ProSim737 vs Sim-Avionics

Sim-Avionics was developed privately then later entered collaboration with Flightdeck Solutions, a Canadian company that specializes in the design and manufacture of flight simulation hardware. Sim-Avionics has been marketed to both enthusiast/hobbyist markets as well as for professional fight training in academic and commercial markets. They company provides products for simulation of the B-737 NG, B-737 MAX. Boeing 777, and Boeing 787.

Sim-Avionics was developed privately then later entered collaboration with Flightdeck Solutions, a Canadian company that specializes in the design and manufacture of flight simulation hardware. Sim-Avionics has been marketed to both enthusiast/hobbyist markets as well as for professional fight training in academic and commercial markets. They company provides products for simulation of the B-737 NG, B-737 MAX. Boeing 777, and Boeing 787.

Advantages of Sim-Avionics is that it partnered with Flightdeck Solutions, which is a major supplier of flight simulation hardware in North America. There are many different flight deck hardware components, each with unique interfacing requirements. This results in an almost infinite number of theoretical combinations. If Flightdeck Solutions is used for most of the flight deck hardware, then a large amount of configuration and troubleshooting can be minimized.

Another advantage is that Flightdeck Solutions is a company that is very responsive to supporting their products. They have always responded promptly and thoroughly to assist with resolving issues.

Disadvantages of Sim-Avionics is that they seem to be transitioning to primarily commercial use and appear to be discouraging the enthusiast/hobbyist market. The website no longer publishes pricing for non-commercial licenses.

Another disadvantage is the installation, and configuration, is more tedious and difficult. The published installation documents are sometimes unclear and are ambiguous. There is a mix of reliance on configuration with legacy interfacing software, such as FSUIPC. Updating to new software versions was a tedious process.

Finally, the software seemed to be less accurate in modeling real aircraft aerodynamic behavior, especially with autopilot flight. Also, modeling of VNAV flight was unreliable, sometimes totally failing to follow speed and/or altitude constraints that were clearly within aircraft performance capability.

These disadvantages might have been resolved with further updating and refinement of the software. I have not used this software since 2022.

ProSim was founded in 2010 by a group of aviation enthusiasts and professionals. The founders aimed to create highly realistic flight simulation software that could be used both by home enthusiasts and professional training organizations. The company’s first major product was ProSim737, a software suite designed to emulate the avionics and systems of the Boeing 737. This product quickly gained popularity due to its high level of realism and accuracy. The company currently offers simulation products for the B-737 NG, B-737 MAX, and A320. The software is used by home enthusiasts as well as various flight training organizations, airlines, and aviation schools. ProSim has created a new website, called HomeSim, that focuses on the hobbyist/enthusiast market.

Advantages of ProSim737 include high fidelity and attention to detail, accurately replicating the systems and behavior of real aircraft. This includes detailed flight dynamics, system operations, and failure simulations. The software is designed to be highly customizable and compatible with a wide range of hardware.

There is a dedicated and active user community via an online forum. The company actively engages with its users and continuously updates and enhances the software.

Although any software of this complexity will require a substantial investment in time for installation, the initial configuration is mostly straightforward and intuitive.

Disadvantages of ProSim737 is that its User Manual is a Wiki-based document that has not been kept up to date. The online manual is more of an overview and known issues and resolutions must be researched in the online support forum.

Another disadvantage of ProSim737 is that is the non-commercial license is expensive, costing 1500 Euros (approx. $1633 USD as of July 2024). There is also an annual fee for an update subscription.

In 2019, I initially used ProSim737 for this simulator. When the Flight Deck Solution’s motorized throttle quadrant became available, I transitioned to Sim-Avionics because they had developed interfacing for the new throttle quadrant. In 2022 I transitioned back to ProSim737.

Ultimately, I choose to use ProSim737 because I think I believe it more accurately modeled the real aircraft’s Flight Management Computer, particularly in VNAV flight. Also, it seemed to more closely model real aircraft aerodynamics, when comparing it to a Level D B-737 flight simulator. I think both software products are excellent, neither are perfect, so either one would be a good choice.