On Her Majesty’s Service | Black Box Simulations - Shorts Regional 330 / 360 | Full Review | MSFS 

hey! Where can i find the checklist for this airplane?

Hi Francisco, The checklist I was using, can be found over on Flightsim.to (it should be easy to find using the search function). I hope that helps. All the best : )

I'd love to know what are your in game graphic settings, and your nvidia freestyle or reshade if you have it Thank you!!

Hello SirCat, There isn’t a whole lot to share in actuality: I basically have everything cranked up to Ultra and then spend a lot of time adjusting the weather / time within the sim (as those can make a huge difference to the way that MSFS looks), as well as trying to pick nice camera angles. I do also add a little bit of vignette to my external shots during editing (which could be done with the Nvidia in-game filters), but that’s about it! I am considering playing around more with the Nvidia filters in the future. . . I hope that helps a little. All the best : )

Haha! I was highly tempted to use that song during the intro, Ruben but, I figured it would (sadly) just result in a copyright strike from RU-vid. I was also really hoping that Got Friends might have a black and white furry co-pilot but, no joy there either XD Cheers, all the best! : )

Thanks very much, Andy! I’m really glad you enjoyed the intro / video. My pleasure as always! Much appreciated and all the best : )

Yes, it’s a really nice livery, isn’t it Oliver (it looks great on all of the aircraft I’ve seen it on)! It’s a good point re the pricing; it would be a shame to own one variant and not the other but, I think purchasing a single variant, brings the pricing closer to what I had in mind for the product. Cheers and all the best : )

One of their efforts looks like a bungalow with wings ... 😂😂😂

Take a look at the osprey then look at the sherpa even more resemblance

Haha! I never saw that before but, it most certainly does! XD

Thank you very much 9deebee, both for the info and the sub! Icing always seems to get a mention, when I speak to guys who flew the Shorts haha. It sounds as though the aircraft was a bit of an ice magnet and you can see why when you look at the design of the thing (and then realise it’s also going to be bashing around in all the weather to boot!). Your recollection of the crosswind handling behaviour is certainly interesting, as Black Box seem to have put in a pretty decent effort at mimicking that. I’m glad the video brought back some good (and not so good haha) memories! Many thanks for sharing and welcome aboard : )

He says this is a pre-release review copy. Beta copies have bugs. Even the release copy usually gets an early update! If you want a perfect aircraft wait a couple of months.

Actually Derek, in this particular case, it was a release copy. As you say though, BBS have already put out an update and will hopefully continue to do so : ) Cheers and all the best!

Thanks very much, David. Certainly, there is solid / enjoyable addon there at the core but, for sure, there were a number of scrappy bugs that somehow managed to slip through. Black Box have already put out 1 update. I’m sure there will be more to come but, you’re probably looking at a few more months, before everything has been ironed out. Cheers and all the best!

Thanks very much, John! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the content! Much like the proverbial duck, it often feels as though I’m thrashing away below the surface haha; it’s usually the commentary that throws me off though ha. Much appreciated once again : )

Thanks very much, Ken! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the content and also finding the videos useful : ) My absolute pleasure. Much appreciated and all the best!

nice plane for the powell river run. took it a few times

My absolute pleasure, Nik! Thanks very much for watching, I’m really glad you enjoyed the flight : ) Cheers!

Hi JB, Yes, whilst not visually stunning, the Shorts is otherwise a very nice addon overall. Further to that, Black Box recently lowered the price of the aircraft, which is great of course and makes the package much more appealing overall. I do agree though - some visible cargo would be nice. . . I do hope you enjoy the aircraft, as and when you pick it up! Happy flying and all the best : )

My pleasure on the video, Speedbird - I’m glad it brought back some nice memories : ) Thanks for watching and all the best!

