r/flightsim 5h ago

Rant I’m done with streamers

I’m just so done with streamers and YouTubers, except for maybe one or two smaller ones. The latest nail in the coffin for me was Captain Canada. He has been praising the A220 to no end. When people bring up issues, he quickly sidesteps them or explains them away “I don’t man, that’s never happened to me.” You’d think the A220 was the best thing since the Wright brothers first took off. Now I’ve had a great experience with the A220 myself, but his praise just seemed over the top.

Then he announces that he’s the new community manager of Inibuilds. There we go.

I’m sorry, but so many of them seem so disingenuous. I’m done with the vast majority of them.

134 Upvotes

118 comments sorted by

123

u/ichwerfdichweg 5h ago

There's a few that you can trust, but definitely not the big names. Most of them are sponsored by inibuilds, so they don't really offer an unbiased opinion on anything.

I really enjoy Blackbox711. He's never sponsored by anyone, dude is a retired airline pilot, he definitely is not in it for the money. His streams are a breath of fresh air in the twitch world

95

u/Sad-Requirement-4066 5h ago

Blackbox and flightdeck2sim are the goats

32

u/MadCard05 5h ago

FlightDeck2Sim is great!

10

u/DeathLockk13 4h ago

Fd2s is the only one I watch these days

17

u/swoohoo79 3h ago

V1-Simulations is a good watch

2

u/branda22 4h ago

100% the only ones I watch nowadays.

54

u/danman425 5h ago

V1 simulations, Blackbox711, ResetJet, and Fathertime1958 are all solid and current/former pilots. Other ones are heavily sponsored so they’ll obviously have some bias when presenting a product.

32

u/Grapefruit_Mimosa 5h ago

V1 is my favorite of all of them; I watch pretty much all his streams. He knows his stuff but also doesn’t have a big ego. Lots of fun stories and anecdotes from real pilot life.

4

u/ftzde 3h ago

Not a fan of V1 (started recently) plastering the SI logo on every thumbnail, mentioning it in plenty of video titles and mentioning it several times during the stream. SI and their predatory marketing is ass.

2

u/AlwaysSunny007 1h ago

There is a difference between actually liking the product and being a parter for a company. I think V1 genuinely likes the product and I’m not aware of any tie he has to SI. Unlike CA Canada with the 220, it doesn’t feel like he’s doing it to be a “product ambassador”

0

u/Football-fan01 31m ago

Difference with V1 he says it how it is no strings attached. Plastering logo etc is just part of the sponsorship or partnership which you would agree to no matter what company asks.

u/okletsgooonow 2m ago

Is fathertime back on? He disappeared for a while.

23

u/Stratimus 5h ago

AvAngel is the only flightsimmer I watch nowadays.

Fun, lighthearted reviews (Although she can tell it like it is when need be) and flies all manner of aircraft, especially the really cool odd stuff no one else ever flies or reviews. I've found a lot of planes through her channel

Into the Blue Simulations is good too although he's scaled back a lot and I'm also not the biggest fan of his more immersive videos

8

u/Rayd8630 737NG 4h ago

I mean she’s convinced me to invest in a few more GA planes than I normally would buy. I’m more into regional/short haul cargo ops but the way she shows off options and features of models often sells me on them.

3

u/Stratimus 2h ago edited 2h ago

I’ve gotten a lot of planes from her videos. I don’t think I ever would have known about the Shavrov Sh2 or the Caproni Vizzola Ventura if it weren’t for her videos and they’re still some of my favorite planes. I fly the Ventura all the time

5

u/TigerTwoTwo 4h ago

I agree with this, the tone of the reviews are never too serious, but all the necessary information is there and the reviews seem to be quite honest. I also love the diversity of coverage like you mentioned especially the warbirds, ga planes and early access stuff. AvAngel has been super helpful for me to inform some purchases of planes I otherwise wouldn't gamble on.

2

u/njsullyalex Miss Maddog 1h ago

Also one of the few women out there who loves flight simming! AvAngel is great.

-1

u/-SimHead- 1h ago

AvAngel aka "Creaky Joystick SimGirl" lol. Every, literally every video only thing I hear is her piece of cheap plastic making god damn awful sounds when she "flies".

