KatiePilot

Hey! I have tried both, and didn't really get on well with either - but I don't think I can blame the developers here... single engine in MSFS I never really get on with, primarily because I don't have rudder pedals! And the issue with single engine manual flight in flight sim is that there is no force feedback, IRL you just put in whatever rudder you feel you need initially and then transfer your view to the beta target. - But because you don't get that feel in the sim, it's extremely hard to quantify what is and isn't "right" in terms of FM. If I had force-feedback rudder pedals, I could probably make an objective assessment, but maybe that's for another time 😄

It's interesting to read about FSL's systems depth being superior to Fenix. They both have extremely high systems depth and fidelity, and I think people tend to forget how deep the Fenix simulation goes - That because it is so pretty, it must be "less good" when you start stress testing it, but having done that myself, I can confirm, it works as expected in the majority of situations, in fact I used it quite extensively when preparing for my command upgrade sims. From my understanding, they have both been developed to simulate the physical wiring of the aircraft, and as a result are extremely good quality. I genuinely can't tell any difference in accuracy of systems depth between the two, are there inaccuracies? Yes of course there are - but, they're pretty few and far between! Now what really sticks out for me, is that the FSLabs of course has the MEL function which in my view is it's jewel in the crown and really makes you think before jumping in and going flying, the same way we have to IRL. But purely in terms of systems depth and accuracy, and "doing what I expect it to do when I do something" - in my view they are very much on the same level. I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't buy. But, hopefully that gives you a little bit of context on the actual standard these two aircraft are at.

My opinion on the flight models is they are both very close to the real thing. FSLabs is probably a little bit too much "on rails", i.e. it sticks to whatever path it's on regardless of outside influence. - Yet still very very close to the real thing in terms of what I expect the plane to do when i apply an input. Perhaps it feels to me like it's been set to "easy mode" with regards to the flight model. - but still extremely accurate and satisfying to fly. Fenix, to my taste, is probably slightly more in line with what I would expect the plane to do when handflying, i.e. it's still very much "point and shoot", but also does get affected by the environment around it. If I had to be super picky and critical, perhaps the environment affects it slightly too much (i personally set turb to low for this reason) - but my word, it's close. With that said, I'm sure there will be other pilots out there who disagree with me - and that, in my view is just a testament to both developers for how close they have got - we really are splitting hairs here.

As someone who flies the A320 family IRL, worked with Fenix, and also was privileged enough to be given a pre-release copy of FSL to stream, i can give a somewhat balanced view/opinion. Firstly, no Airbus (or indeed aircraft) simulation is ever going to be able to capture every aspect of what it's like to fly a real aircraft. There's a reason why new pilots are required to undergo base training despite having spent hours in a Level D sim honing their skills, because even the multi-million pound, full motion ones aren't exactly perfect! FSLabs have brought some really quite cool stuff to the table, the MEL in particular is really good and encapsulates what it's like to be a pilot, I just flew 3 sectors today carrying 4 defects including an inop APU, knowing the same thing might happen on the FSL and you don't know what it's going to be until you load in/check the tech log adds a lot of immersion for me. Similarly, i don't know if anyone has tail struck it yet, but there's some really cool additional features that just add to the general immersion of what it's like to be a pilot. With regards to the flight model/how it feels - Fenix have recently updated their FM (or at least when I flew it in MSFS2024) the A319 in particular feels really accurate, having been really busy with other projects, I first jumped into the Fenix after a while away and i was very impressed with how it handled. With regards to FSL's chequered history, I think it's important to discover for yourself what happened, and decide for yourself if that crosses your personal red lines. I was very impressed with EasyJetSimPilot's objective video explaining it all in a nutshell without being emotive. So yeh, objectively speaking, I think they both have a lot to offer and I have enjoyed flying both - it's easy to get lost in the noise, but these aircraft are both insanely high fidelity and they are bringing near professional level simulations to your desktop PCs for under $100. I'm really impressed, and really hope the competition leads to more innovation from both parties, the community has a lot to gain!