The BEST Flight Simulator? | Real-World Pilots Analysis | Which Flight Simulator Should I Buy?

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In this video we take a look at the 4 'main' PC flight simulators available; Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Aerofly FS2, X-Plane 11 and Microsoft Flight Simulator. We analyze all 4 sims and draw conclusions about their strengths and weaknesses, in an effort to decide which sim is best suited to specific types of users.
The Analysis will be broken down as follows:
00:00 Introduction
02:43 Criteria
04:02 Pricing
05:35 Aircraft Availability
14:00 Flight Model for GA Aircraft
22:24 Flight Model for Heavy Jets
29:52 Graphics
35:11 Scenery
42:42 Sim Performance / FPS
45:18 Aircraft Systems Fidelity
50:49 Weather Engine
55:39 Tutorial Availability
59:31 Sound Engine
01:03:35 Air Traffic Control
01:04:50 Virtual Reality
01:06:23 Addon Availability
01:09:12 Conclusions
This video is ideal for someone who is undecided about which sim to buy, or someone who is unsure whether or not to invest in a new sim.
Please note this video and all its contents / materials, is for entertainment / simulation purposes only.
PC Specs
ASUS B150M-A
Intel Core i7 6700K 4GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
32GB DDR4 2133MHz
Hardware
Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
Saitek Pro Flight rudder pedals
HP Reverb WMR headset
TrackIR5
Earthquake Shell Shoxx transducer
Enjoy the video!

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

*REGARDING P3D* : For more clarification regarding P3D's relative lack of inclusion in the video: I perhaps didn't make it clear enough during the video, but for the purposes of this review P3D and FSX are considered one and the same in many categories. When I talk about FSX, unless I mention otherwise, I am also talking about P3D. Obviously P3D is a significantly overhauled version of FSX (though they are built from the same engine), it does have many major improvements over FSX and I do try to point these out throughout the video. Again, this review (for the most part) is only covering the respective sims in their default state (and in their default state, the two sims are not a million miles apart). My more expanded opinions on P3D are as follows: Aircraft Availability: Significantly better in FSX. FSX has a much larger and more varied selection of default aircraft. P3D's default aircraft are slightly higher fidelity in some cases, but the improvement is marginal. P3D has a much heavier focus on military aircraft, as such there are no commercial jets available and only limited civilian aircraft in general. Flight Model for GA Aircraft : Much the same in both sims. P3D's flight modelling is perhaps somewhat improved, smoother at the very least. Flight Model for Heavy Jets: P3D does not have any heavy jets included by default. If it did, again I suspect the flight modelling would be broadly similar to FSX. Graphics : As mentioned in the video, P3D has received many significant graphical upgrades including, but not limited to; lighting, weather, scenery, PBR textures terrain generation etc. The sim can be made to look rather pretty (though it is nothing special in its default state). It is roughly on a par with X-Plane 11 (better in some areas, worse in others). Scenery : P3D does have improved scenery over FSX, particularly with regards to draw distance and autogen. That being said, it still uses very old and quite basic ground textures. It sits somewhere below X-Plane 11 in my opinion. Sim Performance / FPS : Again, much improved over FSX. The FPS will be roughly the same in both sims, however P3D is significantly smoother and will take better advantage of modern hardware. Aircraft Systems Fidelity : Much the same between the two sims. Again, maybe P3D has the slight edge here (with a couple of basic payware aircraft included by default). Weather Engine : P3D's weather depiction is significantly prettier, especially with enhanced atmospherics turned on. There is no 'real-world' weather option though, unlike FSX. So P3D's weather generation options are pretty limited. Tutorial Availability : As I mention in the video, FSX is by far and away the clear winner here (of any sim). Unfortunately P3D does not come with the same learning materials / adventure flights as FSX. Sound Engine : Again, broadly the same between both sims, with P3D perhaps having a slight edge (though I suspect both sims use the same sound engine in actuality?). Air Traffic Control : Equally good in both sims, and both sims have far better default ATC than any other sim available. Virtual Reality : As I mentioned, P3D is VR compatable by default, FSX is not. P3D performs quite nicely in VR (although currently V5 does seem to struggle more than V4 did). P3D VR is broadly on a par with X-Plane. Addon Availability : This is the area that I know a lot of peoples consternation is derived from. . . I do maintain, that In its default state, P3D is no longer a sim to get excited about. HOWEVER, if you have the money and are happy to invest in a significant number of addons, P3D can still be a brilliant platform. Indeed, it is still currently the best platform for high-fidelity payware aircraft and by using a host of other addons (such as Active Sky), you can get it to a point where you have the most accurate procedural simulator available currently. Both FSX and P3D have an incredibly large and varied number of addons available. If you do want to get P3D to this point though, I would suggest it is probably going to cost you somewhere around $250 minimum (and you may have to fork out the same amount again when the next version of the sim is released). Conclusions: To those of you who felt aggrieved that P3D was not included in the review, it was essentially, but I appreciate that I could have been clearer about my rationale and showcased the sim to a greater degree throughout the video. Once again though, please understand that this review considers each sim in its default state. As I've mentioned in other comments, personally if I had to choose only 1 sim and use it in its default state, P3D would not make the top 4. In terms of an overall score; to my mind P3D is very much on a par with X-Plane. In summary, P3D is a great sim. If you are happy to invest the money, it is currently the best platform for accurately simulating heavy commercial aircraft and their associated procedures. Hope that clear things up a little!

[@leonardofontana5963]

They are pretty much the same, except that Prepar3d needs a one thousand dollars pc to run it

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, well I would say it somewhat depends. On newer systems, P3D definitely performs better than FSX, as it’s better able to make use of modern hardware etc. On older machines, you may well be right. Also, the graphics settings don’t directly correlate, so medium autogen in FSX for example, is not the same as medium autogen in P3D (you’ll get a better visual result in P3D). P3D certainly looks better out of the two overall, though FSX still looks better in a few areas. Sadly, with both sims, you could run them on a NASA supercomputer and I doubt you get a completely smooth and stutter free experience. The game engine just never really worked all that well. They still both have their respective strengths as sims though : )

[@panthros7395]

I appreciate you taking the time to review. Prepar3D is definitely not MS X after all of the improvements to the game. That was a lost opportunity. You want a study level flight model, X-Plane or Prepar3D. You want gorgeous graphics with an accessible gameplay, MS FS 2020.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Cheers man. For sure P3D and FSX are not the same, but they do still have a number of similarities. At the time, I thought it would be sufficient to cover them under the same “umbrella” and highlight the differences, but it seems quite a few people felt otherwise. My rationale was that this video is most likely going to be watched by people coming into the hobby; people wanting an accessible sim (ie available on Steam etc), that will probably be using the sim in its default state (initially at least). Part of the reason I didn’t focus on P3D, is I figured more seasoned simmers (who are the only people I would recommend P3D to) will already be familiar with the various sims and their strengths and weaknesses (and therefore have no need for this video). Another reason I went with FSX, is that it allowed me to compare the same aircraft between each sim - a fairer comparison of the flight model I felt. Ultimately I still maintain that if I had to recommend one sim to someone who was serious about learning to fly, it would be FSX haha - those learning materials are just head and shoulders above anything else. At the end of the day though, as much as I tried to be objective, the whole thing is just my opinion of course. I’ll probably revisit the topic again at some point (perhaps when the next version of X-Plane arrives) and I agree that in hindsight, it might be better to showcase P3D and make mention of FSX alongside it. All the best! : )

[@Learnerofthings]

They do share a ton of mods.

[@leonardofontana5963]

FSX after installing several addons such as ORBX, PMDG, photorealistic clouds and some free and paid sceneries, is an awesome sim that looks and performs almost as good as newer flightsims, with the advantage that you can run it in older computers that are totally unable to run the other simulators.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Absolutely Leonardo, FSX still has a lot of things going for it. Even stock, it does a few things better than P3D in my opinion (though overall of course you would want / need some addons to bring it up to modern standards).. All the sims I reviewed vary vastly in terms of what you can achieve with addons. This review was all based on the stock sims though. As I mention in the review, FSX is still the best “learning” platform, no contest! and yes, it can still be decent, even today, with the right setup : )

[@Learnerofthings]

It's downfall, as someone once told me, is that FSX can only be used with 1 CPU. That hurts it, but I LOVE FSX.

[@Capt_Ahmed.Ibrahim]

But despite all these addons they are very pricy costs too much money to buy the addons you mentioned

[@jazzdub4958]

The sim has been given a boost of life due to the modern beefed up mods to the models, scenery, textures etc. A great game.

[@alananstey3773]

An excellent review, very in depth and professional. Thank you Into the Blue Simulations, you have a fan.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much Alan, glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the channel : )

[@ahmedhalabi7735]

The woman you secretly love:MSFS2020 The woman your parents told you to marry:X-Plane11

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha MSFS is the woman everyone looks at as she walks down the street. X-Plane 11 is definitely the woman you should marry. Aerofly FS2 is the woman you have a bit of fun with on the side. FSX is the older woman who taught you everything you know : P

[@ahmedhalabi7735]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations true that

[@HieronymousLex]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations oh my God this is beyond perfect hahaha

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, not very “PC” I guess, but I think it more or less hits the nail on the head : P Not gonna lie, it did make me chuckle when I re-read it (laughing at my own jokes, very sad I know haha). All the best : )

[@EduardoMCfly]

well my woman is FSX

[@KingOfErehwon]

Very analytical review -- exactly what I wanted.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much! I tried to be as objective as possible. Of course you’ll never please everyone haha, but I don’t think I let my opinions intrude too much in the matter. Glad you found it of use : )

[@petrusraats65]

Thanks very much. Very detailed and informative, well thought out!

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks Petrus, much appreciated! I tried to make it as objective as I could. Hope it was of some use : ) All the best!

[@IonorRea]

Great job, hope you make updated versions on this topic at least twice a decade. This video did not have the views it deserves, so I hope that at least more of the people understanding the topic will show their gratitude beyond pressing the like button as it makes helping out the beginners by sending them to watch your videos so much easier.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thank you very much for your kind donation Ionor, I’m glad you enjoyed the video! I do intend to revisit the topic again at some point. Initially I was waiting for the release of X-Plane 12 and now I’m sort of holding off to see what happens with P3D haha. Without a doubt, whilst I think much of the content covered here still rings true, the sim landscape has changed quite a bit since I made this video. Cheers and all the best! : )

[@BabyDino14]

The thing is that I actually watch alot of aviation video’s for fun

[@ksp1278]

What an excellent video! Well done! Another feature that's important to some people is multiple monitor support. That can really improve the immersion. Especially if building into a home cockpit.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much ksp, glad you enjoyed it! Yes, true. Multi-screen support can be very useful for some. I gather MSFS is really behind the rest of the competition in that regard. Always fancied a multi-monitor setup myself actually, but I think that will be something to look at again in the future. . . Thanks again, all the best! : )

[@bloke755]

Great review overall and very helpful . Having read the title of the video , and having read posts on various forums ( from various fanboys since Microsoft Flight Simulator was released earlier this year ) , my first thought was , " He's a brave man tackling this subject !! " . Well done again 👍.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, I definitely wondered what sort of abuse I might be opening myself up to, but that’s all part of the process I guess : P You’ll never please anyone in this hobby, but hopefully it’s clear to most that I don’t have an agenda and have tried to be fair and balanced with my analysis. Anyone who immediately shuts down any of these sims is just being dogmatic, they all have something to offer. If someone doesn’t like “sim X” that’s absolutely fine if course, but that certainly shouldn’t mean someone else can’t like it! I wanted the channel to be all about the celebration of the hobby, not just one particular sim! Thanks for the positive feedback : )