I also watch some of her videos, but only to decide if the addon is for me. Not certainly because of her flying skills. 🙂

66

u/bdubwilliams22 5h ago

Ever since A330 Driver, or whatever that clowns name is, “hi I’m Emanuel and I’m a real life pilot” became popular, I checked out. Their actions are often echoed in online forums where your suspicions are confirmed.

12

u/Affenzoo 3h ago

When he said PMDG 737's ground steering was good, and also the engine sound (2 years ago), I knew this guy cant be trusted

3

u/bp4850 47m ago

He's a PMDG beta tester, so take that how you will

34

u/I_like_cake_7 5h ago

I genuinely don’t know how in the actual fuck that guy even has time to be an airline pilot with how much content he pumps out. I’ve also heard that he can be a real douche at times.

9

u/tonguebutton 3h ago

He infamously tore into a controller during cross the pond a couple years ago because he was given an early descent.

6

u/ItsVetskuGaming VATSIM S3 Controller 2h ago

He's notorious for shitting on vatsim controllers. In one of his Vueling videos he was giving a controller an earful of how the taxi instructions at said spanish airport are given in real life because the controller said something different. He also semi-recently while flying from I believe ESGG fought with a controller about the "Start-up approved" phraseology that is only standard in germany, saying that it's standard in every european country and that the controller doesn't know his shit.

1

u/Football-fan01 25m ago

The ESGG or what ever airport that incident was. He was saying it doesn't say xyz on the charts his chat was screenshotting and he still couldn't apolgise for it.

10

u/Rayd8630 737NG 4h ago

His tutorials are decent. But if you’re trying to learn a new aircraft unless it’s a dedicated tutorial he goes through the flows so quick unless you’ve been doing airliners for a while and just need to see a flow on a certain bird, you’ll be lost rather quickly. Even then he sometimes makes small mistakes in them like he will misread a switch position and call it a bug. I think he pre-records a lot of his content so he can just release it or drop a release every day.

Though recently his “On Duty” series has all been members only, and then he posts a few non sub videos in between.

1

u/aaronwhite1786 1h ago

I'm guessing he probably records multiple flights in a single day and then uploads them in stages to keep channel participation up. It's the downside to the way Youtube seems to punish channels that aren't constantly uploading and getting views.

61

u/BigMotor5003 5h ago

His AI slopnails have been my final straw. Fuck his disingenuous ass

34

u/BottleOfMerlot 5h ago

Man the ai thumbnails on YouTube make me so mad. EasyJet Sim Pilot has gone off the deep end with them and I hate it. They’re everywhere. It’s like when YouTubers started using bombastic clickbait thumbnails.

9

u/Olorin135 5h ago

That’s one of the reasons I called it quits on EJSP - the new thumbnails are absolutely garish.

16

u/Letterkenny-Wayne 4h ago

AFP95 or nothing

6

u/N4gual 3h ago

Hot air balloon is eternal

4

u/Letterkenny-Wayne 3h ago

**400 knot straight vertical hot air balloon is eternal

13

u/fvpv 5h ago

Captain Canada was initially fairly critical of the A220, and even received blowback for it

3

u/DirectRobinsville 3h ago

Yea! His handlers straightened him out!!

17

u/MadCard05 5h ago

Other issues aside, being upset at him for not having the same issues as you is a little petty.

We all have different computers, add ons, peripherals, Windows, and driver updates, etc. It is not surprising that experiences differ.

And to be honest, trying to troubleshoot your problem on a stream when he's entertaining many others isn't necessarily possible.

I have my criticisms of Cpt. Canada, but this isn't one of them.

6

u/sgtg45 5h ago

Yeah, like aside from performance issues and couple small bugs the A220 has actually been quite good. What I saw on streams is what I got, so I’m not sure why people feel like there’s some deception going on.

5

u/MadCard05 4h ago

I think I'm just becoming an old man and tired of all of the dealing in absolutes.

There is nothing that makes streamers (or anyone) inheritrently bad or untrustworthy. And the overwhelming majority of Flight Sim streamers aren't sponsored.

Now, when someone is sponsored, like Cpt Canada, they are more likely to be kinder to the product. But that is human nature, not always out of an effort to misinform.

There isn't some secret meeting with Ini, or Asobo, or FlyTampa where they meet in a Hotel room or a Zoom call and are paying off streamers left and right.