Thanks very much, Mark! Yes, it’s surprising to see these sorts of bugs slip through testing (I don’t know how some of them get missed) but, there’s a solid addon there at the end of the day and Black Box have put out some very extensive updates for some of their previous products (so I’d like to think that most of the Shorts’ issues will be corrected). I’m glad you enjoyed the flight! Thanks very much as always : )

Thank you very much, Donald! I’m really glad you enjoyed the flight. My pleasure and all the best : )

My absolute pleasure, REB! That’s brilliant to hear; certainly, one of the main reasons that I run the channel, is to get more people up into the virtual skies, inspire them with some flight ideas, etc. Happy flying! Cheers and all the best : )

Thank you very much once again, Gumper! I’m really glad you enjoyed the flight : ) Cheers!

Very nice, Paul. Lucky that you didn’t have to make the entire journey back from Asia in a Shorts haha! I seem to recall reading, that Shorts tried to emulate a typical passenger jet with their cabin (so just as wide but, obviously quite a lot shorter). I like Black Box’s aircraft and while I do think that the Shorts is a bit pricey for what it is, the package is certainly well worth considering in a sale etc. Cheers and all the best!

Thanks very much Mich, glad you enjoyed it! Many thanks also for the pricing info; I wasn’t aware that BBS had reduced the price - it certainly makes the Shorts much better value for money. Happy flying and all the best! : )

Thank you very much David, I’m really glad you enjoyed it! I definitely plan on featuring the Shorts again at some point; I’d like to get some British Midland liveries made up for the aircraft and then I’ll record another video based around those. The Mustang is on my radar but, it’s not a priority at the moment (with a backlog of so many other addons to review haha!). Cheers and all the best! : )

Ah lovely stuff, CC! I have a bit of a soft spot for the Shorts, because of its BM / bmi connections but, I never had the chance to fly on one myself. I was a bit disappointed to see that no Midland livery was included with the package - I will probably knock one up myself at some point. I’m sure it would have made for a memorable flight; cruising low and slow over the scenery, is not an experience one really gets to have anymore. It sounds like you were lucky it was a smooth day though, I gather the Shorts could get a bit bumpy haha XD Many thanks for sharing and all the best!

My absolute pleasure, Hunter! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the content. Many thanks and all the best! : )

Thank you very much once again, Roger - my absolute pleasure! I do hope that you’re enjoying the Shorts (and getting to grips with the aircraft). It’s a nice addon overall and it’s great to see that Black Box has reduced the price (I think they did that before you purchased). Happy flying and all the best! : )

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Thank you so much for your response.... Yes I am enjoying the Shorts, despite it being complex for me (I try to do correct procedures, hence taking great interest in your channel). I wish you all the best... Regards Roger

Cheers Mike! I’m very glad to hear that the video made for decent end-of-the-week entertainment haha : ) I certainly wouldn’t expect everyone to buy every addon I review! Hopefully, the videos help people to choose where to put their money but, that’s why I try and make the flights interesting in their own right also (so that people may wish to watch, whether or not they are actually interested in the product). All the best! : )

Whilst I doubt anybody has ever bothered to fit a GTNXi to a Shorts 330 / 360 haha, personally I don’t mind these sorts of things being “retrofitted” in the sim (so long as there is always the option to remove it). It’s not an inconceivable modification and the GTNXi is so much more user friendly than the included Garmin (+ helps make up for the lack of EFB). Personally, I don’t use the in-game checklists but, there’s no reason for a dev not to include them and they are a helpful aide for many. As you say, hopefully such checklists will be included in a future update. Cheers, all the best!

comes with it.

Thanks very much SFS, I’m really glad you enjoyed it! The livery is indeed included with the package itself, you just need to make sure that you have the cargo version of the S360 selected : ) I hope that helps. All the best!

Haha! There is definitely “something” about the DataPost livery, isn’t there FFAM. Anyway, I’m really glad you’re enjoying the aircraft and I very much agree with your assertions. Happy flying and all the best! : )

Thanks very much, MP! I’m really glad you enjoyed it : ) All the best!