[@4secsharkmr352]

Excellent comparison👍very good. Thank you

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much, really appreciate it! : )

[@mrpostaldude8289]

Nice side-by-side comparison, and very fair. My sim career reaches back until 1995 when as an 11-year old and first got in touch with FS 5.0. Until the beginning 2000s I played nearly every sim available going on to FU, FU2, FU3, FS98, 2000 and 2004 as well as games like EAs Jane's series and DIDs Total Air War. Then the great time of console gaming came and developers started to focus on this audience which wanted easy fast food games in high frequency with a flat learning curve, so sims got more and more out of the picture. Due to lack of funds and more of decent software (was unemployed back then and didn't have the dough for a new system for FSX) I lost the whole concept more or less. Then I stumbled over MSFS 2020 and my god, I feel like a teenager again! Been playing this sim for about 5 months now. So far, I like it a lot. And they clearly improved it a lot since the release. Though there are still some major lacks: 1. bugs (savegames, traffic AI, flight planning etc), 2. flight models (I hear a lot of people complain about the GA aircraft as well, cannot confirm due to missing RL experience) and 3. lack of technical depth. 1. has to be solved definitely, because it can be a total game breaker if it hits you on the wrong foot, 2. is a matter of continuous improvement over the months and years (I hope I don't have to replace my beloved MS DA62 with one, say, from PDGM or Aerosoft because MS does not give a damn anymore about their own planes) and 3. could be solved for example by a modular plugin for G500, G1000, G3000 or analogue intruments only that lets you access only basic or all subsytems, depending on which kind of difficulty you want. All with the target that you have as less "INOPERABLES" as possible if you wish.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Postaldude, thanks! Ah, well it sounds like we have very similar beginnings in flight simulation then! The first sim I tried was FS95, though I was a few years younger than yourself. The first sims we had at home were FS2000 and CFS1, both of which I spent countless hours on. As you say, things have certainly shifted over the years, for various reasons. Flight simulation certainly fell out of fashion and it's been great to see it making a bit of a comeback with MSFS. I do hope we eventually return to the days of quality tutorials, lessons and challenges as well (one of the areas I still find lacking in MSFS). There are certainly a number of areas where MSFS is still sub-par, arguably one might even say it's more of a flight "experience" than a simulator at the moment, but it's an amazing platform with a lot of potential - I've had huge enjoyment out of it myself as well. I think you're correct in both your highlights of the sims issues and the potential solutions. Either way, I'm really happy to hear you are enjoying the sim and back into the hobby. Happy flying and all the best! : )

[@davidshahin9753]

I have flown both x-plane and MSFS for over 20yrs. I am a retired airline pilot and here is my 2 cents: x-plane is aerodynamically more accurate (if one of your landing gear is slower/faster to extend/ retract, U will notice the yaw it induces!) , it is much easier to work with x-plane, it comes with FREE re-play feature and the major advantage that x-plane offers but MSFS does not is: U can alter whatever U want on x-plane aircraft, E.G move, add and delete engines, change the shape of the wings and fuselage, add and delete components, design your own aircraft from scratch and fly it the same day. I have downloaded and flown NF-104 to space and back many many times (try that in MSFS) & NF-104 performed very close to NASA's documents. I built most the lifting bodies (M2F1, M2F2, M2F3, HL-10, X-24C) and flown them too, results and handling are very close to what NASA advertised. I have flown Classic 747, 747-400, KC-135, B-720 on 3 engines and 2 engines, needless 2 say I had to tweak some of the numbers (MSFS will not allow tweaking) to make them fly like the real stuff. MSFS offers none of the features I mentioned. I don't have anything against MSFS. Don't kill the messenger plz.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hello David, Thank you very much for your thoughts, I’m sure others will find them useful. I certainly won’t look to shoot the messenger haha and agree with everything that you say. Whilst MSFS has caught up *somewhat* with X-Plane and MSFS 2024 looks to be another big step forward (we shall see), X-Plane is undoubtedly still the king, when it comes to flight modelling in civilian sims. As with most of these things, it really just depends on what one wants from a sim, as to which platform will suit them best. Cheers and have a great day! : )

[@sparkymarky68]

Have to agree - great review. I love MSFS and I am holding out for it to be improved - but agree, the heavy aircraft are not great and whilst there are mods - its not up to standard (yet). Good review .

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks again Mark : ) Yes, sadly at the rate things are going, I can’t see Asobo fixing up the jets any time soon. Almost seems like they need to be rebuilt from the ground up now. I think it will be teams like the FBW team that ultimately save the jets. For me personally, it’s not a massive issue, as I generally prefer VFR / GA anyway. I know that for a lot of people though, flight simulation is all about the heavy jets (I used to be the same myself) and for those people, the whole situation must be incredibly frustrating! Also for people new to the hobby, it doesn’t give a great impression. Trying to fly an A320 that handles like a dog, thinking it’s their fault and getting frustrated etc. So yes, fingers crossed Asobo do the right thing and fix the products that people paid for. Appreciate your input as always!

[@CaptainJadenAR]

Thanks for the review, sir. Really enjoyed it :)

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much Jaden, my pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it : ) All the best!

[@CaptainJadenAR]

Into The Blue Simulations, Thank you sir :)

[@dannyf4995]

Wow. Thank you for this video. I just wonder who gave 'Dislike' for such an amazing review?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, the joys of creating content for the internet. I suspect some people weren’t too happy that P3D didn’t get more of a mention. . . Thanks very much though, my pleasure! Very happy to hear that you found the video of use : ) All the best!

[@friendhui4320]

Watched whole video. Learned a lot. Ty.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Ah great, very happy to hear it was of use! Congrats on making it all the way through - it’s a bit of a marathon I know haha. Hope it helps you in choosing the right sim. All the best! : )

[@Decent_GameplayBG]

Man this is the best analysis in youtube !

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thank you very much Dr DG, very kind of you to say! I do intend to make an updated video at some point, covering MSFS, X-Plane 12 and P3D v6 (though goodness knows when I will find the time to do so haha). Very much appreciated! All the best : )

[@kevinhendon]

Great video, thank you👍

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks once again Kevin! Much appreciated : )

[@ilketunali8462]

Hi! Thank you for the review. It was great! I am trying to learn a little bit of theory before going in to flight school so I would go with FSX however there are hundrreds of addons on steam and was wondering which ones would be essential for a better experience. Thanks! Ilke

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Illke, Sorry for the slow reply! I wanted to wait until I had the time to reply properly. FSX is definitely the way to go, if you want to learn the theory beforehand. As I say, it’s got a pretty comprehensive collection of lessons and tutorials. As for the best way to go about applying that practically; there’s probably a few different ways to approach it. What are you heading off to flight school for (if you don’t mind me asking)? PPL, CPL etc? Broadly speaking, I would probably recommend picking up both FSX and either MSFS or X-Plane. That way you can learn in FSX and practice in a more modern, comprehensive sim. It would cost you a lot more in addons to bring FSX up to scratch, than either X-Plane or MSFS would. Let me know what sort of stuff you want to learn and I’ll see if I can offer up a bit more advice / information on the best setup for you! All the best : )

[@ysteineker7001]

Excellent. Out of the box - P3d is not good. But with a small fortune in addons it is at least on par with fs2020. ORBX - scenery - A2A Accusim - Ezdok - Rex weather, Real Traffic - GTX - just to mention a few. Understand vey well your argument that P3d is based on fsX platform, but there is huge difference fsX is 32 bit - P3d is 64bit - Still I am converting slowly to fs2020. You have saved me for a lot of money with your professional aircraft reviews While waiting for A2A - my only aircraft is Carenado Mooney . Enjoy flying, a perfect aircraft for fs2020...

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much! : ) I’m glad it made some sense. Quite a few people think I’m just bashing P3D and that is absolutely not the case. I’ve been a long time user of P3D and in fact was using it just today ha. As you say, with a lot of addons, it can be a really amazing sim (arguably still the best for high fidelity jets), but at quite a cost! Most long term users have built up their addon database over 5+ years, to get the sim to a decent modern standard. You’d probably be looking to spend nearly $1000 ($500 easily) as a new user. X-Plane on the other hand, you can achieve basically the same result for free. MSFS, whilst still in its infancy, has most features out of the box and is a one-off purchase. P3D V5 was a nice improvement over V4, but overall it feels a bit like the base sim is stagnating. In short, I wouldn’t recommend P3D to a new simmer and I would still tell a seasoned simmer to think very carefully before they start to sink money into it. As always in the flight sim world; no one sim does everything well haha. P3D certainly does some things better than any other sim. Glad you’re enjoying the Mooney, it’s not A2A of course, but it’s good fun and quite an immersive little aircraft. I can’t wait for A2A to show up in MSFS! The Aerostar certainly wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I’ll take what I can get! ; ) Happy flying!

[@fssim6825]

Nice review

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much! : )

[@robertrent5218]

What a fine piece of work.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thank you very much Robert! Very kind of you to say. I’m glad you found it to be of use : ) All the best!

[@LucaD-hp4kp]

Many would disagree with me however I still use FSX as my main Flight Simulator. Why? FSX has so many mods you can download which are also mostly free and they make FSX look so realistic (nearly as much as msfs) such as the PMDG 737 and photorealistic sceneries. plus it runs extremely well on my 4GB Ram no graphics card laptop. It can run a stable 60 fps and it makes the gameplay so enjoyable. Even though FSX is older than me I will still continue using it!

[@Airdan_Aviation]

Me too! I installed fs2020 2 years ago but I recently bought the aerosoft a320 for fsx, and with some graphic modifications it looks very good!

[@LonksAwakening]

One thing that you forgot to mention that I would consider to be quite important is that FSX is compatible with the vast majority of FS2004 addons, and lots of incompatible FS2004 addons have been remade to natively support FSX

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Yes, that’s another good point also, Lonk; I do miss the Level D 767 ; ) Cheers and all the best! : )

[@corinnamiller764]

Well done & very informational video. I wonder if you could update your video regarding xp12 in comparison. Thanks again very much for your time and effort.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Corinna, Thanks very much, I’m really glad you found the video useful! I am actually (slowly haha) working on an updated version of this video at the moment. Hopefully, I’ll have something out in Q1 of 2024 : ) My pleasure on the vid and all the best to you!

