If ya'll want to get some in-depth real world pilot info, check out v1-simulations, such a great streamer!

1 hour ago, Virtualpilot65 said:

If ya'll want to get some in-depth real world pilot info, check out v1-simulations, such a great streamer!

There are a few good respectable steamers out there with a perspective. Not just V1 that are RWP's

20 minutes ago, JBDB-MD80 said:

There are a few good respectable steamers out there with a perspective. Not just V1 that are RWP's

JBDB I bet there are, who do you recommend?

4 minutes ago, Virtualpilot65 said:

JBDB I bet there are, who do you recommend?

No particular order but. V1 simulations, A320 sim Pilot, Blackbox711 and Into the Blue Simulations. A330 driver is ok if you have your popcorn ready he never flown the A320 though with a strong opinion on addons not linked to P**G.

Edited March 4, 20242 yr by JBDB-MD80

Great list!  I do watch A320 Sim Pilot, the others I'll have to check out, thank you!

7 hours ago, JBDB-MD80 said:

No particular order but. V1 simulations, A320 sim Pilot, Blackbox711 and Into the Blue Simulations. A330 driver is ok if you have your popcorn ready he never flown the A320 though with a strong opinion on addons not linked to P**G.

Edwardthepilot, who used the FSLabs A320 extensively, says the Fenix A320 is very similar to the FSLabs A320, but of course, the Fenix A320 is much more visually appealing: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2080021430?t=01h14m30s. While Edwardthepilot is not a certified A320 pilot, he is a certified A220 pilot (first officer, I think).

At the end of the day, I think the type rated A320 pilots should have the most weight, as they know the A320 inside and out.  So I do consider V1, 320 Simpilot, Blackbox711, Into The Blue, and other real life type rated A320 pilot opinions more relevant than real life pilots who aren't type rated in the A320.  Into The Blue still hasn't made a video yet on the Fenix A320, Block 2 update, so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

17 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

Edwardthepilot, who used the FSLabs A320 extensively, says the Fenix A320 is very similar to the FSLabs A320, but of course, the Fenix A320 is much more visually appealing: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2080021430?t=01h14m30s. While Edwardthepilot is not a certified A320 pilot, he is a certified A220 pilot (first officer, I think).

At the end of the day, I think the type rated A320 pilots should have the most weight, as they know the A320 inside and out.  So I do consider V1, 320 Simpilot, Blackbox711, Into The Blue, and other real life type rated A320 pilot opinions more relevant than real life pilots who aren't type rated in the A320.  Into The Blue still hasn't made a video yet on the Fenix A320, Block 2 update, so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

Edward the Pilot was a FO on the CRJ (IRL) and a Beta tester on the Aerosoft CRJ project (and how is that going). Take it with a grain of salt just like MK over at PMDG for public relations. 

7 minutes ago, JBDB-MD80 said:

Edward the Pilot was a FO on the CRJ (IRL) and a Beta tester on the Aerosoft CRJ project (and how is that going). Take it with a grain of salt just like MK over at PMDG for public relations. 

Yes, Edward was on the CRJ, but he got type rated and flies on the A220 now.  I think he is an honest guy though so if he doesn't like it, he will say it.  Having said that, he is not an A320 type rated pilot so his opinion is probably just as meaningful as A330 Driver's opinion, since neither fly the A320. That's not to say their opinion isn't worth anything at all, it's still worth something because they are both airline pilots and they both fly Airbuses (but the A220 was technically designed by Bombardier and not Airbus), but IMO, it's not as meaningful as actual type rated A320 pilots.

Generally I don't follow the real pilots reviews because I cannot understanding if they want illustrate a simulated airplane showing their own experience, or selling a product. But I'm interested follow the pilot experiences without a simulator, just on the real airplane. There several sources for this and recently I found this: https://www.pprune.org/tech-log/347760-a320-iae-v2500-powered-vs-a320-cfm-powered.html

It's a topic regarding the differences between the IAE and CFM engines, no flight simulators, just real pilots talking about their own experience. I'm not an A320 expert, but it seems that Fenix work on their A320 reflects the real experience. In this way, we real fake simulated pilots can compare our home experience directly with professional pilots not implied with home flight simulators.

1 hour ago, Claudius_ said:

Generally I don't follow the real pilots reviews because I cannot understanding if they want illustrate a simulated airplane showing their own experience, or selling a product.

There are a few pilots who may be biased, because they are involved in a particular product/project. For example, A330 Driver (formerly named 737NG Driver), was involved with the PMDG 737 project - I think he was one of the testers on the PMDG team, when he was still flying the 737 in real life? Then there is FlightDeck2Sim, who gives input and help tested for the Zibo, so I think FlightDeck2Sim is also biased for the Zibo.  There is also KatiePilot, who was actually part of the Fenix team as a programmer, and she originally programmed the EFB for Fenix. But I believe KatiePilot is no longer with the Fenix team.

