Being at home in Boeing cockpits I find myself tempted to challenge my aging brain with an aircraft of a very different family, the Airbus A320. From what I read and see on videos the FSLab A320X seems to be the pinnacle for Airbus simmers in my present platform. At $150 it is quite an investment for a retiree, but I want the best and can justify to the wife since my seventieth birthday is next month. She'll roll her eyes but quite used to that after 49 years. If I master this automated bird, I will have to have the other variants like the A321 sharklets.  Before setting out on this endeavor I wonder if anyone who flies her could advise me on the following:

1. How is product support with FSLab? I am aware of their past unpleasantness concerning, well, maybe I shouldn't mention, but you know. I'll take a repentant sinner over a practicing deceiver, so I assume those days are past. If you don't know what I refer to best leave it be. Just tell me about product support.

2. Most of the Bus systems appear rather intuitive except the MCDU to someone so used to the Boeing. From what I see it appears quite similar to the TFDi 717 which I am fairly competent on. I assume this would be the most difficult aspect of learning the Bus. 

3. Is the ground handling true to life especially pertaining to wheel friction when taxing. Taxis on idle thrust after breakaway like a real jet or use the P3D wrap around method. Awful.

4. Assuming the weather radar works on Active Sky?

5. Performance hog? Any more then say PMDG NGXu?  

6. Any helpful comments or advice for an aspiring Air Bus student welcome.

I have a ThrustMaster Airbus side stick, good throttle quad so I'm good on hardware. Thanks in advance. Think I'll watch some more FSLab A320x videos now.

3 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

1. How is product support with FSLab? I am aware of their past unpleasantness concerning, well, maybe I shouldn't mention, but you know. I'll take a repentant sinner over a practicing deceiver, so I assume those days are past. If you don't know what I refer to best leave it be. Just tell me about product support.

It's good, and most answers can be found in the forum.

3 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

2. Most of the Bus systems appear rather intuitive except the MCDU to someone so used to the Boeing. From what I see it appears quite similar to the TFDi 717 which I am fairly competent on. I assume this would be the most difficult aspect of learning the Bus. 

Everything about Airbus takes getting used to coming from Boeing, but that's the interesting part (at least for me). It's very different, in a good way.

3 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

3. Is the ground handling true to life especially pertaining to wheel friction when taxing. Taxis on idle thrust after breakaway like a real jet or use the P3D wrap around method. Awful.

Yes, ground handling is very well simulated, esp. the difference in idle thrust between CFM and IAE engines.

3 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

4. Assuming the weather radar works on Active Sky?

Yep

3 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

5. Performance hog? Any more then say PMDG NGXu?  

About the same or better. No perf issues on my end these days (5800X3D/3080ti)

3 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

6. Any helpful comments or advice for an aspiring Air Bus student welcome.

Blackbox711's YT videos and Twitch streams are probably good to watch. 

Remember: on the autopilot panel (FCU) - pull the knobs to control it yourself, push them in to hand the flying back to the plane. Otherwise, study up and have an open mind. 

FSL support is excellent. Personal experience.

As to learning the Airbus check out the books of Mike Ray. Retired airline Captain. The book are written for flight simmers with lot of sketches and systems described in an easy to understand format. I have most of his books. They are available in electronic format as well as print. Recommended.

51 minutes ago, dbw1 said:

FSL support is excellent. Personal experience.

As to learning the Airbus check out the books of Mike Ray. Retired airline Captain. The book are written for flight simmers with lot of sketches and systems described in an easy to understand format. I have most of his books. They are available in electronic format as well as print. Recommended.

I have several of Mikes books and you’re certainly right. He’s a first class guy. I hope he’s doing well.

I think V-1 Simulations on youtube is about the best out there.  He uses Xplane and not P3D/FSL, and now MSFS and Fenix, but the aircraft amd system instruction is excellent.  FSL is still the superior product to the rest.  Agreed that Mike Ray's study guide - available on Amazon - is outstanding.  Remember that you fly a Boeing and you manage and Airbus.

FSLabs got me into P3D. They make a fine, we’ll-supported product. It’s certainly not cheap, but I’ve yet to use an A320 that compares, including the Fenix. 

Edited August 27, 20223 yr by Iadbound

One caution that I'll share.  I just (mistakenly) assumed you could set up random failures to occur after x-number of hours, like the Maddog, PMDG, etc before purchasing the 320 base product a few months back.  That doesn't seem to be the case on the FSLabs.  While there is some maintenance-based failures, a majority seem you have to program them manually unfortunately.  Kind of ruined the challenege/surprise of an in-depth failure engine for me.

Hopefully I'm mistaken, but from all the asking and searching I've done, it doesn't appear this is implemented.  Was a pretty big let down for me for an aircraft with such complex systems modeling.

In short...you will be impressed. I like PMDG and it is really good however I am most impressed with manual flying with Bus. Specially with automation and easiness to prepare plane for descent and landing.  I am unable to adjust PMDG manual flying to my liking. 

Thanks everyone for the tips. I plan to get my FSL bus in a couple of weeks 

On 8/28/2022 at 12:58 AM, Iadbound said:

FSLabs got me into P3D. They make a fine, we’ll-supported product. It’s certainly not cheap, but I’ve yet to use an A320 that compares, including the Fenix. 

Agreed. And a world away from the aerosoft, flight factor or tolis airbuses. 

You get what you pay for and it's no more evident than the fsl. 

For me there was a tremendous amount of trouble grasping the Airbus.  Then someone (I can’t remember who) told me to forget EVERYTHING you know about flying a Boeing. Clear your mind and start over from scratch.  When I looked at Blackbox on YouTube and started with a clean mental slate it fell into place.  Before that I was totally confused.

Edited August 31, 20223 yr by Chuck Dreier

6 hours ago, Chuck Dreier said:

For me there was a tremendous amount of trouble grasping the Airbus.  Then someone (I can’t remember who) told me to forget EVERYTHING you know about flying a Boeing. Clear your mind and start over from scratch.  When I looked at Blackbox on YouTube and started with a clean mental slate it fell into place.  Before that I was totally confused.

Good advice!  Beings had been my airliners of choice for many years.  Then I decided to try the FSLabs Airbus.  Very odd setup was my early reaction.  Now after a year or more I recently went back to the NGXu and was surprised how alien the the Overhead, FMS and other systems now seemed.  In fact if you were getting into large jets for the first time I think the airbus way of doing things would be much easier to learn compared to Boeing.

Bruce 

Well, my Honeycomb Alpha yoke is under the desk, I have my Mike Rays A320 book, FS2Crew and am heavy into my FSLab A320. Much to learn but that is my purpose. So glad I spent the extra cash for this totally realistic model. I figure by the end of the year I'll be competent enough to buy the A321 Sharklet. I spent my sim time yesterday getting the hang of taxing using the throttle slide on my Thrustmaster A320 side stick for a tiller axis. I love addons like this that are so realistic it takes me time and effort to master. Good job FlightSim Labs.