The Bear Studios MiG-15 is now out at Just Flight. Really looking forward to hearing impressions.
EDIT: Price has been dropped to $29.99, so previous rant turned into a quote. Gonna buy this now to put my money where my mouth is!
That said, Bear Studios’ previous work for earlier sims was top-notch, so hardcore MiG fans will likely love this. This should be approximately 15 million times better than horrific model released a few years ago that was just a purchased 3D model shoved into MSFS.
If it ever hits a sale and ends up in the $30 range, I’ll look forward to checking it out.
Yeah, at the price range i’ll defs be waiting for more reviews and to see if they provide continued support before buying it. Even then, i’ll defs be waiting for a sale ~ $45 is just too much, especially since you can get top-quality MSFS planes for nearly half that. I’ve been waiting for a good MiG-15 for ages though, so i hope this one delivers!
Last time Bear Studios this exact addon for MSFS, it didn’t even work in MSFS. Developer then admitted he didn’t have the latest version of MSFS (??) and then pulled the addon from the MSFS marketplace. Also said he was working from prison at the time, so was slow to update. Long story short… buyer beware. Hopefully things have gotten better for him and he’s able to work on this more regularly. Also skipping due to the price myself. I’m pretty much done paying over $30 for addons. It’d have to be a major exception (top 5 personal favorite IRL aircraft, noteworthy innovations, study level, etc.)
The Mig-15 was one of my daily drivers in X-Plane so I’m very interested in this. I took a quick look through their manual and it’s pretty comprehensive, and looks to include a working gyro sight and droppable ordnance as well as numerous load out options. The price is a little high so I’ll wait for some review videos but as long as it’s not trash I’ll get it.
Looks like they dropped the price to $30 so I grabbed it. Won’t be able to test it for a few more hours but after scrolling the manual it looks fairly substantial.
Ooh, big respects to the devs for making the price more reasonable! Defs looking forward to hearing some of the first impressions ~ if they’re favourable i’ll pick it up as well
Only had a short amount of time to try it on my lunch break and grab a few screen shots, but overall it looks fantastic, and the flight model feels good from limited testing. Roll rates suffer at high speeds, really maneuverable slower, and definitely feels very different at high altitudes.
Panel looks great, although there are a ton of switches without tooltips and with Russian labels. Assuming those are all no-op/combat related.
Probably my only grip is a pretty small one – canopy smudges are too prominent from the exterior view in a lot of lighting conditions. Mostly affects screenshots, since I fly from inside the cockpit.
Looks like this is going to get a regular rotation on my flight line!
I found this addon to be worth the $30 I paid for it. Overall, it provides an enjoyable and believable simulation of a MiG-15 (my only reference for the aircraft being videos on YouTube). I hope folks that have real world experience flying the MiG-15 can provide feedback to the developer to refine the already controlled and stable flight model. For the initial release, I accept that it is not completely “right”, but it is still enjoyable within the scope of MSFS GA flight. The flight model has some unexpected behavior at BFM airspeeds (again, I don’t know how it really flies).
Observations (Feedback for developer if they read this post):
** General **
Hopefully updated manuals will only include MSFS instructions. About a 4th of the manual explains what the P3D or FSX version of the addon features include, and you mearly added the disclaimer “due to the limitations of the MSFS SDK…” the features are non-functional. However, I can see how this might be necessary to manage customers who previously purchased the addon on the other platforms.
Had to watch a DCS video to learn how to cold start this addon - took too long for me to decipher the manual (in my impatience to see how it flies, I found that Ctrl+E isn’t implemented).
Cold Start procedure is simplified, as you don’t have to worry about the fuel cock
I really like the implementation of the kneeboard. There is no autopilot, but it sure is a helpful luxury to have the GPS/EFB in the cockpit that includes a flight plan editor.
** Flight Model **
Nose wheel steering is game like (not quite twitchy, but very abrupt)
Takeoff rotation is abrupt - making a smooth rotation into the air extremely difficult and causes overcompensation (nose doesn’t lift until a certain speed - when it does, it’s abrupt). However, I could be reading the airspeed indicator wrong and starting my rotation too early.
Unexpectedly smooth once in the air, and roll-rate to control-input react almost exactly like the few in-cockpit videos I watched
Unexpected rudder behavior at higher airspeed. Rudder input causes the aircraft to roll in the opposite direction: e.g. right rudder causes the aircraft to yaw to the right, but it then has a significant roll to the left. At approach speeds in the pattern, it is less noticeable and/or behaves like I am expecting.