But aside from those famous streaming/Youtube pilots like A330 Driver and FlightDeck2Sim, most of the other streaming/Youtube pilots aren't involved in those products/projects (or if they are involved, they should probably disclose they are when they do a review of the product/project that they are involved in).  I know that Blackbox711 was involved in helping Fenix test their A320, but he has since left the Fenix project and he has also been critical of things the Fenix needed to improve on, in the past.

Personally, I find their reviews very helpful, because they are the foremost experts on those planes (if they are type rated in that plane), so they can tell us what the plane is strong at, and what it is weak at.

Edited March 4, 20242 yr by abrams_tank

@abrams_tank look at the objectivity and reliability of the so called influencers when they are talking about the Aerosoft CRJ, Inibuild A300, or PMDG DC-6. Do you really need of these kind of experts to understand what is strong or weak in an airplane???

(Caesar's wife must be above suspicion?)

On 3/1/2024 at 6:04 PM, threexgreen said:

Take a look at the other Fenix thread. Him and others are talking about two different things. He's talking about the time from starter engagement to disengagement, everyone else is talking about the time from starter engagement to full stabilization.

So is the Fenix correct or not? I'm confused.

43 minutes ago, Claudius_ said:

@abrams_tank look at the objectivity and reliability of the so called influencers when they are talking about the Aerosoft CRJ, Inibuild A300, or PMDG DC-6. Do you really need of these kind of experts to understand what is strong or weak in an airplane???

(Caesar's wife must be above suspicion?)

I generally listen to experts in their field, as long as I feel they are not biased (ie. because they have involvement with a particular product). For me, this goes not just for flight simulation, but for outside flight simulation. So I listen to my doctors, my specialists, my plumber, my auto technician, my computer technician, etc. They are the experts in their respective field, I am not.

And for me, it doesn't necessarily have to an influencer with a lot of followers. For example, Stearmandriver often posts here in Avsim. He also streams on Twitch too. Stearmandriver has nowhere near the number of followers or viewers that A330 Driver (formerly 737 Driver) or flightdeck2sim do.  But Stearmandriver is an IRL type rated 737 pilot, so I put his opinion equal to 737 Driver and also flightdeck2sim when it comes to the 737 (but of course, I take into account A330 Driver was/is affiliated with PMDG, and flightdeck2sim is affiliated to Zibo).

1 minute ago, abrams_tank said:

I generally listen to experts in their field, as long as I feel they are not biased (ie. because they have involvement with a particular product). For me, this goes not just for flight simulation, but for outside flight simulation. So I listen to my doctors, my specialists, my plumber, my auto technician, my computer technician, etc. They are the experts in their respective field, I am not.

And for me, it doesn't necessarily have to an influencer with a lot of followers. For example, Stearmandriver often posts here in Avsim. He also streams on Twitch too. Stearmandriver has nowhere near the number of followers or viewers that A330 Driver (formerly 737 Driver) or flightdeck2sim do.  But Stearmandriver is an IRL type rated 737 pilot, so I put his opinion equal to 737 Driver and also flightdeck2sim when it comes to the 737 (but of course, I take into account A330 Driver was/is affiliated with PMDG, and flightdeck2sim is affiliated to Zibo).

Stearmandriver is a good and expert guy, but I had some discussion with him at the PMDG forum (and here, if I recall correctly), and yes, for him the Caesar's wife must be above suspicion. The problem is just with the influencers, affiliated or not, they want appear just like authorities. So, I like to read and listen to some people not involved in flight sims.

Can never go wrong by paying attention to IRL pilots' opinions & reviews, especially when they're also experienced simmers, and even more especially if they are captains/FOs on the specific birds in question. In the case of the V1 Simulations, Blackbox711, 320 Sim Pilot they are all three, and also quite unbiased and straight to the point (per the countless reviews they've done across various sims and aircraft add-ons). Folks like Into the Blue Simulations I also like though no IRL experience on the 320 particularly. Apart from their reviews they also provide lots of useful insights and commentary that teaches us non-IRL-pilot simmers loads 🙂

These were the main points/quotes from above pilots I posted in the main Fenix thread:

• Blackbox711 (general first review): https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/642692-fenix-a320-block-2-is-released/page/14/?tab=comments#comment-5072299
• V1 Simulations (detailed look, failure/abnormal scenarios): https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/642692-fenix-a320-block-2-is-released/page/29/?tab=comments#comment-5073199
• 320 Sim Pilot (first look from cold start to take-off): https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/642692-fenix-a320-block-2-is-released/page/39/?tab=comments#comment-5073829
• A330 Driver (prev known as 737NG Driver.. particularly interesting since he didn't like the older Fenix's flight dynamics): https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/642692-fenix-a320-block-2-is-released/page/33/?tab=comments#comment-5073439