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  1. Behind the Screen : April 2023 On average over a 20 to 30 year commercial flying career, professional pilots will fly usually about 4 to 5 types of aircraft, first in the right seat, then a command in the left. I'm not counting their non-professional activities like private general aviation, gliding or even to the extreme of aerobatic flying. This is the core total of flying airliners, either domestic or international. Do pilot's have to be more flexible in today's aviation industry? that is a big question, because, say in the 60's you could fly aircraft types from the BAC-1-11, progress to a Trident, then a Vickers VC10, then a Boeing 707 or a Boeing 747 Jumbo, or even on to the supersonic transport in Concorde. That career road would be far harder today, as you would mostly jump between types of the same design, say start in a A319, move to a A320, then a A321 and now an A321LR, you are progressing, but mostly on the same type, not "Types' of aircraft. Same with the A350 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Progress to each aircraft type would mean going back to class, instruction, training and finally the hands on evaluation that you could handle the new machine, a jump from say the VC10 to a Boeing 747 would be a large challenge, but nothing like the jump from a VC10 to Concorde, of which most crews of the supersonic transport were nominated from. Today the line between a A320, to a A321, is not as large, and a conversion would be in weeks rather than the months like in the past. Compare that to X-Plane, or with being a reviewer. God knows how many "Types" of aircraft and let us even include even the "weird" strange machines at that. Obviously I have lost count, but a thousand over 12 years is a rounded off figure, maybe even more than that, so you have to be pretty adaptable. Like driving a car, aviation still has it's basics in controls and instruments, so you can be "so called", adaptable. But unlike driving a car on a road, aviation machines comes with a lot of different variations, weights and sizes, again you have to be adaptable. A lot of Simulator users will also mostly stick to one type, or a variation of that type, a lot won't even progress from say a Single-Engined aircraft to a Twin-Engined aircraft, never mind a Commercial Jet. Another crowd will only fly heavies, big airliners, but most will usually use the Two-Hour rule of flying a Boeing 737 (Zibo) or Airbus A319/A320/A321 (ToLiSS), fair enough. Me I do like variety, always have, call it a challenge if you will, I couldn't be a reviewer otherwise. But I do have my core "Top Ten" aircraft that I fly personally, a few General Aviation machines, but mostly Airliners, the bigger the better. Also there is the aspect of getting "back into the groove". You would think with all that reviewing experience and skills, that I would easily slide into the seat and fly the aircraft like a pro, yes... well no, it is not as easy as that. One big bonus of doing reviews in that when a new aircraft or type is released, you do what I call a "Deep Dive". Reviewing in detail allows you to spend a lot of time on that aircraft, sometimes weeks, study it, understanding all those minute details. Then to learn to fly it correctly... then pass on the information of what has been learnt to you the users of the X-PlaneReviews site. You would think that in say six months when the same aircraft from the same developer comes around with an update, with all that intimate knowledge learnt earlier, I should simply slide into the same seat and fly it again perfectly like the total professional I am, except that is very far from the truth. I even make copious notes, the Concorde review notes went for sixteen pages, yet I still need to revisit and revise them all every time to step back into that cockpit. And here is the thing... My first flight back in that seat is usually atrocious, totally laughable... a professional, mostly a joke in watching my efforts. At least I don't have a check captain sitting over my shoulder rating my poor flying abilities, and ready to give my career the total thumbs down. Let's be clear, that is with the complex complicated detailed aircraft we are talking about here, sure I can pilot a GA around a circuit or two with my eyes closed, but something happened in X-Plane around eight years ago when basic PlaneMaker aircraft went to Plugins. Now the systems are real world duplication, so is now the way you also fly the aircraft in real world conditions in the Simulator. Triggers... notes can give you triggers, and then you fly the aircraft and then release all that the stored information in your brain, it does come back to you quite easily, but some machines do have their peculiar idiosyncratic natures, not only in their systems, but their flying characteristics as well, say the Dash Q400... One flight will release the learnt peculiar tricks on using and handling the machine, the notes help, but going over the learnt procedures and you will soon fall back into that aircraft category groove. I'm an odd one as well. I just won't jump in and go flying (unless there is a reason), I go through the whole set of procedures from "Go to Woe", more so with an update (or upgrade) to cover the changes in the new updated/upgraded version, the differences between the Old and the New. That second flight (basically the review flight) is usually "Back on Song", not flawless, but back in tune with the aircraft, the third flight has to be flawless, if not there is something wrong or something has been changed? The only thing about this process, it is time consuming, two flights take time, three flights is in days to do a review, but you internally and personally have to know you have everything right, in the interaction between yourself and the aircraft before reviewing. That is why I don't like a lot of VideoJocks, watching them power through procedures and incorrect flying, and missing SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures) makes me cringe by in the amount of mistakes made, some are very good, and yes even I can learn from a real line pilot doing video Simulations, but most are "Cowboys", and have bad habits that are being passed on to the unsuspecting junior (learning) Simulator users in picking up and using the same poor methodology. Okay, I come from the strict school of being serious, and a lot of users reading this will say, Hey, lighten up, it's supposed to be "Fun" it's only a "Game", but my approach is strictly professional, if you want to "Fool" around and wizz upside down in a A320 (yes looking at you Austin Meyer) then your looking at the wrong personality type, to me "Professional", means being very good at what you do and to not fool around with a 80 Ton aircraft. Simulation was created as learning tool for real world pilots, we are just lucky, and if you have enough computer power, to be able to do the "EXACT" same things as the real world pilots do, that for me is where the excitement comes from, and my on line experiences. Out of the "Thousands" of aircraft I have reviewed, a few go into my own personal hanger, the ones that are very special, but also fit my own personal flying needs, I keep the list to like I mentioned to around ten aircraft, but it is about four to five of those aircraft are what I use consistently, again these aircraft are also required to have a shakedown regularly, and the same process of a "trigger" flight and then a regular flight are required to get me again "Back in the Groove". I know these aircraft intimately, and yet I still need to reset my brain to fly them correctly, lose one or two that has happened with the X-Plane 11 to X-Plane 12 transition and you feel a bit lost without them (both will be released for X-Plane 12 within the next month). Again I will stress that regular repeatable flying is still required to keep your skills in prime shape, yes it is more (even relaxing) fun than the serious approach of reviewing aircraft, but still serious in the way you approach in flying the aircraft professionally. To make it "Fun", is to set up a few scenarios, I have two. The first is a real world day's flying, usually three sectors between regularly used airports (quality sceneries), In Australia say the "Triangle". Brisbane to Melbourne, Melbourne to Sydney and finally Sydney back to Brisbane, all in a days work and following real world services. It's more tricky than you think to fly on real world times and turnarounds with the same aircraft type. Exhausting as well, but that is what real world pilots do everyday, but it is fun to coordinate the lot together... The second is real world airport hopping. Start a service from say Barcelona and fly to Copenhagen, then from Copenhagen to Dubai (combining European to International with different aircraft types), then Dubai to Hong Kong, then Hong Kong to Los Angles and so on... if you wrap up a sector in say New York, then the next time you fly you restart in the same place, say, New York to Copenhagen, and hey, you have flown around the world with real life timetables and the same aircraft types used on the real world routes... both above scenarios are based on real world flying, but for me a fun factor as well. But all learnt during these travels, goes back into the reviewing, and the consistent practise on aircraft types means your skills are kept at a high level. This April "Behind the Screen" edition, looks a bit into how I fly and do reviews, but also shows you the amount of practise it requires to keep your flying skills at a high level, same as the real world pilots... I like to think so, dedication is everything in life. See you all next month. Stephen Dutton 2nd May 2023 Copyright©2023 X-Plane Reviews
    5 points
  2. News! - Announcement : Boeing 787-9 coming from FlightFactor FlightFactor announced last month that a completely new aircraft to add into the line up of a B777, B767/B757 twins, A350 and the Airbus A320 Ultimate is coming from the development house. This aircraft is the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and details are noted that the B787 will reach new heights in complexity, usability and have a variety of features. We are also taking our 3D and texturing to the next level with ever more detail in and out of the cockpit. The first cockpit renders have been produced... It is the first all new aircraft from FlightFactor since the A320 Ultimate, but FlightFactor note the B787 will be closer to the B757/B767 in design than use the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) than on the same A320U aircraft... either way there will be a lot of expectations and a quality delivery expected on this aircraft as the CEF development was a long and testing one, but also the coming B787 at a study grade level will be a big shot in the arm for X-Plane with the MSFS onslaught. FlightFactor also noted "v2 plans for other models are simultaneously on the way, we just don't want to reveal it all at once! " that will be the v2 Boeing 777 and the v2 A350. I would expect the v2 B777 even before the end of 2020, but not the v2 A350 as the v1 just went with a serious upgrade with version Advanced v1.6 just being released, so that aircraft will certainly be a mid or late next year release, but an upgraded Boeing 777 (the current version is now seriously old) will keep the punters more than happy until the Dreamliner arrives. Overall FlightFactor has noted that with this aircraft it wants to take simulation to the next level.... exciting times. Images courtesy of FlightFactor ______________________________________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 15th September 2020 Copyright©2020: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
    5 points
  3. Aircraft Comparison : Boeing 777 vs Airbus A350 As you can see by the title, today we are going to compare the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350 for X-plane 11, both Boeing and Airbus biggest twin-engine aircraft. The Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner is the long range variant from the 777 family, with a maximum range of 8,555 nm (15,843 km). This variant has increased MTOW, three optional auxiliary fuel tanks and wingtips. Equipped with GE90 engines it produces up to 230,000 pounds of thrust combined. Exactly 60 have already been delivered and its main operators are Delta Air Lines and Emirates, with each one operating 10 aircraft. The A350 XWB is Airbus newest aircraft. The A350-900 has a maximum range of 8,100 (15,000 km) and a MTOW of 280 tons. The -900 was designed to compete with the B777-200ER/LR and 787-10, and eventually giving airlines the option to replace their older A340-300/500 with a newer and more fuel-efficient aircraft. It is equipped with two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines each producing up to 84,200 pounds of thrust. The A350 family is considered to a success, with 930 orders and more than 360 already delivered, being its main operators Singapore Airlines (48) and Etihad Airways (54). FlightFactor Aero is well known for their study level aircraft, with system depth being their main focus, and the A320 Ultimate and 767 Professional being a good proof of that. With that in mind you would expect a high-quality add-on from FlightFactor with great systems, so in today's comparison we are going to discover if that is true when we talk about the B777 and A350. Now we are going to decide which long-haul aircraft is the best for you Exterior modeling Both aircraft will be using custom Delta liveries that can be found in Xplane.Org Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional At a first look the exterior model is quite nice even though it needs some improvements. The fuselage may look strange with that lines, however you won't notice them most of the time. The windows are transparent, showing the 3d cabin inside. Probably the best part of the exterior modeling are the GE90 engines, they look awesome. The fan blades have a very nice glossy touch. The engine running animation is very good too. The landing gear and wings are nicely modeled. In general, the exterior is good, even though some improvements are welcome, especially in the fuselage and empennage. However, you won't find many problems if you don't search for them. Airbus A350 XWB Advanced You will notice that in many cases the A350 is the opposite from the B777, and exterior modeling is one of them. Usually the first thing you notice when looking at the outside of a plane is the fuselage, and the A350 fuselage is well done, it has a glossy and reflective surface (due to the livery I am using, the fuselage doesn't appear to be glossy), transparent windows and very nice wingtips. Instead of having very good modeled engines like the 777, the A350 engine modeling isn't that great, in fact it is not good or bad, it is the minimum you would expect from a 50 dollars plane. The animations are very nice and realistic, but the engine modeling, especially when it isn't running, is far away from perfection. The wings are nicely modeled and they look very good from the outside, however, they look a bit strange from the inside. The landing gear is great and doesn't appear to have any modeling problem. As you can see, the exterior modeling is good, even though it has its pros and cons, and you won't be disappointed. Like the 777, the A350 also needs some improvements. Extra features In this section we are going to talk about other extra features like doors, ground services and many other things. Starting with ground service. Both aircraft have this functionality, with one being better than the other. You can use the 777 ground service by clicking the menu icon in the top right corner. There you will find the ground services vehicles and objects as the doors open/close buttons and many more. Note that the ground service is very simple and only the doors indicated by an arrow can be opened. The ground service feature is more extensive in the A350, even though it is a bit simple, and can be accessed through the Cpt Outer OIS. It is important to note that all doors can be opened, a great advantage over the 777 which increases the realism. The plane at gate option sets a stair at the 4L door. There is one thing that looks strange in both planes, the wing flex. In the 777 is a little bit weird in some situations, like deploying the speed brakes after landing, resulting in some strange wing moves. The A350 wing flex problem is different and you will notice it while taxing and applying brakes. Another problem from the a350 is the wheels animations, which appear to be too slow. The 777 has a kind of engine shake, which is very nice to see from the cabin. Cabin Both aircraft have a 3d modeled cabin, divided in economy, business and first-class. Usually a 777 economy class is configured in a 3-4-3 configuration, which isn't the case FlightFactor 777, equipped with a 3-3-3 configuration. The business class seems very old, and the first-class has a nice bar. The A350 cabin is more modern than the 777 one. The economy is also equipped with a 3-3-3 configuration, with every seat been equipped with IFE screens. Configured in a 2-2-2 configuration the business class has wider and more comfortable seats. The first-class in the A350 is also equipped with a bar, providing great luxury to the passengers. There is a very nice detail in both aircraft, which is the crew resting compartment. This is a place that pilots and flight attendants rest when it's the other crew members shift. The first photo is from the 777 and the second from the A350, respectively located in the front and back of the aircraft. As you can see, the cabins are pretty well modeled and look nice, but in the end, the A350 cabin looks a bit better. Cockpit Probably the most important section in this comparison, it's in the cockpit that everything happens. While reading this part of the comparison, you will notice that most of the similarities and opposites are here, starting with the cockpit door, only the 777 has a close/open animation. Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional Possibly your first thought about the 777 cockpit will be: It seems very outdated. Yes the textures and some of the 3d modeling aren't great, you can't deny that, but when you start flying the plane they don't seem that bad. The overhead panel is very nice, as well as the aisle stand panel, where the 3d modeling is good and textures aren't bad. The night lighting is very beautiful and distinctive in 777, making it a very nice aircraft to fly at night. Its green color isn't common between other planes. It has many light knobs, this way you can try many lighting configurations before finding the best one for you. Airbus A350 XWB Advanced At first glance, the A350 cockpit may look better than the B777, especially using textures replacement mods, which will be linked at the end of the comparison, however, there are many better-modeled cockpits out there. Everybody knows that the A350 is a very modern plane and all its 6 big screens will attract your attention while flying it. It has the Airbus style overhead panel, but its pedestal is different from any type of aircraft, having some similarities with the A380. The autopilot panel is almost identical to the A380. The night is very well done, and gives the plane a modern touch, more than it already is. Systems FlightFactor says that what sets their models apart is the system depth, so we can expect good systems, we can't compare the A350 ou 777 with the A320 due to the price difference, so good systems is the least we should expect. Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional Starting with the FMC. It is fully functional, you can plan your route, insert SIDS and STARS and make performance calculations. The FMC is well done and you shouldn't have problems with it. The only thing that could be improved is individual screens, so you could leave one FMC in the LEGS page and the other at the VNAV page. As you can imagine, all knobs and switches at the overhead panel work. All the essential switches are working in the aisle stand panel. Last but not least, autopilot, it has some small issues like not turning off the disconnect alarm, but it still manages to take your plane from A to B. Another improvement that needs to be done is adding individual NAV screens, with this feature you would be able to set one screen with map and the other with app, using different ranges. With that in mind we can conclude that the 777 systems aren't perfect, but still in a high standard just like expected. Yes, they need some improvements, but still manage to have the hard work done. Airbus A350 XWB Advanced Probably the most known issue in the A350 systems is the FMC, where you can't insert SIDS and STARs. This is the main problem involving the A350 but there is a tool that solves this problem. It is named SimpleFMC and when used in conjunction with Simbrief flight planning tool, will give you the ability to completely program your route. As you can see, the A350 has some issues involving route programming, even though it can be simply solved and FlightFactor announced an update to fix that (will talk more about this update later). However, performance calculations and weight configuration is very complete in the A350. The best way to do that is by using the Cpt Outer OIS screen. Almost all switches and knobs work, both in overhead panel and pedestal. The autopilot works perfectly and you shouldn't expect any problem related to it. It is important to note that the taxi camera isn't working. We can conclude that none of the aircraft systems is perfect. At the moment, the 777 systems are slightly ahead, which gives you the feeling of a more complete aircraft. However, the A350 is a newer plane, leaving many opportunities to improve and add many new features, and if this happens, the A350 systems may get better and more advanced than the 777 systems. Sounds Each aircraft has its particularities. Generally we can assume that the 777 are better than the A350 sounds, especially when you talk about the engines. Starting with cockpits sounds. Both aircraft have nice sounds here, probably the A350 ones are a bit better, even though none of them is bad. However, when we start talking about the cabin sounds, you may get disappointed. They are the same all the time, it doesn't matter if you are in the front or back of the plane, they won't change. The flaps and landing gear operation sounds are nice, just what you would expect. The engine sounds are the ones you will most notice while flying a plane, and they are the reason for the 777 have better sounds than the A350. While you are in the cockpit or cabin, both planes have good sounds, even though they could be way better. But when you change for the outside view you will instantly notice the difference. While both engines are idle you already can tell a difference, you may think that this is obvious because they are different engines, but the difference is already there. However, things start to get better when you accelerate them, both sound nice, maybe a little better in the 777, but when the engines are at full power you will notice that the A350 isn't very nice, emitting a low and kinda soft noise. The 777 is the complete opposite, at full power the engines are screaming and give you the feeling that you flying the real aircraft. Blue Sky Star, most known as BSS, provides a sound pack for the 777 at the price of 20 dollars, increasing your immersion with the aircraft. Will be linked at the end. Other features Here I will list things I didn't mention yet. Checklist: Both aircraft have a checklist that tells you exactly what you should do. Cabin Announcements: You will find this feature in both aircraft. There are more than 20 default announcements. Pushback: This feature is implemented in both planes, however, I recommend using the Better Pushback plugin. Conclusion As I said earlier, we would find the best long-haul aircraft for you. After reading my comparison you may have already decided the best one for you, but if you still can't choose one I will help by listing the main features. Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional -Very well modeled engines -Fuselage is good, but needs improvements -Has 3d cabin -Cockpit a little bit dated -Good systems -Better sounds (BSS package available) -Price: $59,95 Airbus A350 XWB Advanced -Better modeled fuselage -Beautiful 3d cabin -Better cockpit textures (using texture replaceament mod) -Ok systems -Good cockpit sounds, engines could be better -Price: $49,95 Note that FlightFactor said that would release an update for A350 this month and it would include the implementation of SIDS and STARS as well as a huge graphical improvement. This update would make the A350 way better. It would be nice to see BSS making a sound package for the A350, it would take the aircraft to a pretty high standard. If after all this you can't decide yet, you should take my advice. Both aircraft are equaly good, each one has pros and cons, and the best thing you could do is: buy the one you like more in real life, it is simple. Notice that you won't be disappointed with these two great aircraft by Flight Factor. I won't tell my personal choice because that may induct you. Greetings Thank you for reading this comparison! Feel free to leave your comment. This is my first review for this incredible site that has been making the best reviews for X-plane for a long time. I want to thank Stephen for giving me this incredible opportunity and providing everything I needed to make the comparison. ______________________________________________________________________ Both aircraft are available in X-Plane.Org Store here: Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional Price is US$59,95 Features: Officially licensed By the Boeing © Corporation Accurate dimensions based on 2D and 3D drawings supplied by Boeing © Professional systems - Fly the 777 like a pro Systems designed to work like the thing - Accurate flight model tuned by pilots - Comprehensive Manuals Fully Functional FMS - Plan your routes like a real pilot Custom designed Flight Management Computer, integrated with other plane systems Custom programmed LNAV logic for terminal procedures Custom designed Navigation Display Tterminal procedure database with RNAV approaches and transitions VNAV managed climbs and descends Takeoff and approach speed calculation Custom autopilot modes for autoland Optimum cruise performance and step climb calculation True-to-life radio navigation with procedural-, route-, and navigation support auto-tuning Custom programmed FMC navigation using GPS-, radio- or inertial navigation with individual position errors and management of actual and required navigation performance Magnetic, true and polar grid course reference Alternate airports, diversion and arrival management Ground proximity warning system using real sounds FMC can be used on external touchscreen or tablet, optimized for the new iPad Incredible 3D modeling - the best eye-candy Amazing virtual cockpit with crisp details - Dynamic reflections Custom 3D sounds and Announcements Add-ons: Push-back truck, Fuel Truck, Passenger bus and Emergency slides ... On-Screen Menus: Configuration and loading menu, Quick Zoom Superb night lighting in cockpit. Requirements X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 10.50+ - 64 bit required Windows, Vista, 7 / 8/ 10 (64 bits) or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher - OSX 10.9 will not work), Linux Ubuntu 14.04LTS or compatible (older versions are not supported) 2GB VRAM - (4GB VRAM Recommended)- 1Gb available hard disk space Current version : 1.9.12 (last updated Jan 30th 2018) ___________________________ Airbus A350 XWB Advanced Price is US$49,95 Features: Superb 3D Modeling Complete Virtual cockpit in high-resolution Fully animated in and out -High-Resolution Textures Ground equipment support including stairs, loaders, passenger buses, GPUs etc. 3D people inside and outside the plane - Nicely modeled cabin Scroll wheel support for switch manipulation Advanced Systems Fully customized aircraft systems: electric, hydraulic, air conditioning, ADIRU Fully customized ECAM monitoring system with all screens and functions included Fully functional airbus style alert system with multiple status and procedural lists Fully functional interactive airbus electronic checklist system Airbus A350/A380 unique interfaces with dozens of screens and hundreds of function Fully customized and unique MFD (multifunctional display) system with most of flight planning pages implemented in a new graphical interface, as well as FCU and radio backups just like on the real plane Full OIS screen system with options, ground equipment control, passenger and cargo loading, and even a full user's manual inside the plane. Old style MCDU and fully functional aux instruments as backup Custom failures Advanced Fly-by-Wire and Flight systems Full FBW with Highly realistic implementation of the Airbus normal laws by QPAC -the most realistic fly-by-wire implementation for desktop flight simulation. Basic SID/STAR implementation using X-plane fms-files that you can create yourself and share with the community. "What you see is what you fly" flight path indication on the ND (i.e. curved trajectories with the turn radius properly computed based on speed and angular turn distance.) Implementation of all Airbus AP modes, except some non-precision approach modes (Selected and managed modes, speed constraints respected, "at or below" constraints in phase climb, "at or above" constraints in phase descent.) Full PFD and ND displays with fully independent display and different data sources for the captain and copilot displays. Independent autopilots Custom 3D Sounds Custom 3D stereo engine sound system Hundreds of system and in-cockpit sounds Interactive flight attendant helper Seven Liveries included in the package Airbus Carbon, Air France, Airbus House colors, Qatar, Lufthansa, United Airlines Requirements X-Plane 11 (latest version) Windows - Mac - Linux - 64bit Operating System Required 1Gb+ VRAM Minimum, 2Gb+ VRAM Minimum. 8Gb RAM Version : 1.5.2 (last updated Apr 24th, 2019) ________________________________________ Aircraft Comparison by Bernardo Casa 21st April 2020 Copyright©2020: X-PlaneReviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Intel Core I5-9600K 4,30GHz / 2x8 Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3200MHz - Gigabyte RTX 2070 - Z390 Aorus Master - Kingston A1000M.2 SSD 240GB Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.41 Addons: Logitech Pro Flight Yoke/Pedals/Throttle Quadrant - Logitech Extreme 3d Pro Joystick - Sound: Samsung Home Theater System J5500WK Plugins: Environment Engine v1.13 by xEnviro US$69,90 -Scenery Review : Seattle City XP by Drzewiecki Design - Scenery Review : Seattle Airports XP by Drzewiecki Design -KLAX - Los Angeles International 1.01 by MisterX6 (X-Plane.Org) Freeware -SBGL - by AxScenery (AxScenery) Freeware -A350 cockpit textures replacement (X-Plane.Org) Freeware -Better Pushback (GitHub) Freeware (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
    4 points
  4. Free Aircraft Release! : Concorde by Dr Gary Hunter Growing up in the sixties was a time of huge speed advances. The predictions were of New York in 3 hours and Singapore in 7 hours via Bahrain, and then we went far faster again... to the moon. Looking back now it all feels like we lost have something, yes we can afford to travel the world on a few thousand dollars... but the excitement and the sheer feeling of the momentum of advances in technology has now been reduced to smart phones. The real tragedy was that the machines that gave us our biggest breakthroughs were then never advanced forward, there was no Concorde Mk2 or Space Shuttle Mk2. And so there came no advancements on their ideas and weaknesses, like the noise and sound barrier on Concorde and the better insulation tiles for the Shuttle. Instead they were all consigned to museums and with that a negative backward feeling now exists. You know it can be better, as we lived through that now past era of huge ideas and advancement that actually came true and real. But you can still relive a little of what one machine of that era was, in the Concorde. Dr Gary Hunter created a Concorde for X-Plane9®, so yes this aircraft is old now even by X-Plane standards. It didn't fly very well either lately because of the advances of the simulator, so an update to v10.50 was carried out and the aircraft has been gratefully passed over to the X-Plane.Org to be released... yes that is right this Concorde is for free! And no matter which way you look at it this aircraft is still one of the very best looking machines ever built, The modeling is slightly old, but not enough not to make it feel totally outdated. The panel is from an era of X-Plane seasons past, and the instruments are quite blurry. But it is totally functional and does have a 3d Virtual Cockpit. There is also a great engineers station, and you need to watch those fuel gauges, they gulp down fuel like no tomorrow, but hey you are also covering the ground at a one mile every two and three quarter seconds! Full cabin as well with the all important speed Mach numbers and altitude. You are seriously moving at m2.2, you can feel the speed even over the smooth Atlantic Ocean, watching my moving map on my iPad, the aircraft is moving as you are watching it even at a high distance, the Nm counter is clicking over click, click, click fast as well... this is no sub-sonic slow ride to China or as in this ride... to New York. Distances of descent to any airport will need a bigger or longer distance with this machine as it is a long way down from 50,000ft or even 60,000ft if you are game. Liveries included: Blank or Eurowhite, BA Union, BA Landor, BA Flag, AF, AF Retro, Prototype and Singapore. New York and "Look Mum, no Flaps!" drop the nose and the speed to 195knts and you get that over familiar hawk look... The aircraft is surprisingly easy to fly on approach, but watch for a high nose in the air after landing. Concorde is back in New York! ______________________________________________________________________ There is a big thanks to the work of Dr Gary Hunter in creating this X-Plane Concorde, and now passing it over to Nicolas of the X-Plane.Org for you to download... for FREE!, yes just go to the link below (sign in first) and download this Concorde and go.... Supersonic! Yes! the My Planes (Dr Gary Hunter) Concorde is available for download here: CONCORDE Price is Free! Features: Accurate dimensions 2D and basic 3D Cockpit Object-based model, Very detailed model 8 liveries Cockpits have been totally redesigned. Go to the virtual cockpit and move to the center laterally (right arrow key) then translate backward through the aircraft (shift-pagedown key) to see the virtual cabin interior. All cabin windows are in 3D, and the cabin interior is modeled (seats etc). These differences are most obvious when using LIT textures as you can see inside the cabin more easily. Try circling the plane when flying in low level lighting conditions (sunset for example). Updated and tidied up the 3D virtual cockpit a little. The horizon is 3D now but its hard to notice so I may drop it in future versions. All fuselage doors are operable using keys 8 fuel tanks Full 3D Model Regular Concorde and Concorde 'B' included The model B was to have been the definitive airline version of Concorde, produced from airframe number 17 onwards. As production stopped at airframe number 16, the model B never actually took to the air, though much of the design work and improvements were retrofitted to existing Concordes. The most noticeable difference would have been the big wing of the model B, non-afterburning (more powerful) engines and a much greater range. This version also features an airbus style “glass” cockpit. ______________________________________________________________________ Overview by Stephen Dutton 6th October 2016 Copyright©2016: X-Plane Reviews
    4 points