Thanks Luis, I’m glad you felt I broadly hit the nail on the head. Yes, I did make a mistake regarding the Garmin; I don’t know why my brain defaulted to “530” haha but, what I really meant was that it has a “default” GNS unit (and no option for a GTN switch-out). Texturing does still seem to be a weakness of the BBS products. I would have liked to have seen more visual fidelity but, I don’t expect we’ll see any major enhancements to the product in that regard. Cheers and all the best!

Personally, I thought the opening sequence was perfect as was. A Pathe voice wouldn't remotely make sense for a Datapost livery given that Datapost only existed through the first half of the 1980s.

Thanks very much Jay, I’m glad you enjoyed the vid! I suspect / hope you’re correct regarding the Shorts being updated (the Islander was indeed decidedly “average” when it first released haha - Black Box have come a long way in MSFS : ) Haha! I very much know the sort of narrator you’re referring to. Whilst I’m all for that sort of thing, the DataPost ad was actually correct for the time period / aircraft ; ) Cheers and all the best!

My pleasure MA, cheers! Very nice. It seems like quite a few people got their first break on the Shorts haha (I certainly know of a few individuals in the same boat); it sounds like it was a great aircraft for building experience. Personally, I have a button assigned to “decrease throttle setting” (or something or that effect). I close my throttles and then hold down that button (thus engaging reserve thrust / beta range) and that seems to work pretty well with most aircraft. I hope that helps a little. Cheers and all the best!

Thanks very much, Dan! I’m glad you enjoyed the flight and the DataPost vibes haha. Yes, Black Box have come a long way in MSFS but, the texturing work on their products still tends to fall below more modern standards; I don’t think it’s from a lack of trying, probably more a lack the required skills in that area (I don’t mean that as any sort of slight, we all have our strengths and weaknesses!). It would certainly be nice if BBS could hand over their texturing to someone else, as otherwise, they have a very solid product in the Shorts 330 / 360. If nothing else, the addon is certainly worth another look as and when you come across it on sale ; ) Cheers and all the best! : )

Thanks very much Grae, I’m really glad you enjoyed it! I’m afraid I’ve not been informed, as to if / when the aircraft will be making its way onto the console. If the rest of Black Box’s lineup is available on the Xbox, then I would imagine the same will be true for the Shorts also. As for dates, usually an addon will arrive on the Marketplace, about 2-4 weeks after the initial release of the product. I hope that helps a little. Cheers and all the best : )

Hello OutCast, many thanks for the kind words! Yes, Black Box do seem to give us the weird and the wonderful, which I’m all for (although the Trislander remains just a bit too “weird” for me haha)! I have a soft spot for the Shorts, as I do have a bit of a connection to it but, either way, BBS have done a pretty nice job with it overall. The price is a bit steep for what it is, I agree but, you can purchase individual variants at a reduced price, which may be the way to go. . . My absolute pleasure on the video(s)! Happy flying and all the best : )

Haha. That would be a very concise summation of my own thoughts, Jekanyika - I could have made this review much shorter! : P Cheers, all the best : )

Hi e36, I’m certain but, perhaps I didn’t articulate my point very well haha. I know what you’re getting at; what I was trying to point out, is that with the BBS Shorts, there are quite a lot of switches where you click down (and the arrow pointer shows a downwards selection) and the switch then moves up haha. This happens on about 30-50% of the cockpit switches so, either way, something’s not quite right (and it gets a bit confusing). . . I hope that clarifies things? Many thanks and all the best! : )

I’m really glad you’re enjoying the aircraft, Brian! Happy flying and all the best : )

I can see where you’re coming from Jigsaw but, I think if there are associated systems effects by actuating the CB’s, that sort of modelling is still nice to have - failure modelling is always preferable though. All the best!

