Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Oct 8, 2019

  So, I've been a flight instructor for over 20 years now and have owned a cessna 150, which is basically a slightly lower powered version of the Cessna 152 and have flown about 1000 hours in it in addition to having I guess a couple hundred or so random hours over the years in random real world 152s. I sold the 150 recently and thought that this might give me a bit of the feeling of her if i ever missed her. So, I might be too harsh in this review. I don't know. My basic impression is that it's just ok and slightly disappointing for how much it costs. But, on the other hand, it's also great in many ways. Let me go through it briefly: Please note I play only in VR using the oculus rift s. Interior look: A. It looks great. I have flown only one of the US ones, but assume they are probably all the same inside. Looks like an old 152 outfitted with a nice modern GPS. The passenger seatbelt hangs realistically (nobody ever stuffs it in the above, window slot where in theory it might go). Overall, it's not quite decent. Aerodynamics: C+/B-: Again, maybe i'm too harsh here since the aerodynamics of most FS2 aircraft are heavily simplified, but really this thing flies like a fighter plane. Aileron response is too snappy. I can complete loops from 90 knots or so level flight without difficulty. I can fly immelmans and split s-ss at speeds just slightly higher than this. High G loads no problem. Now, the C152 and the essentially identical aerobat series of cessnas are capable of mild aerobatics and they can be quite fun to fly compared to, say, C172s. But, this is just too snappy and too overpowered. Moreover, things like ground effect appear to be nonexistent (an FS2 issue?) and the spring steel main gear legs appear to be made of stone here - no movement / compression at all on the ground or during landings. Now, i realize it's probably not easy to code such things in, but landing in VR seems oddly unreal because of such things. Sound: B. The sounds are basically ok, but the problem is in differential volume. The electric flaps are relatively much louder in real life, while you can barely if at all hear the clicks on the audio panel selectors in real life. Also, at max volume in my rift, the engine can't be made realistically loud (perhaps this simulates wearing a fancy ANR headset). Interior elements: mixed bag. The GPS as is is very very buggy and basically unusable, either with mouse or with the vr controllers. there seems to be a fair bit of functionality there, but after about 20 minutes of fiddling and knowing the real thing quite well i just gave up. many things led to the GPS's screen being filled with artifacts. OTOH the standard instruments such as the altimeter, and vor are easy to manipulate. i had difficulty at times with the vr controls getting at the flaps and mixture, but this is not much different than most vr aircraft in most sims. the listing somewhere boasted of a slew of animations. not too sure what is meant by this, but for example you could put the window shades down which was nice and easy. on the other hand it was too easy to touch the circuit breakers (something basically never done) while you are reaching for something else, like the flaps. just remove the circuit breaker animations. the glove box opens but nothing can be put inside. i would have been nicer if the pilot window could be opened (if it can be, it wasnt with the vr controller on the latch). engine controls: not clear if the carb heat had any effect on rpm and the mixture control seemed oversimplified. i only tried them briefly but the primer seemd to be inoperative and the ignitiion was oversimplified. exterior: i did not look at the exterior of the aircraft except when choosing the aircraft in the software interface. i would have liked a few nicer looking n reg aircraft than the two ugly ones included, but ultimately since i am in vr all the time in the cockpit i dont really care that much. overall, i give this a B or B+. i am happy to have this in my collection but wish it was a bit better. i expect a fix for the gps at some point.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 16, 2020

  Bought this to use in VR as I've taken a few flying lessons in the 152 and wanted reinforce good habits. However, I found a few annoying issues with regards to trying to follow checks and procedures realistically: 1. Ailerons visually move in the wrong sense. 2. Suction Gauge does not work (if not modelled in Aerofly FS2, it would be better if it is stationary in the green arc) 3. Fuel shut-off is stationary in the OFF position (again if not modelled, it would be better if stationary in the ON position) 4. Carb heat doesn't have any effect on rpm (presumably not modelled in Aerofly FS2 since cannot bind a control to it?) This is a pity because, as far as I can tell, these issues are not present in the FSX or X-Plane versions.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 31, 2020

  Very nice aircraft, I can't fault the look, sound or flight characteristics. So why the thumbs down? Well, it ALWAYS starts in "cold and dark" mode and one has to do a number of things, some of which are not intuitive while sitting in the cockpit at the start of a runway (like remove wheel chocks and yoke lock). It really irritates me when I have to do all these things every single time. On top of that, when in VR the steps needed to start the aircraft (eg mag switches) requires one to use the VR touch controls. Well, I sit at my desk with my hands on throttle and joystick. I can't even reach these switches as the VR touch controls hit the desk or my keyboard or something. Is it too much to ask to give us an aircraft in "ready to fly" state Just Flight!? This is "realism" taken to the level where it obliterates enjoyment of the product.