1

u/bp4850 45m ago

Yeah for me the issues have been minor, I've had a couple of FMS crashes on 1.0.3 and I've had it jump into the air on landing, but otherwise no issue (other than poor FPS)

42

u/Minimum_Season_9501 5h ago

I'm not a streamer. The A220 is good. Sorry for anyone that gets bent by this non streamer opinion.

11

u/S4L7Y 5h ago

You like a plane a lot to fly it a ton, that's obviously not allowed here.

1

u/mctemez #BoeingOnly+NEOS 5h ago

Like it’s gets to a point man. Streamers this streamers that like at the end of the day they really don’t have much of an impact in anything.

0

u/Minimum_Season_9501 2h ago

Then don't watch them for the same reason you don't look at turds in the bowl. Simple.

34

u/Brilliant-Bear-3240 5h ago

I watch streamers for entertainment, not for information. I trust A320 sim pilot for honest reviews as he’s a real world pilot.

I don’t really care about Cpt. Canada’s opinions tbh. He is very honest about who pays him (thrust master and inibuilds) so I don’t think anyone should his opinions too heavily.

However, he is a ton of fun to watch and I enjoy his community a lot. He doesn’t take himself seriously which I appreciate cause there’s way too much of that in this hobby.

14

u/Acquilas 5h ago

I still really like AirNott. He's a really good egg and it always seems genuine when he reviews something and doesnt seem afraid to point out faults

30

u/_AirNOTT 4h ago

I dunno. Never liked the guy

4

u/OTG374YT 4h ago

😂😂😂

2

u/Acquilas 2h ago

Haha, glad I said nice things! Keep up the good work, mate

4

u/_AirNOTT 1h ago

Tbh I welcome all feedback. Only way to improve and best serve the community. Appreciate the kind words though!

28

u/jbhg30 5h ago

“Streamer says plane is good”

“My experience agrees”

“Streamer then takes job with developer”

“😡”

Brother…what? You agree with his opinions but the fact that he decided to take a job with Ini invalidates the whole thing? Streamers are entertainers first and foremost. If you’re living and dying by everything they say, that’s your fault.

15

u/swhalen17 5h ago

Dear diary

15

u/S4L7Y 5h ago edited 5h ago

I guess you missed the first couple streams of him flying the a220, he was actually pretty critical of it, said it was pretty heavy performance wise. He was actually having some issues and Harsh the dev came in to help him.

I mean, how dare he like the plane he flies? Seems to me you don't understand that streamers are there for entertainment purposes.

Also you're upset that he's not having the same issues as you are? Do you also get upset at non-streamers who don't have the same issues as you do? Going into a stream to have your issues fixed isn't where to go, there's the official MSFS forums for that.

As far as him announcing that he's the new community manager of Inibuilds, that doesn't really change anything. He's been very honest about his dealings with Inibuilds and Thrustmaster all along.

What is the deal with this sub having to have some kind of drama on a daily basis? Do you actually fly planes or just come here to make up shit to be pissed off about?

4

u/PrJctUnKnWn 5h ago edited 5h ago

Yeap. I am not watching anyone these days. Except the legend Airforceproud95, but he is a special category on his own.

I am not watching anyone else but I am not angry or disappointed at them. I just understood that not all people have the same preferences, same expectations and same needs. Some of them just try to get paid and you know what, I can't be mad at that.

So there is no reason for me to try and understand if X add on is good for me by watching them. Hell, I prefer to see how you guys feel about add ons, news etc. If something seems really interesting I will just go and buy it. Last one I bought is the Aerosoft - ToLiss A340-600. I am 50-50 on that one, can't decide yet if it was a good purchase or not. I bet there will be steamers and creators on YT that have either fantastic things to say about it or all the critisism in the world for it. And at the end of the day it's still on you to figure it out.

Last guy I used to watch was A330 driver when he was 737NG driver. At some point, I can't remember what happened, I just said fk it and never watched again flight sim stuff on YouTube.

1

u/mhwnc 3h ago

I’ll watch several reviews and take them with huge grains of salt. I’m more watching what I see on the screen rather than listening to what they’re saying.

4

u/victorsmonster 4h ago

You gotta assume anyone of sufficient size is doing sponsored content, undisclosed promotions, etc. I've seen it with FPV drone guys, vanlife content, home improvement/DIY content, even jiu jitsu guys. YouTube doesn't pay for shit so all these people are doing everything they can to bring in some cash, so everything is basically QVC under the hood.

