Despite already having the AOPA version, I purchased the new Flight1 Commander 112A recently. I have a couple of Flight1 aircraft and heard good things. I must say I'm disappointed a bit. First, there doesn't seem to be much functional differences between this one and the AOPA version, apart from configuration options. I wanted glass panels and turbo and choosing between 2 and 3 prop blades is not important to me. So all the options are overkill for me. That's okay, except I was hoping that they had improved the fps hit. Nope. After side by side testing, this one is just as hard on frames as the AOPA, if you use the glass panels. On my modest system, when I power up the glass panels, I get a 15 fps drop down to single digit, slideshow range. Had the same problem with the AOPA one. Even at remote airports.Also, there are number of things in the VC that are not animated as you would expect, even basic things like trim. (and there is no parking break in the whole aircraft as far as I can tell). Duplicate entries in the checklists, etc. Many other things. No comparison to the quality of the Dreamfleet A36 and B58, for example. Not even close.Too bad, I'd love to use this and it looks inviting otherwise. Maybe when I build a cutting edge machine. Your mileage many vary. Not a slam post, just wanted folks who were considering this one to have some input.

The hit in the glass cockpit isn't as noticeable to me, but then I've been doing most of my flying in the analog version. Personal preference, I guess. The glass pit definately requires more resources than the analog.The parking brake is below the Master/Altenator switches. The pitch trim wheel and indicator are in the center console between the seats and in the Throttle Quadrant pop-up. The aileron trim is on the main panel below the GPS stack and on the Gear/Flap position pop-up.The docs could be a bit better (I've read and re-read them but yet to find any entry about the parking brake having to be set before the cabin doors will open). There are a few mistakes in the docs in referring to the gauges and their placement. The JPI needs a click spot in the VC for those who aren't able to program the pop-up in their flight controller. I've had a grahics anomaly in that the lettering around the Master/Altenator and Avionics switches doesn't show some times (probably video driver related). The avioincs won't power up for me in the VC... I have to wake the aircraft up in 2D and then I can fly in the VC. The Chelton AP is not one I'd readily buy in RL (again, personal taste).All in all though I'm quite happy with the airplane. Been flying it alot the past few days. Very nice flight model (though I have no time in the RL version).Greg

i although found that the VC and the 2d looks not realistic at all, from shadows and textures, its like the comic look. carenados aircrafts for example look a way more realistic from the inside 2d anc VC. just my opinion, no offense.regards, tom.

carenados aircrafts for example look a way more realistic from the inside 2d anc VC.Carenado's cockpits are outstanding, but the Commander analog is every bit as good for me. The VC glass cockpit though doesn't look as refined on my system as the analog (the analog gauges in the VC glass aren't as "round" as in the analog VC... the shape of the gauges seems "rougher").Greg

Thanks Greg. I missed the parking brake it seems. I found the trim works in the 2D but not the 3D. Not at FS computer, however. perhaps I'm mistaken. Still, just not up the the A36, my benchmark. But happy it works for you.

>i although found that the VC and the 2d looks not realistic>at all, from shadows and textures, its like the comic look.>carenados aircrafts for example look a way more realistic from>the inside 2d anc VC. just my opinion, no offense.>>regards, tom.After looking at screens of it, that is a major reason I decided to pass on it, plus I can't seem to stop flying my 206 amphib lately, LOLRegards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

Guys,The newly released Flight1 Commander 112A is completely reworked, and substantially different from the AOPA version. The improvements on the VC alone required an entirely new model...and the new model is exceptional.There are new lighting effects that are some of the best I've ever seen, simulating illumination from post-mounted lights on the panel. The instruments that have backlighting look amazing.There are 12 distinct, unique paint schemes, including 6 real-world liveries representing members of the Commander Owner's Group.There's no question that a complex instrument like the Chelton MFDs in this package will put a strain on your processor...there's a ton of information being presented all at once. Other users have reported in this forum that the AOPA version puts much more strain on your system than the new gauges do, and quite frankly, I found it was perfectly flyable with the glass panel...I get frame rates on a par with the PMDG 737s...and no one claims those can't be flown. Aside from the fully reprogrammed Chelton MFDs, you'll also get a pair of Garmin GPS units (a 530 and a 430), which are totally new and offer tremendous functionality while working entirely within the sim.The flight models are outstanding. Flight models, plural? Yes, there are two...one for the normally aspirated version and one for the turbo-charged. This airplane flies exactly the way the Real World manual says it should.The bottom line is that this is a hot little airplane with lots of features that let the user fine-tune it to get it exactly the way they like it. It's very sweet...and well worth the money.

I'm with Kurt and Greg on this and am NOT disappointed. Yes, I was involved in the beta testing and tested this out on three individual computers with different motherboards, processors and graphics cards. All to make sure that it would operate well on a broad range of systems... that was just my testing, there were several other beta testers. One of the areas we focused on was a considerable enhancement to the VC compared to the AOPA members free version and I feel very comfortable saying we achieved that. The Chelton displays also had a thorough ringing out so the code was enhanced for better performance and some features were added for better display of the GPS flight plan routing. I was quite impressed with just how complex we could make this without having a big hit on processor/graphic performance.

I agree. This has become my GA aircraft of choice. It's just a great airplane. I only have two add-ons installed now and this is one of them (the Level-D 767 is the other one).Doug

I just finished a 270 mi XC using the glasspit, and was impressed with how well it performed. While I'm not really a "glass" sort of a guy I must say that it did just what it's supposed to and I didn't notice alot of performance hit (admittedly, I didn't fly out of or into "busy" airports... I try to avoid them in the sim just as in RL), but the update rate and function of the Chelton's was no problem.As Cowls said, to each their own. But I'm quite happy with the value I received.Cheers all,Greg