[@jaybeckham]

Enjoyed the video on The Best Flight Simulator. Very helpful. So now that MSFS2020 has been around for a while and has had a lot of updates I believe, would it now be your #1 choice for a hobbyist that is building a sim for Cessna 172 to learn on and then alternatively building a 737 in the future. Not looking for a PPL as I am 82, but love the idea of flying mainly commercial juts "after" I learn what I am doing. Again great video and thanks for doing this.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hello Jay, Thanks very much - I'm glad you found the video useful. To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about home-cockpit building, but I believe the architecture for such an endeavour isn't as advanced in MSFS, as it is in other sims (namely P3D / X-Plane). That being said, it is clearly possible to build a home-cockpit using MSFS, as I have seen a couple of videos from people who have done exactly that and it would also depend on what sort of setup you're looking to build. Currently there are higher fidelity 172 options in both P3D (A2A's) and X-Plane (AirFoil Labs), whereas the only C172 option in MSFS is the default one. There are now some very good options for commercial jets in the sim though - it sounds like in your case you'd be looking at the PMDG 737. Again, from what I have heard / read, it would be easier to build a home-cockpit for the 737 using the other two sims, but I believe it is possible in MSFS. In short, if you want accuracy, I would still currently recommend X-Plane. Out of the box, X-Plane is a pretty tired looking sim these days though; if you want a beautiful sim, with amazing scenery, weather, flying experiences etc included by default, then I would absolutely recommend MSFS! MSFS still has its weak areas, but they are generally becoming fewer in number with each update / new product. I hope that helps a little? Best of luck and happy flying! : )

[@greenlizardballs]

Great video

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much! : )

[@johnhammond6423]

I have played all the Microsoft flight sims going back to fs5. But FS2020 just blew my mind! To start with, we now have a real world weather system that you need to take as seriously as in the real world of flying. [landing in almost zero visibility the other day with a cross wind had the palms of my hands sweating!] And flying over your town and looking down at the street were you live is something we flight simmers only used to dream of. I did learn to fly GA aircraft but the money ran out. So when I am now flying my trusty Beach Baron in FS2020 I am almost back flying for real again. My opinion? FS2020 is light years ahead of the others.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hello John, Yes indeed, all very valid points that you make! Weather in MSFS is, as you say, head and shoulders above any other sim. It's the one area of X-Plane that is currently woefully lacking. Of course weather is a huge part of real world flying and it is great that it has now become a consideration in the sim. Not only that, but as your story attests to, Asobo have done a great job at recreating the feeling of flying in poor weather haha. MSFS is the best of the bunch as an overall package, most sims have their own unique strengths and weaknesses though. Either way, I'm really happy to hear that MSFS is going some way towards getting you "back up in the skies"! Happy flying and all the best : )

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

FS2022 is mobile Aerofly. The name has already been taken, 2022 is NOT Microsoft!

[@teeken8850]

Spot on! My first flight sim consisted of flying basically lines and some polygons placed around, when they came out with Chuck Yeager's advanced flight trainer. I was amazed and thought as i disk swapped how could this ever be improved upon...haha! But even then i began trying to improve it by swapping my 8087 (processor) chip to the blazing fast 8088 chip...lol ..and with maybe a full extra Mhz of processing power i was set! at now a processing speed around 7Mhz i could run downstairs get my drink and snacks and by the time i was just getting back upstairs, my Computer was almost...... finished booting up, it was so so fast now...lol...those were the days, We have came a very long way from the sticks and polygon disk swapping days without hard drives..days i began on...

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, a very nice reminder of where we've come from Tee Ken! It sounds like you were a fair bit ahead of me: I got into simming in the heady days of FS95 and as a young boy, my mind was blown ha! At each step along the way, it does tend to seem like things can't possibly get that much better. It's exciting in that knowledge though, to wonder where we'll be in another 20 years or so! Either way, it's nice to be living through a bit of a "renaissance" within the hobby currently : ) Thanks and all the best!

[@aureliomarsili3902]

MSFS 2020 = Turbocharged Porsche X-Plane 11 = BMW 320 Aerofly FS 2 = Nissan Micra (The name here in Italy) FSX SE = Toyota Corolla

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hahaha, love it! A much more succinct way of putting it : )

[@mmhdmmgl6038]

xplane like bmw ? no . perhaps hyundai .

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha. Well, it depends if we are talking about with addons, or without addons I suppose ; )

[@Foxtrot_EW]

Msfs2020 = Ferrari LaFerrari!!!

[@Foxtrot_EW]

@@mmhdmmgl6038 You say that like BMW is a good car...oh! Never mind! You said the pure junk 320...lol.

[@lirics.7339]

This video helps a lot watch the whole vid trust me

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much! It’s a bit of a marathon to watch all the way through no doubt haha, but I tried to cover all of the important areas as objectively as I could. I think it gives a good overview of what each of the sims is about. Thanks again, all the best! : )

[@rantsinarobe4099]

Really in-depth and organized. Thank you for the info. I do have 1 question, MFS Steam Edition states it only partially supports a controller. I do not have a joystick ---would my XBOX one controller work w/ the basic controls? (maneuvers) I know there are numerous things I need to control w/ my keyboard as it relates to all the inputs and gauges....im talking the basic stuff A+ on your video

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thank you very much, my pleasure and very much appreciated! Sorry for the slow reply, I’ve been pretty busy this week, just working my way through all my correspondence now. FSX should indeed work absolutely fine with an Xbox controller, certainly for all the basic functions as you mention (I expect “partial support” relates to vibration etc). I don’t own an Xbox One controller personally, but certainly it works just fine with my Xbox 360 controller. From what I’ve seen online, it should be much the same with the Xbox One variant. You should be able to assign more or less any controls you like to the controller itself, obviously you will just be a little limited in terms of buttons (you will have to use the keyboard for some stuff as you mentioned) and the aircraft will be a little harder to control. Overall though, it’s a great starting point if you’re looking to get into simming! For what it’s worth, I actually tested MSFS with a controller recently, just to see how viable of an option it was. As you can see, it’s more than useable: kzbin.info/www/bejne/poSqfpV9fpd8eLM Good luck and happy flying! : )

[@nightflyer40]

Great review looks like xplane my cup of tea! at least until I get a better rig heh.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Jason, Thanks very much! I do think X-Plane is the best all-rounder still, at this time. Especially if you’re looking for something to run on a lower-end system. I would highly recommend you check out Ortho4XP, it’s free and it drastically improves the scenery! I use all 4 sims, but X-Plane is the only one I find myself liking increasingly more. MSFS can be amazing, but it certainly has its issues. Also, whilst the lighting and weather in MSFS are unmatched, the scenery has been tuned back so much through various updates (it seems to me at least), that it’s almost on a par (in some ways worse) with X-Plane + Ortho4XP at this point. Just FYI, X-Plane has a free demo, if you want to try it on your system first. Happy flying! : )

[@avegromek]

I use/used msfs, x-plane11, fsx and dcs. From all the above i think dcs has the best flight model/physics implemented for both airplanes/helicopters and msfs has the best looking terrain. Not only you get to have the whole planet to fly around, its even look better in my opinion than very 'small part of that planet' in dcs.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Completely agree with all of that avegromek. DCS is the very best sim when it comes to flight modelling. Unfortunately I find the maps to be dated and rather restrictive though. As always, there’s no one perfect sim haha. Cheers! : )

[@Travolt]

Great stuff. I only have FSX and MSFS. I know FSX has a lot of features still missing on MSFS, but I find it very hard to go back now. The scenery is just so poor in comparison.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Yeah, it would be verrrrry deflating to have to go back now! I don’t think I could either really. I’ve actually been broadening my horizons and trying all sorts of different flight simulators of late, but nothing comes close to MSFS for GA / VFR. So I’m really crossing my fingers that Asobo get their act together when it comes to bug fixing etc. If the can just make it into a really solid platform for the addon developers / community to come in and do “their thing”, we’ll have an amazing sim! Pretty much how it’s always been with modern flight simulation. . .

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I broadly agree with all that you say HOG. The sim has definitely come on a lot since it’s release, although unfortunately Asobo do still seem to have a bit of a habit of introducing new bugs during game updates. MSFS seems to really divide real-world pilots, but personally I’m thoroughly impressed with it overall. As someone who prefers GA, VFR flying in sim, MSFS is hands-down my go-to sim for this sort of thing now. If I want to fly something heavier, a bit more seriously, I head back to X-Plane. I would agree that X-plane is still a better IFR platform in most respects, although MSFS is head and tails above X-Plane when it comes to the actual weather depiction. MSFS is the first sim that I’ve come across that manages to recreate even the tiniest fraction of the actual feeling you get flying down to minimums, flying though a thunderstorm etc. I think the future is looking very bright for the sim! Thanks for your input : )

[@jazzdub4958]

The mods for FSX has boosted the sim with photorealistic textures now.

[@ivanfojan8859]

Great video, although I do find some of your conclusions a little "strange". Imho, ortho for xp, is not a plus point. It takes time to render each area, depending on detail, still looks nowhere near as good as msfs 2020 and uses a ton of hard drive space (which makes it more expensive, in the long run). Msfs 2020's trump card is the streaming bing graphics, provided you have fast enough internet. As this video was done over 8 months ago, some things have changed. Msfs 2020 now has VR compatibility and it looks stunning in vr, far more realistic than either of the other 2 competitors. I'll be interested to see how much of an improvement we get with the upcoming optimisation update. Msfs also gives you free, bi monthly scenery updates, negating the need to buy expensive Orbx add on scenery. Until we get a study level jet, for msfs 2020, then XP 11 is still the only real alternative for big jet flying. Personally, I only fly GA so don't really care about the jets anyway :) I'd like to know if your thoughts have changed, in the 8 months since this video was made :)

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Ivan, thanks very much! Haha, well thats ok, the entire video is simply my own opinions of course. As you say, the video was made some time ago and quite a bit has changed since then (including, to some degree, my thoughts on the matter). - Personally I like Ortho4XP and still regularly use it. For sure it’s nowhere near as convenient as MSFS real-time streaming, but it’s the 2nd best option and as you say, you do need decent internet for MSFS - which some may not have. It doesn’t look quite as good, but its certainly more than adequate for high altitude flying. - VR is a tricky one for me. I find the VR performance in X-Plane to be much better on my machine than in MSFS. With default scenery MSFS is the clear winner, but with Orbx TE, I actually much prefer the look of the X-Plane scenery in VR (of course this is not a fair comparison though). I would say that the two sims are somewhat equal for me at the moment, but I expect MSFS to get better and better going forward. - The MSFS scenery updates, whilst great, are not on a par with Orbx in my opinion. The mesh resolution still isn’t great and a lot of custom scenery, buildings etc get missed out (as compared with Orbx True Earth). Personally if Orbx release their TE GB for MSFS, I would buy it in a heartbeat - despite the sim already having received a UK update. For free though, one certainly can’t complain about the MSFS world updates! - In terms of the default (or addon) jets, this is still where X-Plane’s strength lies at the moment. The default jets are head and shoulders above the MSFS ones. The whole sim is also much better equipped to deal with commercial / IFR operations (with more “accurate” weather, taxiways flight physics etc). In short; I think MSFS has made a lot of progress over the last few months. It’s undoubtedly the best sim for general aviation / VFR (and the sim I use the most personally), but for commercial jets, I always head straight back to X-Plane. I’m sure this will change in time, but not just yet. I still X-Plane is the better “flight simulator”, whilst MSFS is the better “flight experience”, for now. . . Again, all just my opinions of course, but I hope that clarifies things a little further : ) All the best!

[@homers7777]

super vid mate AAA

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much, really glad you liked it! : )

[@vaughnf.6076]

I like your video on "The Best Flight Simulators" you did 2 years ago. Was wondering if you can do an updated version of the four now that Aerofly FS4, X-Plane12 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition have arrived. The MFSX Steam edition doesn't look much different.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Vaughn, Well thanks very much, happy to hear that you enjoyed it! I do plan on making an updated version of the video; initially I was waiting for the release of X-Plane 12 and now I’m holding off a little longer, to see what happens with P3D haha. I’m not sure whether I’ll include Aerofly or FSX again, owing to a couple of factors, we shall see. . . Cheers and all the best! : )

[@alaskanstrat6618]

DCS is hands down the best , not even a question if you are talking about quality and realism . FACTS !!!

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I broadly agree Alaskan haha, but I chose not to cover DCS, for the reasons mentioned in the video ; ) Cheers, all the best!

