VFR Reviews- what do you want from us!?!?!

[VFR Reviews]

Hello everyone :ernae:

Anyway, in light of the recent closure of Project Airbus, as well as the close of other freeware development studios, VFR Reviews is hoping that we can give freeware developers some support.

Generally, we spend most of our time working with freeware aircraft. These days, there seems to be something new and exciting being released every week, and when you consider the amount of time we spend on just one thing alone to review it satisfactorily, I think it's understandable that we often don't get around to freeware very much.

So, I've made a new rule for all of the VFR Reviews staff- for every five reviews, there must be at least one review of a freeware product. Doubtless, my staff and I will do more than this, but this will serve as a satisfactory minumum. I for one have several gigabytes worth of, frankly, quite incredible freeware on my hard drive which I look forward to covering as I get extra time. Plus, with the whole VFR Reviews staff working on this, we'll be able to cover A LOT of freeware over the coming months. Plus, FlightSim.com publishes lots of our reviews, so that can add several thousand reads onto these freeware reviews.

So, what we want from you is a good list of freeware. Think of the freeware that you've used over the last few months that really stuck out to you, and tell us about it! We'll work through the list, which we hope will continue to be added to, and in the meantime we'll give the freeware devs some reciprocation for their hard work!

We want to hear from you :D


All the best,

Kevin Glover

[hinch]

Anything from Dave Garwood!

[Dangerous Beans]

Anything from Piglet.

[Alexraptor]

Well i haven't found many freeware that meet my unreasonably high expectations of ultra high quality all around, but one plane which i do have and think is a fantastic bit of freeware is "Flying Stations" Westland Wyvern.
http://www.flyingstations.com/wyvern.html

[jankees]

I agree with the others
..and how about the flying banana? Great model!

[EgoR64]

Anything from Piglet.


I second that anything Piglet did !!

Along with Bruce Fitzgerald !!

Jaykae - Grand Canyon and Death Valley

Jdhaenens scenery........

And all of Jankees repaints !! Smokin !!

MCDesigns too !!

[Barvan40]

The freeware Fokker Dr.I for FSX by http://www.neoqb.com/fokker/ including Korney Tchukovsky Memorial Field.

The Bristol F2B Mk.1 for Flight Simulator X by Robert Bruce.

The Lublin R.XIII D, the RWD-8 pws and the RWD-14 Czapla from simhangar.com (http://www.simhangar.com)

[Bjoern]

Piglet: Meyers 200D; Mooney M-18C
Thomas Ruth: A330/A340
Dave Garwood: Hawker Hunter series
Rich Schwerdtfeger & Bill Leaming: North American Navion
Project Opensky: Boeing 737 series FSX conversions
Project Airbus: Airbus 31x/320 series FSX conversions
Brett Henderson: Cessna 310Q ; Saab 340B

Flightport: Michelstadt EDFO
Frank Sörensen: Aalborg EKYT


At least that's what I have installed for a while now. And that's usually a good sign. :)

[Henry]

Dave Garwoods beaufighter
H

[pointy31]

Anything from Long Island Classics and Milton Shupe...:ernae:

[Slund]

I agree with the others
..and how about the flying banana? Great model!

I agree, Mick's Piasecki H-21 over at Hovercontrol is my favorite FSX helicopter, payware or freeware. I'm looking forward to reading more freeware reviews, great idea. :applause:

[Kiwikat]

This is a cool idea. I do ask that you only review FSX aircraft if they are actually for FSX. If they are a FS9 portover, review them in FS9.

No other reviewers seem to care about it. It'd be cool if you could get the ball rolling. Who knows, maybe you will start a trend? :kilroy:

Also, if it is indeed going to be a review, you will be obligated to point out the weaknesses, even though it is free. It IS ok to find faults in freeware...

[N2056]

I'd be curious to know what you think of my Pete...one of the earlier true FSX freeware releases :kilroy:
It's here as 'pete.zip' :)

[cheezyflier]

Anything from Piglet.

YES! ABSOLUTELY! but most especially the AA-5B needs to be made known to everyone, because it's pretty darn awesome, especially if someis flying VFR.


This is a cool idea. I do ask that you only review FSX aircraft if they are actually for FSX. If they are a FS9 portover, review them in FS9.


yes, yes, yes. :applause: please, totally take heed to this suggestion.

[rwmarth]

Simhanger have some great planes with VC the equal of most payware

[CG_1976]

OzX-- Aussie scenery and world
Piglet-- A-29B Tucano
John Scuffyduck-- ADE Airport Design Editor
Jdhaenens scenery
Larry Green's paints and VC paints
MoCats Scenery series Snowdogs, Caribbean Seaplanes, Lands End Seaplanes

[CodyValkyrie]

Anything from Piglet.
I don't know how Piglet would feel, but give the man a review :D

[Francois]

I don't know about you guys, but personally I'd rather see reviews of commercial stuff I do NOT know.