For a flying box, it really doesn’t like to produce drag does it

Thank you very much once again, sir! I too, tend to enjoy Black Box’s output although, I do wish they would outsource their texturing (the only thing that really holds their addons back, in my opinion). It’s a strange one re the drag (and also ground effect for some); I had no issues slowing the aircraft down and ground effect seemed pretty normal also. There seems to be a number of bugs that don’t carry over from one variant to another so, I wonder whether the 360 cargo variant’s flight model, isn’t better than some of the other versions of the aircraft. . . As you say, hopefully Black Box will address the issues (I suspect they will). I do hope your flying adventures are treating you well! All the best : )

Hi Andy, Apologies for the slow reply. You’ll find a “Documents” folder, inside your main Shorts 330 / 360 installation folder (located in you sim’s community folder). That will contain the aircraft manual and a quick-start guide. The quick-start guide is missing quite a few steps (if memory serves me correctly) so, I recommend downloading a checklist for the aircraft; there is a decent freeware checklist available over on Flightsim.to (which is the one I used in this video). I hope that helps. Happy flying and all the best! : )

Haha! Indeed, GAOTU - a bit like the DA42 XD Thanks very much, I’m really glad you enjoyed the video! All the best : )

Haha. Because of the head-tracking you mean, BearMT? XD

Yes, thanks for making the point, Deathcrow. As stated, I do think that the product is a little overpriced, whichever package one picks up but, as you say, at least one can bring the costs down to a more reasonable level, if they have a specific variant of the Shorts that they’re after. Again, the Shorts is a nice addon but, the texturing probably warrants a $10 price reduction per package. Cheers, all the best! : )

@IntotheBlueSimulations true, although I barely notice the lower textures just because it Flys better then some planes I've tried. I use it in my virtual cargo company and it's a work horse. A pleasure to fly.

Hi GB, I’m afraid I’m not sure whether the addon has made its way onto the Marketplace yet. Given that the rest of Black Box’s lineup is available directly in-game, I would image that it’s only a matter of time before the Shorts finds its way there also. The “Premium” package (including all aircraft variants) is retailing at €50, or you can buy individual variants of the aircraft for a lower price. I hope that helps a little. All the best! : )

@@IntotheBlueSimulations Thanks for the heads up $50 is a bit steep but I'm excited to see it makes its way onto the sim in the near future. I hope you have as much fun with it as I am planning to!

Hi Bill, I’m afraid I don’t conclusively know the answer to that. Are the other Black Box products available on the console? If they are, I would say that it’s highly likely the Shorts will make its way over to the Xbox and vice versa. Sorry I can’t offer up anything more concrete on that one. All the best! : )

@IntotheBlueSimulations No worries, I just picked up the b-2 islander from them the other day on the marketplace so I'd say that's probably what will happen.

Hi Jonathan, I had a similar discussion with someone else; I have my rudder axis bound to both rudder and also NWS. That seems to work pretty well for me with the Shorts so, I wonder if that might be worth a try? Otherwise, I’m afraid I really can’t think what the problem might be. . . I do hope that helps. Cheers and all the best! : )

Thank you so much and this did it for me…I originally set up a separate axis for nose wheel steering but your approach is much better…thanks and again thank you for your effort on your videos and keep up the good work !

Ah great, happy to hear that got you sorted! My pleasure on the videos, Jonathan, cheers : )