[@arcturus8218]

hi just sent back microsoft could not load it along with many opthers looking at comments on other vids, which of the xplane and earofly would be easy to use i only want to do begginer stuff just want easy load and use . cheers

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Arc, That’s annoying! Yeah, seems to be happening to a lot of people. Ridiculous really, given that it’s a AAA release, from Microsoft themselves. If you just want a simple sim in which to have a bit of fun, I would go with Aerofly. It has a good / fun selection of nicely modelled aircraft, you pretty much just start it up and go flying. It’s also excellent in terms of FPS. The drawbacks are; it is a pretty simple sim (not a lot of options to configure your flight etc), Flying is limited to the US east coast (there are 1 or 2 other free US maps available) and the graphics aren’t quite on a par with X-Plane. If you want something a little more serious and with A LOT more scope for expansion, X-Plane offers that. It’s a bit “dry” and the aircraft selection is nothing to get excited about, but it covers the whole planet and with the abundance of freeware mods and plugins available, you can turn it into a really nice, full sim experience. Simply going off what you say you would like; I would suggest Aerofly. The video obviously highlights a lot more of the specific details between the two sims though : ) Cheers, all the best!

[@noahwhite-telles5570]

Watched the entire video. Amazing job👏 Very Helpful. I just wish we had a sim with all the pros.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thank you Noah! Wow, that’s commitment to the cause haha. Happy to hear you found it useful : ) Yes, wouldn’t it be nice if 1 sim could do everything. Hopefully given time, MSFS will rise to the occasion, but that still remains to be seen. . . Thanks again and all the best!

[@zakovbbronchi5393]

helo thank you for your in depth information ...is there any site that you can recommend to learn ground training navigation / atc /etc.......just to get better understanding where your flying..no exam lol

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hello Zakovb, Thanks very much, I'm glad you found the video useful. Well once again, I think FSX does a very good job of teaching a lot of the basics, in an interesting and interactive way. As far as websites go; I'm sure such sites exist, but I am afraid I'm not familiar with any myself. The FAA offers a pretty nice handbook that covers most of the basics: www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/airplane_handbook/ Sorry I can't be of more help on that one - although that FAA manual should act as a good starting point. Cheers and all the best! : )

[@AlphaChinoz]

I'm currently doing my ATPL(H)IR and I see a lot of students using X-Plane 11, but that could be due to the somewhat lack of helicopters in others?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi AC, I think that would be some of the reasoning yes. Also, outside of DCS, X-Plane has by far the best helicopter physics going, which I'm sure plays a big part in it as well. In terms of physically learning to fly, X-Plane is the best sim, but of course any sim will always have limitations in that regard. Cheers and best of luck with licence! : )

[@CallawayVanZeeberg]

To be a bit fair... I think there's a bit of open-endedness to MSFS2020 for mod creators. At some point we will see a level of accuracy in the mods and add-ons. The vanilla edition of most games and sims leave lots of room for the community to contribute as well as add unspeakable value to the game.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Yeah, absolutely. No sim starts off perfect (in many ways MSFS did better than most). There’s been a few bumps in the road along the way and progress seems to be “steady”, but I’m sure the sim will get there eventually. A lot has improved since release, the sim has a very active community and we now have the likes of the JF Arrow. PMDG DC6 to come soon! : ) All the best

[@Nutral1234]

I'm trying to help my uncle decide which simulator to buy, he said he wanted a sim for small planes that helps you to learn to flight in the real world. Any recomendation is welcome.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Nutral, That’s a tricky one to answer! All of them do some things well and some things less well haha. In terms of pure learning, FSX still can’t be beat. As I mentioned in the vid, it has a wealth of educational material and thorough lessons, even check rides. So if he really just wants it for learning, that’s the one I’d go for. It is however very dated and rather ugly now in the graphics department. X-Plane has the best flight modelling, but as there is only so much you can learn from a sim, when it comes to actually flying the aircraft, personally I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on that. MSFS has the best graphics and is the most “fun” sim to use. It also has a nice selection of “small” planes. If it were me; I would get MSFS and then pick up a copy of FSX as well (it’s pretty cheap now, even more so on sale). I would work through the lessons in FSX to understand the theory and then recreate them in MSFS for a more fulfilling experience. Hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck and happy flying to your uncle! : )

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I somewhat alluded to that above Ronda; indeed one can’t learn how to physically fly from a sim, but personally I believe a vast amount of the theoretical stuff can be learnt ahead of time (in a sim). I think it makes sense to try and learn as much as possible in a $60 sim, before starting the $120/hr flying lessons. Simming has certainly saved me quite a bit of time and money over the years!

[@Foxtrot_EW]

Msfs2020.

[@samryan7447]

They all have good point and bad point

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

They do indeed!

[@Itwillblend]

I have played FS2020 for about 8h and the biggest issue that I have is landing with big jets. I did 6 sort flights like 1h each and I failed landing every single time. I am not professional pilot but landing seem like you can not feel lift force keeping you in the air. It just stops all of sudden and either you got your approach right or you hit the ground. And its terrible struggle when you try to correct it. You add power and suddenly plane doesnt want to land. Can anyone compare it to real life?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hey, Yeah, most of the big jets in MSFS are miles off real life unfortunately. The A320 is getting better and the other jets have their ups and downs. Recently I’ve been trying one of the 747 landing challenges and the rudder control is just bizarre. Very “spongy”, ineffective and slow to respond. Makes landing in a crosswind and keeping the aircraft nicely on the centreline difficult. In fact the entire aircrafts behaviour on landing is odd. X-Plane or P3D are still much better options for simulating the heavy jets; though in fairness the MSFS ones have improved somewhat in terms of their handling since release. Hopefully Asobo will continue to work on them and bring them up to scratch. The Flybywire A320 is certainly headed in the right direction and handles pretty well overall. Hope that clarifies things a little more. Don’t be too disheartened, it’s not all your fault haha! All the best : )

[@user-yx8fp1yt1b]

Hey sir can you please tell me which is the Best flight simulator for my low end PC??

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hello David, The best advice I can give, is if you have access to Steam, purchase each sim you’re interested in from there. Steam offers a full refund, no questions asked, so long as you have < 2 hours of play time on the title and request the refund within a certain number of days (check the T’s and C’s ahead of purchasing, to make sure I still have that right). So, you can purchase and download the sim you’re interested in and see how it runs on your machine. If the performance is unacceptable, then you can opt to refund. Realistically though, on a low end PC, you’re probably looking at either FSX or Aerofly. I hope that helps a little. All the best : )

[@visualdosage234]

which of these are compatible with a RC radio? ( drone sims and games like simple planes support rc plane radios with usb, i wonder if these do too)

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I would hate to give you incorrect information Visual Dosage, but I would expect they are all compatible (possibly with the exception of Aerofly, which does have more simplistic controller options from memory). So long as the PC recognises the RC transceivers inputs, they should be useable in the sim I would imagine. I recall using such a setup in FS98, so I’d be surprised if it doesn’t work with more modern sims. All this being said, I’m afraid I can’t give you a firm answer, never having tried for myself. I’m sure if you head over to Avsim, or other such forums, someone would be able to get you on the right track though. Sorry I can’t be of more help on that one. All the best! : )

[@visualdosage234]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations thanks for the detailed answer! yeah i did some research on forums and its exactly like u said, they all support it except for aerofly. for that one u gotta download an extra program in order for it to work.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

My pleasure! I’m glad my educated guess wasn’t too far wide of the mark haha. It’s great that you managed to find what you were looking for in the end. All the best! : )

[@Bluem00n7]

I am not a pc gamer i am getting the xbox series x so hopefully can get into flight sim

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Yeah, it’s great that we’ll be getting a more accessible route into the hobby soon : ) Hopefully some of the bugs will have been ironed out for you guys, by the time it hits the console as well! Cheers Tom

[@Foxtrot_EW]

Nice!!!

[@xxx-tj6cj]

MFS looks really nice, I'm tempted to buy it, but can you play it with just a mouse and keyboard or do I need to buy a joystick?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi x xx, You certainly can play it with just a mouse and keyboard, but it would be pretty tricky to control the aircraft accurately. It’s certainly do-able, but perhaps not quite as much fun. If you have a gamepad, that’s also a decent in-between option. Cheers, all the best! : )

[@samitechcookie9758]

You can use vJoy (or other tools) to improve the mouse joystick emulation. :)

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks Sami, that sounds like a solid tip for those using a mouse then! : )

[@Foxtrot_EW]

Buy a yoke or stick!

[@majoraviatior1611]

I wouldn’t recommend it

[@jimmcleod7286]

Is there a flight simulator you would recommend for running on a Mac with one of the new (M-chips)? If so, which company's hardware (yoke, etc.) runs best on a Mac?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Jim, I’m afraid I know really very little about Macs. I do know that X-Plane has always been the sim of choice amongst Mac users (so I would suggest looking into that). I’m not sure any of the others even work outside of a PC. . . Hardware-wise, I’d imagine most stuff runs equally well on a Mac or PC. Sorry I can’t be of more help on this one, always been a PC man myself. I believe someone else down in this comment section mentioned that he uses X-Plane and a Mac. Might be worth finding his comment and messaging him. See if he has any useful info (I think he was a flight real-world flight instructor from memory, so I’m sure he’d probably have some good info). All the best!

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much for offering up the help Martina! : )

[@Good_Luck_8619]

I’m now thinking to move to fsw

[@firstander1961]

With the sound engine for Microsoft it sounds like a raid siren from ww2

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, is that in FSX or MSFS (FSX I presume)? Cheers : )

[@firstander1961]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations flight simulator lol!

[@firstander1961]

Flight simulator 2020 my fault lol!

[@alimatte1]

Ok, I’m getting old and never used a computer for flight training. But now I found it to be a very good tool for someone like me not flying anymore as much. Having said that I want to practice my new check on the Boeing Classic. Sounds like a Xplane is the one for real practice with FMC and FMS. Unless there’s better coming up? Thank you it was worth the watch.👌

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Yeah, it can be a good tool in the current climate, at least it helps to keep a little more current with procedures etc. Yes, I would say X-Plane or possibly P3D are your best bet at the moment. For the 737, your options are the PMDG 737 NG in P3D, very well modelled, but pretty pricey. The Zibo 737 NG mod in X-Plane (a free mod which completely overhauls the default 737). Again I believe it’s modelled to a very high standard and it’s completely free! Lastly, there is a classic 737 for X-Plane by IXEG. It looks to be well modelled, but I believe it does have a few omissions (VNAV not properly implemented for example). I believe there is enough commonality between the NG and the classic that either would probably work for your purposes? I would probably suggest X-Plane with the Zibo 737 mod is the best way for you to go. There’s plenty of material on KZbin of all 3 aircraft, so probably worth having a look and seeing which one you prefer. PS, I’m rather jealous, always wanted to fly the classic 737! Glad the video was helpful : )

[@davidcottam7967]

hi i am looking at dcs uh-1uh is it good for a beginer

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi David, Apologies for the slow reply. The DCS Huey is one of the best simulated helicopters available in any sim, but it is therefore also one of the trickiest to learn / fly. For a beginner, I would say that it perhaps requires a bit of a steep learning curve (unless you're really happy to just keep plugging away and learning through trial and error). All that being said, DCS does offer assistance options, though I haven't tried them myself, so I'm not really sure what sort of difference they make. I believe there are one or two freeware choppers available for DCS, so it *may* be better to hone your skills with one of those first. If you own any other sims, there would be better / easier options available for beginners. Again though, the DCS Huey is absolutely excellent, just a tricky beast to master. I hope that helps a little. All the best! : )

[@ph0nkl0rd_out]

My opinion: SimplePlanes best flight sim Not professional, but hey, you can build your own planes! And what’s better then that?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, I can't really argue with you there PH0NKLORD, although I suppose in fairness, you can also "build" your own planes in X-Plane ; ) All the best!