  5. Classic Aircraft Review Updated : Aircruiser 66-75 v1.1 by Hangar 23 Very early classic aircraft are very interesting, more so when they are so rare. This aircraft is about as rare as you could could imagine, only 23 of them were built between 1930 and 1938. But they have a significant place in Aviation history, only to be replaced by the United States federal regulations that prohibited single-engine transports on United States airlines, virtually eliminating future markets for the Aircruiser. Bellanca Aircruiser and Airbus were high-wing, single-engine aircraft built by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of New Castle, Delaware. The aircraft was built as a "workhorse" intended for use as a passenger or cargo aircraft. It was available with wheels, floats or skis. The aircraft was powered by either a Wright Cyclone or Pratt or a Whitney Hornet engine. The Airbus and Aircruiser served as both commercial and military transports. The first Bellanca Airbus was built in 1930 as the P-100. An efficient design, it was capable of carrying 12 to 14 passengers depending on the cabin interior configuration, with later versions carrying up to 15. The Aircruiser's distinctive shape, gave it the moniker of "The Flying Ws" and this hardy design was still flying in Canada well into the 1970's . Is it a Bi-Plane, sort of, as the lower W is still a part aerodynamic surface. When you look at the design closely, it is extremely clever in holding up and bracing the main wing, as for also being a support for the landing wheels. The Aircruiser is a "Tail-Dragger", most were back in this 1930's period, but the early evolution of the multi-seat passenger aircraft is highly perceivable, back in the day, it was, still is a very innovative design. For an aircraft, it looks heavy, but sturdy is probably the best description Hangar 23 is a not really a new entrant to the X-Plane Developers affiliation, but a ex-TorqueSim developer. Still the Aircruiser is an interesting one in the choice of aircraft to debut their talents in doing their own Studio. Technical information of the Aircruiser is rare, but there are two surviving in existence, "CF-BTW," a 1938 model in the Ericson Collection in Madras, Oregon, incredibly the aircraft is still airworthy. The second is "CF-AWR" named the "Eldorado Radium Silver Express", built in 1935, and is under restoration at the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Update v1.1... This review has been updated to version v1.1, this includes a set of changes that came out only a few weeks after this original release review was published, the changes are noted here v1.1 Installation The download for the Aircruiser is 1.18GB, with an installation of 1.38Gb. But the installation file/folder system is a slightly complicated. Hangar 23 has selected to put the main Aircruiser file within a folder of a folder? So the first folder is "Aircraft" followed by a folder named "Hangar 23" , with the actual "Aircruiser" aircraft folder inside, or buried in layers of folders? Honestly the first "Aircraft" folder is not required, so just install the "Hangar 23" Folder directly into your X-Plane "Aircraft" folder with the Aircruiser folder inside. All the installation notes are in the excellent manual, but the doubled up "Aircraft" folder creates confusion... Detail and modeling For an aircraft of this size, an installation size of 1.38Gb can only mean one thing, quality in detail. Remember this is a first time effort from Hangar 23, but the detail and quality is outstanding. Both an X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 versions are included in the package, but it is the XP12 version on show here with it's more exponential PBR (Physical Based Rendering) effects and lighting. And it really blows you away. X-PlaneReviews are usually quite lenient when the studio name is new, in overlooking sometimes even the obvious mistakes or poor areas of first time production... But already with the quality of work behind Ulrich, you go straight into the "Masters" level, but this is still a first release from Hangar 23 is just outstanding... and an highly impressive debut for the Studio! And all with an aircraft so rare... the beauty of Simulation is that iconic and classical aircraft can be recreated, their forgotten time, brought back and to live again, or in this case fly again. At the core of this Aircruiser Simulation is just that very aspect, bringing the past alive again for you to absorb and interact with. But this is outstanding work... all the wing braces and support wires are sensationally done, every bolt, castle nut and Cotter Split Pins, are modeled here in detail, leading edge panels are worn and authentic, the struts in detail are excellent, you have to admire it all. If you are a detail junkie, who loves to spend time investigating the quality of the work, then you will love this aircraft, as it's a museum piece brought alive. The massive top wing looks canvas, and you can see the frame that the material covers, it's a lovely formed wing as well. Actually two separate wings, attached to the fuselage. This was the golden age of innovation for aircraft, the transition from wood, canvas to metal, so you get sometimes the mixture of the two eras in the one development as the changes moved on forward. The detail is just gobsmacking. The panels are perfect and so are the bolts that hold them in place, windows and it's thick glass are worn and glazed to perfection... The Cyclone SGR-1820 it is rated at 760 hp, as is the giant three-bladed geared propeller, and all gloriously there to admire. The engines internal intricate detail of metal and brass pipework is very impressive. The Aircruiser is flat sided, there are no curves in the doors and the windows are more nautical portholes than aircraft, but it's all beautifully done, and it is all built like a tank! The two main landing wheels hubs, tyres are massive, but simplistic as well, detail is right down to large CirClip to hold the rim onto the hub. There are four doors that can be opened, two small high cockpit access doors, one left passenger door, and a very big odd A shaped cargo door... all four doors are so authentic to the design, with the Cargo door in two sections that folds. Honestly, it is like a flying shed inside, totally weird. The interior is impressively done, metal and wood dominate, SO much weight in the construction, how did this thing get off the ground? It's all metal piping and blocks of wood, many trees were felled in the creation of the interior, a far, far cry from the ultra clean, state-of-the-art LED lighting Airbus interiors... this is doing it rough. The passenger seats are a pipeframe, with a strung canvas seat, you wouldn't want to go to far on them. Pilot seats are a metal bucket, the pilot gets the luxury of a cushion, the CoPilot the hard metal base. The cushion is required not for comfort, but to be elevated to see over the extremely high instrument panel. The yoke is a big hefty iron thing, beautifully skillfully designed and modeled, you can hide it via a hotspot centre yoke. The side quadrant is again excellent, with the Throttle (T), Propeller (P) and Mixture (M) levers, notable that in 90 years the controls are still as relevant then as now. Lower rudder pedals are also big hefty iron contraptions, you need to be Popeye with his strong arms and legs to match, to fly the Aircruiser. Notable are the two trim winders, one left for pitch/elevator adjustment, and another on the forward roof for the rudder trim. Point to make is that there is no visual trim setting, so you don't know if they are both centred or not, but a guide is two full winder rotations each way. Note the old fashioned brake lever and flap selector handle. -v1.1- in the update Hangar 23 added in a visual marker on to both of the trim winder panels, it's only a small round brass tack, but it does show you your current trim position. Main instrument panel is amazing, this is simply a panel with inset instruments that is highly authentic. Note the boxed Whiskey Compass Again the layout is quite familiar... with a Standard Six layout. Top left is the Airspeed Indicator (MPH/KNTS), Vertical Speed Indicator (V/S), very basic Rate of Turn Indicator, below offset is a Directional Vacuum Gyro (Heading), Altmeter and Horizontal Reference (bank). Far left is a RPM dial, Manifold Pressure, and top right a CYL TEMP. Right panel has Volts, OAT (Outside AirPressure), Oil Temp/Pressure and Fuel Pressure... top Ignition Switch, Fuel Gauges (twin), PPH (Pounds Per Hour) fuel flow and a ELGIN clock. Lower left are a row of switches that cover Battery, Generator, Nav (lights), Landing (light), Starter, Coil Booster, Fuel Pump, Panel Lights and Cabin Light. Far, far left is the fuel tank cock; Both, Left & Right. It's all so impressively well done, the flaked tired black metal facia is very authentic to an aged old aircraft of this generation. - Update v1.1 - Added in the update were two instrument items both related to the "Carburettor Heat". A knob lower dash, and a gauge middle panel centre right. Menu There is a banner menu "Hangar23Aircruiser" that has two menu options; "Options" and "GPS Style" Options: There are six options, Autopilot Toggle, Strain Gauge Toggle, Real Autorudder Toggle, Steerable Tailwheel, Show Pilot and Use Clipboard. The Aircruiser comes with a very basic 2-Axis "Sparrow" Autopilot, basically a set "Holds" Pitch and Roll Rate. Second option is to add on a "Strain Gauge" or Trim indicator. Both are positioned lower centre panel We will go more into the "AutoRudder" in flight, but if you want to disconnect or activate the the AutoRudder you can do so via the menu option, you can also use the hotspot on the (front) Whiskey Compass to do the same action. The Tailwheel is steerable by the rudder pedals, but if you want a free castoring wheel, you can disconnect it via the "Steerable Tailwheel" option. There is the option to show or hide the pilot. He is fully animated in rudder and pitch (forwards & backwards) and seems to have his hands full in controlling the aircraft, he is very good here and well done. Next in the "options" menu is the "Use Clipboard". In the right side pocket there is a VR (Virtual Reality) clipboard (also clickable). This really the "Fuel & Weights" menu... as you can adjust the fuel and Pilots, Passenger, Cargo weights by scrolling them in. They can be set in Lbs or Kgs and the "Load", "Empty" (weight) and Full Gross weight can be seen. You can "Save" your settings, and then "Load" them. Another note is that between flights the Aircruiser will save and reload the same settings to the next flight, until you adjust them. Last two separate items on the "Options" menu are "Reset AP Tuning" (Autopilot on/off) and "Reset AutoRudder Tuning", resets the rudder position to central. An option not shown in the menus, is that if the power is switched off, then the chocks are positioned on the front wheels. The second setting of the menu tab is the "GPS Style", here you can select between the Laminar GNS 530 GPS, or one of the two RXP (Realistic) GNS 530 or GNS 750 GPS units if you have that external additional option. I don't have the Realistic option so that install is not visible here. The GPS units are position on the roof forward, with also a default custom style COMM radio above, and a Transponder panel below. - Update v1.1 - Introduced a set of "Floats" for the aircraft. There was actually a Float version of the Aircruiser, notably two aircraft were converted... noted here as a "Floatplane". The "Float" version can be selected on the "Flight Configuration" menu. "Huge" and chunky floats they are, there is no Amphibian variant (land wheels) The waterborne Aircruiser sits nicely on the water, also moves around on the fluids really well considering the size and weight of the machine. You need those extra huge extra tail fins to keep the aircraft straight. There are several ways to control the water rudder up/down movement. One (the easiest) is to set a keyboard command to "Toggle water rudder", or use the pull (up) or (down) slider on the floor, left behind the flap lever. Water rudder steerage is via your rudder pedals. Float detail is like the rest of the aircraft, exceptionally well done, lovely cleats and perfect cables ____________ Flying the Aircruiser 66-75 You can't at all see out of the Aircruiser, the long nose is way up there, blocking any view, as the tail is way back down there behind you. The only option is to lean very far left to try to see the ground. You would think the Aircruiser being so old-fashioned would be a pain to start, but it's quite benign and easy as long as you do the right procedure. Fuel on "Both", Fuel Pump on, then the most important switch, the "Boost Coil" switch to on. Mixture just to above the (Auto) lean red marker... then up the "Starter" switch, the prop will turn, then gradually fire into a running engine... Both the start up and shutdown of the Cyclone SGR-1820 is exceptional, no fast artificial start or shut down here, but it all comes with stutters and engine positions that are very noticeable, as is the churn of the starter motor against the pressures "clock", "clocking" of the starting engine, its a great and a very realistic re-enactment of the starting, and then the stutter of the engine shutting down, I loved it. I have a horrible history of trying to control tail-draggers, spinning loose tail-wheels have given me loads of grief. But not here though... as mentioned you can disconnect the tail-wheel to be free, if you love that uncontrollable chaos. But for the rest of us the tail-wheel acts through the rudder pedals, but also through the usual "Tiller" yaw. This makes the Aircruiser very easy to manoeuvre around on the ground or on taxiways. Braking and the toe-brakes work normally as well. For once you not fighting the aircraft on the ground to go into the direction you want, but the view internally is hard work to keep it all on the narrow taxiway. So you have a habit of visually taxiing externally until you understand the aircraft more. Very important is to adjust the rudder trim 50%, or a full winder turn to the right. The SGR-1820 is a very powerful force on takeoff, the asymmetric thrust is huge, it pulls you so hard to the left, that even full rudder is required off the line... The Aircruiser for all it's massive weight is sprightly off the line, your working the pedals to find the right balance to keep the aircraft straight, it does thankfully nicely change direction tail-wise to your inputs, very quickly the tail is up at 40 MPH, and there is tons of lift from those wings, at 60 MPH+ and your now flying. The point from "off the line" to "Airborne" is very short, so no flaps are required, time to adjust your direction is short as well... so once off the ground I was already veering right away from the runway, I didn't try to correct it, but just went with the flow and climbing turn, then leveled it all out straighter when higher. With practise with your rudder inputs you could keep it in more of a straight line out... it's a total feel thing, a feel for the aircraft. Pitch trimming is nice, but I recommend a keyboard input than the badly positioned side wall-winder, same for the rudder trim on the roof... You have so much power, the Aircruiser is super fast for an aircraft of this size and age... it's a very physical aircraft to fly, you use the rudder all the time, then finally finding the right amount of input to keep the aircraft in a straight line, a tough idea, with the amount of asymmetric thrust coming at you all the time. The 66-75, as featured here, could produce up to 730 hp from sea level through 5800 ft, where then the power built higher to ~760 hp Maximum speed is 144 kn (165 mph, 266 km/h), (but it feels far faster), Range is an amazing 608 nmi (700 mi, 1,130 km), and the Service ceiling is 22,000 ft (6,700 m), but the average cruising altitude is around 10,000ft, still fast and high for a 90 year old design. Hangar 23 has provided a tool, called the "AutoRudder function", a sort of A.I. tool to take the strain out of flying the Aircruiser. On the ground the rudder control functions as usual. So it was important to properly trim the aircraft prior to takeoff and landing. In flight, the autorudder system then takes control of the rudder, and will attempt to keep a slip angle as dictated by the yaw axis of the joystick. This allows the pilot to slip the aircraft even while the autorudder is active, such that even crosswind operations become possible with the system active. In other words it flies like the X-Plane tool when you have no yaw axis joystick, the wings are connected to the rudder. This gauge will merely prompts the pilot on the direction of trim needed to take load off the “servos”. Unlike the autopilot, the autorudder does not disconnect under a high strain, nor is it dependent upon the aircraft’s electrical system to operate (Cable operation). When activated (via the menu, or Compass) the autorudder has a visible gauge, located on the yaw trim handle base plate. If you are going to deactivate the autorudder during normal flight, first adjust the rudder trim according to the strain gauge, otherwise a very sudden and very unpleasant disconnection will occur. It works very well... but switched off the AirCruiser has a habit of yawing left, almost going around in circles.... You can try to trim it out? but it's hard to find a neutral flight, I did find a position input that worked, slight right rudder and slight stick right as well, but it's tiring for any distance, short or long... the AutoPilot is not much better, tricky to use is to centre the heading. You adjust via the "Roll" or "Up/Dn" switches, as per the three lights, red (left), white (centre) and green (right). But there is a delay in the operation that can make you over trim, I never quite mastered it... so again even on the Autopilot, I went into a slight bank in left handed circles and couldn't the aircraft fly in a straight line unless under manual control. It's the sort of tool that all of a sudden you will understand it and get it right, with time and persistence. This system is like the Sperry Type A-3A. You will need to trim the aircraft perfectly, so the heading is as close to where you want to go and level, flying as straight as you can, then turn on the AP, trying to trim later while the Autopilot is active is a far harder situation. -v1.1- In the update a lot of attention was given to pitch stability and improved rudder response, also this adjustment also works better with the "Sparrow" Autopilot, in both manual and automatic orientations the aircraft felt far more stable, more directional, than with the past banking action... certainly a big improvement in this area. Lighting Lighting internally and externally is basic, which is to be expected. There is one switch for the instrument lights, and another switch for the cabin lights, two spider-web looking ones forward and two roof lights rear, it all looks quite nice at night... The GPS install looks bright and also odd in this old cabin, but it's very well done and easy to use. Externally there are only again two light switches... Navigation, red, green and white tail, the other light is a left wing mounted Landing light, that look and is quite effective. There are no strobes or beacon lights on the aircraft... Flight notes by Hangar 23 notes "DAY - NIGHT* - VFR... *Poor visibility and the antiquated aircraft lighting scheme will present additional challenges during night flights". In other words it is not really an aircraft to be flown in the dark... Sounds... are a bit of a mixed bag. Overall they are excellent, the startup is an aural experience, and so is shutdown, external engine noises are very good right through the range of power outputs, that's the good. The poor is the buzzy interior sounds, that have a sameness of a consistent droning buzz with no fluctuations, even over a short distance I was distracted or even bored with the noise, The Aircruiser maybe really like that in the air, but I didn't really connect with them. The lower power outputs (on the throttle) are however better. Notable is the Aircruiser engine’s 16:11 gear ratio, for the propeller spins slower than the engine, but all readouts and aural sounds are based on the engine and adjustments should be made according to engine state rather than calculated propeller RPM. -v1.1- There was a lot of attention to sounds in the v1.1 update... there was improved cockpit sound origins and changed FMOD engine sounds (which both will be updated incrementally going forward as improvements happen). The developer was at least very responsive to comments, this area certainly needed more better aural sounds. Time to head back to Shoreham (EGKA). A tricky place to lineup, for the mass of trees around the field. All the runways are hidden from view... .... if the system is active on final approach, the autorudder will check if the rudder trim has been appropriately set for the upcoming power reduction. If the trim is not suitably centered, the system will intervene and reset the rudder trim to near center. This may be noted by the clicking of the trim’s chain drive, as well as a mild rolling tendency during finals. Myself I turned the automation off to feel the aircraft on the approach phase, plus a single wind of the rudder trim, to reset it as it was on the takeoff phase. The handling felt normal, as did the approach. If however the autorudder is active, then it will disconnect on landing. Nose up to rub off the speed, as there is no "white flap use zone", I guessed in setting the flaps to below 100 MPH, actually below 90 MPH, and you get a slight lift on each extension... but the