Comparison

Air Manager vs DCS Hornet Device

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Air Manager

Design custom flight simulator instrument panels on your iPad. Connect to popular simulators like X-plane and FS2020 to use your iPad as a primary or secondary instrument display. Offers over 1000 free instruments and intuitive touch controls for a realistic simulation experience.

Highlights
  • Custom instrument panel design
  • iPad as primary/secondary display
  • Connects to X-plane, FS2020, P3D, FSX
  • Over 1000 free instruments
  • Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
  • Control simulator functions via touch
Features
Read full description

Air Manager lets you design custom flight simulator instrument panels on your iPad. Panels can connect to X-plane, FS2020, FS2024, Prepar3d and FSX. Use your iPad as a primary instrument panel and have your computer monitor for outside view only, or use your iPad as a secondary com stack to easily set frequencies through the iPad touch screen. Air Manager comes with more than 1000 free instruments. Add, drag, scale, build your instrument panel in only a matter of minutes. Save your created panels, and switch between them quickly. User friendly No difficult settings or downloading and configuring of third party applications. You can download the necessary plugins from our website for free. We offer a complete solution! Place instruments anywhere you like Tap an instrument to add it to the canvas, hold and drag to rearrange, and pinch to scale, it’s as easy as that. Loads of free instruments The application comes with more than 1000 free instruments, and this collection keeps growing. Buttons, Switches and Knobs Controls like Buttons, Switches, and Knobs let you control the simulator from your 2D panels, so your Flight Simulation is super realistic. Setting a radio frequency or the altimeter setting, moving electrical switches, and controlling the autopilot are just a few examples of what you can do without directly accessing the flight simulator. Multiplatform and multi simulator The Air Manager plugin runs on Microsoft Window, Mac OSX, and Linux, both 32 bits and 64 bits, and is compatible with Laminar Research X-Plane 9, 10 and 11, Microsoft FSX and Lockheed Martin Prepar3D.

About

DCS Hornet Device

Control DCS World's F/A-18C Hornet AMPCD & UFC from your mobile device. Supports single or dual monitor setups. A demo version is available to test compatibility before purchase.

Highlights
  • Control F/A-18C Hornet AMPCD & UFC
  • Mobile phone or pad control
  • Single or dual monitor support
  • Requires server download
  • Demo version available
Features
Read full description

You can control DCS World's F/A-18C Hornet AMPCD & UFC with your mobile phone or pad. You can use this app whether you use 1 monitor or 2 monitor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3aSLqFJGmQ&t=117s This link shows you how to use this app with your 1 or 2 monitors. Before you use this app, download Hornet AMPCD & UFC Demo version first and make sure you can use this app with your computer. You must download server file first and run it for this app. https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0qeuhk552n0d63/DCS%20Device%20Server%202.03.zip?dl=0 You can see manual at this link https://cduapp.tistory.com/33 This manual is currently WIP and will update soon.

Screenshots

DCS Hornet Device3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DCS Hornet Device at $2.99 against Air Manager's $22.99. DCS Hornet Device also leads on rating (3.3 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (50% vs 31%). Air Manager's advantage is ratings volume (29 vs 8). On update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Air Manager costs $22.99 and DCS Hornet Device $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DCS Hornet Device holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Air Manager's written reviews are positive against 50% of DCS Hornet Device's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Air Manager versus DCS Hornet Device: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAir ManagerDCS Hornet Device
Price$22.99$2.99 — better
Rating3.0 (29 ratings)3.3 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.8% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings29 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.67.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size897 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSim Innovations B.V.Sungbae Cho

Customer experience

Air Manager

All ratings27 ratings
Positive51.9%
Neutral3.7%
Negative44.4%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive30.8%
Neutral15.0%
Negative54.2%

DCS Hornet Device

All ratings8 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative37.5%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Air Manager

No in-app purchases

None

DCS Hornet Device

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Air Manager free?
Air Manager costs $22.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DCS Hornet Device free?
DCS Hornet Device costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Air Manager or DCS Hornet Device?
DCS Hornet Device is rated higher. Air Manager averages 3.0 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while DCS Hornet Device averages 3.3 from 8 ratings.
Do Air Manager or DCS Hornet Device have ads?
Neither Air Manager nor DCS Hornet Device shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Air Manager or DCS Hornet Device?
Air Manager ships an update every 10 months, and DCS Hornet Device every 10 months. Most recently, Air Manager was updated on October 24, 2026 and DCS Hornet Device on October 24, 2026.

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