I bought it back in the p3d days, and any time I got a new plane it was virtually guaranteed someone had already set up a profile for it that used my Bravo throttle. 2020 was the same way. I hardly ever had to manually configure anything even with just-released planes because someone almost always beat me to it.

But these days it's kind of the opposite. I've started using 2024 a lot more since I got a system that can handle it, so I'm exploring all the new planes like the A400, C17, etc, and I'm not seeing much for online profiles of them. I'm happy to make and publish my own, but it just seems odd that they seem to have dried up so much.

 

I still use it every flight.

I was also surprised by how few profiles are readily available for MS2024. By the same token, it seems easier to configure profiles on your own. But I would like to see more, for sure.

17 minutes ago, tamsini said:

I was also surprised by how few profiles are readily available for MS2024. By the same token, it seems easier to configure profiles on your own. But I would like to see more, for sure.

Do the profiles matter better 2020 and 24? I just use my 2020 profiles in 24. I haven't run into one yet where the LVARS are different between 2020 and 24.

 

I also use it every flight. 

I use it every flight. My most valuable add on. 

I use SPAD, having switched from AAO a couple of years ago. I don't have any bindings for aircraft held within 2024, with the only controls being programed in 2024 being the camera views and other things SPAD can't control.

That said, I've been a little disappointed over the past 12 months or so with a couple of things.

- As the OP says, the rate at which new (and useful) snippets are added seems to be slowing. SPAD is reasonably intuitive, and its certainly very powerful, so making your own profiles isn't too complicated, but there does seem to be less and less community involvement. This is equally strange by the fact that there is so much more complex hardware on the market now than there was 5-6 years ago. Think of al the WW stuff...

- Some of the snippets are just rubbish. Sometimes trying to find something that works for a particular function on a particular aircraft with a particular piece of hardware is difficult because people upload snippits with little to no description, and to be honest, I think they use the online repository as a place to "backup" their own profiles.  There appears to be zero quality control over online snippets. 

- The rate of hardware "adoption" by the developer doesn't seem to be as quick as some other software...or perhaps its the fact that the hardware manufacturers are choosing to build their own profiles in other software, namely Mobiflight. The last couple of pieces of hardware I've looked at buying have been released with a mobiflight profile (if thats what they're called - I don't have Mobiflight...yet) but it seems to take some time before SPAD is made compatible with these devices. Given Mobiflight is free (isn't it?) and I'm supposed to pay a yearly subscription for SPAD to ensure I get the most up to date software and support development, this isn't ideal. 

For what its worth I really like SPAD and find it great to use. But given the seemingly wider acceptance of Mobiflight (plus the fact its free) I suspect when my subscription to SPAD is due next month I might make the switch over.  

Just my 2c 🙂

I use it every flight and find it very useful although if I have an issue I'd like to raise I have to hold my breath and wait to be treated like a child that knows nothing, whoever answers them clearly has no interpersonal skills 😒

What would help enormously would be aircraft developers publishing their list of lvars for a particular aircraft se we can find in in the Spad.Next list, I asked Just Flight this very question a couple of years ago and got a curt reply outlining some complicated way to identify a lvar when you press it, not the usual just flight respons.

 

A2A do it, WB Sim do it so why is it so difficult for other developers to do it, we are not all tech geniuses.

I totally agree with Dave, finding lvars is the actual challenge. Once you have them, it's a piece of cake then. And yes, Just Flight are not the best on this field.

It tends to be satisfying figuring out how to make custom programming. I’ve come far compared to where I was the day I first got spad. But then I see others on their discord who are so advanced it’s insane. Some pretty smart people out there. 

I agree - Its some of those people that actually keep the SPAD community in business. I don't know if Connex (is he the SPAD developer?) pays Les O'Reilly anything, but if he doesn't he should! That bloke contributes more to the SPAD community in terms of support/education than the developer does!

I virtually have everything mapped in Spad in MSFS 2024, its gold

3 hours ago, Micko said:

I totally agree with Dave, finding lvars is the actual challenge. Once you have them, it's a piece of cake then. And yes, Just Flight are not the best on this field.

To my knowledge they are one of the few higher end payware designers that don't expose their CDU/MCDU's.  So therefore you can push buttons but not display.  Inibuilds is another.  Very frustrating.  

1 minute ago, micstatic said:

To my knowledge they are one of the few higher end payware designers that don't expose their CDU/MCDU's.  So therefore you can push buttons but not display.  Inibuilds is another.  Very frustrating.  

It has me beat why iniBuilds don't do this, particularly given the popularity of the WW MCDU

1 minute ago, KL Oo said:

It has me beat why iniBuilds don't do this, particularly given the popularity of the WW MCDU

Perhaps as wingwing sells more and more they will be persuaded by the community.  It's pretty much the single thing that keeps me from flying the A300 often