The Aerosoft CRJ was the first complex third-party airliner released for Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020). In a time when high-fidelity airliners were scarce, the CRJ made a name for itself, and it was easy to overlook some small rough edges for the many things it did right. Now, shortly after the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Aerosoft CRJ v2 aims to put the jet back in the limelight while also bringing native compatibility with Microsoft’s new sim.
With MSFS 2024 in a rough state, much like the initial days of MSFS 2020, the release of the Aerosoft CRJ v2 update aims to make lightning strike twice. The CRJ was the first airliner I purchased for MSFS 2020, and flying it again in another nascent sim feels a bit like coming home. Unfortunately, the “Version 2” often feels little more than a “Version 1.5:” a collection of bug fixes that we CRJ devotees have spent years waiting for Aerosoft to fix, combined with a compatibility update. While all of these are welcome changes, it is a bit too late and lacks the impact to keep it feeling anything other than bittersweet for those of us who have been there from the beginning.
This first impressions editorial was written after a weekend with a preview build of the CRJ v2 and its state may differ from that at release. Aerosoft kindly provided FSNews with a preview code for the CRJ v2 ahead of its planned launch on March 25, 2025 Note: after publication of this article, Aerosoft delayed the release to April 1, 2025. Aerosoft exercised no control over FSNews’ editorial process, and any opinions presented herein are my own.
Consumer-Friendly Regional Jet
First, Aerosoft deserves credit for its approach to releasing this update. Any existing owner of the CRJ “v1” will get this update for free – and that includes compatibility with MSFS 2024. This is contrary to some aircraft developers who plan to charge for MSFS 2024 compatibility. Aerosoft also promises that the v2 update will now come as a bundle with all four CRJ variants: the CRJ-550, -700, -900, and the long boi -1000. This means that existing CRJ owners will be upgraded to the full 4-aircraft package, and anyone who has not yet taken the plunge can get all of these aircraft (and now on Xbox as well!) for the total price of 49.99€.
Aerosoft’s approach to bundling here is truly excellent, and the CRJ is an aircraft for which the difference in variants is definitely noticeable. From the nimble, light -550 (A special variant tailored to comply with the letter of U.S. regional airlines’ scope clauses) to the ponderous and underpowered -1000, choosing a variant of the CRJ to fly comes with more changes than just the livery. I think that Aerosoft’s updates to the flight model have served to accentuate these differences and made the Aerosoft CRJ v2 a very exciting aircraft to fly by hand. It is stable and forgiving, but small enough that you can still feel the air.
It requires some skill on the power to land smoothly and neatly recaptures the CRJ’s signature move: a nose-low final approach followed by the slightest of flares to land smoothly in the touchdown zone. After which its narrow track gear and long body (especially on the -1000) make it a wonderfully touchy and unstable challenge to keep straight on the tarmac. I think that MSFS 2024’s improved ground handling shines through in this case, making this “touchy” feel realistic and a surmountable challenge, rather than MSFS 2020’s creative interpretation.
While we are on the subject of improvements, there is one that is immediately noticeable: native Simbrief and Navigraph installation. With a free Simbrief account, you can now pull flight plan information directly into the FMS and EFB. With a paid Navigraph subscription, you now get charts on that EFB as well. Of note, this is not the EFB built-in to MSFS 2024, as Aerosoft has instead updated its aircraft-specific tablet. Aircraft navdata can also be updated here in-sim as well, without having to use Navigraph’s standalone navdata hub, which is a welcome and very convenient change. Landing performance/distance is included as well and the EFB now pulls weather data (METARs and TAFs) for each airport on the route. Asobo weather radar now works as well, for added procedural realism.
Aerosoft has also included a fully-modeled cabin for the CRJ v2. The A330 had none, so this is a welcome change as well. It is, however, far from the quality of cabin that we know to be possible in MSFS (both ’20 and ’24). While it’s great to be able to set up custom wing views and I appreciate the lighting options that are included as well as the ability to control the stairs from the galley, it still feels like an afterthought. It lacks comfort and atmosphere and is a noticeable drop in both model and texture quality compared to the cockpit and externals. In fact, the windows are arguably lower quality compared to the windows we got in v1.
CRJ v1.5
Let’s talk, though, about those externals and that cockpit: the CRJ does not feel like “version 2” in either of these areas. I could not identify a standout area in which the visuals were improved at all. In fairness to Aerosoft, they do not promise visual improvements; however, I find it hard to call this a “version 2” without some updates in that regard. Because, unfortunately, the textures of the CRJ v2 still look as flat and lifeless as they did in v1, especially in the cockpit, where we have grown accustomed to a higher standard of texturing in the last few years.
Night lighting, too, is simplistic and baked in and the CRJ does not seem to be taking advantage of any of the new lighting technology that is available in MSFS 2024. The model looks like it belongs in the early days of MSFS 2020, with jagged-edged doors and low-resolution textures, especially in areas like the landing gear and the cockpit overhead switches, which are noticeably low-poly – perhaps accentuated by the lacking textures.
