Aircraft Update : Bell AB412 1.4 by X-Trident

[Stephen]

Aircraft Update : Bell AB412 1.4 by X-Trident

X-Trident have added another great feature to their excellent Bell AB412. This update only contains one change but its a beauty!.

 

Version 1.3 released in June added a lot of SAR tools in a FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared Camera) Nightlight system and movable searchlight...  full v1.3 details are here : Aircraft Update : Bell AB 412 v1.3 by X-Trident

Added now in v1.4 is an excellent hoist system with all the trimmings.

Added is a new menu option in "SAR Control panel" under the X-Plane Menus in plugins. First note is that the winch system is not on every aircraft livery and even then only on certain SAR versions. You can tell what the active winch is like by noticing the yellow hook hanging from the winch.

If you want to add the winch to a livery or version that is not active then you can, like I did here to the Australian "Customs" version. Go to the livery that you want to use and you will see the "config.dat" file, open it with a word editor and change "winch" to "agusta_winch" save, and there you have it...

The detailing of the winch is very good, everything is modeled including the attached power cabling.

To operate the winch is via the SAR Control panel, first row operates the winch up and down or stop. Second and third rows operate the doors left and right, which is great because you don't have to now keep pulling down the menus or crawl back over seats just to open and close the doors internally or externally.

Next two rows on the menu are for the "Operator" or winchman and your "Patient".

In Operator "on" will show the Operator on the hoist and "off" will remove him. Same really with the Patient in "off" not there, "In Transit" on the lifting cage, "On Board" in the aircraft and finally "On ground"

Here on the right side of the menu popup you can set the coordinates of where the patient is lying on the ground, it is quite clever in that you can place him either by inputting the direct coordinates or pressing the "Get" button which notes the current position of the aircraft.

So if I "Get" and then set the "On Ground" he (or She) will appear at that set of coordinates, or in other words directly below the aircraft...

In operation it all works very and is very realistic...

The only really tricky part is flying and hovering with one hand and controlling the menu buttons with the other.

Inside "view" gives you this great shot of the pair arriving at the door.

Once the patient is on board and the winchman is safely stored, it is then a direct ride to the hospital or nearest airport. 

So the SAR winch is a great addition to the aircraft, and so add in some really bad weather and a few large dangerous mountains and then go for it...

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 v1.4 and if you have already purchased the X-trident Bell AB412 then go to your X-Plane.Org Store account and upgrade now!

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
Garmin 530 GPS

V1.3 New Features:

Working NIGHTSUN Spotlight
Working FLIR Camera

V1.4 New Features:
Custom Winch and SAR operations

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Requirements

X-Plane 10.30+ (any edition) - Mac, Windows, Linux - 1Gb+ dedicated VRAM Video Card

Current version: 1.4 (Last updated August 7th 2015)

 

Update by Stephen Dutton

 

10th August 2015

 

Copyright©2015: X-PlaneReviews