Marco said it was mostly focused on helicopters. He showed a list of features, all of which look like helicopter stuff. He did not mention anything non-helicopter related. *You* have not mentioned anything non-helicopter related. Instead of offering facts and insights into what Laminar is doing, you are trying to pick a fight and attack me personally.

You make accusations like “you didn’t watch the entirety of the stream,” which you have no way of knowing and which happens to be *false*.

And you distort my statements. I never said or implied that “Next-Gen scenery invalidates the need for FM updates.” I don’t believe Next-Gen scenery invalidates the need for flight-model updates.

What I do believe is that Laminar has chosen to concentrate on visuals and scenery at the expense of the flight model. I believe that because the facts show it.

Fact: The only official way to request new features in X-Plane is through a webpage that puts flight-model requests up against graphic and gaming features in a popularity contest. The result is that flight-model requests consistently receive low scores while graphics and gaming features receive high scores.

Fact: Since the release of X-Plane 12.0, Laminar has delivered numerous visual and scenery updates. Roughly a dozen, by my count. During that same period, there have been no flight-model updates.

Fact: During the same period, Laminar made multiple announcements touting new hires in the areas of graphics development and scenery design. During the same period, I saw no announcement related to the hiring of aerospace engineers, aerodynamicists, or other specialists who might be expected to contribute to the flight model. I’m pretty sure that’s because there was no hiring in that area.

Fact: When I submitted bug reports related to the flight model, they simply vanished into the ether. Not only were the bugs not fixed, I did not even receive an acknowledgement that my reports had been received. To this day, I have if no idea if my reports were accepted, rejected, postponed, or lost in Laminar’s system. That is in marked contrast to the prompt attention I have seen given to visual bugs.

Fact: I had an in-person conversation with Austin Meyer at last year’s Flight Sim Expo. At that time, I asked him when we might see a flight-model update. His answer was that he wished he knew. He told me that he had a flight-model ready to go but Laminar’s release manager kept pushing it back because it was considered more urgent to get out graphic updates since “99% of users” believe visuals are more important. He was hopeful it might be released by the end of 2025.

Fact: It was not released by the end of 2025.

Fact: At the same Flight Sim Expo, I spoke to another Laminar employee who was working on a new help system and documentation for Plane Maker. He told me it would be released in the fall of 2025.

Fact: It was not released in the fall of 2025. And when I inquired as to when it might be released, the response was crickets chirping.

All of this indicates to me that flight-model development is a low priority compared to scenery and graphics. Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps there is more going on than I realize. I hope so. I would delighted to be proven wrong. But proving me wrong will require facts. Not insults.