[@RealThunderberg]

Hi there my interest in flight sim has been rekindled after many years and I am starting all over. I've got a new gaming computer on the way but since it's been so many years all I wanted to know is the very best way to start fresh if you or anybody reading this would be so kind. Still trying to figure out whether X-Plane or MS but leaning X-Plane. And what minimally would be considered must haves for an FS enthusiast nowadays as far as scenery software or other add-ons? It's been about 8 or 9 years since I last was in the game. Thank you very much for your time and if by any chance I came to the wrong place please feel free to provide me with some direction as to who I might reach out to with these questions if you don't mind and thank you.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Thunderberg, welcome back to the hobby! That’s always a tricky question to answer haha, but I shall try my best: If you want realistic flight dynamics, X-Plane is still the best way to go. In most other respects though, MSFS is the better sim these days. If it were me, I’d go with MSFS, since it basically has everything that you need “out of the box” and there are a few really great, detailed addons available for the sim now (we’ve also generally seen lower addon prices on the platform). A base copy of MSFS and the PMDG 737-600 for $35, you’re already going to have a great simming experience by and large (MSFS isn’t perfect mind you). Again though, if flight dynamics are really what’s important to you, X-Plane still holds that crown for now. Just a suggestion, but if you purchase anything through Steam, they do actually offer a full money-back policy, so long as you haven’t played the title for > 2hrs (I think it is). So you could try each sim and see what you think. X-Plane 12 has a free demo available also, so definitely give that a go. Perhaps see if you can figure out which sim you want to go with first and then I’d be more than happy to point you in the direction of some recommended addons etc thereafter : ) I hope that helps a little. Cheers and all the best!

[@RealThunderberg]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations WOW THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for taking the time to hit me back with these SUPER helpful insights! Everything you said seems so right on point and makes perfect sense and I am totally gonna roll with my approach (no pun intended hah ✈️) to all this exactly as you have suggested and will definitely follow up with you re the add ons etc. Be blessed and STAY blessed 🤙🏼

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thanks very much Thunderberg, you’re most welcome on the reply! : )

[@RealThunderberg]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Hey there friend it's me again just circling back with another quick question if you don't mind I was wondering about what would be the best gear for me to purchase minimally in order to have a killer flight sim experience on my new gaming computer? When I was doing fs several years ago I just did the whole joystick thing which wasn't bad but from reading around online it looks like there are some basic components I should be getting to make the whole experience even that much cooler. And if you are able to tell me something about this if you can also include where would be the best places for me to make any necessary purchases at the best prices that would be just amazing and thank you so very much as always whenever you can get back to me. All the best 🤙🏼

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Thunderberg, I’m afraid I can’t offer up so much help there. I’ve only really tried the equipment that I’m currently using; I can say that I’m pretty happy with it though and there are details to my current setup in the video description. The Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog is a great piece of kit and my Saitek rudder pedals have lasted me pretty well also (though there are certainly better options out there and I’m considering replacing them soon). TrackIR is also great, though rather pricey; head-tracking is a bit of a game-changer though and there are cheaper options available, so perhaps that’s worth looking into also. At a minimum for a “proper” sim setup, I would say you’d want a joystick / yoke and throttle set (a lot of people like the Honeycomb products), as well as some rudder pedals. Again, I would highly recommend head-tracking hardware also (which can often be used with other games as well). I’m afraid I can’t point you in the direction of vendors etc, as prices vary hugely between countries and there are of course many retailers, many of which I know nothing about myself. I’ve generally always purchased my gear off of Amazon haha. As I say, feel free to check out my setup and maybe that will give you a little bit of inspiration. It’s certainly worth checking out forums like Avsim also, as they have entire sections dedicated to this sort of thing. I hope that’s at least of some help. All the best! : )

[@mmhdmmgl6038]

noticing to real world microsoft 2020 is excellent but it has big problem absence of recording .

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Agreed. It makes it very tricky making videos in it as well, without a replay system. I believe one is coming, but the developers are still working on it. In the mean time though, there is a freeware replay tool available, haven’t tried it myself yet (though I intend to), but might be worth checking out : )

[@daviation9779]

In my opinion, x-plane 11 is for people who care about aerodynamics and genuinely want to feel the aircraft virtually. MFS2020- its very aesthetically pleasing but its very “arcady”. Does not help you that much when it comes to realism in aircrafts. MFS2020 is a fun and casual simulator.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I think that’s a pretty fair assessment for the most part DAviation. X-Plane certainly has the superior flight modelling at the moment and is still the sim I use if I want to do some “serious” simming. That being said, I feel like MSFS gets a bit of a bad rap for its flight modelling. In normal flight I don’t think it’s half bad (and is actually my preferred sim, in terms of recreating the “feeling” of flight in the cruise); it all just falls down a bit when flying at the edge of the flight envelope. Hopefully Asobo will continue to improve MSFS, but for the time being X-Plane is still a more competent flight simulator; MSFS is more of a “flight experience”. Cheers! : )

[@daviation9779]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations I actually changed my opinion now, i think with the constant development of the high quality aircraft and constant updates. Fs2020 in some time with be able to surpass x plane 11

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

So long as Asobo continues to develop the sim and (probably more importantly) the SDK, I think there’s certainly still every possibility that MSFS will become a solid all-round sim. Asobo have their strengths and weaknesses as a developer and aircraft are definitely best left to 3rd parties. Once the SDK is robust enough to let the likes of PMDG continue on with their work, I think we should finally start to see MSFS becoming a more serious platform (though there are still core aspects of the sim that need sorting, in order for that to happen). As I said in my previous message though, I already very much enjoy the sim and think it does some things rather well. Great to hear that you’re coming around to it ; ) Cheers again DAviation! : )

[@GamerFreak670]

Do you feel like the large plane flight model has improved at all since this review?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Kyle, I do (and it’s definitely moving in the right direction), but I still think there’s a long way to go before it’s on a par with the likes of X-Plane. Some of the MSFS freeware developers have improved the likes of the A320 a lot, but all of the jets in the sim still feature some strange flight model behaviours and the systems still feel like you have to “wrestle” the aircraft from A to B, as opposed to managing it. There are some promising payware options on the horizon, but as far as the default jets go, I would say they are going to need another 1-2 years, given their current pace of development (which seems to be lower down on the list of Asobos priorities). Just my viewpoint, but hope it helps! All the best : )

[@GamerFreak670]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations interesting, thanks for the reply. Hopefully they fix the jets because honestly I prefer jets, but I LOVE how the GA's handle right now, would be nice if they both handled the same

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

You’re most welcome! I feel very much the same. I really enjoy the GA aircraft in the sim and think they feel great to fly (except when flown to the extremes), the jets still feel wonky. I’m hoping Asobo bring them up to scratch, but I think it will be modders and payware developers that are ultimately going to be the ones to bring us great jets in MSFS. Cheers : )

[@GamerFreak670]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations How do you feel the CRJ addon fares compared to the stock jets? Thinking of getting it however I would like something that flies more accurately and with more systems than the base jets

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I haven’t flown the CRJ for a while, but going on my previous experiences with the aircraft; The systems of the CRJ are generally excellent (with the exception of the autopilot, which has some of the same issues as the default aircraft). The flight model is still very so-so. Some strange behaviours at various stages of flight. It’s possible that much of this has now been fixed by Aerosoft, but as I understand it, the aircraft now has a couple of issues post-update 5. Personally I would hold off and wait for those to be fixed before considering purchasing. All the best : )

[@DC3Refom]

Great video , however the lightjng in mfs seems over exposed that 747 looks too overexposed and so so .

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Thank you! Yes, I would tend to agree. Funny thing is both X-Plane and MSFS get it spot on sometimes, but MSFS can tend to look overexposed quite often and X-Plane can tend to look a bit drab and dark at times. Something in the middle would be nice haha. Cheers, all the best! : )

[@porambokku4264]

Dude, which one best for 4gb ram LP?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I’m afraid I don’t really know Porambokku. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say probably either Aerofly or FSX. Aerofly runs incredibly well compared to the other sims, which I would imagine means it works ok on more modest hardware and FSX is obviously specifically designed to run on older hardware (though the sim was never very well optimised). Steam allows one to purchase a game and return it with

[@KarlH1980]

I haven't done an objective analysis. I don't have Aerofly 2. My subjective summary would be nearly identical to yours. I agree the XP11 score does not reflect how close XP11 is to MSFS. Heard someone call MSFS "scenery simulator" that other day. Found that amusing and reasonably accurate. They should give Austin a piece of the action and get him to fix the flight physics. :-) At the end of the day, they're both less fun than real life, but far cheaper than real life flying.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, that’s probably a fair comment, but they’ve done a darn good job of creating a world to fly in! If the flying itself was just as robust, we’d be golden. As I said, I like my GA / VFR in the sim, so MSFS suits me quite well. For everyone else, it’s got a long way to go, and is probably a bit too buggy to be enjoyable right now. I agree, seems like they do need a 3rd party in there to shake things up a bit regarding flight models, systems etc. I’m starting to think the 320 etc is beyond redemption at this point. . . For me, simming and real flying are things that I enjoy for different reasons, but one is certainly more cost effective yeah haha. I can’t actually do any leisure flying at the moment, but simming is still a lot of fun : )

[@noeramirez4975]

You like the easy fantasy unreal landings. MS Fsim 2020 fly like a drone, so you like to be a Drone Pilot ;-) one thing is real fact, the scenery is more easy to improve than the flight model in MS Fsim 2020, so soon X-Plane will surprise everyone.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, well I like all sorts of landings, in all sorts of sims (and indeed in real life)! I did actually make the point during the video, that I think X-Plane does the better job overall in terms of modelling physics. I’m afraid I don’t agree that MSFS is all bad though; I actually think it’s one of the better sims when it comes to recreating the “feeling” of flight (once airborne). Im looking forward to the next big X-Plane update as much as the next man. Hopefully it’ll be great! All of the sims have their strengths and weaknesses though, that’s why I like to make use of all of them. All the best

[@KennyKhang]

I bought xplane 11 and i am satisfied

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Great Kenny! Nice choice. X-Plane 11 is still my go to sim if I want to fly some “heavy metal”. Glad you’re happy with it. All the best : )

[@nathanmotl6634]

What is your pc build

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Nathan, My PC specs are in the video description : ) I hope that helps. All the best!

[@prestonautic772er]

I could not play microsoft flight simulator X. Everytime I open it up, the bottom part of the window with the most important buttons needed (i.e. "Fly") is hidden under my taskbar. I could not adjust the window size in any simple way, Alt+Enter also did not do anything either. So the game is pretty much unplayable on my end. Utter disappointment, but thanks for your time reviewing these games. I'll check out the others and see what I could alternatively get replacing Flight Simulator X.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hmm, that’s strange Prestonautics. Are you running in Windows 11 or something? I tried FSX just the other day on Windows 10 and everything seemed to be working fine. There must be a Windows / FSX setting that would address your issue, but I’m afraid I’m not sure what that would be. If you purchased FSX from Steam, you should be able to get a full refund at least. My pleasure on the review! I hope you have some luck getting FSX sorted, or otherwise finding your new sim. All the best : )

[@prestonautic772er]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations I used windows 11. I initially thought screen resolution settings would do the trick. but that only changed the graphics.

