Can a Cat be more popular than an Alby ??.......
- Thread starter Javis
- Start date
sim-paticissimo
Charter Member
Compete? Who says that they have to compete? They are different. Thanks for the HU about the blue ones.
Interesting replies, gents, thanks ! :ernae:
So i guess we can say that, commonly, the Cat has indeed always been favourite over the Alby just as an aircraft, but that it also has do with the developer of a certain FS aircraft model.
I just found the difference between the number of posts about the Catalina release and the Albatross release quite striking. It's now 271 for the Cat versus 42 for the Alby. 12767 views against 2016 momentarely...
Doesn't happen every time that two commercial aircraft models in the same league have been released almost at the same time... I thought reason enough to 'investigate' a little...
cheers,
jan
So i guess we can say that, commonly, the Cat has indeed always been favourite over the Alby just as an aircraft, but that it also has do with the developer of a certain FS aircraft model.
I just found the difference between the number of posts about the Catalina release and the Albatross release quite striking. It's now 271 for the Cat versus 42 for the Alby. 12767 views against 2016 momentarely...
Doesn't happen every time that two commercial aircraft models in the same league have been released almost at the same time... I thought reason enough to 'investigate' a little...
cheers,
jan
T
TimL
Guest
I bought them both and I'm totally satisfied with them. The Cat is a fun short range hauler but flying the Alby on long legs is sweet too. Different flavors of ice cream I say!
warchild
Charter Member
My opinion somewhat agrees with the others opinions above, but i would add that Alphasims stalling on the release, and then taking over a day to respond to purchases with the resulting number of posts here about it, probably turned a lot of people off about risking a chance on the alby. It almost did me, and i'm still not so sure..
i mean, we ALL know what to expect from alphasim quality. Aerosoft it isnt. So thats a given. Outside of that, it's a popularity contest between the two planes, and not the greatest marketing in the world.
i mean, we ALL know what to expect from alphasim quality. Aerosoft it isnt. So thats a given. Outside of that, it's a popularity contest between the two planes, and not the greatest marketing in the world.
I'd say marketing has a lot to do with it, as has time. The Cat has been in production for a long time, so the Aerosfot Cat beta forum thread has had a long time in the public domain amassing 121,000 views. But there lies another point, Aerosoft customers go to their forums for regular updates, Alphasim doesn't have a forum anymore.
Quality of build? I'd say the Cat has the edge, but I'd also imagine it's had a lot more money invested in it. Enjoyment? Each individual will have to make their own choice, I certainly will when I have the funds spare to purchase the Albatross, which also looks excellent.
Quality of build? I'd say the Cat has the edge, but I'd also imagine it's had a lot more money invested in it. Enjoyment? Each individual will have to make their own choice, I certainly will when I have the funds spare to purchase the Albatross, which also looks excellent.
Panther_99FS
Retired SOH Administrator
Interesting question...
My own 2 cents is that it's due in part to the affinity that our community has towards anything that's WW-II related - hence the Catalina's superior numbers...
My own 2 cents is that it's due in part to the affinity that our community has towards anything that's WW-II related - hence the Catalina's superior numbers...
Odie
Charter Member
Interesting question...
My own 2 cents is that it's due in part to the affinity that our community has towards anything that's WW-II related - hence the Catalina's superior numbers...
Ditto what Mr. P said....I've got the Cat and peeking into my hangar reveals a strong WW2 influence in the resident aircraft. My dad served
in the PTO in WW2 so my early first-hand knowledge of WW2 came
from an eyewitness and has remained as such.
Not to rule out the Alby as a future purchase as I like to have a representative hangar collection of all types so that I can fly anything
from any period at any time !
More interesting points ! 
@ Pam: you mean Aerosoft is *not* known for its quality ? I rather thought it was.... ( meaning *good* quality that is.... I voted their amazing Hughes H1 model as top commercial FSX aircraft for 2008 at Avsim.....bummer we'll probabely never get to see the outcome...
) Also 'Alphasim quality' has changed quite significantly over the past year(s)...
@ Nick: good point about the Cat having a long WIP thread while the Albatross came like lightning out of a blue sky... I, for one, was very happily surprised though ! Always wondered if a 'WIP scheme' would generate more interest in a project than a 'Surprise!Surprise!' scheme would...
@ P. : good point about WWII coming into play in this game too ! Must say i didn't think of that really... Even didn't think about the Albatross being developed *after* WWII.... ( thanks for that, Helldiver)
Okay, time to come out of the closet : i always liked the Albatross better than the Catalina..... :d
Purely as an aviation hobby'ist. Heck, i've never even *seen* a real Alby ! Just very fond memories of making the Monogram Albatross plastic model as a youngster.. ( made the Catalina model too, mind you ! :d)
cheers,
Jan
@ Pam: you mean Aerosoft is *not* known for its quality ? I rather thought it was.... ( meaning *good* quality that is.... I voted their amazing Hughes H1 model as top commercial FSX aircraft for 2008 at Avsim.....bummer we'll probabely never get to see the outcome...
) Also 'Alphasim quality' has changed quite significantly over the past year(s)...@ Nick: good point about the Cat having a long WIP thread while the Albatross came like lightning out of a blue sky... I, for one, was very happily surprised though ! Always wondered if a 'WIP scheme' would generate more interest in a project than a 'Surprise!Surprise!' scheme would...
