For me, I think I kind of tend towards the Fenix.....

 

 

I prefer the Fenix, but I already own it.  I couldn't see any reason for buying the FSL. If you wanted an Airbus and didn't have one, the FSL looks nice too. I wasn't crazy about the FSL EFB. 

For me I prefer FSL because of (IMO) a better flight model, weather radar, MELs. They still have a lot of work to do but I believe it will get better. Dont get me wrong Fenix is also a great product, visuals are superior, better performance (again IMO), fs2crew integration and the whole range of A32x aircraft with well simulated systems and failures model.

For me as an airline pilot, FSL makes me feel at work, yesterday after loading my aircraft, I found a plane with a few MELs, no APU and the lovely yellow stickers on the overhead panel. 

I will continue supporting both products, I think some competition is good for us in the end 

 

Same here got both but now flying the FSlabs as the  above poster has mentioned. 

I prefer the fenix because of sounds/graphics and overall immersion.  But I certainly appreciate the newer features FSL is bringing to the table.  

What a time to be an Airbus simmer!

So, I went to their site to take a closer look at the FSL thingie, but I must say I feel a bit taken aback. The whole "not suitable for people with blindness" bit.... Am I missing something? Is that supposed to be funny?

 

1 hour ago, HiFlyer said:

So, I went to their site to take a closer look at the FSL thingie, but I must say I feel a bit taken aback. The whole "not suitable for people with blindness" bit.... Am I missing something? Is that supposed to be funny?

 

No. They are just covering themselves incase someone visually impared purchases it.

15 minutes ago, Tavers said:

No. They are just covering themselves incase someone visually impared purchases it.

If..... you are that visually impaired... will you see the warning?

I think I'm having a logic malfunction.

Edited January 18, 20251 yr by HiFlyer

As much as I love (/s) Airbus A320's, I got the FSLabs simply because they were pretty innovative with their features. Been doing a few flights, more or less back to back swapping between FSL and Fenix. I do prefer the Fenix because it's MUCH lighter on performance, the ground handling is better, and there were some issues with ILS approaches in the FSL (LOC & GS not capturing). Hand flying, the FSL feels a bit "stiff" and "behind," but I've never flown an Airbus IRL, so I don't know how they handle. The input delay is what throws me off a bit with that plane. That said, procedurally, FSL takes the cake. For the first time, it actually felt like I was "at work." Checking the logbook & the DDG, using ACARS in a way that's somewhat familiar, not having to go through 15 different menus and ALT+TABbing to different windows, everything is incorporated in the plane which feels so refreshing. I intentionally flew out of an airport where deiceing was required; it was pretty cool. In all honesty, I really had to hold back the urge to vocally contact ICEMAN. If they had a voice control program that allowed you to contact ICEMAN, ground crew, your FO, it'd truly be in a new league of its own. However, the overall performance cost is high...especially when using BATC with Traffic....with frame gen, I'm lucky to get 36 FPS at a somewhat heavy airport. FYI, the first route I flew was from AS ENGM to AS EDDF. Visually, the Fenix wins, but I think FSL's intent is to keep you in the "pilot" mindset -- checking wing views and walking around the cabin is nice and all, but it does detract from the "I am a pilot" immersion. The Fenix is obviously much more mature, since it's been out for over 3 years now (I believe). Give FSL a few years, and I think it'll definitely surpass the Fenix, unless Fenix poaches some of FSL's features. I'm honestly impressed with their product, but I wish it performed better.

15 minutes ago, HiFlyer said:

If..... you are that visually impaired... will you see the warning?

If you ARE that visually impaired, you will have a text to voice app running on all docs/web pages etc.

Both are winners IMO.

I don't own the FSL yet... because I'm in FS 2024 only.

Too late to edit my previous post, and I'm not saying this with any condescension, but to anyone on the fence: The Fenix is for moderate to hardcore flight simmers. The FSL Airbus is for pilots.

Side note, turning off the EFB does yield some performance gains. For now, I guess, just turn it off when it's not in use.

6 hours ago, V1ROTA7E said:

As much as I love (/s) Airbus A320's, I got the FSLabs simply because they were pretty innovative with their features. Been doing a few flights, more or less back to back swapping between FSL and Fenix. I do prefer the Fenix because it's MUCH lighter on performance, the ground handling is better, and there were some issues with ILS approaches in the FSL (LOC & GS not capturing). Hand flying, the FSL feels a bit "stiff" and "behind," but I've never flown an Airbus IRL, so I don't know how they handle. The input delay is what throws me off a bit with that plane. That said, procedurally, FSL takes the cake. For the first time, it actually felt like I was "at work." Checking the logbook & the DDG, using ACARS in a way that's somewhat familiar, not having to go through 15 different menus and ALT+TABbing to different windows, everything is incorporated in the plane which feels so refreshing. I intentionally flew out of an airport where deiceing was required; it was pretty cool. In all honesty, I really had to hold back the urge to vocally contact ICEMAN. If they had a voice control program that allowed you to contact ICEMAN, ground crew, your FO, it'd truly be in a new league of its own. However, the overall performance cost is high...especially when using BATC with Traffic....with frame gen, I'm lucky to get 36 FPS at a somewhat heavy airport. FYI, the first route I flew was from AS ENGM to AS EDDF. Visually, the Fenix wins, but I think FSL's intent is to keep you in the "pilot" mindset -- checking wing views and walking around the cabin is nice and all, but it does detract from the "I am a pilot" immersion. The Fenix is obviously much more mature, since it's been out for over 3 years now (I believe). Give FSL a few years, and I think it'll definitely surpass the Fenix, unless Fenix poaches some of FSL's features. I'm honestly impressed with their product, but I wish it performed better.

Nice write up.

I installed AutoFPS recently and was testing perfomance at KBOS with the A321 and BATC. I've just tried the latest A321 update and performance seems better.

 

7 hours ago, V1ROTA7E said:

.....That said, procedurally, FSL takes the cake. For the first time, it actually felt like I was "at work."....

That is a good thing??