Disclosure: I purchased my copy of the Magknight 787-9 from Simcatalog with my own money.
Edit 5/15/2019: This review is NOT for the Magknight 787 Aviator Edition. This product is no longer available. An Aviator Edition review will happen at some point, but I intend to let them get the product more complete before I review it. The scoring in this review is also, in hindsight, ridiculous. Do not use any material in this review to make a decision on purchasing the product. I’ll review it again when it reaches a more complete state.
I recently got a request to fly a long haul flight in the Magknight 787-9 on my YouTube Channel. I decided I’d check out the plane as I love the 787 and the absolute engineering marvel that the real aircraft is. I went and bought my copy of the aircraft from the only retailer who carries it at this point. A rather poorly hacked together website (in fairness that’s true of a lot of sim add-on stores) called Simcatalog carries it for roughly $23US. Hopefully, this add-on will get picked up by more retailers in the future.
After extracting the plane and putting the files in the right spot, just like you would for any other x-plane add-on, I was ready to fly so I decided that my first start to finish flight would be the requested video but that I would not do a long haul flight. I decided to fly KDFW to KLAX, and you can see that video here if you would like to.
Before we dig into the specific details of the Magknight 787-9, let me point out that you can view the guidelines I use in this and any other future review here.
Flight Deck Fidelity: 3/10
The flight deck is a very simple model that is low in detail and polygon count which makes it performance friendly but also drastically reduces the detail. The texturing is mediocre, and overall you’re getting what you pay for with this flight deck. We’ll circle back around to getting what you pay for further down the page. Don’t expect crazy high-quality detail work and you’ll be alright. At this price point, the flight deck is entirely acceptable.
Exterior Model Fidelity: 7/10
The exterior model is much more exciting than the flight deck model. The work is much better, and it is a lovely plane to look at. There is some weird texturing here and there, but I think that Magknight has done an excellent job with this model overall even though some little things are missing that I wish were present. Thins like animated entry and cargo doors and an animated APU flap aren’t expected at this price point, but I’d like to see them all the same.
Cabin Visual Fidelity: 0
This was an easy thing to score. There is not a modeled cabin, and I’m okay with that.
Sound Fidelity: 0/7
Again, a custom sound pack is not something you get at $23. That said the sounds do let me down with this aircraft as they are basic X-Plane default sounds and add nothing to the experience. Especially the gear noise. It sounds like landing gear off of a TBM or some other tiny plane.
Flight Model Feel: 8/10
Flying the plane in the time that I have had it feels good. It hand flies reasonably well. It does have some of the typical weight of a heavy jet. Thanks to X-Plane 11’s new default systems this plane is capable of flying SIDs and STARs, and it has a working autopilot if a limited one. These are all default x-plane systems so they may not work the way you would expect if you have spent a lot of time flying higher end Boeing simulations.
Systems Depth: 0/30
As stated in the flight model section all of the systems on this airplane are default X-Plane systems (so far as I know). There is no systems depth to this airplane, but again, it was $23. You do not get much of a systems simulation for $23, minus the glaring exception that is the Zibo Mod 737.
Value: 30/30
You get what you pay for. Subjectively this add-on is priced well. It might be slightly high, but I don’t think it is. It is a fun and cheap simulation of a 787, and as long as you didn’t come here expecting a Quality Wings 787, you’re going to have a good time. Especially if someone makes a sound pack for it.
Overall Score: 4.8
It gets a low score. That’s because my scale is unfair to add-ons that don’t simulate systems. I get most of my enjoyment in this hobby out of good systems simulation. I love knowing how a specific airplane works, something I find far more gratifying than hand flying Cessnas. So take my score with a grain of salt. It’s a good-looking and fun airplane, I like having it in my hangar, and I’d buy it again.