transition now down to 80MPH with now a slight descent into Shoreham it all felt perfect. The flap lever or floor handle is extremely well done. It's both a brake handle and Flap handle in one. Over the coastline, and there is still no visual on the runways. Then finally the field is in view.... so I drop, in also trying to miss the treeline. ... but I realise I am too high, and becoming too fast in trying to get down to the grass strip. It's still a very good try.... but I have to abort and climb out! I will note the throttle inputs. If the Aircruiser is trimmed (correctly, or well). The Throttle control is very, very good, as you can control the height via the power. Full power to climb out was excellent (after that slight delay), but I found the Aircruiser to be quite normal in the approach/landing phase as any other heavy single-engined General Aviation aircraft. However you have to be aware of the weight around you with using the throttle power, and that tendency to yaw right with the huge power increase, but you soon adapt to the characteristics and the personality of the aircraft... fun? yes immensely, also a challenge to get the skills right in this cockpit. I didn't want to lose sight of the field layout, now I had found it. So it was a tight turn around back to the other opposite threshold. But be aware that too tight a bank and the Aircruiser will slip badly and lose height towards the lowered wing, there a sweet spot to find in the bank and before the slip starts to emerge, all this is required to get the best rotation of the aircraft. Lower and slower this time.... and it feels right. Then slowly descend, descend "keep it steady" and I touch around 65 MPH, I am not to worried about the speed, as the Aircruiser on grass will dramatically drag itself slower. Toe brakes are still the best tool to stop the aircraft rotating hard right, then left on you, as this happens once the tail goes down, it's tricky, but with practise it works in keeping you straight... I'm down, and arrested before the end of the grass strip... not bad I say. Liveries There are six liveries, one Blank (default), and two liveries that are blank white, but one has a metal nose cover, and another has the same metal nose cover & metal tanks. All are nostalgic except the off soft purple Landmark? _____________ Summary Extremely rare aircraft are always interesting, this Bellanca Aircruiser or Airbus, is one of the rarest as only 23 aircraft were built between 1930 -1938, it is also the famed "The Flying W" and this hardy design was still flying in Canada well into the 1970's. Hangar 23 is a not really a new entrant to the X-Plane Developers affiliation, but a ex-TorqueSim developer. And this unusual rare aircraft is their first project for the newly-named studio and the X-Plane Simulator. The Aircruiser is available as two separate packages for both X-Plane 12 (as shown here) and X-Plane 11. The quality here with the Hangar 23 Bellanca aircraft is very much on show, as it is highly developed and polished. Modeling is absolutely first rate and the detail is highlighted by this experienced and mature developer. As the aircraft is so rare, the detail in the reproduction is simply outstanding, to the point of recreating an era from a long time ago, and with a couple of modern tools thrown in as well, but not to the distraction of the authenticity of the original aircraft. Obviously this is a project of a labour of love, but still delivered with quality and polish. It is old fashioned in design, but the Aircruiser comes with so modern helpers like a "Sparrow" 2-Axis Autopilot, a custom AutoRudder feature, and GNS 530 GPS, and the option for Realistic RXP GNS 530 or GNS 750 GPS units. Tail-Wheel control can be via X-Plane style commands or free-castoring, that makes this aircraft easy for first time Tail-Dragger aircraft learning. Other options include Strain Gauges, Steerable Tailwheel, a fully animated Pilot and Clipboard with a Weights & Balance menu. The Aircruisers unorthodox design does make it a challenge to fly, but I have had far worse and more difficult machines to cope with in the past. The helpers of course help, but once you master that huge powerful force forward, the "Shed" like design is oddly very nice and involving to fly. I usually despise Tail-Draggers, but loved the Aircruiser quite a lot, no, a really lot more. The quality performance and well thought out physics, do bring the totally unique experience alive. Added was a significant update a few weeks after the initial release. This was v1.1, and it included aircraft "Floats", brass markers for the trims, carburettor heat knob and gauge, better sounds and better flight dynamics with improved pitch stability and rudder response. Also added for convenience was the Skunkcrafts Updater. It is certainly a huge credit to the skills of the developer of what they have delivered here, certainly it is a very unique Simulation, but totally authentic as well, Secondly the release also shows off X-Plane 12's excellent dynamics and quality lighting. The Aircruiser 66-75 is very rare, but you can absorb yourself in this 1930's Golden Era of Aviation, and this aircraft is highly relatable to the same machine created over 90 Years ago.... Highly Recommended. ________________ The Aircruiser 66-75 v1.1 by Hangar 23 is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore!... Here: Aircruiser 66-75 Price is US$29.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 (2 separate packages) Windows or Mac (Linux not supported) 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 1.1 (Feb 15th 2024) Download Size: 1.2 GB (each version) Aircraft download is 1.18Gb, and unpacked, then installed in your X-Plane Aircraft folder 1.38Gb. Authorization on startup is required Documents X-Plane Aircruiser Handbook.pdf The provided manual is excellent, a lot of detail, installation, setup and flying tips... even Limitations and Operations. Designed by Hangar 23 Support forum for the Aircruiser 66-75 ________________  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.09rc5 (This is a Release Candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - EGKA - Shoreham - Brighton City Airport by NKdesign (X-Plane.orgStore) US$15.00 ________________ Update Review by Stephen Dutton 12th March 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  6. Aircraft Review : Gulfstream 550 by AKD Studio In the utopia world of elitism, then a 110 ft Mega yacht is high up on the scale. But there is still another level again that says I'm far richer and more powerful than you. Welcome to the world of business jets and in reality only one word here fits in with cache. That word is "Gulfstream". The Gulfstream world of this upper exclusive club is again segregated with the latest G800 being the current Blue Ribbon holder. But the G600/G700/G800 Series was built upon the last series of G500/G550 Series, that series evolved out of the Gulfstream V as the GV-SP. Complicated? well these business class aircraft do have a complex heredity. Niches, mostly at the whims of their exclusive customers creates variants of variants to satisfy their exclusive needs, but one thing that will always win out is range and speed. But let us not forget the real reason you have a Gulstream in this upper echelon of society, money and wealth. A variant of the Gulfstream V or GV-SP with a new flightdeck display system, airframe aerodynamic and engine improvements and the main entry door is moved forward, this aircraft is marketed as the G-550. Presented here is a Gulfstream G550 version for the X-Plane Simulator and the price is US$31.95, but in that you will get both an X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 versions. Oddly there are very few Gulfsteams in X-Plane, a few but not one really worthy of our talents, so obviously we welcome a quality aircraft to fill in that empty void from first time developer AKD Studios Compared to the Gulfstream V, drag reduction details boost range by 250 nmi (460 km) and increase fuel efficiency. Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is increased by 500 lb (230 kg) and takeoff performance is enhanced. A seventh pair of windows is added and the entry door is moved 2 ft (0.61 m) forward to increase usable cabin length. The PlaneView flight deck features cursor control devices, Honeywell Primus Epic avionics, standard head-up guidance system by Rockwell Collins and enhanced vision system by Elbit, improving situational awareness in reduced visibility conditions. Initial long-range cruise altitude is FL 400-410, first hour fuel burn is 4,500–5,000 lb (2,000–2,300 kg) decreasing for the second hour to 3,000 and 2,400 lb (1,400 and 1,100 kg) for the last hour. Flight hourly budget is $700-950 for engine reserves, $250 for parts and 2.5 maintenance hours. It competes against the Bombardier Global 6000, which has higher direct operating costs and less range but a more spacious cross section, and the Dassault Falcon 7X with fly-by-wire flight controls, better fuel efficiency and a wider but shorter cabin. More importantly Range is an astounding 6,750 nmi (7,770 mi, 12,500 km), the aircraft is a transcontinental, trans oceanic capable aircraft. First thoughts are on that extraordinary 93 ft 6 in (28.50 m) wingspan. Without doubt there is a notable talent here. But the G550 from AKD Studios is still a first project. As noted it is very good, but not at or to that extreme level that you would expect from say Aerobask. There are a few areas still here that are under fine development that can only come with experience, then add in the current X-Plane Beat phase (B9). First impressions are of a clean but currently basic aircraft. The modelling is actually excellent, shape and contours are quite perfect, love those huge fine wings with vortex generators, in fact the vortex generators are positioned on every surface which is an eye for detail. But there is still that absolute finer detail missing. Most notably around the windows with no screws or rivets.. the huge oval double the size of normal cabin windows needed that little (far) more attention to get their huge size looking right, the internal band does not fit well, and the glass needs more detail to stand out. I am not trying to nitpick here, but this level of this category it requires ultra detail. Powerplants are two Rolls-Royce BR710 C4-11 turbofan engines, 15,385 lbf (68.44 kN) thrust each. The pod design is lovely in shape and proportions, but they feel again slightly unfinished in the finer detail, mostly at the thrust reversers, exhaust. Ditto the tail, again beautifully modeled but missing the finer detailing. The nosewheel is exquisitely crafted, an amazing amount of small detail, down to links and nuts, but again feels slightly unfinished... with the lighting that has no glass. Twin rear assemblies are trailing link, a normal gear arrangement on these executive jets. Again all the modeling and detail is first rate, but the unfinished look and it looks even more pronounced here on the main gear, is it just needs that something more to perfect. Cabin The entrance is via a tunnel like area, into a world of teak wood and gold highlights. This generation of Gulfstream jets gives you a lot of space inside as they are 43.11 feet long by 7 feet wide by 6 feet tall giving it a total cabin volume of 1669 cubic feet, they are the crème de la crème of cabins in size and fitouts. They can carry a crew of four, 2 pilots, 0–2 attendants plus 14–19 passengers plus a payload 6,200 lb (2,812 kg). This cabin is HUGE. The layout here is two sets of club seating (eight chairs) and two large rear sofas. The forward tables are both animated and fold out, but the tables hidden away show the excessive space is highly noticeable, so you feel there are two chairs or a row missing (crew seats?) so the layout doesn't feel quite right. There are some nice gold highlights, and cabin fittings are well done... but there are no window shades (very rare in this category) and the window surrounds are not fitted correctly and very noticeable if by any window. In fact there is not a lot of functionality in the cabin as most switches are all static, except for the high downlighting switches. Going through to the rear there is a nice bathroom with enough gold to satisfy any Arab Sheikh, not sure they would want to use this toilet though? In the very rear is the baggage compartment which is well done, but there is currently no external hatch (noted as a WIP). The galley/buffet forward is extensive and well done with some nice highlights, at least there are not items sitting around waiting to be thrown around the cabin as most do. The cabin is very good and even very nice, but in this jet category the competition in this area is extremely high, as noted you feel that more seating is required and a bit more functionality to compete at this level, but for a first development it is very good overall. One odd thing is that there are no cockpit doors to separate the office from the cabin, a poor oversight? Another oddity is that there is a significant step up into the cockpit, so you feel there is a small step missing. Cockpit Most private jet cockpits are small, even cramped and the G550 is no exception. The G550 cockpit is very fitted out, even the highlight of the aircraft... looking in closer it feels a bit in not being totally finished. Mostly in areas like animations (movements) and hollow vents. Both well made pilot seats don't move and are positioned slightly too far back, the armrests are not animated either. The third crew seat behind the Co-Pilot is not workable either... and so on. Forwards and the instrument panel is huge as there is so much detail here, that you get your money's worth delivered here alone. There is an extensive Overhead Panel and you also have a very large even bulky centre console. Power on.... Yokes are excellent, thin and tawny. There are the options to have the yoke clipboards, both on, both off, or even the choice of either pilot yoke. Symmetry Flight Deck The Gulfstream Symmetry integrated flight deck is based on the Honeywell's Primus Epic integrated avionics system, the Symmetry Flight Deck is one of the most advanced in business aviation. There are four huge displays Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display (AMLCD) that use the Next Generation Flight Management System (NGFMS). Basically they breakdown to the two external PFD (Primary Flight Displays), and the two inner MFD (Muliti-Functional Displays). Notable here is the detail of the Gulfstream specific glareshield "Display Controller".... this system allows you to interface with the PFD and MFD and set settings. It is basically a simple push-button controller and easy to access and set. Selections include; PFD, MAP, SENSOR, FLT REF, TEST, CHKLIST - SYSTEM, 1/6 - 2/3, TRS, NAV, HUD. By my estimation about 60% of the system is currently working? But this is a very deep system, I suppose more detail will come with updates. Upper left buttons select the system area you want to access, and the right display has selection buttons to access the item, it is complex, but easy to use in the same instance. Once you work out where each selection is (or have a printed guide) then the system is easy to use. Here you can select 2/3 of the PFD (or have the engine or data readouts left 3rd of the screen) or use FULL which gives you the full basic flight instruments Artificial Horizon top and the Horizontal Situation Indicator lower. Artificial Horizon, Speed and Altitude tapes, Bank roll scale and roll pointer, Vertical Speed markers, Pitch markers, ILS bars and AOA (Angle of Attack) guide. There are 3 HSI selections with 120/180/360º options. The left panel systems is separated into two sections selected from the "Display Controller" (DC) , "Upper" and "Lower". DUI 1 is the PFD, DUI 2 is the MFD. These sections can be changed to show other system items, including; AC/DC Power, APU/Bleed, Brakes, ECS/Press (Environmental), Eng Start, FLT Controls and traffic. Selections are done by pressing the corresponding button to the line. The same sections can be selected in either panel via the Upper or Lower DUI. MFD : The twin centre displays (DUI 2) have Left and Right main panel displays, Left is the Engine Outputs, Right is (Top) Centralised Warning Panel (CWP) or Caution Advisory Panel (CAP), (Bottom) Checklist You have also a main panel have the same menus, you can change them from the DC, but also directly by the in-built menus. Provided are; Map Data, Aircraft Centre (Heading or Plan modes), Hdg, Prev, Next, World and Map which is also a systems menu? Both menus allow you to show Map data (Airports, VORs, NDBs...) as noted there is also a large system menu for each screen, including; AC Power, DC Power, Doors, Fuel, Hydraulic, MAP, CMC, ECS/Press, FLT Controls, Summary. And either display can be used. It is very complex set of menus and required a fair bit of study, but it quite comprehensive as well that covers all the G550's systems. Notable is that currently none of the displays pop-out, but they are quite complicated with an interactive interface that created to mimic a pointer. Overhead Panel (OHP) is really well set out and easy to use. Digital numbers are all used in the readouts. Systems covered are; the Electrical system with all its buses, Full Fire Protection system, the full Hydraulic system, Gulfstream Fuel system and APU system and start up timing. Standard X-PLANE FMS system is at least easy to use, but I would have preferred the authentic Honeywell Avionics. Pedestal is excellent. Top are the backup instruments in a G5 Tape/Artificial Horizon and centre heading instrument, the Gear lever and gear position panel is far right. The main twin-throttles and rear reverser levers are a lovely chrome design, look nice, nice to use. Set each side are the standard Air-brake and Flap levers (UP-10-20-? but could be 30º). Rear pedestal is all radar and radio panels, nicely done is the use of a FMS frame to hold the Radio settings, a simple but clever way of doing it. The Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) is positioned in the glareshield contained each end by each "Display Controller" system. AFCS is dual system, fail-operational, for both the Autopilot (AP) and the Auto Throttle (AT) subsystems. This is accomplished by hosting each system in a different modular avionics unit with two lanes in separate processors. The purpose of the AFCS is to provide Flight Director (FD), AP yaw damper and trim functions. The autoflight system receives computed lateral (roll) and vertical (pitch) steering commands from the FD system for the autopilot and for display on the Primary Flight Display (PFD). In the event the AP is disengaged the pilot can manually fly the steering commands presented on the PFD. The AP and AT systems make up the subsystems of the autoflight system. Menu/Tablet ADK uses the interaction with a tablet for menus. There are two, both placed for each pilot on the window frame. There are eight menu tabs; Fuel Payload, GND (Ground), AviTab, METER, PERF (Performance) Calculator, Checklists and Audio Volume. FUEL : Here you can set your fuel load (Kgs and Lbs), Set Cargo, Set Payload, Passengers, and even the passenger weight. The changes are shown in fuel load, GW (Gross