@grahamwaterfield731 - the ITT should gradually increase to around 600 before rapidly spiking at just over 800. If I’d seen a spike quite as rapid as in the model IRL I’d be sorely tempted to pull the fuel lever! I have nearly 3000 hours on ‘Sheds’, having flown for Gill Air for 5 years in the early nineties. I have bought your premium package, and am loving it - though there are a few bits and bobs that still need addressing (floating buttons above the flight controls in the 330 freighter for example). Also, not sure if you’re aware, but all of our 330s never had an AI with Flight Director on the FO’s side - only the Captain got to play with hi-tech stuff such as that! The FO just got a regular AH. Quite an upgrade when we got to fly the 360. There are certainly bits I can’t remember after nearly 30 years of flying other types, but this definitely takes me back to my ‘youth’ - my first command was on a Shed in my mid twenties! Things I’d like to see. Ice animations, including the boots working and shedding ice. The Sheds were ice magnets, and we would often be in the thick of it, unable to climb above like our pressurised counterparts could. I’d also like to see higher resolution gauges. Seated at a regular viewing distance, whether in VR or on a 4K monitor, the gauges become blurry, to the point where it becomes a guessing game as to what your speed is, or what the engine instruments are telling you. Having to lean forward in VR, or move the camera forward in flatscreen, just to see the gauges breaks any immersion. Other than that, great stuff! Is there a paint kit going to be made available? I’d like to see the rest of my old workhorses recreated, rather than just a single passenger configured 360 (our work was split pretty evenly between passengers and freight, with the aircraft being re-configured twice a day - passengers through the day, Royal Mail through the night).

Graham, where is the best place to reach out with bugs? Don't have access to the MSFS forums, and haven't heard back from the support email address. Thanks!

Thanks very much, Graham! Whilst it probably won’t be for a couple of months at least, I do absolutely plan on revisiting the Shorts at a later date. I intend to get some British Midland liveries made up for the aircraft and will record another flight with the addon when I have done so. Great to hear that many of the issues have already been fixed up. Many thanks again for letting me take a look at the Shorts. Much appreciated and all the best! : )

Haha, absolutely MZ; unlike the Trislander (which is just ghastly), the Shorts, whilst “quirky”, still has a certain charm to it. I’m definitely happy to see a rendition of the aircraft in the sim : ) All the best!

Hi Heklik, As mentioned in the video, the Shorts does offer a GNS option also (basically just using the default MSFS GPS). Or were you referring to the lack of GPS NAV functionality from the auto flight system (in which case, I believe you’re correct)? I hope that clarifies things a little. All the best : )

I agree with everything you said here. Kind of regret purchasing the premium edition BUT I have hopes things will get fixed later on. It really is perfect for the missions I enjoy flying. So I hope the floating issue will be fixed, and I hope I can use my PMS GTN750 in this in the future as well. And visible cargo!

@@boudewijnzwaal8186 I would like support for the 750, also. I guess rip out the weather radar and the old radios? But anyway, the "premium" edition with all the versions is a better deal than the per-model packages in terms of prices.

Hi Bullet, Thanks for your thoughts. I very much agree re the documentation. This seems to have become a common theme for some devs in MSFS and certainly isn’t a desirable situation (every dev should be making use of the in-sim checklist system at the very least - I can’t see any good excuse for not doing so). Without resourcing other materials, one simply wouldn’t be able to operate the Shorts effectively, if at all (maaaaybe for a $20 addon, one could look past a full manual but, this should not be the case with a €50 addon!). I have my rudder pedals bound to both the rudder axis and also the NWS axis, which I suspect is what allowed me to operate the NWS with the control lock still engaged (if memory serves me correctly, the tiller was animating for me also). I certainly didn’t experience any such ground effect tendency myself (as you can see). I wonder if you’re experiencing the same issue with all variants of the aircraft (I’ve come across a number of bugs that don’t carry through from one variant to the next)? I suspect I simply got lucky and the 360 Cargo variant doesn’t exhibit the same behaviour (I left the weight and balance etc default, so I can’t think what else would account for the difference). Graphically, the aircraft is indeed sub-par and as such, I do feel that the product is at least $10 overpriced, but otherwise, as you say, I think the Shorts is a decent effort from Black Box overall (and I suspect they will continue to fix up the bugs) - I do enjoy the addon. A fair assessment. Cheers and all the best!

Haha! Fair point, Jay. . . The Shorts isn’t the prettiest aircraft but, it does have a certain charm to it (I think). All the best!

Haha, the Shorts is definitely no looker, Mike however, I do think the aircraft has a certain “charm” - it’s no Trislander at least XD All the best!