I need to be absolutely clear here that nothing looks bad, and Aerosoft never promised any visual improvements: only “new features, bug fixes and enhanced customisation.” What I hope you take away from the above critique is that, visually, this feels exactly the same as the “old” CRJ. If you’re a previous CRJ owner then you’ll already know if you’re happy with that, and if you’re not, then here is a quick but copious collection of screenshots.
OK, so then let’s talk through what Aerosoft has promised. New features: Check. Enhanced customization (At least in the form of more variants in the package and the cabin): Check. Bug fixes: It’s complicated. I was never plagued by the “horrific” issues with the CRJ v1 that forums often speak of, but I do acknowledge that it had some rough edges. While Aerosoft has certainly addressed a couple of the bugs that I did experience, it did not address every issue and I did, in fact, experience at least one brand-new, serious problem.
The CRJ v2 still flew right through every localizer I pointed it at and still hunted it all the way down to the tarmac. The optional coupled VNAV (which is no longer labeled “experimental” in v2)/autopilot pitch axis still pitches extremely aggressively to capture a descent path or glideslope and the ND is still extremely “creative” about how it sometimes draws flight paths and completely butchers holds (though the aircraft generally flies them well enough).
During two of my flights, I could not get the autopilot to properly engage at all. It pitched up and banked rapidly, even with everything as properly set up as I could manage. This issue was intermittent, and on the rest of the flights, I could engage the autopilot just fine. This serious problem, however, undermined my confidence in the Aerosoft CRJ v2 and was not something that I experienced in the CRJ v1 at all. I also encountered the flight directors guiding me in an opposite direction while hand-flying an ILS into Boise. Although I do think it is a lot more pleasant to hand-fly in its new iteration, that isn’t something I want to do in the flight levels for an extended time.
There are other areas in which I believe the Aerosoft CRJ v2 has not received a “v2” amount of polish. The cabin crew is still serving sandwiches on every ascent through 10,000′, and the sounds of the cockpit switches are still extremely basic, without any variation switch-to-switch. It’s worth noting, however, that I think the overall soundscape has been slightly, but noticeably, improved. The sounds are still the same but the balance has been tweaked slightly to make them more enjoyable. I also appreciate the difference in engine noise as the variant you are flying gets longer. Improved sounds, sure, but still not “v2.”
The repetition of switch sounds gets grating because you’re going to be scrolling those knobs a lot. The knobs have an “acceleration” setting that can be turned on and off via the EFB, which sounds like it would make the process of setting a 5,000’+ Colorado barometric Minimum Descent Altitude a bit easier, but nope: with acceleration on, every knob loses accuracy completely making it impossible to set a specific value. But with acceleration off, scrolling to higher values takes minutes at a time.
Long We Have Waited
My sim flights generally hover around that 1-3 hour mark and MSFS 2024 is ripe for a good regional jet. The CRJ has the potential to fit that bill and, taken in isolation, the Aerosoft CRJ v2 is a decent aircraft at a decent value for the consumer. It’s fun to hand-fly and brings that unquantifiable scrappy, garbage-chiq CRJ vibe to the sim that I do just adore sometimes. If you’re looking for a regional jet in MSFS 2024 (or MSFS 2020 for that matter) then the Aerosoft CRJ v2 package might just be worth a buy. It comes with plenty of liveries and cabin variants to keep things fresh, at a pretty friendly value, and I have never been bothered by its relatively simplistic automation, at least when it works properly.
However, I still can’t help but feel let down that Aerosoft has chosen to label this as “v2.” It doesn’t feel like a generational step forward, with many of the issues that plagued v1 still present and minor improvements coming as half-measures instead of leaps and bounds. I am trying to strike a balance in this piece between being disappointed that the “improvements” are so minor after so many years of waiting, but also being happy and somewhat grateful that Aerosoft has chosen to release their compatibility update for MSFS2024 relatively quickly, at no cost, and giving customers the full package in the process. After all, they are under no obligation to add new features, and certainly under no obligation to give us all a better deal.
I think that part of this disappointment may stem from changing standards and expectations as the MSFS franchise has aged over the past five years. In that half-decade, we have seen a steady raising of the bar in terms of add-on quality at this $50+ price point. In 2020, the Aerosoft CRJ handily cleared that bar but now, I think it might just barely measure up. And it is those expectations created by the “v2” moniker that makes it hard for me to accept that this is the best that Aerosoft could possibly do after three years with no updates – because under the hood, this feels like the same aircraft that launched in 2020.
Ultimately (and I am hoping for the autopilot issues to be addressed by release) this is a reasonably complex regional jet that gets from A to B just fine. Aerosoft’s improvements have indeed afforded you more customization and it comes at a better value than it ever has before. There’s still a gap in regional airliners for MSFS 2024, after all. I hope that the Aerosoft team keeps their noses to the grindstone, so to speak, to further improve the CRJ. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to jumping back into the cramped, uncomfortable CRJ saddle once again.
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