Weight) and ZFW (Zero Fuel Weight. You can see internally into the cabin as well. Three options are also available; Reset Data, Set, and Random. Shown here is reset on the lower left, and loaded on the lower right. GND : There are a few options "Ground Handling Page". On the Static Elements there is a GPU (Ground Power Unit) AC, but also noted a DC Unit and a ASU, but these last two are not currently working in the menu? And there are Chocks and a passenger car. You can open the main door, again a WIP progress Cargo door. Open ALL Doors and Close ALL Doors. Both the static elements Passenger car have separate menus. GPU, flags, pitot covers and chocks are all presented, but no inlet or exhaust engine covers? The stairway is excellent with a drop down section and beautiful chrome rails. The Tesla 3 car is a bit odd? It is first not to scale and second the wheels don't rotate, so it sort of moves around like in a fairground. ADK have tried to do the same passenger delivery and return as with the Hot Start Challenger 650, but hasn't pulled the idea off as well, a rethink of the idea is needed here? AviTab : AviTab (Plugin Required) is available and a nice to have. METAR : This tab will give you the latest METAR (METeorological Aerodrome Report) weather report by entering your current ICAO. I found it crashed (froze) so I can't say it worked? PERF (Performance) Calculator : There is a two page comprehensive performance calculator that can take data from the FUEL and METAR pages and fill in the required data, including : (Takeoff) DATA, AIRPORT INFO, TAKEOFF SPEEDS, FLAP LIMITS, (Landing) DATA, AIRPORT INFO, LANDING SPEEDS and FLAP SPEEDS. SETTINGS : In settings you can set the various aircraft options, including; IRS Alignment (Time), Refuel (Time), Hide Yokes, Pause on TOD (Top of Descent), EFB Units (Kg/Lbs), Aircraft Temp units (Cº/Fº), Aircraft Weight Units (Kg/Lbs), Sync (Baro), Nosewheel (Roll/Yaw/Tiller, Tail Registration, Kill Objects and optional Yoke Clipboards. CHECKLIST : There is a very good checklist that you can also check off (green), navigation is easy and so is the resetting of the lists. SOUND : Sound panel is currently quite basic, with sliders for (Master) Volume, Exterior Volume, Interior Volume, Co-Pilot Volume and Radio Volume. __________________ Flying the Gulfstream G550 Start up is easy. APU power on, then the Bleed (APU) and "Isolation", then you select Master Start and Crank (Ignition).... ... selecting START, you flip up the cover and select the right or left engine you want to start... then when the HP (High Pressure) gets to around 16%, you flip up the corresponding FF (Fuel Flow) lever on the "Fuel Control" panel below the throttles. All engine start is FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine (or electronics) Control) controlled. Notable are the excellent readouts for the voltages, every selection you make (even the switching on the Bleeds) is registered on the APU or voltages readouts, it looks and feels extremely authentic as is also the engine start up procedures. Start up engine sounds are also absolutely excellent, very impressive, you really feel those RR engine at your back and externally by the aircraft which are both very forceful, throaty and purposeful... impressed. Once the engines are running, you clean up the OHP (Bleeds, Start, Crank and APU), and then you are ready to go. Warnings in C-Caution and W-Warning are related to the Centralised Warning Panel (CWP), and a really big feature is in testing the controls and seeing your actions on the FLT Controls panels. Another feature I like is the brake pressures being in your face... here are my foot brake pressures being on show, a full regular (pinky finger) brake pressures are also registered, but have no effect on slowing the aircraft, so it is all down to the footwork, but I love the readouts. It is busy here today at LUX (Luxembourg Airport - ELLX). Finally after a departure of a Cargolux B747F, I can line up on runway 06. Power up those two two Rolls-Royce BR710 C4-11 engines and your moving... fast. You get that awesome roar in your ears and your just gone! ELLX runway 06/24 is as bumpy as hell but you can cope here, 165 kts and you rotate (Flap 10º)... You have to be seriously careful in not to over-rotate, it is very easy in doing that and in setting the take-off trim quite low, this baby wants to climb! In fact the G550 has an enormous climb rate of 3,650 feet per minute and almost straight up... You have to love this... a Gulfstream and X-Plane 12, Heaven. Well you can stay in heaven for a very long time at a 6,750 nmi (7,770 mi, 12,500 km) range, with a High Speed Cruise: M0.85 at 41,000 ft (12,497 m) or the standard Long Range Cruise: M0.80 at 41,000 ft (12,497 m), and you can cover the ground with a Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (16,000 m) God that is almost as high as Concorde... impressive isn't it. Lighting Cockpit lighting has about 12 adjustment knobs, but setting the different lighting options is a bit hit or miss, mostly it all works, but like a lot the different choices breaks down to that most work, but a lot don't... it feels all a "bit last minute to get it done ready". I'll explore more then add back in later into this section... overall it looks like this, when sorted though it should be really good as the basics look good. Cabin lighting is the same, buttons under each lighting panel only work the odd light, or even the set of lights on the next panel... I don't know if there is roof lighting or any galley lighting? External lighting is not refined either... main land and taxi lights are a bit overexposed, however there is nice navigation, beacon and strobe. Ice (wing lighting) is basic, the wheel-well lights work but the tail lighting doesn't. There is also a "Pulse" effect on the main landing lights? Overall again the external lighting is all a bit hit and miss. There is a CAS (Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System) that works with (in my case) Traffic Global, I never got the A/T (Auto Throttle) to work? and a note from the developer says it's coming in an update, doesn't matter here anyway as most Private Jets flying is usually using the manual throttle. Cruising at FL400 (40,000ft) is the only way to fly halfway round the globe. TOD (Top of Descent) and it is time to go down. The G550 can climb high, very high. So you tend to be a bit more excessive in the rate of descent. Here I'm using a rate of 2,700 fpm to go down, and in doing that steep rate the aircraft will protect itself by deploying the airbrakes automatically, but be aware also to retract them later as they don't auto close. I pass EVRA-Rika, Lativa while still screaming down at 2,500 fpm, but you need not worry as everything rubs off very quickly in both speed and altitude. The one thing you realise are that these Gulfstreams are incredibly versatile thoughout all their performance profiles. Sounds I am liking. Audio here is not overly excessive or even brilliant, but with the long distance cruise you can do with this machine that you can arrive without a headache, so no repeatable loops or droning (thank god). Being a long distance hauler that is important. In time I would expect more and better sound detail, but for now they are fine. X-Plane 12 is quite spectacular when it wants to be... a far, far cry from X-Plane 11. First 90º turn to the centre line from EVRA RWY 18, yes it is as brilliant in feel as it looks... Second 90º turn to the centreline of the approach... Riga is not a particularly hilly or mountainous approach but you do have a GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System) if you need it. Final lineup to RWY 18... Again Spectacular. Full flap (30º) your approach is around 130 knts... Flap detail and operation very good by AKD, in feel lowering the flaps doesn't throw you around either, so it is a smooth approach phase. Final, final approach speed is around 125 knts, you don't get thrown around either with the size of this Private Jet of which can happen in smaller machines, it feels more like a commercial aircraft than a light jet. (Shaking my head) Spectacular machine isn't it... I struggled to get the G550 nose up correctly for the flare, honestly I need to find the right point on the pitch trim to get that phase right, practise as usual will always help. I get the pitch I want in the end and it is nice touch landing at around 118 kts, very close to the stall speed around 115 knts. Powerful thrust reversers are nice, but they need a bit more detail than just showing the cans... I didn't get the ground airbrake on landing because I couldn't find the selector, it is a "Arm" button far rear of the centre console under a flap? The full landing configuration is shown on the PFD, I really still can't get over how much I like this visual FLT arrangement. Hello Riga, Latvia.... but where can I go next, this Gulfstream gives me a lot of great global options. _____________ Liveries There are only five liveries with the package, but a full list is being created on a Google Doc site. A paintkit is included. I have selected a few off the Docs page here. AKD livery is the default. Included in the package are AKD House, N345LC, NetJets N528QS and the two Polish Airforce. _____________ Summary In world of the elite, then the word of Gulfstream is the biggest token you can play in this upper exclusive club. The Gulfstream G600/G700/G800 Series was built upon the last series of G500/G550 Series and that series evolved out of the Gulfstream V as the GV-SP. Here we have the previous generation in the G550 which was discontinued in July 2021, but this aircraft is still a major global trotting machine with both oceanic and transcontinental in range, it can fly high as well to an almost sub-orbital 51,000ft. First an almost disclaimer on the review and the aircraft. The Gulfstream G550 is a first time project by AKD Studios and obviously they have to pick an extremely complex aircraft to start with, add in a release in the middle of a new X-Plane 12 Beta run (B9) and you can expect a lot of bugs and weird things with the aircraft. It's not like that at all in context, in fact it flies very well. But there are many areas here also not finished or refined, that includes also the missing manual with the aircraft that reflects here in less technical detail to be covered and features that can be missed. Impressive however the G550 still is. Systems are comprehensive and are excellent in operation, including the excellent Gulfstream "Display controllers" (menus) and all DUIs are covered by a four display screen arrangement that has the built in Gulfstream Symmetry integrated flight deck is based on the Honeywell's Primus Epic integrated avionics system. Custom CAS (warnings), Ice and rain protection system (X-Plane 12), IRS system and a full (menu) Electronic Flight Bag (EFB)... it's an impressive list. Modeling is very good but your not going to get extreme Aerobask quality here, but many of the areas are really just not only refined or even completed, annoying are the cabin window frames that are badly (or rushed) designed, the missing external cargo door and all the lighting inside and out feels again only half finished. But I'm looking more and far down the road here as the basics are very good, if excellent in areas, it is the old adage of what a difference a month could make to the project. Personally I absolutely love the Gulfstream G550. X-Plane has wanted a really excellent transoceanic Private Jet for decades and here it is, it is also available in X-Plane 11 and more importantly in X-Plane 12 in the same value package of just over US$30. For your money you get a lot of aircraft with it's Gulfstream related systems. in 2023 it will be certainly the power jet you need in the X-Plane 12 Simulator, like I said I love it, and now I just want a lot more of flying the machine to every corner of the Globe. ________________________________ The Gulfstream 550 by AKD Studio is NOW available here at the X-Plane.OrgStore GLF550 - Ultimate Business Jet by AKD Studio Price is US$31.95 This aircraft is X-Plane12 supported, but to note it is in Beta form. Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 - both versions included -Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1 GB Current version : 1.0 (October 28th 2022) Download for the Gulfstream 550 by AKD Studio is 1.03GB And the final install in X-Plane Aircraft folder with the above loaded liveries is; 2.53gb. Authorisation is required. The AviTab plugin is also required to use this aircraft, and it is deposited in your X-Plane Plugins folder. Simbrief proflie is; https://www.simbrief.com/system/dispatch.php?sharefleet=256234_1658264083720 Documents Only the standard Laminar Reseach FMS manual is supplied. And no aircraft manual is currently available FMS_Manual Designed by AKD Studios Support forum for the Gulfstream G550 _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 30th October 2022 Copyright©2022: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Computer System: Windows - S1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU / 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo M2 2TB SSD - Sound : Yamaha Speakers YST-M200SP Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.00B7 (This is a beta review). Plugins: JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : RK Apps XPRealistic v2 - US$34.99 Scenery or Aircraft - ELLX - Luxembourg Findel Airport v2.1 by JustSim (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.95 - EVRA - Riga International Airport v2 by JustSim (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$18.50 (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  7. NEWS! - Scenery Released : LICD- Lampedusa Airport and Linosa Island, Italy by Cami de Bellis Where is it? It's an Italian Island, but in reality it is nowhere near the Southern Italian coastline, more adjacent to Tunisia, Africa than Europe. Lampedusa is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pelagie Islands from the Greek pélagos meaning "open sea", are the three small islands of Lampedusa, Lampione, and Linosa, located in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Tunisia, south of Sicily. To the northwest lie the island of Pantelleria and the Strait of Sicily. All three islands are part of the commune of Lampedusa. Geologically, part of the archipelago (Lampedusa and Lampione) belongs to the African continent; politically and administratively the islands fall within the Sicilian province of Agrigento and represent the southernmost part of Italy. Despite pockets of agriculture, the islands are unnaturally barren due to wanton deforestation and the disappearance of the native olive groves, juniper and carob plantations. Fifty years ago much of the landscape was farmland bounded by dry stone walls, but today, the local economy is based on sponge fishing and canning, supplemented by tourism in Lampedusa. Here is another detailed Cami de Bellis scenery with the addition of complete terrain mesh for the entire islands of Lampedusa and Linosa by Maps2XPlane, yes the same Maps2XPlane that did the excellent islands coverage of Faroe and Savlbard. So obviously you have a great combination of skills and quality scenery here. Features Highly accurate scenery for LICD- Lampedusa Airport and Linosa Island with all buildings modeled. Over 160 custom objects all with Ambient Occlusion Custom Terrain Mesh for the entire island of Lampedusa and Linosa by Maps2XPlane Custom Overlay/Autogen Scenery based on CDB assets by Maps2XPlane" Photo real textures on buildings, vehicles, trees… Photorealistic ground textures based on a satellite image 50 cm. Detailed airport objects and GSE vehicles Custom textured taxiways, runways, and apron Custom surrounding buildings Custom airport lights HD Custom Overlay High-resolution building textures – all in 2K and 4K Excellent night effects World Traffic 3 compatible Native characters and vehicles created specially Ground traffic The terrain mesh is complemented with custom overlays: dense vegetation and country-typical autogen, as well as custom road networks with dynamic traffic. Two heliports, for those fans of helicopters. One at the beautiful Linosa Island, and the other on the US Loran Station Base. This LICD scenery is X-Plane 12 only Images of LICD- Lampedusa Airport and Linosa Island are courtesy of Cami de Bellis ________________ Yes! LICD- Lampedusa Airport and Linosa Island by Cami de Bellis is Available now from the X-Plane.Org Store here : LICD- Lampedusa Airport and Linosa Island Price Is US$18.90 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP 11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2.7 GB Current version 1.0 (January 11th 2024) ________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 12th January 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  8. I always read your reviews before buying a new plane. You've been with X-Plane for a long time and I thought I would write to give you another perspective as a new user and former commercial pilot. I finally thought about getting MSFS at the end of the summer after being out of general flight simming for a long time (been into DCS the last few years), but I read many posts from users who are switching to X-Plane from MSFS because of the better physics, etc. So, I downloaded the free trial at the end of Sept. and was completely blown away. DCS has great maps and blowing stuff up is a lot of fun, but it's really just a small sandbox. X-Plane gives you the whole world with both VFR and IFR. It took weeks to understand scenery, plugins, the directory structure for airplanes and fms files, LittleNavMap, Simbrief, etc. But I have to tell you, it's been an extremely rewarding experience. AutoOrtho is a game changer and will only get better. It's hard to put into words how impressed I am with it combined with Simheaven. For example, I flew low over my old university, UBC in Vancouver, in the C172 and there's a cairn on a small grass area between buildings that has a red engineering E on it. Simheaven knew there should be a small structure there, and while it didn't have the engineering cairn in its object database, it put a small monument instead. That's still incredible being computer generated from satellite pictures. I'm sure that level of detail can be found for most of the world - can't get that in DCS. The next day I took off to Alaska in the Toliss A340 and with the save situation feature I first practiced the approach in good weather then repeated it many times with worsening weather and at night. Tons of fun. There's something for everyone. X-Plane 12 isn't perfect, but to somebody new who is willing to put in the time with scenery and addons, you can't get a better experience flying VFR and IFR in study-level airplanes. Yes, everything should be fixed quickly by Laminar and we shouldn't need plugins to fix things like dark cockpits, but if you can download and install a fix in minutes then I'm not going to complain. Luckily, I didn't have to go through the initial teething process the first half of the year, but now it's ready for mainstream and I'm sure more and more users will be making the switch. Keep up the good work and hopefully you'll be refreshed in the New Year.
