your panel. Fix these procedural things first and then fix the external model errors and provide us with a patch.The 767 of level d was nearly perfect, and they still put put out a 100 MB patch.Is not wrong to demand a patch for the errors of the A380 to make it functional. We do not need a PIC type product. What we need is the ability to turn on the battery and vary the CRS degree.We paid you, so fix it.ThanksWe will wait.

Dear All, For your information, we are working on a possible A380 patch. The list of improved issues will come in a few days. Most of the posts on this forum are everything but constructive and sometimes posted by anonymous people. Therefore, as we are open to customer's feedback, we are answering by e-mail ONLY ([email protected]) any useful remarks you may have. Thank you Fred GoldmanWilco Publishinghttp://www.wilcopub.com

Um, Guys, what makes you think (believe) that the outboard engines don't have reversers and what would be the point? The engines hanging over the taxiway is a non-issue as that is not where one applies reverse. Most runways are 150 feet wide, with the ones the A380 will most likely be using would be 200 feet wide. I seriously doubt that the outboard engines are more than 100 feet from the C/L of the aircraft, the wingspan isn't much more than 260 feet. To be a problem, (if one was worried about engines ten feet off the ground injesting/blowing debris) the outboard engines would have to be on the wingtips.I seriously doubt anyone would want an airplane with two different engine/cowling configurations on the same airplane. That would not be economically prudent.So, if anyone has an idea where this idea came from, let me know. Learn something new every day. I've been told it's a good thing.BC

>Feelthere Caravan is now also on my blacklist as it is sold through>Wilco.Nah.... :-roll Feelthere products are great.. It doesn't matter who will publish their planes.

Well Mike,It appears that Avsim does not agree with you. The A380 is on final approach to their store..............We'll soon be seeing a glowing review with 5 stars posted ........Stay tuned.

Do me a favor and explain what exactly you mean by that statement.

>Do me a favor and explain what exactly you mean by that>statement.Ken, he can't explain what is obviously utter nonsense, on at least 3 seperate counts. Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

The outboard engines don't have reversers installed on them, pure and simple.This saves cost and weight, and especially the latter is highly important as the A380 is quite a bit overweight already (at least compared to the original scheduled weight).Check out photos of the real thing and it's readily apparent.Not installing reversers when not needed is in fact extremely economical. Maintenance cost is reduced, weight is reduced (and thus fuel cost).

>>>>t appears that Avsim does not agree with you. The A380 is on final approach to their store<<<

That's pretty naive. If we refused advertising from every vendor or turned down a product to sell that was found wanting from some in this community, there would not be an AVSIM. Your "sarcastic stab" was uncalled for, and will, if done again, get your account locked here. We will not give people free access to our system, just so they can take cheap shots at us. And now this thread is locked, which is what we should have done with it days ago.