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Aircraft Update : Bell AB 412 v1.3 by X-Trident


Stephen

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Aircraft Update : Bell AB 412 v1.3 by X-Trident

 

When is greatness bestowed upon an aircraft that is truly great. Some aircraft are released in X-Plane and instantly you know and everyone else knows that this aircraft will be be a legend, and yes impossible statements can fade overtime that were once overindulged in the first place. With these banner announcements of amazeballs this and absolutely brilliant that, the true real basis for real greatness is usually lost.

 

But in the X-Trident Bell AB 412, you felt the aircraft was great, really great and that was even before it was released. Once the aircraft was officially released it created barely a ripple in the universe, mostly because everyone already had the aircraft...  they wanted it that badly. So it was good this AB 412, but not yet really great, and why is that?  Because really truly great aircraft take time to get there, good out of the box is not good enough as you need a few updates and more experience to get the aircraft to be really good. I will note that not any aircraft or really any product is 100% good, great or whatever as 100% is simply not achievable in life or in any form as totally absolute perfection. It does not simply exist, and neither is any person to be categorised as god either.

 

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This is v1.3 of the Bell 412. The major flight characteristics have mostly been improved and are now excellent, including the twitchy autopilot and force trim features. v1.2 brought in features to include the underside water tank and cargo lifting options and a new configurations panel that covers autopilot sensitivity, water load options, Custom failures, Dolly options, axis and trim resets.

 

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Version v1.3 is more focused on options and the installation of the default standard X-Plane gps GNS 350. But first let us quickly familiarise with the aircraft.

 

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The Bell AB412 is menu driven by the X-Plane menus on the drop down banner at the top of your screen. I really like this system as it does not intrude on the visual aspect via tabs on the screen. The aircraft is fully animated to open close doors, ground equipment including a GPU (Ground Power Cart), pilot, co-pilot, crew and patient and looks excellent and ready to go on a mission. Detailing is superlative in quality and functionality.

 

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Cockpit and panel is perfectly recreated and totally functional, and now in v1.3 we have more options and better integration with the MFD (Multi-Functional Display) on the Co-Pilot's lower panel. Before you had MAIN, MAP and Radar modes, which were quite basic.

 

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Now there are two more options in the GNS350 gps and the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared Camera) Nightlight system. The GNS350 is in two screens, one on the rear pedestal and the one on the panel sited in the MFD. The one on the panel is non-functional and really just for observation. The rear unit is fully-functional and can be programmed and used like the standard X-Plane version in any other aircraft, including the pop-out screen. And there is nothing stopping you from using the pop-out GNS to programme the inert panel version as it works very well in that situation. Note the excellent integration of the GNS350 into the pedestal, the knobs are as perfect as the original setup, the surround bezel and buttons are also excellent. This is how it should be done.

 

Other MFD displays in Radar and MAP are as before.

 

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But the other new screen is the FLIR...

 

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The FLIR camera is attached to the underside of the front of the aircraft (on the Carabinieri version) and is fully adjustable (sweep - up or down) via the options on the MFD via the surrounding menu buttons or it follows the heading of the aircraft (Free) with gyro stabilization and "target lock". In daytime it is daylight normal, but at night it turns Infrared green. In one stroke it is very functional and looks very authentic on the panel while flying.

 

Another option and feature is the Search light which now casts the beam and works with specific liveries, and it is required that HDR to be "on" in the rendering settings.

 

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Situated on the pilots right lower position the beam is exceptionally powerful and the Search light is fully adjustable in movement via the hat switch on the collective, search light on and off switch is right next to the hat. You however can't set your hat switch on your joystick to move it around while flying, which is a little bit of a problem if you are flying manually (and fast) but X-trident says the key/button function will come in v1.4. All lighting is brilliant and I really love the flashing nav lights that strobe in the darkness.

 

Sling load was promised, but that will now come in v1.4 in several loading capacities.

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So another step in the right direction for greatness for this aircraft. X-Trident have already produced a brilliant machine, but now with every update you get more refinement and more options, and the extensive livery collection is added to by the day. X-Plane always did supreme helicopters and this is one of the best...  now it just got a little better again.

 

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Yes! the Agusta Bell AB412 from X-Trident is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Agusta Bell 412 - Price is US$35.95

 

Current version is v1.3 and if you have already purchased the X-trident Bell AB412 then go to your X-Plane.Org Store account and upgrade now!

 

Full pre-release X-Plane Reviews review of the aircraft and systems details are here :

 

Requirements:

X-Plane 10.30+ (any edition)

Mac, Windows, Linux
1Gb+ dedicated VRAM Video Card
Current version: 1.3 (Last updated June 15th 2015)
 

v1.3 release notes

- Old style FD has been replaced with x-plane's Garmin 530

- Added FLIR camera (works with specific liveries)

- Search light now casts the beam (works with specific liveries, required HDR to be "on" in rendering settings)

 

Features:

    Pre-release versions tested by actual customers since August 2014

    Highly detailed 3d model and 3d cockpit. Most switches operable

    Detailed rotor kinematic modeling

    Detailed lights

    Close to real fuel, hydraulic and electrical systems; start-up sequence follows the real checklist almost line by line

    Custom failures

    Working custom auxiliary tank and water drop system

    Working dolly pad for precision landing

    Custom warning panel

    Custom governor

    Custom artificial stability

    Custom 4 channels autopilot with over 10 modes

    Flight model approved and tweaked by real pilots

    Hyper detailed rotor with all its levers moving ud and down,

    Custom GPU

    Custom Remove Before Flight with dangling flags (with FOD)

    ADF with bank error

    Working doors with changing sound volume effect

    Many liveries plus a paint kit; smart configuration of optional objects attached to each livery

    Plugin for Windows, Mac and Linux (32 and 64 bit) – detailed custom menu

    Tested with FS Economy, Smart Copilot and Saitek panels

    Includes a licensed version of Dreamfoil's Geforce plugin

 

Support Thread : Bell 412 by X-Trident

 

Update by Stephen Dutton

 

17th June 2015

 

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

 

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