Flight Sim Labs A320

[Arvid Hansson (1162891)]

Hi all,

Last night I purchased the FSLabs A320 as soon as it came out, I've done a couple of flights in it so far and I thought I'd share some screenshots and initial thoughts about the aircraft if any of you are contemplating spending money on it. Here are some pictures from a flight I just flew from Gatwick to Amsterdam. I haven't used FSX for a good year and a bit so the visuals are far from optimised, but you should hopefully be able to get a pretty good idea of what the aircraft looks like.

Loading up at Gatwick's north terminal. The exterior texturing is some of the best I've seen, the texture resolution is outstanding!

Interior shot as the ADIRS aligns, the texturing here is arguably not as HD and smooth as the aerosoft bus, but still pretty damn good.

Blasting out of Gatwick, hand flying the FSLabs bus is an absolute dream. I have no real world experience on the Airbus, however compared to other products on the market the modelling FSLabs have done just feels right.

One of my favourite things in this aircraft is how they've modelled the screens, they look outstanding and have realistic refresh rates etc.

I'm also a massive fan of the terrain display. It uses the same database function, as opposed to actually being a "radar", as many other addons but this one just looks a lot more appealing to me. Here the body of water between the UK and The Netherlands can clearly be seen, along with the respective coast lines.

Commencing the descent into Amsterdam, planning on the ILS runway 18C this afternoon.

Outside shot featuring the speed brakes, which are animated incredibly well.

Approaching the airport from the west before turning left to join the localiser outbound.

Procedure turn in progress...

Close-up shot of the PFD and ND during ILS establishment, again I'm absolutely in love with the displays!

Final approach...

Down, vacated and speaking to Schipol Ground. Navigating towards the G Apron.

Parked on stand H2, loading up with Ham & Cheese Melts and crisps before the aircraft flies its next sector to Prague.

So what are my initial thoughts about this plane? It's quite simple, it's by far the best aircraft I have on my system across three simulators (P3D, FSX and XP10). I'm absolutely gobsmacked at how much attention they've paid to detail, pretty much every single knob, button or switch works and does what it's supposed to do. I consider myself experienced when it comes to flying the Airbus in FS, but I've had to hit the books several times whilst playing around with this thing.

Was it worth the price (831 SEK)? YES! I understand that the price point might be steep to some, and that you'll have to pay more in the future to get P3D compatibility and more models (It's ONLY the A320 in the initial release, A319 and 21 will be released further down the line but they're not touching the A318 from what I've heard). Many people also argue that it doesn't look as good/HD as the aerosoft, which I can actually agree with in some areas (VC primarily) however the FSL texturing is far from bad and really doesn't make the aircraft look as bad/old as many have claimed. 

For those who want a plug & play aircraft that looks good and does it's job well enough for an A-B flight, you're probably better off sticking with the Aerosoft. But for those who want a study level aircraft, are prepared to spend time reading up on systems you thought you already understood and are up for a challenge I can only say get the FSLabs NOW!

800 SEK might be a lot to spend on an aircraft simulation, but I see it as an investment. I will always argue that those 800 SEK will grant me years of fun, realism and a more accurate simulation than any other Airbus addon could. Considering the significant amount of work that has been put into developing this product by a relatively small group of people, the time I will be able to spend using this product and the knowledge I will gain from it I really can not say that 800 SEK is a lot.

I hope this gave some of you an insight into whether it's actually worth buying or not, I could keep writing about this aircraft for hours but seeing as I need to be out of the house in an hour that could end badly. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have about the plane and I'll try to answer them as best as I can from my experience with it. Others who have also bought the plane, please share your pictures and thoughts too!

[Kristian Kling]

Nice review!

Is it true that it has no "Cold & Dark" feature?

[Martin Tornberg (1069087)]

Thanks for the review, it looks good! 

[Jouka Ahponen (1239359)]

3 hours ago, Kristian Kling said:

Nice review!

Is it true that it has no "Cold & Dark" feature?

By default no. But you can easily start up a trike, turn off the engine and the battery, go to fslabs A320 and then save the panel state as cold and dark. Or of course turn off the aircraft yourself and then save the panel state. I have made myself now Cold & Dark and turnarond profiles which works perfectly fine.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Jouka Ahponen

[Kristian Kling]

1 minute ago, Jouka Ahponen said:

By default no. But you can easily start up a trike, turn off the engine and the battery, go to fslabs A320 and then save the panel state as cold and dark. Or of coures turn off the aircraft yourself and then save the panel state. I have made myself now Cold & Dark and turnarond profiles which works perfectly fine.

Considering the price and technical level of this modell, there should be an implemented feature imo.