Excellent Flight Simulator
The world of desktop flight simulators has some big players so where does Aerofly FS 4 fit in? In brief, it doesn’t have the realistic scenery of the Microsoft sim nor the flight handling characteristics of X-plane but it scores high on several very important parameters: price, ease of installation and use, frames per second, screen resolution and overall fun of flying.
POSITIVES
very reasonably priced for the basic software
includes most of the globe
installation (on mac) was totally straight-forward
loads up very quickly
fast response moving around different settings
runs very smoothly with good frame rate
high definition instrument panels
overall a very satisfactory screen experience
has a good range of aircraft in the starter pack
most functions can be allocated to user preferred keys
joystick (Logitech) worked very well
good selection of overlays including HUD and landmarks
quick set option for basic settings
replay works when pause is activated and is intuitive
ability to reset aircraft back in time in an existing path
ability to set aircraft forward in a planned path
lots of active aircraft on ground and in the sky
option to fly some of the commercial routes
vast array of settings
good range of camera views
clouds very realistic
full global terrain access in the desktop sim (included in price)
no need to download scenery areas
excellent map for locating aircraft (with approach or runway options)
map shows real-world coordinates
extra aircraft available for reasonable price
beautifully presented online tutorials (but could be bet
NEGATIVES
the online tutorial information is quite good BUT does not offer a quick start option
some onscreen icons do not have clearly explained purposes
does not present the tutorials in the sequence that a beginner would require
does not have a basic autopilot tutorial
dismissive support when I requested a simple intro tutorial
water surfaces are very static
strange artefacts in the sea sometimes (e.g., Co Dublin coast)
buildings too many and too neat (though OK from 20,000 ft)
too many random artefacts in airports that are otherwise quite accurate
in some cases houses and even aerial masts at the end of a runway
even at low “tree density” setting, too many trees and in odd locations
gear up/down is a toggle
no airport signage
no moving vehicular traffic
the software sometimes freezes on choosing aircraft or on exit
weather settings are terribly vague (no wind speed, no real cloud levels)
unclear layout of key assignments
a few key assignments did not work (e.g., sound variometer)
aircraft trails look like kitchen paper unrolling
no fuel setting!
WISHES
to be able to programme a single camera view to a single key
to be able to save flights to replay later
to have a “local weather now” option
to have Favourite Locations (with specific aircraft and runway settings)
more detailed wind and cloud settings (or, at least, give the numerical values of the existing settings) and rain or mist effects
tips appearing when hovering over icons would be useful
heights on the maps would be important
There are lots of features I have not tried (tutorials, challenges, navigated flights). There is a whole area of career statistics that makes interesting viewing after a few flights. There is a big list of possible achievements, all well documented.
This review is about the desktop Aerofly but I found the iPhone version of Aerofly also very good, perhaps the best small-screen flight simulator I have tried. Aerofly charges a subscription for access to global scenery on the mobile version and, although good enough for the small screen, gives a very poor impression of what is available for the desktop version and for free.
Overall, this is a very good FS. Yes, it has drawbacks but the flying experience is excellent.