New MSFS 2020 - Cessna L-19 Bird Dog to be released today

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102

Perhaps you didn’t see there are in fact 3 aircraft (Bush, standard, amphibian) and a load of free liveries. In addition its been updated already and there’s another in the works.

What gets to me is everyone is complaining about the way it looks and the switches (which was an install error and is fixed) but the serious simmers are complimenting the way it flies.

This is a flight simulator, not a beauty contest although the way Asobo just love Carenado enough to have them develop planes and launch aircraft with them leads me to think it is perhaps a beauty contest.

If you look closely you will find many issues all over this Simulator but I’m not playing that game. I have flown over 20 hours in this aircraft since launce and it is the best tail dragger available and the amphibian is a bonus.

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Aparently now you can’t use them via HOTAS or Keyboard shortcut …

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Carenado is all about nice looking graphics. I’ve had two aircraft; one in FS2004 and one in FSX. Both were very nice to look at. That’s great, but if the model doesn’t “fly” well or has a bad or inoperative user interface it gets parked in the hangar. Both Carenado models were hangar queens.

The L-19 sounds like fun!

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105

More massive overgeneralisations to add to the litany of
fallacious comments above. Been simming for years. Interesting how the defenders can’t string a logical argument together. But hey, times we live in, right?

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106

What gets ME is how you and others assume people complaining are amateurs that care more about visuals than the flying characteristics. I can play this game too and start assuming things. Based on your photo I can assume you’re a boomer that grew up being taught not to complain and just take things as they come which will probably lead you to assume that I am a millennial that grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth and is self-entitled. I am not going to do that. Instead, I am going to respect your opinion that you like this add-on, can put up with the faults and see the price tag as a bargain because you consider the variants as separate aircraft.

Also, keep in mind that people have different tastes and opinions when it comes to what they want out of a simulator. I for one care as much about the textures as I do about the flight model and, yes, I expect perhaps more for the money I pay than the next person and that’s fine. That’s what sets us apart as individuals.

I also believe that as consumers we should demand more because if we want the FS 2020 ecosystem to be better than the nightmare that is the X-Plane one; riddled with unfinished abandon-ware cash-grabs that people paid for in good faith hoping they would be updated with time but weren’t. So forgive me for being cautious and skeptical.

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107

I’m sorry, but the price tag for this is FAR above what it should be… The workmanship of the 3d modeling is sub par at best. Hell I’ve seen better modeling from freeware planes in FSX 10 years ago. $10-15 okay I might be able to see that, but $40 not a chance. Considering how well everything else is done in FS2020 3rd party devs are going to have to up their game for sure. For $40+ I expect the visuals, audio, animations, and flying characteristics, sorry…

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108

Everyone please take a breath and relax. This personal stuff is why it is so painful at times to participate in forums. I’m just trying to have some fun and learn something.
With best wishes for collegiality,
Mark

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109

Very well said. I’ve already hit “Ignore” a couple of times. :smiley:

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110

So I bought it.

My first observation is the flaps. When fully extended:
the external view flap indicator shows 30 degrees;
the cockpit flap indicator shows 60 degrees;
the right flap on the visual model appears to be at about 20 degrees; and
the left flap on the visual model appears to be at about 40 degrees.

That’s right, flaps on the physical model deflect unevenly. There are a ton of other details that are a little off (something about the landing gear legs looks odd to me, the door/window handles are missing, etc.). The tailwheel turns more sharply/realistically than any of the default taildraggers, but doesn’t transition from steerable to castering realistically (though that may be a limitation of MSFS rather than this aircraft).

Yep, it’s a plane, but that’s about it. If we had a decent tool for migrating FSX and FS2004 aircraft to MSFS, I would have several aircraft of comparable quality for a lot less money than this bird dog.

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111

Thanks for the review. After all the buzz over today’s “patch” I feel lucky to simply have a few of the included aircraft behave reasonably well. I haven’t even tried any of the big tubes at this point.

For taildraggers I’ve flown the Cub and the Cub X. That’s enough for me, for now.

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112

For reference, when I did the review, I was using ver 1.1 , so I too am waiting for an update, but the update released does not fix any of the issues I experienced in the review. I was using the latest update.

Also, I don’t have any bones to pick, I really wanted to love this addon. I want nothing more than a float plane and the bush plane was a bonus.