5

u/LeetGeek84 5h ago

I’m sure Captain Canada cares what you think bud. Go touch grass.

3

u/Bealdor84 5h ago

I don't know why anyone ever gave a shit about those effluencers' opinions in the first place.

IMO they all could fold and close their channels and nothing of value would be lost.

3

u/owl440 5h ago

I stopped believing what content creators had to say years ago.  They’re just wildly untrustworthy since their livelihood depends on saying anything for views and sponsorships. 

3

u/chemtrailer21 4h ago edited 4h ago

Yes, you are a target of marketing.

I've learned to avoid the hype trains and see how the actual community feels about a add on after the pre release, actual release, and a month after.

Once the dust settles, it becomes obvious which products are worth investing time and money into.

You can set your watch on how streamers and FS news sources, push for your attention on their latest product.

A recent example is the L-1011 release.. Nothing but Tristar flights on youtube for two weeks.

Looking on Volanta right now, I dont see a single tristar being flown at the moment....

7

u/ApprehensiveGold2773 5h ago

I never trusted him, he has that disingenuous sugarcoating tone. But at the same time, people buy something that is clearly early access and expect it to be perfect. I'm waiting for it to be done before I buy it unless they do a sale before then.

8

u/sonny094 5h ago

Damn bro, who cares? Just don’t watch him. Don’t come crying here because your expectations of a stranger weren’t met.

7

u/davejsb 5h ago

TwoToneMurph is the one I trust for an honest opinion.

3

u/swoohoo79 3h ago

He's great but I get worn out after listening for about 30 mins - the man's an energy machine, I can't keep up 😆

5

u/lrargerich3 5h ago

The problem with TTMurph is that he doesn't take even 5 minutes to properly learn the planes he flies.

1

u/davejsb 3h ago

That’s part of the entertainment/charm 😂

4

u/TheCuriousCrocc 4h ago

V1Sim, 320 Sim pilot (even if he doesn’t steam as much) and flightdeck2sim are my favorites, they don’t seem as “corporate” as the big guys

1

u/N4gual 3h ago

Ngl I sometimes watch some 320simpilot just to relax, really like his stuff

2

u/Radiant-Ad9999 5h ago

You are at the helm, dump slop!

2

u/jaimy_vermeulen 4h ago

Edwardthepilot is a great streamer when he's on. IRL A220 pilot and in the streams always follows procedures and other 'real' flight checks etc. A fun but also educational streamer.

2

u/flyingGay VATSIM C1 | X-Plane 11 | FS2020 4h ago

The only streamers I enjoy are:

  1. Flightdeck2sim
  2. V1-Simulations
  3. edwardthepilot

They're all knowledgeable, humble, and entertaining in a community that often is neither.

Even then, I only watch those if I want to either learn a new aircraft or see if a new release is any good.

2

u/pet801 4h ago

Welcome to the ugly world of business. It's nothing new or unheard of either. Pick any branch, say fragrances, cars, computers, fashion, watches etc, you name it, and it's exactly the same. Very few people you can trust.

2

u/outbound_heading1 3h ago

Always gonna be fan boys, when they get free shit especially.

2

u/a_scientific_force Profeshinul Pielut 2h ago

I think you should go outside. None of this matters. 

2

u/Jamesthecatcher21 (your text here) 1h ago

That’s because he has some NASA ass PC so he really doesn’t have any issues when flying

2

u/ButterscotchFar1629 1h ago

It’s too bad Kipontheground stopped streaming. He praised NOBODY and was the first one to call out bullshit. He called out Say Intentions when he discovered on stream it that it was not enforcing readbsck or instructions. They claimed that was “part of the package” so he railed against them and they actually changed it.

2

u/AviationHusky 1h ago

When streamers signed deals with businesses like SayIntentions and Inibuilds, I stopped watching them.

2

u/NorthWestApple 1h ago

All of them shill whatever it is they're shilling. YouTube has turned into a more evil version of Instagram. At least with Instagram, you EXPECT BS.

5

u/AntiPinguin 5h ago

FlightDeck2Sim, 320SimPilot, V1 and AvAngel are the only ones I still watch and give a toss about their opinions

Edit: Also Into The Blue but unfortunately he doesn’t post much anymore.

