A COCKPIT BECOMES A PLACE TO SPEND AN EVENING
The May 2022 r/flightsim first-impressions discussion contains accounts of planning sectors, using the tablet, receiving company messages and noticing visual and sound details. It is a collection of individual experiences, with the unevenness that implies. Read in that context, it captures the appeal of a complete flight whose different parts seem to belong together. [7, Original post and dated replies]
Development continued through Block 2, announced in February 2024 with work on the CFM and IAE simulation, presentation, flight modelling and EFB. The A319/A321 expansion added the shorter and longer airframes. Subsequent Sharklet work also addressed aerodynamics, equipment and flight-control behaviour. The visible wingtip was one part of the change. [8, Release introduction and V2B2 Changelog] [9, Flight-model and equipment changes] [10, What's Included?]
A familiar sector makes such differences easier to evaluate. Repeat Frankfurt-Heathrow in another family member with its own loading and performance calculation. The route remains recognisable, leaving more attention for the changed ground picture, acceleration, configuration and approach. Familiarity has practical uses as well as its own pleasures.