June 9, 20242 yr Hi flyers I have seen a number of youtube videos regarding both the above excellent aircraft add on products for FS2020. I am interested to hear owners' experiences of these products in terms of which you think is 'better' specifically in terms of: a) Cockpit visuals b) General flight dynamics and handling 'realism' c) Pure IFR procedures e.g. SIDs, STARs and ILS approaches. I frame my question above in terms of I only intend to purchase 1 of these multi engine products.
June 9, 20242 yr In my opinion it depends on what kind of flying you like to do. I think both aircraft are really good, but different in a number of ways, that can make a decision harder. Do you like G1000 avionics more than steam gauge w/ GPS (GTN or GNS)? Do you like to fly higher and faster or are you ok with staying relatively low and slow use the DA42? Both aircraft have good IFR capabilities since they are coming out of the GPS system (or G1000). The cockpit forward visibility from the DA42 is hard to beat from any aircraft, it is just really good. The systems/failure depth is more complete with the Black Square Duke, it's very complex in this area, which is something I really like. I have both and enjoy flying them, depending on what type of flying I want to do at the time. I know you said you only want to purchase one.......but I'd recommend both if you can swing it 🙂
June 9, 20242 yr I find these X v Y comparisons really difficult as the aircraft are both top-tier, and they have their own personalities. Even when I buy one, I always end up wanting the other one anyway. What @KevinS137 says above is probably as good advice as you will get. Rob (but call me Bob or Rob, I don't mind). I like to trick airline passengers into thinking I have my own swimming pool in my back yard by painting a large blue rectangle on my patio. Intel 14900K in a Z790 motherboard with water cooling, RTX 4080, 32 GB 6000 CL30 DDR5 RAM, W11 and MSFS on Samsung 980 Pro NVME SSD's. Core Isolation Off, Game Mode Off.
June 9, 20242 yr Completely different aircraft. Definitely worth getting both as I wouldn't want to pick one over the other. 9950X3D - X870E Aorus Master- TUF 5090 OC - 64GB DDR5 - 1500W HXi - Titan 360 RX LCD - 9100 Pro x 2 - LG 45GX950A - HOTAS Warthog with Ava Base
June 9, 20242 yr My advice FWIW. I bought the Cows day 1 because it looked so crisp and cool and the automation was top notch, bar none. I flew it exclusively for about two or three days then I found it becoming boring, far too slow for a twin and I parked it. I bought both Dukes day 1 for the same reasons that I bought the Cows. Crisp, cool and awesome automation. What sets the two planes apart? I never get bored with the Dukes and I fly them frequently to this day. FWIW. YMMV. TANSTAAFL. -B
June 9, 20242 yr I personally prefer steam gauges and wouldn't even consider the DA-42. The Dukes are excellent, however. Among the best steam gauge GA airplanes available for MSFS right now, along with the A2A Comanche and the Blackbird Cessna 310.
June 9, 20242 yr 1 hour ago, qqwertz said: Among the best steam gauge GA airplanes available for MSFS right now, along with the A2A Comanche and the Blackbird Cessna 310 C310 bites the dust when comparing with Duke. Duke and Comanche are two best GA available. Artur
June 9, 20241 yr 3 hours ago, btacon said: ... FWIW. YMMV. TANSTAAFL. Sure, and AFAIK, YOLO. Rob (but call me Bob or Rob, I don't mind). I like to trick airline passengers into thinking I have my own swimming pool in my back yard by painting a large blue rectangle on my patio. Intel 14900K in a Z790 motherboard with water cooling, RTX 4080, 32 GB 6000 CL30 DDR5 RAM, W11 and MSFS on Samsung 980 Pro NVME SSD's. Core Isolation Off, Game Mode Off.
June 9, 20241 yr I agree with everyone here. the DA-42 might be a good airplane in the conventional sense but the Comanche and Duke are in a whole other ballpark.
June 9, 20241 yr 7 hours ago, btacon said: TANSTAAFL. -B Help me out @btacon - I got the other ones but this one I'm not seeing haha
June 9, 20241 yr 1 hour ago, KevinS137 said: Help me out @btacon - I got the other ones but this one I'm not seeing haha TANSTAAFL. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch -B
June 10, 20241 yr 10 hours ago, Beardyman said: C310 bites the dust when comparing with Duke. Duke and Comanche are two best GA available. That depends. State saving in the C310 is fairly complete; much better than in the Dukes and about as good as the Comanche. The Dukes shine at engine and other system simulations. I like them all.
June 11, 20241 yr a) Cockpit visuals b) General flight dynamics and handling 'realism' c) Pure IFR procedures e.g. SIDs, STARs and ILS approaches. A. Visuals Excellent in all three with the Dukes pipping the DA to the post by a chock. B. Flight dynamics I'd say the DA's flight dynamics rule here; there is something quite brilliant in Tommy's work (he did the mod for the DA62). Not as pronounced as the C310 the DA42 does show a tendency to yaw in flight (as real aircraft do). I cannot recall noticing this being obvious in either of the Dukes. But that's. only one tiny aspect of the flight dynamics. All three these products are very good from a flight perspective. You will enjoy them. C. Procedures All three do what you want them to do with flight plans and approaches. They are decades apart so obviously there is an enormous level of automation with the DA42 that the Dukes simply don't have. Want to click more buttons? Get a Duke. A raw comparison of the Duke (take your pick) vs the COWS DA42: The Duke(s) are in a different league. They are really that good. They have and deserve legend status (not that the COWS DA42 is bad, it's an excellent product and well worth buying). Want legs, speed and a little more simplicity (plus that oh $%#@ did I introduce fuel too early!) then go for the turbine Duke. Want a huge and broad smile every time an engine fires up (and a sigh of relief that you primed enough but not too much) then go for the internal combustion Duke. I will eat my RAM with some chilli sauce if the IC Duke doesn't stir something in you. Now ... which Duke to get? The enter is obvious my friend. Both. Spoiler Duke 😉
June 11, 20241 yr There are worlds of difference between the Piston Duke and Turbine Duke and that DA42. The DA42 is just another multiplatform casual plane with sub-average "FPS-optimized" low polygon and blurry visuals and no interesting features or deeper functions whatsoever in the cockpit. It is just there to "fly around a bit and look at roofs". Textures look blurry, nothing interesting to see and to do inside the cockpit. Tested it a few minutes and uninstalled. Meanwhile the Duke Series is the epitome of perfect simulation and the Fenix Airbus V1 among the GA-planes. 100 possible failures, photorealistic visuals, perfect cockpit customization, superb FlyPad with engine simulation - absolute perfection! a) Cockpit visuals PERFECT in the BlackSquare Duke series. b) General flight dynamics and handling 'realism' Handling is very good, but for me all aircraft feel the same and I fly with autopilot all the time anyway so I can´t really answer this point 😄 c) Pure IFR procedures e.g. SIDs, STARs and ILS approaches. Several different cockpit variants are possible from pure radio panels with no GPS panel at all but only VOR needles to modern Garmin GTN 750. ILS landing is possible with all different cockpit variations. I mostly fly instrument conditions only with the Dukes and it is flawless.
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