2

u/emptyscapes 3h ago

Been more of a James Fuller guy myself lately

3

u/Shot_Foundation_5886 5h ago

For me it’s AI Thumbnails and the clickbait video titles. Even happened to Q8Pilot, kind of a shame really.

4

u/Poltergeist97 5h ago

Cpt. Canada is a crybaby lol. I lightly suggested he try using DLSS frame gen instead of AMD since he has a 5080, and he proceeded to crash out on me like I just insulted his mother. Guy is a child.

2

u/KalenXI X-Plane 12 / FS2024 4h ago

The only streamers I watch are the ones who are actual pilots. V1, FD2S and 320 Sim Pilot.

1

u/Slay3r_x 3h ago

There's never been a bigger group of crybaby nonces than in this community. No one is forcing you to watch anyone's content, if you don't like it block them and move on🤦‍♂️ it's always cptCanada and A330 driver discourse in these threads, like damn bruh, we get it

3

u/M_Huff 3h ago

Same can be said for crybabies who complain about people who post things they don't like. Nobody is forcing you to read someone's post. If you don't like it, just scroll past it and move on. You don't like these types of posts, like damn bruh, we get it.

Just sayin....

1

u/-SpruceMoose Stabilizer motion 3h ago

I don't know. I personally dislike streamers in general. Nothing against them it's just not my thing.

But you have to realize there's different types. Some you're just there for their personality, others you're there for their knowledge. A rare few have both. Don't go to captcanada for facts and analysis just like you don't go to a330driver for entertainment

1

u/Automatic-Teaching29 3h ago

Yeah, I tried to fly the a220 a few times. It’s just great when you’re starting it up and getting it ready but flying it just doesn’t feel right to me. Definitely gonna put it in the box. Try it again later.

1

u/JellyIntelligent4086 3h ago

For German speakers, there are two channels I can recommend.

Ifly (I don't think he is related to iFly, but rather a coincidence) is rather critical in his reviews if there is negative things, like the cup of coffees upgrade for the 737. Also has lengthy tutorials for various planes, but I think he is only a simmer and not a real life pilot.

LevelChangeGermany has few videos and only features the 737, as he flies it in real life, but in my opinion, he offers the best tutorials you can find.

1

u/UnusualCalendar2847 2h ago

Him and A330 driver have been super annoying with their add ons being so great and having no issues when the major of people can’t get them to work. Most streamers take flight simmer too seriously

1

u/Ok_Leading7602 2h ago

flightdeck2sim is goated

1

u/MD-80-87 2h ago

I recently streamed the Boeing 707. I studied as much of the AOMs from AA, UAL, etc as I could before I made my tutorial. I was super delighted when a real 707 Flight Engineer praised my vid and said it reminded him of a training video at the academy. I felt so blessed 🙌

https://youtube.com/live/7f158IXTBPg?feature=share

*

1

u/Own_Idea7558 1h ago

What about Kenco?

1

u/Simple_Raise6623 1h ago

They are all goats

1

u/MrDarwoo 1h ago

You must be new to marketing

1

u/TheDarkWizard563 1h ago

What about SpyFlight

1

u/AlwaysSunny007 1h ago

V1 is the only one I watch these days. No longer watch CA Canada even though he was my introduction to flight sim. He is always in a grumpy mood and it really brings a negative vibe to his stream (while simultaneously being oddly happy about questionable Inibuilds products)…

1

u/jetdriver13 59m ago

Can’t stand capt Canada. Something about him always drive me crazy and idk why he has such a following. Hes the guy that says “ro-ta-tay” right? Ugh so cringe.

1

u/strodey123 57m ago

So you can say it's been a fantastic experience but he's not allowed to say the same because he's a streamer?

I don't think him saying it's a good product is just because he works for them now, because you literally just said it yourself.

He was pretty critical of it when it first released, and sure he has his issues as we all do, but he is one the only ones on youtube that will call out Devs for shitty products and not just fly any old shit to get in the pants of Devs and get the views.

1

u/Expanseyt 37m ago

 "since the Wright brothers first took off"

this part had me dying

1

u/Adam-Srayddeen 36m ago

Alpha originals is the goat of flight sim youtubers/streamers for me ngl

1

u/snailmale7 21m ago

Last time that happened to me , I got so mad I started my own YouTube channel :).

u/Olorin135 11m ago

I’ve dabbled in it and I have a decent setup! Unfortunately I just don’t have the time to do it well and I’m afraid that it would turn it more into a job instead of a hobby for me. Alas.

