BlackSquare Bonanza - very good!

[Bigbluss 304]

I purchased this aircraft a few days ago and having spent the last few days flying it, I'm very impressed. It is the first GA aircraft I've flown in the sim that feels 'alive' in the way a DCS aircraft does. Just looking through the manual at the huge number of things that can go wrong is intimidating. The sounds, the way the engine responds, the whole thing is incredibly atmospheric. I believe it has replaced the 310r top spot for me.

What are other peoples thoughts on it?

[btacon 1,900]

29 minutes ago, Bigbluss said:

What are other peoples thoughts on it?

Agree Fully!

-B

[waltpop 26]

I think they may have surpassed PMDG. Everything works so well with this addon. Well worth every penny for this aircraft. And the Black Square Baron is just as good. Thank you Black Square. 

[Bigbluss 304]

18 minutes ago, waltpop said:

I think they may have surpassed PMDG. Everything works so well with this addon. Well worth every penny for this aircraft. And the Black Square Baron is just as good. Thank you Black Square. 

Haven't got the Baron yet as I already had a good twin in the 310R! Sounds like it's worth it then..

[flyerkg 62]

Thank you all for the reviews. The Bonanza is my favorite GA single engine aircraft. I have been considering the Black Square product.

[ryanbatc 13,137]

All of the Black Square products are very good.  Some users overlook them because they use default exterior models and partial sounds.  But the amount of systems depth and excellent beautiful analog instruments are well worth it.

And they're making a Beech Duke from scratch next.  (Correction after the analog TBM 850) Maybe the purists will be happy then!

Edited May 2, 2023 by ryanbatc

[rlashier 96]

The Black Square  Bonanza is a work of art. Flies like a charm, the analog gauges are beautiful and operate so smoothly. Great integration also with the TDS GTN Xi GPS, although you switch to the WT GNS 530 if you prefer. Or, you can strip it down further and navigate exclusively with VOR/HSI and the radio stack. Haven’t tried the failure options nor tinkered with the breakers, as it’s just nice to fly it normally. 
Rich

[somiller 694]

I really appreciate these reports. I don't own any of the Black Square aircraft, but certainly will be trying them out in the future. I think these are about the only addons for which there is virtually no criticism.

[Paul J 349]

Gotta say I agree with all of the above: In my books it's right up there with the Maddog. Been still on the fence for a while, now . . .  whether to get "back in" whole hog or simply watch the drama, but aircraft of this calibre, and the slow, but MSFS's ever-increasing quality, and growing authenticity and adherence to the real world of aviation is pulling pretty hard.
Thanks for all your comments above - you guys persuaded me!

pj

[Bert Pieke 7,611]

1 hour ago, Paul J said:

Gotta say I agree with all of the above: In my books it's right up there with the Maddog. Been still on the fence for a while, now . . .  whether to get "back in" whole hog or simply watch the drama, but aircraft of this calibre, and the slow, but MSFS's ever-increasing quality, and growing authenticity and adherence to the real world of aviation is pulling pretty hard.
Thanks for all your comments above - you guys persuaded me!

pj

Depends on what you like to fly... but my P3D favorites: RV7, F33 Bonanza, C421 have all been replaced by even better airplanes:  RV14, A36 Bonanza, C414.. 🙂

Some like to argue that MSFS only has better scenery..  but I actually like the in-cockpit experience better in these airplanes as well.  Subtle things like the lighting in MSFS are just in an other league.

Edited May 3, 2023 by Bert Pieke

[jaytee73 134]

my current wish is for these aircraft on X Box

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,799]

9 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

Some users overlook them because they use default exterior models and partial sounds.  But the amount of systems depth and excellent beautiful analog instruments are well worth it.

Well they have made some minor mods to external models, adding winglets, tip tanks, radar pods where necessary.

Weird thing is if they produced an identical product except with a proprietary external model that was inferior to the Asobo external model - would the very same people then also refuse to buy it on the basis that the default aircraft looked better ?

[Bigbluss 304]

The detail of this thing is crazy. Turning on the ground heater could potentially cause a co2 leak, which in turn will trigger the built in Co2 alarm (provided the co2 alarm is working!).

 

Here's a snippet from the manual I just read that shows off how much thought has gone into this addon:

 

Quote

The native MSFS electrical simulation is greatly improved from previous versions of Flight
Simulator, but the underlying equations are unfortunately inaccurate. Users familiar with
electrical engineering should keep in mind that the battery has no internal resistance; however,
battery charging rate is correctly simulated in this aircraft, meaning that the battery charge rate
in amps is proportional to the voltage difference between the aircraft generators and the battery.
Battery charging rate should be kept to a minimum whenever possible, and takeoff limits should
be observed. If the charge rate exceeds 10A, heat will slowly build up in the battery circuitry. If
the battery is not disconnected from the power source, or the rate of charging reduced, the
battery terminals will become damaged and the battery will not be available for use on the
remainder of the flight. High battery charging rates are acceptable after startup while the battery
is recharging; however, care should be taken while taxiing to avoid overcharging the battery.

So an electrical failure can cause a battery to overcharge, which could heat up the battery to such an extent it will fail (or catch fire, I presume).

I could go on and on about the various bits in the manual that have hugely impressed me - the fact air blowers can fail which can make it difficult to control the (fully simulated) cabin temps, or the several pages on managing the engine + turbo charger, but I wont! If you enjoy extremely highly detailed aircraft, please forget all about the external model being default - this thing is a work of art.

[RobF2 150]

Longer A2A faffs about the more competitive the GA market is getting.  Good thing for simmers though  🙂

[Paul J 349]

@RobF2  -  Right: I have no idea what their hold-up is, and honestly - I've stopped even visiting the A2A website:  but - back to the Bonanza, and Bert''s comment: 
"Some like to argue that MSFS only has better scenery..  but I actually like the in-cockpit experience better in these airplanes as well.  Subtle things like the lighting in MSFS are just in an other league. "    
Exactly, Bert. Part of the "gotcha" for me with the Black Square Bonanza - was the info line across one of the MSFS loading screens that said "Try flying IFR with no GPS" etc.,   Well - yes - this is how it had to be back in (my r/w 'days') - the 50's and 60's. This could be repeated in FSX - it was a great challenge. A map, some charts, some met info, 2 x VORs, an ADF, and a plan - one could fly pretty reliably anywhere, and for me - that was the Pacific North West, ala' FSX and Orbx, in any IFR-equipped aircraft, with zero-zero weather, and 100' cloud base. Seeing those runway lights slowly appearing on an ILS approach as one breaks out of the thinning mist, is magic! It's taken Asobo/MS a  l.o.n.g  while to be able to achieve this, but it can now be re-created with even more - and better realism. This was also completely achievable 'back then' in the fabulous Maddog, and now - with airports now being released by designers like Drzewiecki et al, along with recent AI and ATC improvements from the likes of FSHud/FSLTL/AIG - that may be entirely possible once again. I don't know that this might be true, yet, because I've been very reticent to fork over the same money already spent on FSX, to say nothing of the additional money which was (IMO) wasted on P3D and XP.  What I do know, however - is that this Bonanza is worth every penny I paid for it, and better than most every other GA aircraft I have previously owned. It is a piece of "icing on the cake", so to speak, and is one of the needed pieces to put MSFS 2020 where it aught to be.

pj