    3 points
  9. Aircraft Review : F-104 FXP Starfighter by Colimata This is the first operational fighter aircraft to fly a sustained twice the speed of sound. It is of course the Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter", or otherwise known as a "Missile with a man in it". The F-104 is a pure machine built for pure speed, it looks fast... Supersonic fast, just a long pointy fuselage, with those small straight, mid-mounted, trapezoidal wings, and a high stabilator (fully moving horizontal stabilizer) which was mounted atop the fin to reduce inertia coupling, it was the ultimate interceptor aircraft. Of course NASA loved it, the USAF not so much. But an iconic aircraft it still was. The F-104 is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multi-role aircraft in the early 1960s and was produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States than within. Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited USAF air bases across South Korea in November 1951 to speak with fighter pilots about what they wanted and needed in a fighter aircraft. At the time, the American pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, and many felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American fighters. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance, especially high-speed and high-altitude capabilities.[4] Johnson started the design of such an aircraft upon his return to the United States. In March 1952, his team was assembled; they studied over 100 aircraft configurations, ranging from small designs at just 8,000 lb (3,600 kg), to large ones up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg). To achieve the desired performance, Lockheed chose a small and simple aircraft, weighing in at 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) with a single powerful engine. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79 turbojet, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs. Colimata is a well known X-Plane developer of considerable skills. His main claim to fame has been the extraordinary Concorde FXP project, complex but truly original to the most famous airliner ever built. Colimata is not immune to fast military jets either, as his earlier projects were the FA18-F Super Hornet and the MiG-29 Fulcrum. This F-104 however is all new, and available only for X-Plane 12. First the F-104 Starfighter by Colimata comes in three different variants, the FXP G, the FXP S and the FXP 21C (21st century). You can see what variant you are flying by the menu notice in the X-Plane Banner. ‘G’ F-104G was the most-produced version of the F-104 family, a multi-role fighter-bomber with a total of 1,127 aircraft built. They were manufactured by Lockheed, as well as under license by Canadair and a consortium of European companies that included Messerschmitt/MBB, Fiat, Fokker, and SABCA. The type featured a strengthened fuselage, wing, and empennage structures; the larger vertical fin with fully powered rudder as used on the two-seat versions; fully powered brakes, a new anti-skid system, and larger tires; revised flaps for improved combat maneuvering; and a larger braking chute. Upgraded avionics included the Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B radar with air-to-air, ground-mapping, contour-mapping, and terrain-avoidance modes, as well as the Litton LN-3 inertial navigation system (the first on a production fighter). Here the "G" is the most authentic and the base version of the F-104 package. "S" F-104S was upgraded for the interception role, adding the NASARR R-21G/H radar with moving-target indicator and continuous-wave illuminator for semi-active radar homing missiles (initially the AIM-7 Sparrow), two additional wing and two underbelly hardpoints (increasing the total to nine), the more powerful J79-GE-19 engine, and added were two additional ventral fins to increase stability. The M61 cannon was sacrificed to make room for the missile avionics in the interceptor version, but was retained for the fighter-bomber variant. Typically two Sparrow and two (and sometimes four or six) Sidewinder missiles were carried on all the hardpoints except the central (underbelly), or up to seven 750 lb (340 kg) bombs (normally two to four 500–750 lb [230–340 kg] bombs). The F-104S was cleared for a higher maximum takeoff weight, allowing it to carry up to 7,500 lb (3,400 kg) of stores; other Starfighters had a maximum external load of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg). Its combat radius was up to 775 mi (1,247 km) with four external fuel tanks "21C" or 21st Century. It is the most modern variant which can be seen immediately from the cockpit instruments with the digital displays. It doesn't exist obviously, as there is no real "21C" but F-104's do come with digital instruments as shown in the video. Debatable here is there should be a YF-104A variant, this is the NASA No.818, and this aircraft was flown for 19 years as a flying test bed and a chase plane. The Colimata F-104 comes in that original skin metal only livery. The airframe was all-metal, primarily duralumin with some stainless steel and titanium as part of the structure. The fuselage was approximately two and a half times as long as the airplane's wingspan. The wings were centered on the horizontal reference plane, or along the longitudinal centerline of the fuselage, and were located substantially farther aft on the fuselage than most contemporary designs. The aft fuselage was elevated from the horizontal reference plane, resulting a "lifted" tail, and the nose was "drooped". This caused the aircraft to fly nose up, helping to minimize drag. As a result, the pitot tube, air inlet scoops, and engine thrust line were all canted slightly from centerline of the fuselage. The Colimata F-104 is beautifully done, it glows in the X-Plane 12 sunshine, the light bouncing off the metal realistic skin. You can feel the "Skunk Works" talent here, in the way they created and crafted these formidable machines, metallurgy at it's finest. The panels and rivet patterns are beautifully crafted, and of course those razor sharp wings... notable this is the "S" variant. The wing design was extremely thin, with a thickness-to-chord ratio of only 3.36% and an aspect ratio of 2.45. The wing's leading edges were so thin (.016 in; 0.41 mm) that they were a hazard to ground crews. Hence, protective guards were installed on them during maintenance. The thinness of the wings required the fuel tanks and landing gear to be placed within the fuselage, and the hydraulic cylinders driving the ailerons were limited to 1-inch (25 mm) thickness to fit. You can see the different types of metal here to absorb the engine output heat, and the built in fuselage Speedbrake doors Flaps are "Barn Door" deep, and note the extremely large aileron for supersonic control and manoeuvrability. Notable is the Boundary Layer Control System (BLCS) at the rear side of the wings right above the flaps. Compressed air is taken from the compressor of the engine and injected in the airflow right above the flaps. This improves lift by reducing the probability of turbulent airflow above the flaps. This way reasonable landing speeds were achieved. Because the vertical fin was only slightly shorter than the length of each wing and nearly as aerodynamically effective, it could act as a wing-on-rudder application, rolling the aircraft in the opposite direction of rudder input. To offset this effect, the wings were canted downward at a 10° negative-dihedral (anhedral) angle. This downward canting also improved roll control during high-G maneuvers, common in air-to-air combat. Under the fuselage are both the central ventral fin, and this being the "S", the twin empennage structures. The maw of the jetpipe exhaust is excellent, not only externally, but deep internally as well in finite detail. The stabilator is also razor thin, and has a very wide tilt angle, all set in a T-Tail configuration. The undercarriage is a simple three wheel setup, basically very basic in a system to fold up into the tight fuselage. Extremely well executed here by Colimata with metal hydraulic piping the highlight, and all of the internal bay detail is a feast for the eyes, links and joints are also perfectly created, and note the taxiway lights mounted internally on the outer bay doors. Single nose wheel is again simple, with the single landing light on the front strut, again the internal bay detail is excellent, notice with the way the twin doors frame and clamp the strut when closed. Glass is excellent as well... a deep dark green tint, shows off the thickness of the glass, and reflections are perfect. The canopy opens to the left side, and you can see the mottled glass detail... the frame is extraordinary in it's perfect detailing. Externally there is a well developed "Cold War" style pilot, he is not animated, but looks authentic. Cockpit This is the ultimate "Cold War" warrior, the next generation up from the Second World War fighters. The detail is very black, but worn, highly realistic and authentic. Colimata has done a really great workmanship in getting the details right, right down to the worn text, that needs a second glance to read it. Bit of trivia... the original F-104 had a Stanley C-1 Ejection Seat, and this seat ejected downwards through the floor at 500ft, this was to clear the high T-Tail for a safe ejection from the aircraft... later F-104s used the Martin Baker Q7 seat, this seat was now powerful enough to clear that troublesome tail. Here it is the later Q7. The ejector seat works! so don't pull the hoop unless you want to vacate the aircraft, oh and get rid of the canopy first as well.. The simple stick has no operational buttons or switches, but can be hidden via "hotspot" on the base. The three different G, S and 21C instrument panels are all quite different with their layouts. It is best to study them all and then select the one you like, as each have a very different role. I'm going to stay with the original "G" layout. It is a complicated panel layout, and you would need a little study before serious use. The manual provided "Quickstart", is in my mind a little bit too under detailed for the complexity here, you need the areas to be broken down and explained, this is only a "Quickstart" so a better manual as noted might follow, it is needed. Dials and gauges are beautifully created and reflective, very realistic. Centre seven dials cover (anti-clockwise) AirSpeed, Angle of Attack, Vertical Speed (V/S), Artificial Ball Horizon, Turn and Bank rate, a Position & Homing Indicator (sort of Heading Indicator) and Altitude. Left is a G-Meter, Radio Altimeter, and right are the engine RPM, Temperature, Oil Pressure, Fuel Flow and Nozzle Position, the Whisky Compass is upper left glareshield... sticking out far right is a intricate clock/chronometer. Lower panel is the Engine Start and Landing/Taxi lights far left, then the Weapons panel, landing gear switch is here as well. Central is the huge RADAR system, that covers both AIR to AIR mode and AIR to GROUND mode. Right lower panel is the Cabin Pressure, and internal and external fuel gauges. Oxygen is far right. Side panels are again quite different between the variants. On the "G" the layout is smaller and less detailed, highlight is the lovely white stubby throttle lever, the Flap position indicator is set behind, but you can also hide the throttle if you want to. Left side has radio, fuel switches, Radar position lever (nice) and Stability Control. Right side has Oxygen Regulator, IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), IN Inertial/flightplan (note here, this panel tends to move around, on the 21C it is lower left Instrument panel) and ECM. There are various types of displays between the G and S/21C. Here there is no flightplan screen on the G, but on the other variants. The G has a "Range Timer", the S the fully interactive flightplan panel. The autopilot is very basic, in a set the aircraft and "HOLD" the situation in Altitude and Mach, you can TURN left or right via the lower switch. But it is in the extreme detailing that you get here, something simple like opening the canopy is a marvel to watch, the catches are all animated and reassuring that the canopy will be safely locked down at Mach 2, they click and clank as well... it's all beautifully done, and more importantly VR (Virtual Reality) ready, with the goggles on, you will be immersed in a Cold War environment like no other. Menu The menu GUI is accessed on the X-Plane banner Menu under the aircraft title, the CHECKLIST window is here as well. There are Eight tabs to select on the menu; MAIN, SETTINGS, ROUTE LOADING, EQUIPMENT, WEAPONS, FUEL, DOORS & GROUND and STATUS. If you have Colimata;s Concorde they are all quite familiar in design and use. MAIN tab is a welcome screen. SETTINGS: Covers PRO Mode. This mode changes the aircraft from simple (aerodynamics and systems) to the PRO mode, where you get access to everything, but be aware the already difficult F-104 is far more harder to fly and use. SOUND, Includes Engine Volume internal and external, cockpit fans, G-Suit sounds and Oxygen mask sounds, RADAR, HD Resolution and Simple mode or heavy shadows, MORE includes, Simple Air-refueling, Cockpit lamp glow and Intake doors... here you can have the optional variable (moving) intake doors on the "S" and "21C" variants. Before we go any further. You will find that most systems here on the Colimata F-104 are very X-Plane default based, so if you know how X-Plane systems work, then you will easily understand how to set up and use the F-104. ROUTE LOADING: Here is a Flightplan Loading tool. flightplans are stored in the X-Plane "Output/FMS plans" folder and can be accessed and loaded via this tab. Obviously they have to saved in the .fms format. EQUIPMENT: There are four options on the "Equipment" tab... Selecting the Air Re-Fuel Probe, Radar Warn Receiver.. which is located top right instrument panel, Chaff Flare Dispensers... which are both located on each side of the rear exhaust pipe, and the Rocket Motor! WEAPONS: Weapons are selected via the X-Plane "Flight/Weight&Balance/Weapons menu, standard X-Plane default settings. The list is huge at a mix of 22 armaments and fuel tanks for the 10 stations on the aircraft. Overload and you get a RED weight indication "Caution Very Heavy Aircraft". FUEL: If you add on Fuel tanks in the "Weapons" menu. Then the tank(s) selected will appear in the Flight/Weight,Balance & Fuel Menu to add in more fuel onto the aircraft, again watch the weight as the F-104 is very easily overloaded. A point to make is that if you "Drop" the both wing-tip tanks then you get the "Stubby" wing version of the F-104 Lower menu the page notes your RANGE, in High altitude flight, Mix Altitude flight and Low Altitude flight... Also if your route is loaded, it will note the distance available in NM (Nautical Miles). Also noted if your AIR REFUEL is switched on or not. DOORS & GROUND: This menu gives you options on the ground. You can reveal the RCA AN/ASG-14T1 ranging radar. Put a very nice ladder on the right side of the aircraft, Open/Close the Canopy. There are also four bays you can access... lower right Electronics bay, the left lower Cannon Bay of which is the 20 mm (0.79 in) M61 Vulcan auto-cannon, Top forward is the Avionics bay, and behind it is the Ammunition bay... lower left rear is the RAT (Ram Air Turbine). Centre selections include, a load of flags, pins covers and chocks. There are far too many to even count! Note the lovely wing edge covers and authentic engine inlet covers. Lower D&S menu covers two static items in vehicles. A military Heavy Duty Tanker and GPU (Ground Power Unit) STATUS: The final menu tab is the "Status" of the aircraft. This is a one look view of the total status of the F-104. Included is Fuel and your current Range, System status in Oxygen, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Fuel (system), Landing Gear, Elevator (Trim Position), Aircraft Weight and required Approach, Final and Touchdown speeds. CHECKLIST As noted also on the menu bar is the F-104 Checklist tool The first page is a "walkaround" diagram, it's not animated by set views, but just a guide around the aircraft. The menu window is moveable and scaleable around your screen. There are thirteen checklists from Pre-Flight to (engine) Shutdown. Then four "Emergency" pages and five "Custom Content" pages for your own use. Navigation is via the two PREVIOUS and NEXT buttons. Altogether it is a very comprehensive and detailed menu, certainly very well done by Colimata... Easy to use and has loads of current required