[@georgieatherson5389]

DCS #1

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, In many areas, including flight modelling, I would agree! Unfortunately though, as DCS only really offers combat, I chose not to include it in this analysis : )

[@martinalvarez827]

Those people who are not pilots in real life will not be able to make a proper value judgment on which is the best simulator for the simple fact that they lack the experience of flying a real airplane. Being a pilot in real life I can say that the best GA simulator in terms of flight physics is by far xplane 11. MSFS 2020 has amazing graphics but the flight model is bad. I use xplane 11 with the 172 from airfoillab and VR to train and I can assure that it is very close to reality. If what you want is a nice video game with beautiful graphics, go for msfs 2020 but do not be fooled, it is far from being a simulator yet.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

That’s why I made this video, to show people who are perhaps unsure of the realities of flight, which sim performs best in a given area, and to help them decide which sim best suits them. For sure, if you’ve never flown before, you won’t have a frame of reference as to what’s realistic and what isn’t, but not every simmer will have that as their number 1 priority. As I mentioned in the video, I do think X-Plane has the best overall flight dynamics currently, however, I would politely disagree that the MSFS GA flight model is bad. I actually really like it. It isn’t as good as X-Plane at the more extreme ends of the Flight envelope (or when it comes to jet aircraft), but for simply cruising around, I actually think it “feels” better. Flight modelling / feeling seems to be very subjective though. Some pilots seem to like MSFS, others hate it. I guess a lot would depend on an individuals setup etc. MSFS is also the only sim that will likely see major changes to many core aspects of the program, so it is still an unknown as to how it will pan out. X-Plane etc are all known quantities at this point. . . I’m a big believer that one should just enjoy whichever sim works for them though, it doesn’t need to be a completion : )

[@otnyzjosiah8204]

To me the best is MSF than X-plane, your opinion is different from other people opinion... you might be right or wrong?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Josiah, For sure, it’s simply my opinion. There is no right or wrong answer of course, although I’ve tried to be as objective as I can. MSFS is my favourite sim personally, but at the time (please consider that this video was recorded when MSFS was still quite new) I felt that X-Plane offered the best “flight simulation” experience overall (in some ways it still does). MSFS is brilliant for general aviation / VFR flying of course, but it still lacks some features that make it a comprehensive platform for IFR flight. The default jets in X-Plane are also way better than the ones in MSFS. Again though, only my opinion! Ultimately the aim of the video is to show people what each sim is about and let them decide for themselves : ) All the best!

[@otnyzjosiah8204]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Now I gat you... excuse me for that, I skipped the time to the present not considering it an old video back in the days, you are right; am the one wrong here, besides I love your videos as an aircraft manufacturer I am, Airbus Toulouse France?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

No worries Josiah, I’m happy to hear any and all opinions anyway! For sure though, MSFS has come along quite a long way over the last 6-8 months. Brilliant to hear that you’re enjoying the content! From one Airbus man to another, all the best! : )

[@mikeconstance7073]

I think that FS2020 finally shall beat X-plane 11. The sim is amazing and astonished. We must understand that the majority of the sim enthusiastic want to experience flying an aircraft on a reasonable way.Also flying VFR give more satisfaction than flying IFR In my opinion I shall put FSX steam edition on the third place above aerofly fs 2. Also will I ask of you did use the setting in FS2020 to adjust reality and flight model of the aircraft? But any way great video.Congratulation!

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Mike, thanks! MSFS certainly sets the new standard in many areas. Each sim does some things well and others not so well. It would be nice if we could combine them all haha. Personally I enjoy VFR much more as well, but of course some people prefer IFR and for them, MSFS still needs some work. As you can see, I tried to score the sims objectively, but I agree that the score doesn’t necessarily place them in the order that I prefer them (I too would choose FSX over Aerofly). I do indeed have the MSFS flight model set to its most realistic options. I think the MSFS flight model is great in general flight, but tends to be a bit basic at the extremes (stalls, spins etc). Glad you enjoyed the video though and thanks very much for your viewpoint! : )

[@pussyvid]

FlightGear has the best price: $0,00 and very good flight dynamics and weather simulation

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha, well you certainly can’t argue with that price Wade! It’s been many years now since I’ve tried FlightGear, I really ought to give it another go. . . Cheers! : )

[@name5964]

I choose microsoft flight simulator

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Fair choice FZ-TV : ) As per the video, I think all sims have their advantages, but MSFS certainly comes with the most “out of the box”. I still use a variety of sims, but spend the vast majority of my time in MSFS. All the best!

[@jazzdub4958]

Damn go easy on FSX. It be like comparing the effects of The Wizard of Oz to today's MCU comic book films, a distance of over 80+years apart. FSX was the gold standard simulator nearly 20 years ago, if it was gonna get this much hate, it would have been better to not have included it on this list.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Jazz, I think you’ve misconstrued my critique of FSX. If I thought the sim was awful, I wouldn’t have included it in the list. I certainly wasn’t looking to give FSX any “hate”; each sim was considered as objectively as possible and analysed purely in its default state. Clearly, FSX doesn’t hold up too brilliantly vs most modern sims, but that’s not a criticism of FSX per se (as you say, a lot of time has passed since the sim’s inception). I still think FSX has a lot of value as a training sim (with its excellent tutorials, articles and checkrides etc), hence why I think it’s still worthy of consideration. I spent many happy years with FSX, I don’t hate the sim at all. I hope that clarifies things a little. All the best : )

[@jazzdub4958]

​@@IntotheBlueSimulations Thank you for the reply. No I don't think I misconstrued your retrospective review of FSX at all. It's inception was from so long ago now, how was it ever going to come off fair compared to newer modern sims? Thus making it unnecessary in it's inclusion and only served to rip it to shreds with the extra glee I can hear from you. You may certainly have sunk 100s of hrs into this classic sim years ago, but none of that happiness came to the surface listening to you bashing it in almost every category. The truth is it's still a competent flyer with a steep learning curve and just does a nice A to B job. Are you gonna bash today's flashy flight sims in 25 years time when the games industry is using 8k etc as the norm standard? You mentioned environmental soundscapes when reviewing all the sims and that FSX has got none - well since you ploughed so many hrs into it in the past, you should remember then the Ultralight Trikes and Gliders feature such sounds from the open cockpit and chase camera of the whistling winds, the rain/snow sleet sounds on the craft and the sounds of distant rumbles of thunder clearly heard when viewed from the ATC Tower. As much as you believe you have given FSX a fair score, I think you've been unjust in it's comparison to sims nearly two decades younger than it.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Jazz, My pleasure on the reply. I think we’re going to go round in circles here, but for what it’s worth: I did state why I think FSX was worthy of inclusion and I don’t consider it “bashing”, to state a simple fact (eg FSX is no longer graphically pretty). FSX doesn’t need to “compete” with modern sims directly (in many respects, it would obviously struggle to do so now), because it offers something unique to the user (the aforementioned training missions, adventures, checkrides etc). Another reason I included FSX; this video is intended to be a buyers guide and is therefore most likely to be viewed by new simmers. Which sims are most readily available and therefore likely to be encountered by new simmers? FSX, X-Plane, Aerofly and MSFS (because they are all available on Steam). That’s the main reason I included FSX, as opposed to P3D (P3D is far more likely to be of interest to seasoned simmers and so they won’t need to watch a video like this in the first place). I won’t be “bashing” any future sims either, but it would be fair to assume / one would hope, that they won’t hold up well to the competition in another 25 years. That doesn’t mean they won’t have any value though. Imagine if MSFS is still the only sim with streamed scenery in 2040. It would most likely look a bit rough around the edges, but might still be the best option for VFR flyers. . . Regarding the soundscapes of FSX, if I recall, there I was referring specifically to the environmental sounds, separate from the aircraft themselves. Perhaps I have misremembered (and you may be correct re the thunder), but sitting in the external view of stock FSX, there were no environmental sounds (other than those created by the aircraft)? I certainly don’t recall any wind noise, tree noise etc. Again, that’s not a criticism of FSX per se, it’s simply informing the user of what they can expect from their purchase. I can tell that you won’t be convinced, but you’ll just have to take my word for it, that this review was not intended as an attack on FSX. One could argue that the scoring system I chose was unfair, but that’s a whole other discussion. There are not many areas where FSX can compete with a modern sim, hence it tending to score rather low in many of the categories, but that doesn’t make it a “bad sim” and I don’t recall ever having said that it was? Ultimately, if I was looking to “hate” on FSX, what would be the point of me including the sim in the first place and then even more bizarrely, trying to defend my inclusion of the sim thereafter? It’s always hard to judge the tone of a post on the internet, so I assure you that none of the above is written with any ill feeling. I will say once again though, no matter what you might think, I don’t have anything against FSX ; ) Cheers once again!

[@jazzdub4958]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Thank you for your reply.

[@yavorkaloyanov4483]

MSFS 2020 = Concorde X - Plane 11 = 747-100 Aerofly fs 2 = DC-10 FSX SE = Airbus A320

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Oooo, haha; here’s my take on it : P MSFS: Completely agree with Concorde! It’s the golden child right now. Gets all the glitz and glamour and looks beautiful, but whether it is a complete “success”, only time will tell (though I think it’s looking promising). X-Plane: I’m thinking maybe the 737. It’s not fancy, or new. It doesn’t have one particular shining feature, but it steadily improves, is a solid workhorse and gets almost any job done well. Aerofly: For me it’s the MB339. Small, somewhat lacking in features and a bit limited in its role, but just an absolute joy to fly! FSX: It’s got to be the C172. Old, dependable. Nothing flash, but still going strong and you’ll learn a hell of a lot from flying in it! Thanks for your thoughts, all the best! : )

[@user-ph6vc3nk8k]

I play Microsoft flight simulator

[@billn.1318]

I have a 1000 hours of flight experience. Virtual, flight experience lol

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hehe, well that’s no small achievement in of itself Bill! ; ) All the best!

[@samryan7447]

I use mfs xplane11 and p3dv5

[@samryan7447]

I forgot aerofly fs2 as well

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Me too : )

[@Learnerofthings]

What, no FlightGear? ;)

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha. It's tucked away in the "best of the rest" section Abby : P Thankfully, the FlightGear crowd weren't nearly as livid with me for omitting their sim, as some of the P3D crowd were XD All the best! : )

[@jmskelly59]

70 FPS in MSFS 2020??? You must be playing on low settings. You'd be lucky to get 40 FPS on ULTRA with your setup!

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Nope, not on low settings. High-end for everything, except I have AI traffic turned off (a known drain on FPS and currently not very well implemented anyway) and only running in 1080p (as I only have a 1080p monitor). My system is definitely getting a bit old now, but it seems to hold up ok with MSFS. I just did another test to make sure I was correct. Default C172 at EICK = 75FPS. As I mentioned in the video though, it depends where I fly, I'm certainly not seeing those sorts of frames over Tokyo with Photogrammetry turned on for example.

[@jmskelly59]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Ah 1080P I had thought you were playing at 4K. That explains it 😊

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Ahh, no. Sadly not. I think my computer would have a meltdown ha!

[@melvyns1975]

I've got a 2070 super and struggle to get 35 fps on low settings 😒... in vr that is

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

VR in MSFS is definitely a struggle on a lot of systems, mine included (I’ve updated my computer since making this video). I can run VR just fine in most sims / games, but unfortunately I’ve never really been able to get MSFS running satisfactorily. All the best!

[@FS-me8mj]

Did msfs2020 fix their physics?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Not yet I’m afraid. There has been a couple of improvements since I made the video and more are due with the next update. For the GA stuff I think it’s an OK sim; for the passenger jets it’s still a little sub-par, though the situation is improving. The Working Title CJ4 and the FBW A320 are both decent freeware offerings and fly quite nicely, there are a couple high fidelity jets on the horizon as well now. I hope that helps a little. All the best! : )

[@athensflowersdesing7863]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations hello, I’m currently planing to start my flight training and I hope to one day work for the airlines. I have both msfs2020 and x-plane 12. I do not know which one will help me more to learn so I would like to know your opinion, my priority is not being lost when I start ground school and when I get in the plane for the first time. Are the vatsim online schools useful? Are flight controls worth it or should I stay with an Xbox controller to save that money? I think asking a real pilot is the best way to get an answer since flight simmers don’t agree very often😂. Thank you for help.

