A COCKPIT WORTH RETURNING TO
In the May 2022 r/flightsim first-impressions discussion, people described planning sectors, using the tablet, receiving company messages and discovering visual and sound details. These are individual experiences, with the unevenness that implies. Together they capture a familiar pleasure: the flight begins to feel like an evening's activity, rather than a collection of unrelated screens. There is a plan to make, an aircraft to prepare and somewhere to go. [7, Original post and dated replies]
Fenix continued developing that experience. Block 2, announced in February 2024, included work on the CFM and IAE engine simulations, flight modelling, presentation and Electronic Flight Bag, or EFB, the cockpit tablet used for supported planning and aircraft tasks. The A319/A321 expansion added shorter and longer airframes. Later Sharklet work included aerodynamics, equipment and flight-control behaviour as well as the visible wingtip. A familiar-looking aircraft can therefore contain meaningful changes beneath the surface. [8, Release introduction and V2B2 Changelog] [9, Flight-model and equipment changes] [10, What's Included?]
A repeated route gives you room to notice those differences. Once Frankfurt–Heathrow is familiar, try another family member with its own loading and performance calculation. The geography is recognisable, so more attention is available for the way the new aircraft moves, accelerates and approaches the runway. Keeping one part of an exercise familiar is a useful way to make the new part easier to understand.