data avalable. _____________________ Flying the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Startup sequence will not find a battery switch inside the cockpit. Electric energy is only available as soon as the GPU is connected externally. Complete the cockpit checks, then make sure that the Fuel Shutoff switch is in the ON position. Engage a starter switch. Switch 1 on uneven days, Switch 2 on even days. The engine will start spooling up. Now click on the lower right side of the throttle to bring it from OFF to IDLE position. With this the engine will continue its spool up and the dials start to revolve. This is a very "Ground Crew" aircraft start, you almost want to stick your hand up out of the cockpit and twirl your hand. Engine start up sounds are seriously "Amazing", first the startup compressor, then that familiar whine out of the J79 turbojet, it fills the air in the cockpit (always have the canopy open), the starter switches will go off automatically, when the engine is above 40%, then engage the Generators GEN1 and GEN2. You don't want to close that canopy yet, but to hear the noise, absorb your surroundings. Let of the brakes and a slight throttle and your rolling.. You soak up the feeling, this iconic jet aircraft. Now quickly it is also time to get down to business, and you pull down the canopy... ... suddenly your immersed in another world, a tightly contained space, a cold-war scenario, and the F-104 feels of what it is, a Skunk Works project to go very fast. You need a very long and wide runway to takeoff, those petit fine wings don't give off much lift, so you need a lot of air around them to make them work. Hold the brakes, then put up the throttle to full thrust, yes you will need everything you have for the initial push... You get a dragons ROAR! out of the rear, and when you let the brakes go, the F-104 bounces with the forces, it moves, but slowly at first then gradually gains speed, you need a lot of runway to get enough to get around 200 knts, there is a marker you can adjust for your rotate moment, tracking needs full concentration in keeping the Starfighter tight and straight to the lift point. Even then the lift is slow, worse you have to have a very steady firm hand to keep the F-104 stiff and clean, if not the nose will bounce... Immediately you clean up the flaps, more clean lift is now required, speed as well, more lift... then your climbing out. Gear up next, and the undercarriage all folds into the fuselage and gives you a very nice shiny clean underside, the gear animations are extremely well done by Colimata, very professional. Shredded of it's earthly bounds, the Starfighter will now seriously climb, so you tone the throttle back a bit, rate of climb here is 48,000 ft/min (240 m/s) Initially... fast, really fast, needed as you can fly as high as 73,000 ft (22,000 m), almost in space, SR71 territory (84,000ft). Some points here. The F-104 bounces around a lot, not wind mind you, but just nervy. The nose jiggle is very disconcerting. You can tone this down a little via the X-Plane settings to dull the controls out a lot, then to perfect the trim and it can really help, problem is? that flying like this even for a short time is very tiring, you are working consistently hard all the time in just flying the aircraft. It does get better with familiarity, but the F-104 is not an easy aircraft to fly. The Autopilot is of only a minor help, or relief, so your workload is high in here. A trick is to use the AOA ‘Angles Of Attack’ equivalent gauge. It does not show the exact angles, but a scale that informs you about how near to the maximum AoA the aircraft currently is... the so trick is staying within the boundaries. There is also the APC "Automatic Pitch Control" system which provides additional safety. If AoA value limits are exceeded too far it will even ‘kick’ the stick forward to get back to safe levels, but not when landing gear is down. There was a special version of the F-104 was that ‘NF-104’. It was equipped with a rocket motor in addition to the jet engine. In the 1960s the NF-104 broke many records and it was used in the training for the X-15. The motor can be switched on and off, and the thrust can be set between 50 % and 100 %. The rocket provides thrust for 90 seconds. The rocket panel is only visible if the "Rocket Motor" is selected, situated on the left side. Since air is super thin at high altitudes, the conventional flight controls will loose authority. For this an RCS ‘Reaction Control System’ can be activated. It provides controllability in very thin air. There are both controls for the actual rocket motor, and the RCS system. Re-heat the J79 turbojet, then flick the switch and your head slams back like in the "Right Stuff", and your climbing like.... well "Hell, hang on" actually... dials are twirling and you really can't make any sense of them, you are just along for the ride! Passing through 65,000ft and that air is now extremely thin, and your controls don't respond as they should... the F-104 is EXTREMELY hard to fly up here, slight movements you will are all you need, but if you lose it, then there is no coming back... and you will simply spiral away to your death. It took a few high-altitude flights to get the feel of it all right and to get the use of the RCS system, exhilarating, certainly. Worse is that at these extreme altitudes the jet engine will switch off, and it is required to be restarted during the reentry. If the jet engine nozzle stays open, close it via the emergency engine nozzle handle before the restart attempt. This is not a Air-superiority fighterjet, an agile, lightly armed aircraft and ready to eliminate any challenge over control of the airspace. Even turning is an effort for the F-104, you bank, but you will still take a very wide circumference to go to your new heading. The word "Interceptor", says it all, and in reality it is all the F104 can really do, go fast, go high and "Intercept!" First you climb as high as you need. There is a marker on the Artificial Horizon to get the 15º climb angle perfect, then up you go, almost to 4000fpm... ... now at a high altitude, you can let the F-104 loose, on goes the burner again and your soon pushing a mach, then m.1.5. The aircraft is a handful to keep in a straight bullet line, turning... only for the faint-hearted. I can see and feel why it was called the "Widowmaker". Yes the Starfighter is bullet, but more X-15 than fighter jet. The Autopilot takes ages to settle down on a course and altitude, but in time will hold the aircraft with a "hands off the stick" relief, turning is tricky with the turning knob "left-Right", again it works, but difficult to put the aircraft on a straight heading again, so you readjust with ENGAGE off, then when at a set altitude and heading, then (Re)ENGAGE the Autopilot... and hopefully it will HOLD either the speed or the altitude, you can't have both. The F-104 ships with a sophisticated RADAR system covering AIR to AIR mode and AIR to GROUND mode, in the AIR to GROUND mode can require quite a few computer system resources. It is therefore possible to switch it from HD ‘High Definition’ to a lower definition. Furthermore the interpretation of the AG ‘Air to Ground’ image can be complex. Therefore the system comes with a "Standard-Simple mode" and a "Complex" mode. In "Complex" mode we see the same landscape from above but with ‘RADAR shadows’. If the RADAR beam is blocked by an obstacle, everything behind is in its ‘RADAR shadow’ and will then be displayed black. In AIR to AIR mode or AA mode, we can track and lock on to other aircraft. The available ranges are 20 nm, 40 nm and 80 nm. The RADAR beam sweeps 45° on both sides in the ‘G’ variant and 60° in the ‘S’ and ‘21C’ variants. To lock an enemy aircraft the target line can be moved left or right. When the target line is aligned with the target aircraft, press the ‘lock’ button or use the custom command. When the aircraft is locked (on target) the symbology on the display changes. We then see a circle that represents the distance to the target. The smaller the circle diameter the closer we are to the target. It shows direction and altitude to the enemy jet relative to our aircraft. The system is very good, but needs time to study and work it all out. To be honest I only had the "Quick" guide for information, and you really need a detailed depth of information to use it. Nightlighting Very night fighter... that is the feeling inside the "Starfighter" cockpit, there are a lot of instrument adjustments, but the knobs are spread around both sides of the instruments. Three separate knobs covers the instrument lighting; INTERIOR INSTRUMENT, INTERIOR CONSOLE (sides) and INTERIOR FLOOD. The lighting is the instrument backlighting and two spot lights each side of the pilot. All set at full BRT and it is all a bit overwhelming in the brightness... So the trick is to tone it all down, even below the halfway marker, then it becomes all "Very Nice". Externally you have some very (very) nice rotating beacon's top and lower, and Navigation lights, that can be set to FLASH or STEADY. As noted there are two landing lights on the inner gear doors and a single nose taxi light. Landing is probably one of the trickiest treat of them all. The wings here are relatively small, and therefore they need substantial speed to keep you airborne. The ‘BLC’ Boundary Layer Control’ system above the flaps is of great help and the engine is very powerful in case we need to get out of critical situations. So you need to engage the burner to prevent sinking or even stalling, or for a worst case scenario, for a go-around At the lower speed, the flaps and with the gear lowered the roll rate is also significantly reduced, in other words the stick and rudder responses are dull, laggy. It keeps you on your toes to get the speed right at around 200 knts - 190 kts, that's very fast, with not much control response. If your clean and straight, then all you want to do is plant the aircraft, no groundeffect or lift to help you here, it is a carrier shot in reverse. Touched down should be around 150 knts. Even before the nose hits the ground, you release the "Chute", no reverser thrust here to slow you down, but the "Parachute" is extremely effective, you don't (or even dare) touch the brakes. I recommend to set a key command to deploy or lose the chute, your too busy to look down in the cockpit for the hard to find white "DRAG CHUTE" handle. At taxi speed, you let go of the "chute", then flip the catch and open up the canopy... now you can "Breath". We have to be very clear here, that the Starfighter F-104 has some very, very unsual flying characteristics, this is not a forgiving aircraft, rewarding yes, but totally unforgiving... to fly the aircraft well, it would need a lot of commitment and focus, as it is though all its different flight phases, the one aircraft that changes personalities consistently, it is your job to understand each one of them and master the differences, for the novice, not really, even the usual pro's will find it a challenge, but a major repect to those with the "Right Stuff". In the release I had (early) there was only three liveries; The Metal default, a German Luftwaffe and an Italian Air Force. More liveries will be available for download at no additional cost. __________________________ Summary The first operational fighter aircraft to fly a sustained twice the speed of sound. It is of course the Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter", or otherwise known as a "Missile with a man in it". The F-104 is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), later it was also a NASA test aircraft. Loved more by international Airforces than the American ones. It was created by the famous Lockheed "Skunk Works", and in performance and design it has a the same particular traits as the later SR-71, just to go exceedingly fast. F-104 Starfighter by Colimata comes in three different variants, the FXP G, the FXP S and the FXP 21C (21st century). Known for his excellent Concorde FXP project, Colimata is also not immune to fast military jets either, as his earlier projects were the FA18-F Super Hornet and the MiG-29 Fulcrum. This F-104 however is all new, and only available for X-Plane 12. The F-104 is sensationally designed and developed here, in reality X-Plane, and X-Plane 12 gives this aircraft one of the best positions in Simulation, the top and the best, a very high accolade. It's top notch stuff, the best you can invest in. The quality and detail is excellent, nothing is missed here, that is from the shiny metal skin to the worn but highly detailed cockpit and instruments, super detailed 4k textures and complex landing gear and brake chute. Features are as long as your arm, with an extensive menu. With panels that can open up (Electronics bay, gun bay, avionics bay, radar dome and canopy), ladder, full tags, wing covers and chocks, featured GPU and Fuel trucks, and an NF-104 Rocket and Reaction Control System. There are extensive weapons, with highly replicated "Cold War" era weapon and radar systems, the later 21c has modern glass instruments and avionics. It is extremely tricky to fly, as was the original "Widowmaker", but that is a major part of the attraction to this sort of Simulation, so what you will put in, is what you get out of the aircraft, it is demanding, but highly rewarding as well as it brings out the best of your "Right Stuff", those generation of pilot's that pushed the extreme boundaries of speed and space. This Starfighter aircraft allows you to experience that era and fly something very unique, an icon, a classic... the best of it's time. __________________________ Yes! - the F-104 FXP Starfighter by Colimata is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : F-104 FXP Starfighter Price is : US$45.00 Requirements -Plane 12 Only Windows, Mac and Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Download Size: 941 MB Versions 1.01 - December 1st 2023 Developed by Colimata Support forum the F-104 FXP Installation Installation of F-104 FXP Starfighter XP12 is done via a download of 825 Mb... With a total installation size of 1.17Gb. There is one basic Manual pdf (45 pages) Review System Specifications Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.08b3 (This is a Beta review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - KTCM - McChord AFB - Seattle - Boeing Country 10.5 by Tom Curtis (Sorry not now available) ___________________________ Classic Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 1st December 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  10. Scenery Review: PAWG - Wrangell Airport by Northern Sky Studio By Dominic Smith Introduction Tucked away amidst Alaska's stunning landscape, Wrangell Airport (PAWG) stands as a vital hub to the awe-inspiring natural beauty of America's wilderness frontier. Primarily serving as a general aviation terminal, this airport is an essential lifeline for the community of Wrangell. With its backdrop of rugged mountains, lush forests, and endless waterways, the airport encapsulates the raw allure that Alaska is renowned for. My first meaningful encounters with Alaskan airports, specifically Wrangell and Ketchikan, were thanks to Tom Curtis' memorable Final Frontier and Inside Passages packages. These weren't just ordinary scenery additions for me; they were the linchpin that tethered me to the X-Plane realm, even when FSX was a compelling alternative. There's something about Alaska that mirrors the untamed beauty of Scotland, albeit on a grander scale that staggers the imagination. Following their impressive release of Kenai Airport, Northern Sky Studio is back with their take on Wrangell Airport. Available for both X-Plane 11 and 12, this package aims to capture the unique charm of this Alaskan locale. But can it live up to the high bar set by their previous release? Let's dive in and find out. Installation Upon completing your purchase, you'll discover two versions of the scenery in your account—one tailored for X-Plane 11 and another for X-Plane 12, the latter being the focus of this review. The downloaded package tips the scales at just above 2.5GB, expanding to nearly 3.4GB once unpacked. Within it, you'll find two primary folders: one dedicated to the airport and another named 'terrain'. The installation procedure is as straightforward as they come, as it’s simply a matter of dragging and dropping the relevant folders into your X-Plane 12's Custom Scenery directory. For those with an eye for detail, an additional orthophoto file is available. This will add another 2.5GB to your download but enhances the area with