[@majoraviatior1611]

@@athensflowersdesing7863 I would recommend xp 11 for g1000s at the moment. If your doing analog then msfs as they have heaps of black square ones. The g1000s are good in msfs but not quite as polished. Flight model is great in msfs especially with study level payware planes so that’s not an issue. If you want to do airliners perhaps when you get closer to flying commercials I’d recommend msfs due to all the study level airliners coming out. At the moment there are pmdg 737 all variants and the Fenix sim 320 which are very high fidelity. The pmdg doesn’t handle as good as the zibo counter part in xp but has deeper systems. The toliss and flight factor have less systems and don’t handle to the level the Fenix does on the a320 side. Overall I’d choose msfs as it’s a growing sim with great flight model which is underrated as a pilot and all of the great visuals. It’s like “why would I drive a Honda if I have a Porsche” Not Offending. Also I’d recommend the honeycomb controls if you have a bigger budget. If your pretty tight I’d recommend the Logitech but the honeycomb is better value for money. On the stick side I’d recommend a Airbus tca side stick if you can afford it. If you have a lot of money to spend then the hotas warthog. For rudder pedals I’d just get the Logitech one to do you well for the next 2 yrs.Hope this helped

[@majoraviatior1611]

@@athensflowersdesing7863 msfs has also fixed there ground handling and flying physics since.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Athens, That’s great news, best of luck with the training as and when you start! Well, even amongst pilots, you’ll hear a lot of different opinions regarding which sim is best, whether flight simulation has any practical benefits in the real world etc haha. So, I can only give you my opinion, but for what it’s worth. . . I think flight simulation can be a great tool and certainly much can be learnt from a sim ahead of training. Sims tend to work best, when learning theory, or studying procedures / checklist flows, but nowadays can also be used quite extensively for practicing VFR skills also. In terms of which sim to choose, my recommendation would be to wait until you know which aircraft you’ll be learning on and then pick whichever sim has the most accurate representation of that aircraft available (that way you can learn the systems, practice your procedures etc). Both sims have their strengths and weaknesses and the X-Plane flight modelling is still generally better, but not to any degree that you’ll really notice when flying typical GA VFR hops. The one thing you can’t really get a feel for in the sim, is the actual behaviour of the aircraft during flight, so I actually wouldn’t worry *too* much about the flight modelling personally. In terms of an all-round package, MSFS is the better sim these days. In terms of hardware, it depends on your budget, but if you can get at least a basic joystick with built-in throttle, I would say that’s a worthy investment. Some rudder pedals would be great also. Again, it’s never going to give you an accurate representation of how the controls feel in reality, but it should help you to start thinking about how to operate the aircraft in the correct sense (eg how to coordinate a turn etc), something that you’ll find harder with an Xbox controller. I haven’t tried the VATSIM lessons myself, but knowing VATSIM, they’re probably quite good. I’d always recommend picking up a copy of FSX also; the sim is obviously very dated at this point, but it comes with a tonne of pretty decent tutorials and learning materials - I think it’s a good way of picking up some of the theory in a fairly entertaining fashion. For what it’s worth, my simming experience before I started flight training, was all carried out with a pretty basic joystick and nothing else. I still feel like I got a tonne out of that as a learning experience and it definitely put me ahead of the curve when I started my real training (most likely saved me quite a bit of money also). I hope that’s of some help! Major Aviator’s advice is very sound also. Cheers and all the best : )

[@briangatt2956]

flight simulator 2020 definitely got the shit end of the stick when it came to planes

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Sadly that is somewhat the case Brian yes. The aircraft that come with the sim are mostly very nice, but the variety is pretty limited unfortunately. All the best!

[@Foxtrot_EW]

Maybe... But it is hard to not love that beautiful photogrammetry in 4K and be able to fly out of any town in the world!

[@opensourceradionics]

MS 2020 = Game

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi OSR, There was a time, where I would have said there was some validity to that line of reasoning but, these days, personally, I would say that MSFS has as much right to be called a “sim”, as pretty much any other PC-based flight simulator. X-Plane is still the king, when it comes to flight modelling within the civilian sims (I said as much during the review) but, that doesn’t mean that MSFS can’t used to create some very realistic scenarios. That’s just my two pennies worth anyway haha. All the best : )

[@alejandroabrahante7542]

DCS would have been a much better competitor

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

DCS is a superb sim Alejandro, but as I mentioned during the introduction, I chose to focus on civilian sims, for the sake of being able to draw more reasonable comparisons. Combat flight sims are a whole other ballpark really. I hope that clarifies things. All the best : )

[@mattvzs8640]

aerofly has much better optimization tbh

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

The optimisation in Aerofly is incredible! It leaves other sims in the dust when it comes to VR performance. It’s a shame the sim has rather fallen by the wayside though - seems it’s no longer really being developed / supported. . . All the best! : )

[@paulosantos8443]

DCS best ever better fms 2020

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Paulo, Yeah, DCS is definitely one of the best sims in many regards. Graphics are right up there and the flight model is generally my favourite of any sim (the modules are usually excellent as well of course). I chose to keep the analysis down to just civilian sims in this case though : ) Cheers, all the best!

[@paulosantos8443]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations the only thing i don't like the scenary still like game 1980

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Completely agree Paulo and I nearly said as much in my comment actually haha: The scenery is one of the only areas that lets the sim down currently. Not only does it look dated, but the maps can be quite restrictive. DCS is definitely due for another scenery upgrade (as with version 2.5), but I think the sim having multiple maps, probably makes that difficult. . . Cheers! : )

[@Mr.Eikka34]

Microsoft flight simulator 2020 is the best

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

It certainly is in a number of areas Mr Eikka! It does still have some catching up to do in other areas though. I’m fairly sure it will get there - it’s the only sim still receiving major upgrades (until X-Plane 12 comes along anyway). All the best : )

[@welko8887]

Naaa. Srry. Xplane11 is the best. Lol

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Fair enough Welko. I obviously tried to be quite objective in my assessment and I don't think there are any categories that I got egregiously wrong, but obviously what one considers the "best" sim to be, will depend on what one is looking for in a flight simulator. I very much enjoy X-Plane as well and ultimately people should just enjoy the sim that brings them the most value / entertainment. All the best!

[@InternetGoldMiner]

Who cares just biy them all.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Well some people can’t afford to do that IGM (or simply wouldn’t wish to do so). . . All the best!

[@milestoneprofile5387]

This guy hates on xplane11 so much yet the final score should show which one is most elite overall. Ha Like I thought, XPLANE11. To say that the outdated fsx is the most educational is reaching pal. I don't own any of them but watched a few reviews to make a purchase decision and they have all said that the xplane series from 10 and up are the industry standard trainer. It is known that Microsoft flight sim 2020 can't figure out wether it wants to be a game or a Sim.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi MP, I’m a bit confused as to why you felt I was “hating” on X-Plane? As you yourself say, I gave it “best overall” - hardly the actions of someone that hates the sim (also, a number of my recent videos have been recorded in X-Plane. . .)? The final scores reflect the summation of each individual category and I feel that I was quite fair and objective with each category; if you feel that there were any assessments I got egregiously wrong, please let me know? You don’t own any of the sims, which is fine of course and it’s great that you are trying to research the subject ahead of purchasing. I own them all though, have been using them for many years and have used them alongside my real-world flight training; so I didn’t just pluck my opinions out of thin air - the video was intended to offer some useful feedback based on my experience. FSX is indeed a woefully outdated sim in the graphical department and it doesn’t hold up to X-Plane in the flight modelling department, but as I mentioned during the review, FSX comes with an absolute wealth of learning materials, something which none of the other sims has - hence why I consider it to be the best sim if you actually want to learn how to fly. You’ll never be able to fully learn how to physically fly from a flight simulator, but you most certainly can learn much of the theory - an area in which FSX excels. I completely agree re MSFS sitting in limbo between a game and a sim and I don’t believe I said anything to the contrary. Then again, some of the addon releases we have seen in the last week or so (MILVIZ, Leonardo, PMDG et al) would suggest that MSFS is on a positive track. The video was intended to be helpful to someone like yourself, looking to get into flight simulation. At the end of the day, of course it is just my (informed) opinions and we may not agree, but that doesn’t equate to me having “favoured” one sim over another etc. As it goes, I very much enjoy MSFS for GA / VFR flying and it’s the only sim I use for that now; as soon as I want to do some “serious” simming though, I head back over to X-Plane (although again, that may start to change with some of the recent additions coming into MSFS). All the best!

[@Foxtrot_EW]

Very rude! There is only one appropriate response here and that is, thank you very much for making this video and letting us see for ourselves.

[@britfrog]

msfs is nowhere near as polished as XP or FSX in a year or so down the road it will be good , fingers crossed , but at the moment it is most firmly a game not a simulation

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

You’re right, “polished” was probably a poor choice of words on my part. “Feature-packed”, or something to that affect maybe would have been better. A lot of what you get out of the box in MSFS, you would need to spend quite a lot on addons, to have in other sims. For me, the world Asobo has created, is already the most immersive by far. Of course “immersion” is rather subjective though. . . Personally I don’t feel the “game” tag is entirely fair. Again, I think the GA stuff is rather well done actually, the Jet stuff yes, I would have to agree with you. The sim certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s early days. All the past sims (FSX, X-Plane etc) were released in a time before we had this “pay to beta test” culture that we seem to have now with software. As I say, X-plane is (in my opinion) is the best overall package currently, but as you say, fingers crossed Asobo will continue to develop the sim to a point where this line is at least blurred. Also, once we start to see high fidelity addons come to MSFS, it will take the sim to a whole new level, as has always been the case with flight simulation. Just my two cents ha : )

[@BernardLangham]

Asobo/Microsoft's ability to fix system/autopilot/flight model issues has been called into question repeatedly in the last few patches as they have often made things worse, or appeared to fix issues only to reintroduce them in a later patch; their bugfix roadmap is full of substantial issues pushed back for months to "patch 9" or later. meanwhile, they're onto eye candy fixes like a shot, which clearly shows the kind of user/reviewer they're gunning for.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Whilst I am still hopeful that ultimately Asobo will move things in a positive direction, I agree with almost everything you’ve said Bernard. I still think the sim is an amazing accomplishment, and obviously Asobo is capable in some areas, but it does seem systems modelling, flight dynamics (for jets) and especially bug fixing, have not been their strengths so far. So far, I have been happy to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it does seem like every new patch brings new problems. I’ve been lucky and had very few problems personally with the sim so far, but I keep an eye on KZbin, the forums etc and some of the issues others are having are unforgivable. We don’t need Japan updates, when we still don’t have working aircraft! When it comes to the more complex aircraft / avionics, it does seem like Asobo tried to run before they could walk. Seems to me, they should have just stuck to GA and let others worry about the more complex stuff, but I guess it would have been harder to market the sim then. I still continue to enjoy the sim and as I say, hope they will move it in the right direction, but they are starting to get into danger of putting the audience off the product. . . For me, it would be very hard to go back to an earlier generation sim full-time now though unfortunately. Thanks for your input!

