Over the past few years, flight simulation hardware has become increasingly mainstream. More manufacturers are stepping into the ring to offer creative solutions, while others are producing panels and aircraft components designed to sit neatly on our desks. There are premium options available, but more affordable products have been appearing at a rapid pace, with new names entering the market all the time. This is why, when RowsFire reached out, we were genuinely curious about what they could offer with their A107 MAX Overhead Panel for the A320 series in Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) and 2024.
History on RowsFire
Before diving deeper into the product itself, it’s worth providing some context around RowsFire. Since 2018, Stryker Aero, the founder of RowsFire, has been building an A320 home cockpit. They claim to have worked with engineers and retired pilots to create “professional-grade” hardware at a fair price. Their store offers plenty of Airbus-themed components, ranging from smaller lighting panels to display units and the full overhead. For our first RowsFire product review, they sent us the A107 A320 Pro / A320 MAX Light Overhead Panel.
One of the benefits of ordering with RowsFire is that they offer free worldwide shipping and no import duty fees. In my case (UK), the unit was shipped quickly from a local warehouse in protective packaging. I can’t speak for other locations, but the website indicates delivery within 15 days, which seems fairly reasonable.
Inside the Box
Opening the box, you’ll find the unit wrapped in a protective sheet, a 5ft USB-A to USB-C cable (USB-C connects to the unit), and some basic instructions. The packaging isn’t overly fancy, but it’s functional and did its job — the unit arrived undamaged.
The Overhead Panel itself measures 25.5 cm × 21 cm × 4 cm (10” × 8” × 1.5”) and weighs approximately 1 kg (2.2 lbs). It’s a relatively small footprint packed with plenty of functionality. For complete clarity, this is not a 1:1 replica of an Airbus panel, but it does replicate many of the core functions used on the line. It also leans into some genericness in order to work with multiple Airbus aircraft, not just the A320. Some creative decisions were made about what to include and where, meaning there are occasional oddities — for example, the TCAS selector being present on the panel.
Build Quality
The edge casing is built from aluminium, giving the unit a rugged and sturdy feel. However, other areas of the build don’t match this level of quality. The majority of the buttons and switches have a noticeable degree of wobble, with the fire switches being the worst offenders due to their size. The landing light switches can also be twisted freely in any direction, which feels cheap.
Another issue is the “stickiness” of certain buttons. The fuel pump or external power switches often required multiple presses before registering, and I needed to apply significant pressure to activate them. When the unit is on the included stand, pressing too hard causes it to slide around the desk, forcing me to steady it with my other hand. A few buttons are slightly slanted, and even some that shouldn’t be pressable (such as ADIRS ‘ON BAT’) are. After checking other reviews and videos, this appears to be a consistent issue rather than a one-off with my unit.
Getting the panel working requires some additional steps. Following the included QR code led me to a download containing an outdated copy of FSUIPC and the MobiFlight software. RowsFire does not currently provide proprietary software. To set it up, you need to install FSUIPC, install MobiFlight, and then download the correct profile (currently, two versions are available). Once imported into MobiFlight, the panel lit up and responded correctly.
I would have appreciated clearer instructions here — a PDF with step-by-step guidance would go a long way for those unfamiliar with MobiFlight.
At the time of writing, the RowsFire A107 Overhead Panel is compatible with MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024, working with the Fenix A320 and A321, FlyByWire’s A32NX, and partially with the iniBuilds A350. Support for future aircraft such as the FSLabs A321 has been suggested. For this review, I tested exclusively with the Fenix A320 and A321.
Flying With The Overhead Panel
Once connected in the sim, the panel was impressively responsive. For example, pressing the EXT PWR button lit up and triggered the corresponding sound and systems in the simulator. Fuel pumps, crew oxygen supply, and battery voltage all synced with the panel state in real time. Input latency was extremely low, which was very impressive.
That said, some oversights remain. For instance, in the A320 the fuel mode selector should have a ‘MAN’ setting, but on the RowsFire panel it’s labelled as ‘OFF’. This is a noticeable error, especially given RowsFire’s claim that real-world pilots have reviewed the design.
Another problem is the integrated backlight. This isn’t tied to the simulator — it’s just a local panel backlight. The brightness knob rotates through 270 degrees, but the actual dimming effect only occurs in the final 10–20 degrees of rotation. It feels like another quality-control issue.
On the positive side, once configured, the panel worked reliably across multiple flights. Occasionally, I had to toggle certain switches (like the landing lights) at the start of a new session, but this seemed to be related to state syncing rather than a fault of the hardware.
RowsFire includes a free stand with the panel, though this is actually a generic folding laptop stand. It’s adjustable and useful, and doubles as a laptop or tablet stand when not in use. For cockpit builders, four screw-mount points are pre-drilled into the rear of the unit.
Affordability
At a price of USD $349, the A107 Overhead Panel sits in the “affordable premium” category. Compared to Skalarki’s overhead panel (which retails upwards of USD $1000), this is significantly cheaper. However, the build quality issues, lack of proprietary software, and vague instructions mean it feels overpriced for what’s offered. Free global shipping and prepaid import duties help soften the blow, but the overall value is questionable.