This list is by no means comprehensive as others have found different issues (see flyingTom2 above) These are just the ones I found before giving up on doing a serious and methodical review. I ran out of patience after 5 hours of NO flight time (just instrument panel and model) and then less than a few hours flight time.

Comments on the flight model were excluded because things like coordinated turns and slips and skids although not feeling correct, I’m unsure if this is a model problem or sim problem as I’ve noticed similar things in other aircraft.

I also didn’t offer any opinions on the aircraft in the review (except positive ones) save the single time I mentioned I didn’t think it was ready for release and therefore not worth $40.

The review was literally video of my experience with the plane while finding the below. Although the video was in jest which I may have had second thoughts about but do not regret, this is exactly how I felt at the moment of filming it so, in the end, is as honest as a review can be. That’s the reasoning behind releasing it in this manner.

Had I been presented with an aircraft that I could get started and fly without “figuring out” tricks and problems unrelated to how the aircraft operates, I would have still included my findings, but in a more serious and methodical way.

It can be easy to dismiss the review as some sort of slander against the developer or the aircraft because of the humor, but if you listen closely it is all based on experience and no opinions are offered (except positive ones) during the review.

IMO, to make this a $40 addon the developer needs to address the following:

To make the model usable:

  • Inoperable switches
  • Upside down switches (you know how confusing that is to someone with 30+ years of muscle memory in aircraft)
  • No Instrument panel views using MS default pov/hat switch
  • Default Zoom View is unusable (especially without instrument view)
  • Aircraft is sometimes invisible on cold/dark start
  • No idea what happens on landing on water with overstress?
  • Fuel selector has no off position (all instead) and doesn’t go to that position once turned from it
  • CDI goes haywire (to/from)
  • magnetos broken (scroll past both and it actually starts as if the start option is invisibly there)
  • Can’t actually start the aircraft using proper procedures. (you have to know tricks that are undocumented)
  • Model can be frozen on load
  • No gear up switch in cockpit with floats
  • Trim by default is pitch way down which makes takeoffs really difficult, and no indication of neutral trim

To make the model worth $40.00

  • Interior textures need improvement
  • Too many visual glitches to mention (seems, prop etc)
  • Gauges look horrible (reflections or texture? look melted)
  • Interior polygon count is FSX at best (I’m fine with exterior)
  • Volt/Amp gauge says its modeled but isnt’. Technically it moves when you flip from volt/amp, but no movement when starting aircraft for instance or when fuel boost pump is activated etc… it isn’t actually modeled.
  • many sounds not modeled (no switch sounds for instance)
  • No gear up indicator in cockpit with floats (switch could be used as indicator although not very safe, acceptable because it sim I guess, I’m expected to flip to external view to see if my gear is up?)
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113

Still waiting on my refund request. Since some posting here are developers for Blackbox, it would be nice to hear their position on refunds.

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Look like an interesting bird until I read the youtube comments. Not very positive feedback

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I had 15 minutes today and decided to load MSFS up and fly the floatplane again.

I attempted a water landing again.

It worked, I landed, I enjoyed the sounds the developer has included for these water landings.

All prior opinions still stand.

If fixed, I would imagine I would get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

I’m in IT for a living, I don’t want to troubleshoot my hobby when I go home.

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116

There’s the problem. We now have to wait and see whether or not we get what we were paying for. So far we’ve had one patch implementing a modicum of essential features that should have been there in the first place. On top of that, no apology from Blackbox for releasing a product too early in development and charging people for the displeasure of finding out. Instead, posts above from developers and cronies essentially blaming customers for overly high expectations. Totally unacceptable really. And of course, no refunds, because it is what it is: total cash grab!

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118

5 of your so called list of errors are Asobo and NOT BBS
Some others relate to Pre Patch version.

https://forum.msfsaddons.org/t/review-l-19-bird-dog/4573

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A different opinion just for fairness
https://forum.msfsaddons.org/t/review-l-19-bird-dog/4573

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I’ll download your v1.2 and have a look and give it a fair shake, but honestly NightMercury, you just pointed me to a review from someone who joined MSFSaddons 2 days ago and this is their 1’st post which they posted right after your update, which you then found immediately and posted here.

I’m guessing you think we’re all idiots.

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121

Do you mind elaborating which 5 of these errors are someone else’s fault? It would help in the re-evaluation of the plane to be as fair as possible.

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123

That’s exactly what I thought. What next one wonders? This is almost becoming entertaining.

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