[@delg551]

MSFS has been hijacked by the Fly in chase view, 2mm above buildings like it's a GTA V game screaming look mom I can see our house. And ASOBO are pandering to it. If they are not careful the SIM will die, nobody will bother making add-ons for it. The SDK is useless, the flight model is ok but has some serious issues. Anyway whatever.. let's see in 6 months when they are still putting out pretty pictures updates when the flight model is a total joke. . This review was way too kind to it. Don't let the free game pass users buly you because they fear complex systems. No reason it can't be both. ASOBO need to get it together

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I think it is possible to have the sim cater to both communities, but I agree that Asobo seem at a bit of a crossroads right now. . . If they don’t keep the serious simmers on-side, the sim will have no longevity. Until now, I have been giving them the benefit of the doubt. The sim is impressive, and I maintain that for GA, it’s a great platform. With each update that comes out though, I am losing a little faith. They seem to be focusing their efforts in the wrong areas and bug fixes have been beyond haphazard. Again, if they don’t pull it together soon, they will start alienating people. I certainly haven’t been bullied into my opinion though. I wouldn’t have made the video if I was concerned about putting people offside haha. Personally I like MSFS. I really only use it for GA / VFR, there aren’t too many issues in these areas. It got the score it got, based on the criteria as I assessed them. I feel I was objective with the scoring. Ultimately, of course it is simply my opinion though : ) Like you, I hope Asobo pull things together, I know there a lot of frustrated simmers out there currently!

[@jsmr451]

So a so called 'real world pilot' chose graphics over actual simulation of flight? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi JSMR, Haha, well I didn’t “choose” anything. I analysed each sim, based on the categories outlined in the video and then simply summated each sims score. MSFS is the most “complete” sim out of the box (which is the state in which all 4 sims were assessed), so it makes sense that it got the highest score and “won”. I did specifically point out that X-Plane has better flight dynamics (among other things) and that it is the better choice for those wanting a “realistic” simming experience. I still use MSFS, X-Plane and P3D, so I had no axe to grind here. . . I hope that clarifies things. All the best

[@ConnorEllisMusic]

When P3D exists but FSX SE is picked.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

There were a number of reasons for that Connor. Namely; I don’t think It really offers much these days without a tonne of addons, has a slightly contentious licensing structure and is essentially a whole new purchase with every iteration (often including addons). All of the other sims offer a wider range of possibilities out of the box and are a one-off purchase. I do mention that for the purposes of the review, P3D and FSX can generally be considered one and the same and specifically point out areas where the 2 sims differ, such as graphical fidelity and scenery generation. The main reason I chose FSX, as I mention, is that the lessons, learning materials, adventures and challenges that come with the sim make it unique. It’s obviously a very tired and dated sim, but it’s still the best if you want to learn. It’s not some weird bias on my part, I’ve been using P3D almost since it came out and it was my main sim until just a few months ago! : )

[@georgewhitworth9742]

Found the P3D fanboy, lol

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

I thought my rationale was a reasonable one, but there you go. . . XD

[@georgewhitworth9742]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Haha indeed so. I do understand the reasons behind you're decision, and I think I may have some additional reasons for why FSX:SE is better for the begginer then P3D is. Big thing, FSX:SE has a LOT more content from the getgo, with a virtual flight school that you can fly, lots of scripted missions and scenerios to enjoy and hone your flying skills, a really good selection of aircraft of varying types, overall plenty of stuff for the begginer to learn and have fun with. P3D on the other hand, is a very much improved simulator, but is terrible for the begginer as its very reliant on the addition of third party mods to make it enjoyable. Stock, P3D is mostly a downgrade from when I started playing it. No missions, no flight school supplements, and a limited selection of aircraft to start with, and a limited variety on top of that. To fully appriciate P3D, you gotta be quite experinced in the knowledge of third-party add-ons, and the knowledge of the capabilities of what P3D can deliever. Another big downside to me is that with the last couple of versions, you had to buy the simulator again. Which essentially is paying for an update. I don't really like the idea of buying the whole game again, waiting to replace all the add-on scenery and aircraft, just to get slightly better performance. (Especially for between sixty and eighty dollars, goodness.) P3D is great, don't get me wrong, but its very much a hobby grade simulator. To take full advantage of what it has to offer, you have to be more experienced with simulators and how they work, how to get add-ons, where to look for good add-ons, and you'll have to be prepared to spend lots of money just getting the latest version every so often, Whereas with FSX:SE, a casual or begginer simmer can play around with whats there, plus it is cheaper as well. Just my two cents, haha

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Exactly Bradley! Very much agree with all of those points and indeed I’ve made the very same ones myself on various other comments etc haha. Excluding P3D had nothing to do with being down on P3D as a sim; it’s just not a good sim for beginners (who presumably are going to be the vast majority of people watching this video). FSX is still, by far and away, the best learning platform - that for me is it’s real USP. We may well never get such a comprehensive sim for learning ever again, since it seems Microsoft / Asobo are not going down the same path this time. That’s a shame, but FSX still does the job. P3D is great, but not in its default state (it’s actually pretty awful by default). If you want to turn it into a decent sim, you’re going to have to buy quite a number of (expensive) addons and then be prepared to re-purchase those addons when the sim updates to the next version. People for whom P3D may be an appropriate choice, will already be aware that P3D exists I’m sure. In hindsight, I would have gone into more detail regarding P3D during this analysis, but I still don’t regret giving FSX the main stage. I would still recommend FSX to anyone that’s serious about learning to fly (using a simulator). Cheers! : )

[@FBSANTT]

Lol review or Microsoft ad? 😂😂😂😂

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Tony, I don’t feel like I gave any preferential treatment to Microsoft? Was there any specific area you felt was unjustified? I tried to be as objective as I could in each category. The scores are just a result of that. I even came to the conclusion that X-Plane was the best overall sim option so. . . I mean, Microsoft have been on the scene for some 40 odd years, almost consistently putting out flight simulation content. Not to mention putting out arguably the most technologically groundbreaking sim to date (in some areas at least). They are worthy of a mention. All the best

[@FBSANTT]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations you did great man. I was only cracking a joke mate. You did well lol

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Haha damn, sorry Tony; that one went right over my head! XD Cheers, all the best to you! : )

[@FBSANTT]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations you're good man

[@woodsy.2977]

Did not have to be an hour and a half long.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Woodsy, For sure it didn’t *have* to be, but I tried to cover a range of topics, in depth, over 4 simulators. That takes some time. I timestamped the video, so people can pick and choose the sections that are of relevance to them (or of course they can simply watch the conclusion). I don’t see the issue personally? All the best

[@marian8757]

Could have saved time by not having Microsoft fs10 here. Why have the 10 year old Microsoft sim when you didn't have the older versions of the others?

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Marian, Sure, I could have. . . As I explained in the video though; I thought FSX was worthy of inclusion, because it’s the most “modern” sim available, that still has the old-style flight simulator Learning Centre, resources, lessons, check-rides etc. No modern sim has that sadly and as a result, I think FSX is still well worth picking up if someone seriously wants to learn how to fly! FSX is also unique among the 4, in that it has a plethora of missions, adventures etc. They’re great fun and offer a nice way of “learning by doing”. Of course FSX is a bit of a dog in the graphical department, but if graphics were the most important thing, few of us would be into flight simming anyway. . . All the best!

[@marian8757]

Good points, I just felt bad for Microsoft flight simulator 10 ending up dead last in almost every area. I have an even older, much older, version on an old, 25 year old, IBM 760, and I still like the video instructions. Great video, keep up the great work 👍

[@Foxtrot_EW]

I think you did a spectacular job and an hour and a 1/2 was was about right to explain all that! I guess some people don't realize they can fast forward if they want...

[@Michael-cs6hy]

Did not watch. Already know the outcome. Also 99.9% of people playing the games are not real world pilots.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Michael, Well for sure, I used to be one of them ha. But I know some people would be interested to hear an opinion from someone who’s actually flown and I have also been into the hobby (simming) for over two decades now. So I thought I would be well placed to offer an opinion, which of course people can take or leave. . . What would the outcome be in your opinion then?

[@Foxtrot_EW]

And there is nothing wrong with that at all.

[@fsx-legend4602]

Yet you don't have P3D in there this is an epic fail. With PMDG aircraft and FS Labs show you don't know much about simming. Aerofly is just a joke covering 2% of the world with just eyecandy and vr. what a joke.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

With respect, you obviously didn’t take the time to watch the video then. I specifically addressed most of the points you mentioned. P3D is a great sim, in fact it’s been my main sim for about the last 5 years. My choice had nothing to do with any bias. Out of the box and in its default state (which is how I’ve considered all the sims in this analysis), P3D doesn’t offer very much these days. All the other sims have their own strengths / niche and that’s why I chose them. FSX may be much older and certainly doesn’t hold up very well by modern day standards, but it’s the only sim of the 4 (5 if you include P3D) which offers comprehensive educational materials, lessons and check rides, as well as missions / adventures. For that reason alone, it is still worth consideration in my opinion. If you want to properly learn flight simulation / the principles of flying , FSX still has no equal. As I say, I’ve been a strong supporter of P3D, but out of the box, what does it offer that you can’t get in any of the other sims? This video isn’t really aimed at someone whose looking at PMDG, FS Labs aircraft etc. They almost certainly already know the lay of the land when it comes to flight simulation. . . I hope that clarifies things a little.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

Hi Wolverine Well no, actually that isn’t what I said. I said; “out of the box and in its default state, P3D doesn’t offer very much these days”. I stand by that. I can’t think of one area where P3D (without addons) is better than any other sim? As to your second point; I covered that both in the video itself and in my previous reply to the original comment. What do I think FSX / Aerofly offer that no other sim can? FSX is the only sim that has a wealth of missions, lessons, learning materials and check rides. For that alone, I think it is still worth the asking price. Sure, it’s not a great sim overall anymore by anyone’s standards, but it’s still the best platform to learn through. Aerofly is the only sim that currently offers flawless VR performance. It performs better in VR than some sims perform in 2D. It also has a broad selection of “reasonably” well modelled default aircraft. Again, sure it has its flaws (and again, I highlight them in the video), but if you want to get into flight simulation casually (and some people do) it’s a great starting point. I would guess, based on your comments, that you’re a PMDG, FS Labs or A2A type of guy, and that’s great. Personally I think the more high fidelity the addon the better. But again, not everyone is looking for that. As I’ve mentioned before, this is not some weird anti-P3D move on my part, you’ll notice all of my early content on the channel was P3D, I’m still making content in it now as well. I just did a flight in P3D yesterday in fact. It’s an amazing sim, but I have pumped a tonne of money into it to get it to a point where it still holds up and almost nothing is stock any more. . . I would agree, P3D is the best sim if you want a high-fidelity jet, but again, who is considering purchasing a PMDG aircraft, that doesn’t also know the difference between FSX / P3D? I’m guessing we won’t agree on any of this, but I see absolutely no problem with everyone enjoying whatever sim they prefer? . . I’m definitely keen to know what my “true intentions” are and what other “moments of stupidity” I’ve had btw? I would imagine you’re just being facetious?

[@CaptainJadenAR]

To be honest, the VR in Aerifly is plainly amazing. Most museums use Aerofly for VR.

[@IntotheBlueSimulations]

The VR in Aerofly is astounding! It runs better than most sims do in 2D haha. Makes VR far more immersive, when it’s silky smooth. I didn’t know that it was commonly used in museums, but it makes sense. Sadly Aerofly seems to have stagnated quite a bit though as a platform and it doesn’t seem like it’ll see much further development / interest from 3rd party developers. . . Cheers! All the best : )

[@CaptainJadenAR]

@@IntotheBlueSimulations, agreed, sir.