Overall for an initial release, the Bear Studio’s MiG-15 is a wonderful 3rd generation fighter platform to tour MSFS with.
** 3D Modeling **
It looks really good externally
It looks like FSX or P3D in the cockpit - albeit really good versions within those platforms, that I hope will be improved with better texturing. I find it acceptable, and I’m thankful I didn’t pay the release asking price for the addon. I feel like I’m flying a P3D/FSX model since I fly from the cockpit. The cockpit is constantly reminding me that I’m flying a port from another platform - albeit a good one.
** VR **
Although it is advertised that the gauges are modeled in 3D, only the bezels are 3d. The needles and gauge faces really look like FSX when you look at them in VR. Overall, the cockpit (including the scale and position) looks good in VR, the gauge faces and needles contradict what one might expect from what was advertised.
** Audio **
I really like that the brakes include the sound of the pneumatic air pressure system (similar to the FlyingIron Spitfire)
Very abrupt transitions of turbine rpm audio during startup - 2 very hard transitions with about a 1 second pause between the audio tracks (similar to the Aerosoft Twin Otter on its initial release). I hope the developer intends to refine this in a patch.
Once started, the sound of the powerplant relative to the throttle input is fantastic and very predictable and smooth. It provides a pilot the luxury to control power with eyes out (looking outside the cockpit).
It sounds generally enough like a MiG-15 (again, based on several YouTube videos I’ve watched). However, it is completely missing the low-end roar of the thrust. It is the opposite of the MS Scenery powerplant audio. It’s like whoever created the audio split the audio filters and sold the low and mid frequency recording to MS Scenery and the higher frequency recording to Bear Studios. It is not as noticeable from within the cockpit however, as more of the high frequency audio that Bear Studios provides appears to replicate what you hear in the YouTube cockpit videos of the MiG-15.
** My Conclusion **
I never heard of Bear Studios before Just Flight published the MiG-15 release. I couldn’t find any recent reviews nor much useful information regarding the Bear Studios MiG-15 addon for MSFS, and it delayed my final decision to purchase it to ensure it wasn’t a scam - specifically because all the screenshots on the Just Flight product page appear to be from P3D and not the MSFS rendered world. Since the release, I was hoping someone with more intimate knowledge of the MiG-15 would post an overall review. It has been a few days and nothing on YouTube either.
It struck me as odd that there is a YouTube video review of a freeware MiG-15, that looks and sounds almost exactly the same as this pay ware. The only apparent exception is that the Bear Studio’s MiG-15 has a more correct cockpit panel and switch/button layout.
Overall and for an initial release, I am happy with having purchased the Bear Studios MiG-15. I can only hope Bear Studios continues to support and improve the addon. It is worth the $30 in my opinion.
Lol. Well that’s a new one. They let you have fight Sims in Prison now? Doesnt surprise me with the world we live in today. Hope a great Mig 15 does come out soon. I think Milviz/Blackbird ar developing a F86.
When I spawn it in Cold & Dark mode there is already a turbine sound in the cockpit. When I switch to the external view everything is quiet. I tried reinstalling it, but it stays the same. Does anybody else have that issue? Or does anyone know if it is a system running that can be switched off?
Well, looking at some pictures available above I see that this model’s visuals are much better then those of the model for FSX. However, the АН is still not correct a bit - the red thing does not exists on AGI-1. We see on this model is a mix of AGI-1 and AGK-47. Anyway, this red thing must disappear when we uncage the AH.
The VHF radio’s control panel is wrong, looks like a modern toy.
Some lamps are wrongly positioned for the MiG-15 but OK for the MiG-15bis and this is OK as this is a model of the MiG-15bis.
I am not sure about the Whiskey Compass - I believe on the MiG-15/17 it was a G-meter placed there, and the Whiskey Compass was there on the MiG-15UTI.
Russian text is much better on the panel and gauges:) Often there is an untranslatable mix of Russian-like letters on almost all of the models of Russian planes coming from non-russian designers:)
Yes. This is one of the things I just accept for now. It appears that the external power unit is linked to the parking brake, so I just accept that it is the Ground Power unit - except that it is indeed silent in external view.
Doesnt surprise me with the world we live in today. Hope a great Mig 15 does come out soon. I think Milviz/Blackbird ar developing a F86.