FSElite Fenix A320 Review

[Pilot53 544]

I finally spent some time in the fenix yesterday, it was great.  The only things ive noticed is the engines sound like they are out of sync at cruise, too loud, almost turboprop like, the autopilot pitches aggressively sonetimes, and the autothrottle can be a bit aggressive as well.  Everything else is fantastic.  Having that tablet in vr is awsome too.  It makes life so much easier.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Pilot53

[RichieFly 728]

1 hour ago, Pilot53 said:

...noticed is the engines sound like they are out of sync at cruise, too loud, almost turboprop like...

I'm curious about the engines sounds myself. I've never been near a A320, but I was surprised at the WaaaWaaaWaaa engine sounds in the cockpit. Reminds me of the 'Airplane' movie where the 707 or whatever it was was accompanied by big radial sounds with every outside shot.

[V1ROTA7E 718]

3 hours ago, Pilot53 said:

I finally spent some time in the fenix yesterday, it was great.  The only things ive noticed is the engines sound like they are out of sync at cruise, too loud, almost turboprop like, the autopilot pitches aggressively sonetimes, and the autothrottle can be a bit aggressive as well.  Everything else is fantastic.  Having that tablet in vr is awsome too.  It makes life so much easier.

I agree...they're too loud. I do, however like the slight out of sync phase, seems gives a realistic feeling. PMDG nailed the engine/wind sounds. As the TAS increases, the engine noise gets more washed out, just like real life. Fenix made a good attempt this first round, but they could turn down the engine volume as speed increases.

[omarsmak30 4,068]

5 hours ago, Pilot53 said:

I finally spent some time in the fenix yesterday, it was great.  The only things ive noticed is the engines sound like they are out of sync at cruise, too loud, almost turboprop like, the autopilot pitches aggressively sonetimes, and the autothrottle can be a bit aggressive as well.  Everything else is fantastic.  Having that tablet in vr is awsome too.  It makes life so much easier.

You need to make sure that you are not toolbar pushback with Fenix. There is a bug with TB and Fenix where TB will leave an invisible tug attached which causes the autopilot aggressively due to the extra weight at the front

[Mark1616 47]

8 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

I have about 22 flights with the A 320 now, and no problems at all, good FPS, flies like a dream. Best pay ware I have ever purchased. 

Same experience here. On two occasions when the performance did go down I didn’t start the Fenix app before MSFS. Learned the lesson.

it is really not OK to exaggerate the performance issues. It’s a complex add on, and it requires more compute power than a 172. Hopefully the developers will not give in the drama and start removing essential features.

[Pilot53 544]

2 hours ago, V1ROTA7E said:

I agree...they're too loud. I do, however like the slight out of sync phase, seems gives a realistic feeling. PMDG nailed the engine/wind sounds. As the TAS increases, the engine noise gets more washed out, just like real life. Fenix made a good attempt this first round, but they could turn down the engine volume as speed increases.

Technically it shouldnt just be as speed increases, but also as the air becomes much less dense.  I agree, the pmdg souds are spot on.

[flieger28 34]

For me with an I7 and a 1070 the fenix runs better then most planes.

Normaly i'm limited by my GPU. With the Fenix it seems much is scheduled to the CPU. The the CPU is up in the 90 and GPU is only at 60-70%

Maybe i could set some GPU heavy seetings a bit higher but i'm happy like it is.

Spend about 25 hours in the plane, 1 CTD. And i guess that was triggered by the Sim itself. 

I'm very happy with the Fenix and haven't touched the PMDG since.

[filou 2,741]

With my I7 4790k and my GTX 1080 I suffer a lot in airports compared to FBW. I hope there will be another update in this direction. On the other hand with my little experience on Airliners I decided to spent a lot of time learning Fenix... and after many hours of practice the pleasure is incredible!.

With the Fenix I understood the importance of sounds.I definitely feel like I'm in the cockpit of an airplane

I now enjoy many flights from A to B.

Addict.

"A big thank you to the Fenix creators"

 

[rocketlaunch 614]

I have a pretty powerful system (specs in signature) so the performance and my experience has been prenominal. My only tiny gripe is with the push back bug, it kills immersion but not for long. 

[tweekz 2,165]

9 hours ago, Pilot53 said:

the autothrottle can be a bit aggressive as well.  Everything else is fantastic.

I've experienced the same. Also when handflying it feels like you have to push the pitch a little further than you actually want it to be, as it resets the pitch a little after ending input.

The typical MSFS behavior of being a little too sensitive on inputs also applies.

Edited June 1, 2022 by tweekz

[Iadbound 211]

I think Fenix is on the right track, but I've had 8-10 CTDs (or more) -- sometimes doing nothing more than accessing the EFB on the ground.  This gets old.  I've communicated with Fenix and they are polite and receptive, but they are also overwhelmed.  When you look at their Discord it is sooooo busy with issues. I suspect they will get most things worked out and I look forward to seeing how they progress.  

I've also noticed some strange behavior from the managed modes, including ignoring speed restrictions, missing specified speeds (with no indication that it can't make the speed -- indeed flying 20 knots below the required speed on a STAR (for example)), accelerating up to 250 knots on approach with Approach mode activated, managed speed engaged, and much lower speeds indicated in the FMC, but if I specifically program all the points from FAF to the RWY it behaves appropriately.  In other words, there is still some fine tuning to be done.

Also, it leaves me thinking that despite all the hype, Fenix may not be the last word in in A320s for MSFS, and I think there are still opportunities for other developers to step up and compete.

[Bobsk8 12,680]

5 hours ago, Pilot53 said:

Technically it shouldnt just be as speed increases, but also as the air becomes much less dense.  I agree, the pmdg souds are spot on.

A few of the real A 320 pilots doing videos claim that the Fenix engine sounds are very real sounding. 

[iborg1979 99]

Touching wood and hoping not to jinx it, but so far it's been rock stable flying the Fenix, as in no CTD in flight. Granted I had a long hiatus (since end of last year) and only started flying MSFS again last month, so MSFS updates themselves might have solved some of the CTDs I used to experience, but still.

Performance is acceptable enough too.

[JBDB-MD80 1,473]

37 minutes ago, Iadbound said:

 

Also, it leaves me thinking that despite all the hype, Fenix may not be the last word in in A320s for MSFS, and I think there are still opportunities for other developers to step up and compete.

Who is exactly that Aerosoft with their A320's in 2-3 years or FS Labs in 4-5 Years with their series. With the Fenix and upcoming releases and a good FBW that more folks should donate to I think MSFS is covered for the near future for the A320's series. I think other developers should not even blink at the notion of competing against them maybe some heavies like an a330 or 350 perhaps. I think there should be more competition on the Boeing side of things with a certain company is going to have a monopoly in that sector in the next 2 years.

Edited June 1, 2022 by jbdbow1970

[Iadbound 211]

I don't have a problem with having multiple products in a segment.  If FS Labs can do something great then they should.  If somebody we never heard of has something great to offer, and Fenix was brand new, then why not get in the market (especially one as big as MSFS).  Maybe Toliss or FF will shock us all! 

As for the Boeing side, I agree that more options there are welcome too.  I wouldn't complain if Zibo or iFly or another new developer forced PMDG to innovate a bit.  

In the end, more options is always a good thing -- and it won't hurt prices either.