Comparison

Flight Simulator Advanced vs Flight Deck AR

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

Head to head
About

Flight Simulator Advanced

Experience realistic flight simulation with interactive cockpits and detailed aircraft. Plan your routes, manage ground services, and enjoy dynamic weather and day/night cycles. This game offers a comprehensive flying experience on your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Interactive cockpit controls
  • 200+ airports
  • Variety of aircraft with authentic cockpits
  • Customizable liveries
  • Airport ground services
  • Realistic physics and aerodynamics
  • Day/night cycle and weather modes
Features
Read full description

• Feel what it's like flying inside the cockpit of a real aircraft. • Interact with cockpit buttons, switches and levers. • Push-back, taxi to runway, take-off, fly your flight-plan, land, connect to jetway! ~ REQUIREMENTS ~ Requires an iPhone or iPad with at least 4GB RAM (e.g., iPhone 11/iPad 10th Generation or later) and internet connection whily playing. Performance not guaranteed on older devices. Main Features --------------------- • 200+ airports • Many aircraft, including A320, A321, A320neo, A321XLR, B737, A330, A340, A380, A350, B777, B747, Β787 with a lot of liveries and authentic cockpits • Ability to import your own custom liveries into the game • Airport Ground services (Movable jetways, fuel trucks, AI traffic) • Realistic physics/aerodynamics • Autopilot • Flight planning system with waypoints and navigation • Day/night cycle • Weather modes and precipitation • Interactable cockpits • Realistic sound effects (ATC chatter ,Engines sound effects, GPWS , alarms etc.

About

Flight Deck AR

Transform your mobile device into a head tracker for X-Plane. Experience natural cockpit views that follow your head movements without any extra hardware or complex setup. Enjoy enhanced immersion in your flight simulations.

Highlights
  • Real-time head tracking with device camera
  • Native X-Plane integration
  • Zero-setup, plug-and-fly functionality
  • Supports all X-Plane aircraft
  • Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux)
  • Auto-pause when face is not detected
  • Per-aircraft settings
Read full description

Turn your iPad or iPhone into a powerful head tracker and fly more naturally. No clips, no sensors, no plugins, no IP configurations. Just launch the app and your cockpit view follows your head instantly. Why Flight Deck AR? • Native integration: built directly on X-Plane’s official UDP/Datarefs. • Cross-platform: works with X-Plane on Windows, macOS, and Linux. • Zero setup: no IP config, no DLLs, no drivers, no emulation, no calibration. Plug & fly. • All aircraft supported: from Laminar defaults to complex add-ons. • Simple hardware: just your iPad or iPhone camera. • Lightweight & smooth: optimized for performance and stability. Features: • Real-time head tracking with your device’s camera • Native X-Plane integration (UDP & datarefs) • Full integration, zero-config, with X-Camera plugin • Camera controls, with custom head-tracked cameras for each Aircraft • Auto-Pause: pause the sim if face is not detected for a prolonged period. • Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux • Zero setup: launch, connect, and fly • Supports all aircraft (default + add-ons) • Uses only your iPad or iPhone camera • Smooth, lightweight, and responsive head tracking • Ready-to-use presets for common scenarios • Advanced settings for fine-tweaking • Per Aircraft settings. Each configuration of the tracker is linked automatically and independently to the currently loaded Aircraft. • No extra hardware required • Control the App from your X-Plane joystick • Eye Tracking (BETA) Fly naturally Move your head, look around. Lean forward to read instruments. Glance left and right on final. With Flight Deck AR, your cockpit becomes as alive as the real thing, without extra gear. Compatibility • Requires X-Plane 11 or 12 on Windows, macOS, or Linux. • No additional plugins or configuration needed. • Compatible devices: iPhone X and later (all models) iPhone SE (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (all models) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Air (4th generation and later) iPad mini (6th generation and later) The future of head tracking Unlike TrackIR or FreeTrack, Flight Deck AR is built for X-Plane, not hacked around it. It’s the first head tracker that works wherever X-Plane does, and it just works. Flight Deck AR. Plug & fly. Flight Deck AR transforms your iPad or iPhone into a powerful head tracker for X-Plane. Using just your device’s camera, you can move your head naturally and watch the cockpit view respond instantly. Enjoy a more immersive flying experience without wires, sensors, or complicated setups. Made for X-Plane pilots who want immersion, simplicity, and performance. Terms of use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Flight Simulator Advanced4 screens
Flight Deck AR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Flight Deck AR at 5.0 against Flight Simulator Advanced's 4.4. Flight Deck AR also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Flight Simulator Advanced's advantage is ratings volume (9.1K vs 3). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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

Both are free to download. Flight Simulator Advanced sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Flight Deck AR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Flight Deck AR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Flight Simulator Advanced has 9.1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Flight Simulator Advanced's written reviews are positive against 100% of Flight Deck AR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flight Simulator Advanced ships an update every 9 days, Flight Deck AR every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Flight Simulator Advanced versus Flight Deck AR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlight Simulator AdvancedFlight Deck AR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (9.1K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.1K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2.0 GB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPanagiotis DrakopoulosVisuality srl

Customer experience

Flight Simulator Advanced

All ratings9,075 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews875 reviews
Positive78.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative12.1%

Flight Deck AR

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Flight Simulator Advanced

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes when loading maps or starting flights
  • Unresponsive controls and buttons
  • Issues with landing gear, flaps, and other interactive cockpit elements
  • Floating or misaligned aircraft on the ground

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more airports, especially in North America, Asia, and other regions
  • Implement full flight planning and routing options
  • Introduce more aircraft types like regional jets, military planes, and older models
  • Add ATC communication and integration
  • Improve landing gear physics and animations
Show 1 more
  • Implement multiplayer and online functionality

Flight Deck AR

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Flight Simulator Advanced

One-time10
  • Unlock region: North America$1.99
  • A330-300 & Liveries & No Ads$2.99
  • A340-600$2.99
Show 7 more
  • B737 Max$2.99
  • A321, Liveries & No Ads$2.99
  • A380 with liveries and No Ads.$3.49
  • B747-400, liveries & no ads$3.49
  • A350-900, liveries, No-Ads$3.99
  • B777-300ER$3.99
  • B787-9$3.99
1 purchases

Flight Deck AR

One-time1
  • Flight Deck AR PRO$11.99

Questions

Is Flight Simulator Advanced free?
Flight Simulator Advanced is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flight Deck AR free?
Flight Deck AR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flight Simulator Advanced or Flight Deck AR?
Flight Deck AR is rated higher. Flight Simulator Advanced averages 4.4 out of 5 from 9.1K ratings, while Flight Deck AR averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Flight Simulator Advanced or Flight Deck AR have ads?
Flight Simulator Advanced shows ads; Flight Deck AR does not.
Which is updated more often, Flight Simulator Advanced or Flight Deck AR?
Flight Simulator Advanced ships an update every 9 days, and Flight Deck AR every 2 weeks. Most recently, Flight Simulator Advanced was updated on November 10, 2026 and Flight Deck AR on November 8, 2026.

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