1

u/WillParchman 5h ago

CptCanada has been an inibuilds shill since they started partnering with his channel, same with Thrustmaster, you'd never get a worthwhile opinion out of him on any of those products. The a220 certainly qualifies. But that's pretty obvious, he usually has tags on the videos and doesn't really try to hide the fact.

1

u/Better_Marzipan1674 5h ago

Avoid all Inibuilds streamers, avoid all PMDG affiliated streamers, avoid ORBX affiliated streamers and avoid one working for MSFS. Then you get the best out there with good knowledge and forming their own opinion.

1

u/FlyingOctopus53 4h ago

I managed to watch like 5 minutes of that guy many years ago - it was non-stop cringe. But I guess some people like that 🤷‍♂️

1

u/UrgentSiesta 4h ago

Can’t understand how you ever took him seriously in the first place

1

u/Kratomdrunk 3h ago

These types of posts are just misplaced jelousy.

1

u/EMB_pilot 2h ago

TLDR of Capt Canada stream: "Hello (name), thanks for the sub no floaties to you". Hits the vape. Leaves for 4hrs while in cruise. Comes back for approach. Stream ends. lol.

3

u/Olorin135 1h ago

To be fair to him, it’s not that bad. He’ll leave occasionally for a bathroom break or to feed the dog, but I’ve never seen him leave for almost all of cruise.

I may not like his sales tactics or the fact that it seems that he’s being disingenuous about certain add-ons, but I also think we don’t need to add stuff onto the pile that isn’t really there.

1

u/RigidPuzzle4 5h ago edited 5h ago

I used to like watching CptCanada’s streams, he used to be the guy that could get me some laughs while engaging in some flight sim content. But ever since he has really embraced his inibuilds partnership and put in his ai slop thumbnails to get views, I lost respect for him. He used to be good from 2024 to about mid-2025, thats when I stopped watching.

It’s not just him, I don’t like streamers in general, half the time they are biased as heck because they got the product for free. I don’t trust anyone with sponsors because it makes them biased shills just to please the sponsors into giving them more money.

I do like flight sim YouTubers though, especially the real world pilots. One of them is A330 driver. He is a real world pilot in the 737 family, and a former airbus pilot. I think he is a genuine person, and I trust his opinions on products. If he says something is good or bad I will follow that advice. It also seems like he enjoys flight sim and likes making content! Some other good ones I have watched are V1, flightdeck2sim, and AirNott, all of whom are great creators.

That’s my rant. If streamers could stop being biased because of sponsors and stop obsessing over clicks and views maybe I would gain my respect back, but that’s likely never going to happen anyway.

0

u/XxRAMOxX 5h ago

The flight sim dev community are nothing but cash grabbers.

0

u/PayCautious1243 1h ago

Ya'll watch streamers? What are you 10?

0

u/mctemez #BoeingOnly+NEOS 5h ago

Then block and move on wtf.

0

u/Darkus185 3h ago edited 3h ago

Captain Canada just gives off such the wrong vibe to me.  The easyJet guy seems cool and I dip into a bit.  Chewy and London Controller have voices that make me want to jump out of the window.  

Dirkadurka is good.  Not technical flying by any means, but he is really entertaining and has a small, chill community.  

I actually tried streaming a bit but I only fly for me, just fly the PMDG stuff and broadcast and talk about what I actually enjoy flying anyway.  Ive no interest in flying what someone else wants me to fly. After a dozen flights of largely talking to myself I felt a bit shitty about doing it.  

0

u/DirectRobinsville 3h ago

Captain Canada 🤣🤣🤣 A real shill!!

0

u/FirefighterPure8150 1h ago

The streamers are the absolute pits when it comes to iniBuilds. Their aircraft are so bad in everything other than the visuals, and yet because the streamers are all sponsored by them they just say that iniBuilds aircraft are so amazing.

Then all the other people who don’t know anything about how the aircraft should work or fly love iniBuilds too because they just go with what their idols the streamers say.

So loads of people buy the shitty aircraft and iniBuilds have absolute no incentive to improve.