[RELEASED] KwikFlight Spirit

This B2 just released on iniBuilds.

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Cheap for the surprising amount of features it lists. I’m curious to see a review too. I’m not usually one for military stuff in MSFS but a B-2 would be an exception.

Notice there are no interior cockpit shots in the whole gallery on that page. Bit weird? Not another ā€œno interiorā€ plane like that Hercules I hope?

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A bit odd to not include screenshots but they do list HUD and MFDs in the features so you’d assume you’d have to be in the cockpit to see that. At least I hope so.

Quite tempting at that price even if it’s quite unknown. Sod it, I’ll take a punt on it.

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The trailer has some brief cockpit shots:

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Well it has a cockpit at least :wink:

Comes with a 46 page manual and a 2 page QRF checklist as well. I gotta go eat though so turning on and flying comes later.

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Yeah, I got an email about this morning. I really don’t know what to make of this one, so I’m going to be interested to see impressions or hands-on videos.

Spirit: Ninja of the Skies

Forum/press release

Pros:

  • It’s only $17.59 US/13.99 GBP (Edit: 16.79 GBP with VAT)
  • The plane model itself looks really detailed
  • Appears the systems in the cockpit are simulated in good detail for actual flight purposes. Six MFDs with radar, TFR, systems pages, etc. FMP with flight planning and performance.
  • ā€œAir to ground strike capability supportedā€ in the version from the Inibuilds store. (IE: Not Marketplace) – curious about this one and sad it’s not in the the demo video.

Cons:

  • Those paint schemes are well-executed with tons of detail, but they’re over-the-top and look like they should be on a motorcycle gas tank or on a Bubba’s t-shirt at an airshow. Okay, or a plane at a tactical meetup, but they don’t paint B-2s for those because stealth.
  • The legit USAF paint schemes cost extra. (There’s one plain gray scheme included, but from the screenshots it appears to lack USAF marktings.) [EDIT: They made those free!]
  • No mention of Northrop-Grumman or B-2 could be (1) an attempt to not call attention to annoying intellectual property lawyers or (2) an indicator this is a fantasy plane that looks like a B-2 but may not closely simulate one

I really don’t know what to make of this – it looks like the model is super-detailed and the systems are well-modeled. But the goofy ā€œTiger Meetā€ paint schemes (well-done, but they make Ace Combat look subtle) make me curious as to whether the flight modeling and handling is anything like the real thing, or just super-basic for fun purposes.

For an additional [EDIT: Now FREE, was $9 originally] you can get 15 realistic USAF paints, and the plane looks fantastic with those:

Anyway, this may be an amazing surprise bargain, or a fun toy for casual fliers – really hard to tell without dropping the $20.

So I’ll be very interested to hear impressions from aviation enthusiasts who are familiar with how a real B-2 should fly. At that price I wouldn’t expect or even want study level (not to mention you couldn’t do real study level of a bomber that’s this classified), but I do want something that feels convincingly like we’d expect a B-2 to. If it does, I might grab it and watch for community repaints!


[EDIT: Cynicism above aside, I just picked it up and literally had time for a 5-minute look between meetings. It’s actually quite impressive for the price and feels good in flight. More impressions after some more serious testing, but with the non-goofy liveries available for free, I think we have a winner here!]

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It’s actually Ā£16.79 because IniBuilds don’t show VAT on the price (until you hit the checkout) despite being a UK company which is actually pretty shady of them. Also I didn’t know they were selling ā€˜realistic’ paint schemes for extra. I’m actually quite annoyed by that. The default liveries are pretty horrendous apart from the one ā€˜military’ one, but as you note there’s no real markings on that which kinda sucks. I mean I guess I could hope some repainters paint the real planes and make them available for free but the devs making it a separate paid purchase has really ā– ā– ā– ā– ā– ā–  me off. Might even request a refund.

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I’m guessing separating the paints is to simplify things for the Marketplace.

But given the droppable bombs bit, it’s not like they’re not already having to do a separate package for the marketplace.

Also, the press release says Kwikflight is ā€œindustry veterans whose expertise is unparalled.ā€ It would be awesome if they named the folks and some of the projects they’ve worked on.

Yeah they have separate versions anyway. If they’re selling the liveries separate because of marketplace ā– ā– ā– ā–  then I’m surprised they don’t also sell the bombs as a separate addon as well :roll_eyes: Also there’s no mention at all on the product page for the base plane that there’s a separate purchase for ā€˜realistic’ liveries, it was only when you mentioned it that I realised that’s why the single reasonable looking livery in the base package lacks the markings.

Made a short flight in VR and I really like it. Autopilot works on a NAV course, but there’s loads of things I haven’t tried yet. The cockpit looks a bit ā€œmadeā€ up, like it has to be, but it’s OK. The exterior looks fantastic, the only realistic livery included is a bit too shiny for my taste. Sound is also good.
In my personal preference it should be a bit heavier to fly, but again it’s not bad.
Actually I enjoyed it and IMO it’s worth a look (and the money). No doubt about that.
For the money asked I’ve seen much worse than this. Recommended!

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Well, I complained about the livery pack situation as I was quite a bit miffed about it and now they’ve ended up making it free for everyone. What a result! Those IniBuild chaps are alright.

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Okay, given @LNBJM’s impressions (thanks!) and the free livery pack, I’m now intrigued!

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And now I’ll actually get around to flying it. I went looking for a Whiteman Air Force Base scenery on flightsim.to as there’s a fair few air bases people have made and was hoping to find a home for the B2s but alas, no one has made it yet. Here’s hoping though.

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You could always ā€œdetach your assignment temporarilyā€ to Beale ā€œdue to Whiteman’s runways being under repair.ā€

The former Milviz just dropped this today:

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Hah. Incredibly tempting but I’ve already blown through my flight sim addon budget this month by a fair bit so it’ll have to wait.

How’s that? I just bought the DC Designs Phantom through the marketplace - it has a full selection.

Thought the only restriction was on weapons.

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Oh, maybe they updated that policy; I remember it from when they put FSX on Steam and all the ā€œofficialā€ military planes lacked insignia. Good!

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Edited my initial post to add that I just picked it up and literally had time for a 5-minute look between meetings. It looks to be actually quite impressive for the price and feels good in flight. More impressions after some more serious testing and a climb above 10,000 feet, but with the non-goofy liveries available for free, I think we may have a winner here!

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