@ P. : good point about WWII coming into play in this game too ! Must say i didn't think of that really... Even didn't think about the Albatross being developed *after* WWII.... ( thanks for that, Helldiver
) Okay, time to come out of the closet : i always liked the Albatross better than the Catalina..... :d
Purely as an aviation hobby'ist. Heck, i've never even *seen* a real Alby ! Just very fond memories of making the Monogram Albatross plastic model as a youngster.. ( made the Catalina model too, mind you ! :d)
cheers,
Jan
H
hobofat
Guest
I read the original posting for this thread and thought it was asking for trouble 
But some quite good responses! I have yet to purchase the Albatross, I'm on a spending freeze, but I like what I see in the screenshots so far. I do have the Cat and one reason I bought it was because I've been following the Aerosoft forums on this for quite some time, watching it progress. I watch for all of Aerosoft's products because I've yet to be disappointed with them. Some of the older ones are getting dated compared to newer, flashier products, but the fact of the matter is I still fly my Aerosoft Beaver and Twotter more than any other plane I own. I've also had great success with Alphasim. I own all of their civvy models, and have been very pleased. I've never needed to use their support, so I can't comment on how well Alphasim supports their models, but Aerosoft support is top notch.
One thing I do like about Aerosoft is that they tend to do models I'm interested in, and they up the ante with every major release. The engine management on the Cat really takes the cake, and to make it even better, it's part of the package unlike another developer who separates the two ::cough cough A2A:: Having said that, A2A also takes the cake in my opinion :ernae:
I do hope that Alphasim is able to regain some sort of stability...
But some quite good responses! I have yet to purchase the Albatross, I'm on a spending freeze, but I like what I see in the screenshots so far. I do have the Cat and one reason I bought it was because I've been following the Aerosoft forums on this for quite some time, watching it progress. I watch for all of Aerosoft's products because I've yet to be disappointed with them. Some of the older ones are getting dated compared to newer, flashier products, but the fact of the matter is I still fly my Aerosoft Beaver and Twotter more than any other plane I own. I've also had great success with Alphasim. I own all of their civvy models, and have been very pleased. I've never needed to use their support, so I can't comment on how well Alphasim supports their models, but Aerosoft support is top notch.One thing I do like about Aerosoft is that they tend to do models I'm interested in, and they up the ante with every major release. The engine management on the Cat really takes the cake, and to make it even better, it's part of the package unlike another developer who separates the two ::cough cough A2A:: Having said that, A2A also takes the cake in my opinion :ernae:
I do hope that Alphasim is able to regain some sort of stability...
foreigndevil
Charter Member
There is something about the Albatross, don't know what, that attracts me more than the Cat. But the Aerosoft Cat is definitely the most supreme FS aircraft I've ever seen. Really gorgeous, especially the VC. So, I had no choice and bought both. I'll spend most of my FS time flying these two for quite a while, I'm sure.More interesting points !
Okay, time to come out of the closet : i always liked the Albatross better than the Catalina..... :d
It's the depth of the detail in the Cat that caused me to get that, while I'm not that worried about the Albatross at the moment. Having to coax an engine into life, blowing it up when you get it wrong, appeals to me and I've not yet met an Alphasim model with that level of sophistication.
That said, the Albatross is on the same list as all the rest of the stuff I would really like to get, but can't afford right now. I'm keeping an eye on the contact points thread as well.
That said, the Albatross is on the same list as all the rest of the stuff I would really like to get, but can't afford right now. I'm keeping an eye on the contact points thread as well.
Old Tiger
Charter Member
I aways liked the retractable wing floats...in the air she has a cleaner eye but on the water had all the needed goodies. both are beautiful planes but I was waiting for the Cat much longer
What is the keyboard comand to lower and raise those wing floats. I see the lever in vc but
:isadizzy:can't seem to get it work.
G
gajit
Guest
or left click or right click it to make them move.
PBY Pontoon lowering
Thanks to Nick C, if you look beween the two Yokes you will see a orange guarded switch. It will take some monkeying around using the right / left mouse buttons but when you got it down all the way, the pontoons will deploy. You gotta do it agan and raise the switch to make them to retract. After a while you get the best right / left combination.
As far as the Albatross / PBY s is concerned. The Albatross was fat, chunky and noisy and landed with a big splash. You knew it had landed.
The Cat landed gently, like a graceful lady and at a relative low speed. The engines were very quiet. - A true seaplane.
Thanks to Nick C, if you look beween the two Yokes you will see a orange guarded switch. It will take some monkeying around using the right / left mouse buttons but when you got it down all the way, the pontoons will deploy. You gotta do it agan and raise the switch to make them to retract. After a while you get the best right / left combination.
As far as the Albatross / PBY s is concerned. The Albatross was fat, chunky and noisy and landed with a big splash. You knew it had landed.
The Cat landed gently, like a graceful lady and at a relative low speed. The engines were very quiet. - A true seaplane.
warchild
Charter Member
NO NO NO.. You misunderstand. I meant quite the opposite in actuality. Aerosoft, Real Air, Flight Replicas, and Iris, are all top of the line, and AlphaSims quality has never been up to quite that same level of quality, due in part to what appears to be the fact that they arent aiming at quite the same market.More interesting points !
@ Pam: you mean Aerosoft is *not* known for its quality ? I rather thought it was....
Jan
6
6297J
Guest
Iris???
I'd say Iris are much, much closer to Alphasim than Aerosoft and RealAir etc but that's a whole new thread
G
gajit
Guest
I think Iris and Alphasim are simular in that they are not consistantly good - or bad - each product they produce seem to have different quality control levels (polite way to put it -LOL)