All their products for FSX and P3D have fully functional demo versions - why rely on other peoples opinions when you can try them yourself?
I donāt need to try these aircraft, the whole community knows about the busses. Go whereever you want, youāll read the same things everywhere. If there was room for doubt Iād certainly try it. Anyway, itās about the Cessna here and again there is a voice that itās incomplete. Hence Iāll wait for some reviews of - again - independant and known reviewers. After all the shared link isnĆt even a product site but a login request.
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Not all of us have FSX or P3D
This one doesnāt have demo. The other people who have tried it, can confirm what phobos says ?
Do battery, alternator, pitot heat and fuel pump switches work ?
Does the knob to adjust the altimeter work ?
Some people need to be told what to think rather than find out for themselves.
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wanna buy me a Cessna? Iād like to find it out myself. But Iād NOT like to throw my money out of the windowā¦ Thatās what reviews are there for. Got the point?
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Yea, I see this all the time in the Flight Simulation community and often the only thing the āReviewersā actually flew was a kiteā¦
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So you are an experienced pilot, but unable to tell if the switches work ā¦ interesting
So is it a normal thing in this community to be criticized for asking for reviews of payware items?
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Well, okay, let me tell you a few things and clarify some more:
I personally look at some very basic things if I intend to purchase an addon: Flight dynamics, overall appearance of the addon (textures, sound, holes, systems), performance on a specific test system and completeness. I can get most of those answers from videos and pictures. Both have to be provided in a review. I donāt give a peep about what someone says and it totally doesnāt matter if the reviewer has 50, 5000 or zero hours on a Concorde, a TBM, a Cirrus or a trike. What matters is what I see, hear and a general impression of comments. I can get my information because I DO have a reference. almost 2 years of being a commercial pilot on - wow - A320 and A319. Couldnāt hold my medical 1 so I had to pull plan b --> another job and do private aviation. medical 2 and holding the PPL was no problem. So when I watch a video of a certain Airbus I can very well see if this airbus is done correctly, if it reacts and behaves at least a bit like the real airplane or if even the simpler logics are wrong. That much about the Airbus stuff above.
So far Iāve flown almost 30 types of general aviation aircraft, some of them SEP, some of them twins, most of them ultralight aircraft. Some of them alone, most of them with an instructor or the respective owner. Iāve flown a Piper Cub, a Cessna 185 and a Christen Eagle when it comes to tail wheels. 4 years ago I was able to regain my medical 1, revive my CPL and have flown SC7 Skyvans for over a year now. So I will be very able to acknowledge from a well written review or from a video if the airplane I look at is worth a purchase or not. I donāt need someone to tell me what to think and I certainly donāt need people to question this competence with dull phrases but very little help.
Concerning Blackbox specifically I lost trust long ago. They claimed a lot and never did even more. Paying customers have waited for the 0.90ish version of their Airbus line for YEARS. And now they provide a link to a sign-up page, not even to more pictures or a video. They have shared how much? 3 pictures? And you think I go and throw 20 dollars on the table? I would LIKE to get this plane, IF IT IS GOOD IN MY OPINION. I have no problem in changing or expanding my opinion on a developer- But until I am able to judge that I will be VERY carefull when it comes to some of them.
Soā¦ if you are here just to moan about people being sceptical, go on, Iāll skip you then from now on. But if you want to support this developer and help customers to adjust and expand their opinion you might deliver some facts.
All that I have seen so far is a statement that this plane isnāt fnished again. But I also know very well that there are enough trolls out there.
Edit: I just noticed the link has been corrected and there are indeed many screenshots now. I will have a look at them.
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No mate, donāt worry, we actually have a great community. At least in the other sims (but I believe here too). The problem here is that everyone is frustrated because they canāt fly the game and use at least BASIC stuff, like the switches or the electric system for example, lots of things are broken or not working properly. The game is on fire basically and everyone is angry, frustrated, tired, etc. But believe me, they are good people with lots of experience IRL and sims only too.
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Perhaps these items do not yet work ā¦ But most reported issues can be fixed quite easily with a patch ā¦
Perhaps the more important notes are ā¦
does it fly nice and accurately ?
Does it handle like a real tail dragger ?