The freeware products I can try and keep or discard at will. Payware needs dollars and since there is more and more out there..... and NOT everything is worth my dollars, I'd appreciate more sources of information before making buying decisions.

Seems to me a more efficient way of spending your (and our) time. Of course that is if you are aiming to be efficient. If you just do it for the heck of writing and flying freeware planes, then have fun !! :applause:

YMMV.

[6297J]

This is a cool idea. I do ask that you only review FSX aircraft if they are actually for FSX. If they are a FS9 portover, review them in FS9.

No other reviewers seem to care about it. It'd be cool if you could get the ball rolling. Who knows, maybe you will start a trend? :kilroy:

Also, if it is indeed going to be a review, you will be obligated to point out the weaknesses, even though it is free. It IS ok to find faults in freeware...

Agree 100% especially with the last point!

[tigisfat]

For a review source to be considered reliable, they must be honest, right? I want the bad as much as I want the good. To that end, I don't want to hear about freeware getting bad reviews. It doesn't matter if freeware sucks. These guys are closing because they are sick of people's crap, not because they wish someone would review their products. I'm sure rave reviews and 100,000 downloads are a badge of honor, but noone stops making freeware because they don't get enough 'business'.

[dswo]

I agree with Tigisfat and Francois Dumas.

[6297J]

To some extent these forums provide an adequate rolling review of both free and payware every day but an in depth and subjective review of the best freeware available would be welcomed by me. I have wasted enough time and disk space installing and testing dreadful freeware - doesn't matter whether I've paid for it or not, I might still have benefited from an impartial review separate from what I can glean from forums like this before I considered installing.

If there are any freeware developers out there who do not wish to have their work reviewed in the same manner as a payware review - please speak up or forever hold your peace! It's not like a bad review is going to hurt your sales - just your ego :mixedsmi:

[Kiwikat]

If VFR Reviews doesn't want to say anything negative about freeware, then just don't call it a "review". Simple as that.

[empeck]

It would be nice if you'd review my plane :) I know it's not perfect, but there are guys who hasn't seen, or tried it because it's not another Mustang or Bf-109 ;)

I like to read reviews of freeware addons, very often freeware planes and sceneries are treated as 'worse' just because it's free.

[6297J]

It would be nice if you'd review my plane :) I know it's not perfect, but there are guys who hasn't seen, or tried it because it's not another Mustang or Bf-109 ;)

I like to read reviews of freeware addons, very often freeware planes and sceneries are treated as 'worse' just because it's free.


And there are guys like me who haven't seen or tried it because we don't know what it is! Any links?

[lucas81]

Good point. Present something which is less known for the typical FS user, no matter if it is a scenery or an aeroplane. It is shame for me that Vitek's Aero Vodochody 159 was not made "sticky" here.

On the other side you can go even further and present make an interview with the developer. I would like to know more about Tim, Jim, Dino, Dave, Vitek and many more developers. Why do they spend their free time on making fs addons ? When did they start their hobby ? There can be lots of good questions and I am sure that such an article with the full list of the author's addons would be great.

Lucas

[lucas81]

And there are guys like me who haven't seen or tried it because we don't know what it is! Any links?

How about Mike's signature ? Apart from that, all Simhangar birds are/were here on the SOH.

Lucas

[empeck]

Here are all our planes:

http://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=puto&CatID=fsxac&Go=Search

All are FSX native, not portovers.

[6297J]

Here are all our planes:

http://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=puto&CatID=fsxac&Go=Search

All are FSX native, not portovers.


See!! I had no idea. Just think what a good review would do!

(your link doesn't work for me but I'll do what Lucas suggested)

[Bjoern]

John Scuffyduck-- ADE Airport Design Editor

If we're also talking about tools and other stuff...

World Of AI - AI Traffic
Lamont Clark(?) - Whisplacer


Aaaaand a report on FSAirlines (fsairlines.net)!

[lucas81]

Sbuilder X by Louis Sa. My basic tool for scenery building. Simply awesome.

L.

[cheezyflier]

I would like to know more about Tim, Jim, Dino, Dave, Vitek and many more developers. Why do they spend their free time on making fs addons ? When did they start their hobby ? There can be lots of good questions and I am sure that such an article with the full list of the author's addons would be great.

Lucas

that would be something i would read:applause:

[huub vink]

Should this be native FSX only? There are still a lot of great FS2004 freeware models developed and until FS2004 has quite some users.

Cheers,
Huub

[Kiwikat]

Should this be native FSX only? There are still a lot of great FS2004 freeware models developed and until FS2004 has quite some users.

