Thought I'd give you all a heads up, it's not on their main page yet but you can find the link in a post Jim Rhoads made this morning in their Simforums.

It's excellent!

Is this the same one that was free to AOPA members? Or is this different?

Craig,It's different...you'll have a choice of configurations, glass or analog panel, two or three-bladed prop, normally aspirated or turbocharged.It's well worth it...this is a sweet little plane!

I posted some screenshots on Simforums Flight1 development forum (I was beta on the project so I can't post them here) that show many of the included repaints, the fantastic VC with realistic post nightlighting (best I've seen yet from anyone) and yes, there's a very attractive passenger included in this one ;).

I'm thinking I'll have to bite on this one. Looks very nice.Zane, can you offer more info on the proprietary GPS? How does it compare to Reality XP's units (specifically, does it require a dedicated database to be installed)?Thanks,Greg

>Zane, can you offer more info on the proprietary GPS? How>does it compare to Reality XP's units (specifically, does it>require a dedicated database to be installed)?No, it doesn't require a dedicated database, it uses the MSFS programming. It operates very smoothly, gives almost all of the information and usability you would find in the real unit although it is not a 100% simulation like the RXP unit (that one uses the Garmin training software). I've flown with the real unit and this simulates the functions I normally use when really flying. One of the treats for the Flight1 Garmin is instantaneous frequency tuning which for my ACP Compact and users of GoFlight equipment will be very welcome... no delay when trying to tune a frequency. I was amazed at the refresh rate for all the gauges in the VC, they are truly optimized and a credit to Henning's programming skills. I also found the damped movement of the VOR needles to be the most realistic I have yet to see in the sim. This really is a neat little bird.

Wow, this is just great. All the usual Flight 1 hallmarks of quality, but the configuration choices really ramp this up - 2 or 3 blade prop, turbo or non-turbo, glass or analog panel, loads of liveries.And the fps are just unbelievable for such a sophisticated package!Allcott

I have the AOPA version but the frame rates brought my machine to its knees. how does this compare and would someone want both?

Great news. Thanks for the tip.Doug

I don't have the AOPA version, so I can't speak to what that one offered, but I do know that there were many refinements of the overall package, and as mentioned, there are so many options included that it's worth the price.Frame rates are excellent, comparable to the Carenado Cessnas.

Thanks for the info, Zane. I went ahead and bought the bird (how can you go wrong with Flight1's refund policy?). A very nice airplane, superbly modeled with great panels (analog or glass, take your pick). Plenty of liveries. A silky smooth and eerily predictable flight model. Simply... just another great airplane by the Flight1 team. Kudos to them all.Screenies of my first cross country with the new bird: http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=227540&page=Looking forward to spending alot more time with this one.Greg

Well the glass panel screen shot on f1's site looks the same pretty much with what we have with the AOPA Commander.Looks like the same plane to me. Except you can dial back to guages if you want.Be interested to hear if the Cheltons were of limited use area like the AOPA one or if they included the data for a greater area, or excluded it altogether. The Chelton Flightview MFD Terrain that is.

Here's what I'm seeing on framerates. It's much better than the AOPA. These were measured with my default flight (KMRY 28L) and no AI or WX.Default Cessna 172 97 FPSAOPA 112 24 FPSF1 112 Analog 73 FPSF1 112 Glass 38 FPS (With the exception of the AI and WX all the sliders are right. AA set to 6 and AF set to 8. All mileage is, of course variable.) It's a really great airplane.DougP4 3.2E @ 3.680 (1.385 vCore - 230 FSB)Asus P4C800-E Deluxe (BIOS 1019)2 x 512MB Corsair TWINX CXM3700 (3-4-4-8)5 x 300GB WD HDD'sHercules 9800 Pro (128MB @ 410/360)Enermax 431W PSU

Just got this last night. So far a very nice plane. I haven't read the manual yet so I was just messing around with the avionics (very detailed as far as I can tell). I noticed that on my system, the glass panel version would stutter slightly during turns. I went in and commented out all of the glass gauges from the VC, and the stuttering went away completely. I am a 2d cockpit flyer myself, so this worked out well. It could be that if you stay in the VC view all the time, performance improves. The analog version FPS was very good. When it comes to framerates, I'm fairly picky, and this plane overall is good. By the way, is that mostly black repaint legal in real life? I know some of these paints were based on real aircraft, but I couldn't find that reg# on airliners.net. I remember seeing something on Hugh Hefner's plane back in the day about how he had lots of problems with the FAA when he wanted to paint his plane black. Just curious... The virtual FAA is much more forgiving of such things anyway :)