Does it look right ?
Do MANY Of the switches actually work ?
Do the Nav and coms radios work ?
Is it a reasonably good rendition of the Cessna Bird Dog considering the SDK is mostly unworkable ?
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I have just been brave 
and purchased the airplaneā¦ Itās the first addon we get from a developer who has an idea of aviation so f*** off, 25ā¬ today, work 1 hour longer tomorrow.
Iāll report back.
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I am currently in dialogue with the developer now about a number of issues with the product that I purchased earlier, I will report back on the outcome in due course!!
NOT a review, but Iāll type some of my impressions while I look at it and flyā¦
looks good from the outside, maybe a little too polished. Rivets well done, colours look good. Good outside impression from approx 1m distance.
The instruments look like polygons. I count 24 or so edges instead or a round clock.
The mirror or whatever that is doesnāt work. Generally the default airplanes look a lot better.
The feet from the passenger (who I actually have removed in the payload section) clip through the back rest.
Elec switches donāt work, NO switch has any sound!!!
flaps work with a little switch that can be clicked to extend the flaps but I havenāt found a clickspot to retract them? If I use the assigned joystick buttons the switch doesnāt move but the flaps work.
The plane has a parking break but Iām not sure if the real plane has one. where would that lever be??
The brake toe tips donāt move any cables or whatever should be moved in this planeā¦
Taxiing: the engine sound is extremely silent while the rolling sound on gras is extremely dominant, I donāt hear my engines when taxiing on gras. This sond is digital: on or off, no dynamic
The tailwheel doesnāt move
takeoff and flying: feels okay, I have MFG rudder pedals and a T16000 joystick mounted between my legs, arm resting on the legs.
Without going into special maneuvers the airplane feels believable and as (un)stable as I remember from my experience with other taildraggers like the C185.
the stall behaviour seems well done. Power on stall should probably drop more over the left wing. But it feels absolutely okay for a 25ā¬ addon.
The flaps donāt look like they were extended to 60 degrees like it says on the gauge.
The stall warning sound is an electric beep but in all older Cessnas I have flown itās rather a howling sound.
the flare at landing was phenomenal. Best Iāve seen in MSFS so far.
I havenāt taken care about the engine instruments now, I have to go to bed, need to get up early.
I will stop here.
The taxi sound on the ground must be improved and the textures and missing click sounds are a no go for 25ā¬. Even if you donāt record actual sounds at least add a subtle generic sound. And please do something about that polygon look in front of you.
The missing click functionality is simply untested, Blackbox, thatās exactly what I meant aboveā¦ incomplete, not really cared about and quick.
Overall impression is okay but for 25ā¬ expect the sounds and the gauges to sound and look good.
The textures really should be worked on for your own reputation. They are āokayā but look at how incredibly beautiful the default planes are. The Birddog is really no comparison.
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Is it perfect? No.
Is it complete? No.
Could it be better? Yes.
Is it great fun? Yes.
Should we encourage the developers? Yes.
Am I talking about the Bird Dog, or the base sim we are using?
Both. The statements hold true for both.
No regrets flying the Bird Dog in MSFS 2020. If perfection was the focus, I would not be flying anything on my computer.
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Is this available from any U.S. locations/retailers (to make it easier to pay for)?
Am intrigued. More information is necessary via reviews.
Right. I feel they can do better than that. Their Airbuses donāt look bad, but it seems they are hardly motivated, lacking passion.
Some aspects of the plane really show that there IS skill and that they have the necessary background, I donāt think that the pretty good behaviour in the air is an accidential hit. There is a possibility imo that they expected too much of themselves with the airbuses and have lost the motivation. Maybe they also need money. Whatever the reason is, I think and I hope they can update this Cessna to a real good plane. They just need to do it. MSFS certainly has the customer base to pay out.
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@Ephedrin87 thanks for your honest assessment, and ātaking the plungeā with your hard-earned ducats. You just saved me from jumping into what sounds like a half-baked model. I think Iāll wait a bit until things settle out.
The included models from Asobo are light years ahead of the āstockā models we got with FSX. The DA62 in particular is excellent. And the Cub Crafters X. Even the C152 isnāt bad.
Thanks again!
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