Cheers,
Huub

I don't think it should be. FS9 is still a popular sim, especially among freeware designers. But as I said, if it is for FS9, review it in FS9. None of this portover business.:monkies:

[Alexraptor]

The problem with portovers and non-FSX native planes is that they can sometimes cause a terrible performance hit in FSX. I know i cant use the FS9 F-86 because it turns FSX into a stutterfest for me.

[VFR Reviews]

Hi everyone!

http://www.vfrreviews.com/index.php?topic=234.new#new

Ok, here's the new rolling thread. I've only just had a little bit of time, but I wanted to put down the stuff that really caught my eye. Some of you guys requested reviews of several products- I'll have a look at those as I get time. Also, a lot of what we review will probably be the better stuff, not your run-of-the-mill model with default sounds, panels, and no VC.

If you guys would be so kind, I would be very happy to have you guys find links for me at any site, cause it's tough to find and link twenty different addons.

In regards to some of the comments- thank you, we really appreciate your feedback. This will not hinder our payware reviewing since we're probably just going to devote about 1/5 of our time to this, realistically. Besides this, a lot of freeware aircraft aren't as complex as most payware stuff, and I rather expect that they'll take less time. After all, there's not many addons with the complexity of PMDG that are free.

Also, all our reviews are subjective. If something has a lousy VC, we'll talk about it. Same with performance, documentation, etc. It'll be up to the regular VFR Reviews standards, I promise :D We're also working on a system and award for freeware... Not as comprehensive as our payware award stuff, but it'll point out some of the greats from the rest, I think.

I rather think that these will help the community, since the two shots or so that you get to see with most download sites doesn't give you much of an idea.

Thanks guys! Keep 'em coming! I really appreciate those who liked the idea :D

[Alexraptor]

Whoops beufighter has the same link as the Fokker :P

[VFR Reviews]

Thanks mate, I'll fix that, sorry :(

[Francois]

that would be something i would read:applause:

There's an entire series of such interviews in Computer Pilot Magazine, started about a year ago ;-)

[Francois]

Also, all our reviews are subjective. :D

Personally, I think it would be much more useful if you made them OBjective ! :kilroy:

[6297J]

Here comes Mr Grumpy :rolleyes:

[VFR Reviews]

Personally, I think it would be much more useful if you made them OBjective ! :kilroy:

Hmm.... I can see your point:monkies:

lol, whoops :icon_lol:

[mike_cyul]

If you're ever looking for a freeware ultralight to review, I guess you could always try my little Mini-Max. :)


Mike

[IanP]

PC Pilot have started interviewing people from the FS world as well. Certainly shows there's a readership for it.

As for anything else, the more reviews the merrier as far as I'm concerned, but as others have said, try and branch out a bit from just the mainstream products - the more there are, the better it is and you might find a few hidden gems that no-one knows about!

[cheezyflier]

There's an entire series of such interviews in Computer Pilot Magazine, started about a year ago ;-)

the only trouble with that is, buying it here in toronto makes it cost about $22, and that's beyond my limit for a magazine, no matter what the content is.

[VFR Reviews]

Hey guys :)

For those who suggested their own products, would you mind giving them a link or some place I can find them?

[N2056]

Kevin, here is where you can find "Pete"...http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=110872

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4920/200933184951343.jpg

[mike_cyul]

The Mini-Max is available at Avsim as file fr_minimax_v2.zip. Here at SOH, it's http://www.sim-outhouse.com/downloads/download.php?lloc=downloads&FileID=13377

Mike

[empeck]

Lublin R.XIII:
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=121136?CatID=fsxac

RWD-8:
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=122341?CatID=fsxac
Download Expansion pack as well

RWD-14:
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=126800?CatID=fsxac

Lublin is my child, RWDs are team work.

[Mongo]

Anything from Piglet.

While I can't say that I flown everything that Piglet has offered, his Meyers 200D is outstanding!!

[VFR Reviews]

Thanks guys!

I've been horribly busy, so these links will make things a lot easier! I'll take a look at them ASAP.

[cheezyflier]

the AA-5B one of my fav models even alongside of some payware stuff.
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=downloads&FileUploadName=Piglet&ammm=15&pap=2#download

[Bone]

For a review source to be considered reliable, they must be honest, right? I want the bad as much as I want the good. To that end, I don't want to hear about freeware getting bad reviews. It doesn't matter if freeware sucks. These guys are closing because they are sick of people's crap, not because they wish someone would review their products. I'm sure rave reviews and 100,000 downloads are a badge of honor, but noone stops making freeware because they don't get enough 'business'.


I couldn't have said this any better, so I won't try.

[Francois]

the only trouble with that is, buying it here in toronto makes it cost about $22, and that's beyond my limit for a magazine, no matter what the content is.

You can buy the on-line (pdf) version for a few Quid.... :wavey:

[VFR Reviews]

OK guys :)

I've set it so that guests can post in the thread at VFR Reviews, so when this thread dies you can put your suggestions there!