photographic scenery. While not a requirement for this package, I also chose to install X-World America, a separate but optional download, that is recommended by the developer. Documentation The documentation that comes with this package is, to put it plainly, rather sparse. It consists of a one-page PDF that provides just the essentials; guidance for installation and a list of optional add-ons that can enhance the scenery, as mentioned above. While this minimalist guide does cover the installation basics, it leaves much to be desired for those of us who crave a deeper understanding of the airport and its surroundings. There's a noticeable absence of historical context, airport charts, or even a simple map of the area. For simmers keen on learning more about the intricacies of Wrangell Airport or seeking additional context, the provided documentation leaves a lot to be desired. If you're hungry for more information, Google is your friend for digging deeper into the history and layout of the airport. First Look Upon first glance from the skies, the scenery is nothing short of majestic. The snow-capped mountains in the distance serve as a dramatic backdrop, lending a sense of awe and scale that is hard to describe. It's an expansive landscape that truly makes you feel like a small speck in a grand tapestry of nature. The sight of the surrounding area, sprinkled with small islands near and far, evokes a sense of nostalgia. It's reminiscent of my earlier days flying through Tom Curtis' sceneries in X-Plane 9. A trip down memory lane, if you will, to simpler but happy times. The optional orthophoto download proves to be a valuable addition. Not only does it enhance the realism, but it also replaces X-Plane's default ground textures, which often fall short in conveying the proper scale, a crucial element for a scenery like this. As you make your approach, the runway extends invitingly just beyond the mainland, a captivating sight for any pilot. The surrounding ortho scenery retains its sharpness, even at low altitudes, enhancing the overall experience. Near the runway threshold, the area takes on a rustic atmosphere, marked by scattered broken trees that add character to the landscape. The custom runway textures deserve special mention for delivering a realistic look, complete with weathering effects like cracks, oil stains, and rubber marks. The carefully placed foliage along the taxiways is also well-judged, adding a touch of realism without overloading your system's VRAM or affecting framerates. Northern Sky Studio has complemented the default X-Plane signage with their own custom signs, which are crisp and easy to read. These additional signs display essential frequencies and taxiway instructions, offering pilots an extra layer of guidance. The airport also hosts a diverse range of ground vehicles, from standard fuel and catering trucks to a specially modelled fire engine. A static De Havilland Beaver, complete with an extra pair of floats, is a delightful sight, as are the animated flags, which add a lively touch to the scenery. The airport is also populated with the typical clutter you'd expect at a place like Wrangell, such as cones, bins, and ladders. Maintenance buildings and hangars are carefully modelled, conveying a good sense of realism. One hangar in particular even offers an inside look, revealing a static aircraft and various maintenance gear. The Alaska Seaplanes hut is another nice addition, as is the well-populated car park at the rear…or front, depending on how you arrived at the airport. Main Airport Building The airport's main building, much like Kenai, is the highlight of this package. The exterior has been modelled with a meticulous attention to detail, mimicking the appearance of white corrugated metal, which lends it an authentic air. Stepping inside reveals a terminal bustling with life, a feature that has become something of a signature for Northern Sky Studio. If you recall my review of their Kenai Airport scenery a few months back, the interior detail of the main airport building, was without doubt, its standout feature. Wrangell, while not quite reaching those dizzying heights, comes incredibly close. The interior is animated with 3D models of passengers and staff, adding a real sense of life and atmosphere to the building. From seating, an ATM, a drinks machine, and a wall clock to bins and a map of the "Inside Passage", every detail is accounted for. Further Afield Venturing beyond the airport, and there’s yet more to see, as the package also includes a nicely modelled representation of Wrangell's central area. Situated in the northwest corner of Wrangell Island, the urban section is another testament to the developer's attention to detail. While the ortho scenery near the airport remains impressively sharp even at low altitudes, the textures in Wrangell's urban core could benefit from a higher resolution. They tend to look a bit washed out when flying at a lower altitude, which is a bit of a letdown. However, it's worth noting that they are still a significant improvement over the default X-Plane 12 textures. For the most part, the ortho provides a good solid foundation for building placement, but it's not flawless. A few structures appear to be out of alignment or even out of place. Not a game-changer, but worth mentioning for those who appreciate the finer details. The dock area is a focal point, made even more vibrant by a container ship that adds a touch of industrial character. Around the dock, you'll find various small boats, most likely in for maintenance or storage. It's a scene that almost begs for human interaction, but which is sadly missing here. The scenery rounds off with a series of piers and jetties, each teeming with boats of various types, from luxurious speedboats to more modest wooden vessels. The addition of breakwaters adds that final touch of realism to this part of Wrangell. Night Lighting Let's get this out of the way, the runway at Wrangell is as dark as a winter's night in Scotland, staying true to its real-world counterpart. If you're contemplating a night landing, I'd advise against it, unless you fancy a game of aviation roulette! The runway may lack illumination, but the surrounding area doesn't suffer the same fate. Streetlamps dot the vicinity, casting a warm and dynamic light on nearby buildings. It's a small but impactful feature that adds depth to the night-time experience. The main airport building serves as a well-lit oasis amid the airport's limited runway lighting. The interior lighting strikes a perfect balance, as it’s neither too harsh nor too subdued. So, while night flights may be off the table, the terminal provides a cozy, well-lit space where you could comfortably pass the time, perhaps even with a good book…just not the Shining! Finishing off our night-time tour is the container ship docked at the harbour, bathed in dynamic lighting. The stern and aft are particularly well-illuminated, adding a dash of spectacle to Wrangell's nocturnal scene. While the scenery presents an inviting vista during favourable weather conditions, one can't help but ponder how different the experience would be in more adverse conditions. The contrast between a sunny summer day and the harsh realities of an Alaskan winter could be like night and day, adding layers of complexity and challenge to the flying experience. Performance Running on what I'd describe as a midrange setup, Wrangell Airport delivers a performance that's pretty much on the money. My tests showed framerates hovering between 30 and 60 FPS, and that's with most settings cranked up, except for antialiasing, which I kept at a modest 2x (though I bumped it up to 4x for screenshot purposes). VRAM consumption was well-behaved, never exceeding 7GB, even at my go-to resolution of 1440p. I did notice that as the sun dipped below the horizon, the framerate tended to linger more towards the 30 FPS mark. This isn't a Wrangell-specific issue; X-Plane 12 seems to struggle with maintaining consistent framerates during the twilight and nighttime hours. While I've seen some improvements in this department over recent months, X-Plane still needs to iron out these framerate dips during the visually demanding periods of sunset and night. Given the level of detail that this scenery offers, it’s a credit to the developer for managing to keep things as smooth as they have. Conclusion Northern Sky Studio's Wrangell Airport for X-Plane 12 is a highly commendable piece of work, offering a balanced blend of stunning aerial views and meticulous ground-level detail. The main airport building stands as a testament to the developer's skill, with an intricately modelled exterior and a bustling interior that brings a virtual slice of Alaska to your X-Plane world. While it may not quite reach the heights of their previous Kenai release, it certainly stands as a strong offering in its own right, providing an authentic Alaskan experience for X-Plane enthusiasts. The package does have room for improvement though, most notably in its documentation and some minor building alignment issues. However, these are minor gripes and should not detract from an otherwise stellar package, especially considering the low asking price. Beyond the airport, the package includes a detailed representation of Wrangell's urban core, adding value and immersion to your Alaskan flying adventures. Optional ortho imagery and dynamic lighting in this area, only go to enhance its appeal, despite some resolution limitations. In conclusion, if you're an X-Plane enthusiast with a love for Alaska, Northern Sky Studio's Wrangell Airport is a highly recommended addition to your virtual hangar. It impressively balances visual richness with performance, ensuring a rewarding flying, or even just sightseeing experience. ________________________ PAWG - Wrangell Airport by Northern Sky Studio is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: PAWG - Wrangell Airport Priced at $16.95 Features Both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 versions included The most detailed replica of airport buildings and vehicles EDGE, REIL and Taxiway lights can be enabled on 122.600 COM1 Custom hand-placed autogen High resolution ground textures / Custom runway textures High resolution building textures Compatible with all X-Plane 12 features Custom mesh for the airport area (Ortho4XP) All materials created for full PBR Shading and occlusion (texture baking) effects on all airport buildings High-resolution building textures Custom orthophoto for the airport and surrounding areas World Traffic 3 compatible Not compatible with a default mesh Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac, or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2.7 GB Current version: 1.0 (October 16th, 2023) Review System Specifications Intel i5 10400 – 32GB RAM - Nvidia Asus RTX 3060 – Windows 10 Home 64 Bit __________________________________ Scenery Review by Dominic Smith 25th October 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copying of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions).
    3 points
  11. Scenery Review: FHSH - St Helena Airport for XP12 by Cami De Bellis By Peter Allnutt Introduction Like me, you might get a twinge of recognition when someone mentions St. Helena, feeling that you should know where it is or something significant about it. Admittedly, it's been a while since my school history classes, and my memory didn't quite hold up. St. Helena is a tiny and remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, famous as the final exile place of Napoleon in 1815. With a population of around 4,500, the island welcomed its first airport in 2016 and is the subject of this review. Commercial flights began servicing the airport in 2017. Before then, reaching the island required a five-day voyage by ship from Cape Town due to its seclusion. Pilots face considerable windshear challenges when landing on runway 01, influencing special operating requirements at St. Helena. Keep in mind, due to the airport's unique location, pilots must have an alternative landing site in their plans, in case landing at St. Helena becomes untenable. For safety reasons, when an incoming aircraft is more than halfway to the airport, all other flight activities, including takeoffs and approaches, are put on hold to ensure a clear path for the arriving plane. Purchase & Installation You can pick up this scenery package from the Org Store for a reasonable $16.95. It doesn't just cover the airport; it encompasses the entire island of St. Helena, with approximately 80 custom objects and an enhanced terrain mesh. The download size stands at roughly 1.5GB and, once unzipped, it expands to around 2.7GB. Within the package, you'll find three folders, each of which needs to be copied to your Custom Scenery folder in X-Plane. No keys or activation is required, making the installation process refreshingly straightforward. Documentation Included with the package is a concise document located in the “FHSH- St. Helena – Airport” folder. It outlines the installation process, lists the features, and offers an informative section pointing to online resources about the island and its airfield. The document also describes a method for enhancing the default X-Plane map with more detailed data. However, be aware that subsequent X-Plane updates may revert these changes, meaning they will have to be repeated. FHSH - St Helena Airport St. Helena Airport nestles on the eastern side of the island, on Prosperous Bay Plain. The runway stretches impressively, with the southern end elevated to reach the necessary length. Its unique location atop formidable cliffs, introduces the challenge of windshear, thus requiring pilots to undergo specialized training before landing in St. Helena. Within X-Plane, the airport melds seamlessly with the undulating terrain that extends beyond the airport's primary structures. The terminal buildings, depicted with great attention to detail, both inside and out, bustles with life. Intrigued visitors populate even the most hidden corners, including one particularly enthusiastic spectator on the first floor viewing area of the main terminal. The control tower, too, boasts a nicely modelled exterior and interior. Beyond the main terminal lie various smaller edifices, including a finely modelled VOR. Dotted around these structures are numerous smaller items, from satellite dishes to storage tanks, all of which maintain a newness befitting an airfield less than a decade old. The sole exception is the runway, which bears the marks of some rather intense landings. The car park, mirroring its real-life counterpart, features landscaped gardens, and further along, a fire training area complete with a mockup plane and a storage tank facility. Though both are reasonably well modelled, the plane at the fire practice area could have benefitted from a touch more detail. Cami’s rendition of St. Helena strikes a fine balance, injecting life into the scene without overdoing it. The scenery retains a sense of calm, even as commercial aircraft arrive and depart, encapsulating the airport's serene atmosphere. St Helena – The Island Cami’s enhancements to St. Helena extends beyond the airfield to revitalize the entire island with photorealistic ground textures and an improved terrain mesh. The upgrade is a marked improvement over the default X-Plane 12 offering, bringing the island's rugged volcanic topography of peaks, ridges, and valleys to vivid life. The island's vegetation is portrayed with a sparseness that occasionally belies the ground textures’ suggestions of greenery, a slight mismatch that reflects a broader issue within X-Plane rather than this package alone. Longwood House, Napoleon’s final abode in exile and now a museum of notable poignancy, receives a nice custom model. Despite its significance, the house is a stark standout in the scenery, with the surrounding area not quite matching its detail. Jamestown's waterfront comes alive with Cami’s 3D touch, featuring bespoke buildings and a docked ship, lending character to the port. The inclusion of a fictional helicopter pad here, and another by Longwood House, provides opportunities for local flights. Yet, their presence feels as though it could have been better as an optional feature, particularly since the pad near Longwood House is already occupied if static aircraft are activated in X-Plane. While buildings across the island show a tendency towards repetition, and attempts at reorientation don’t quite solve the issue, this stands as a minor quibble, perhaps more indicative of X-Plane’s limitations than any shortfall in the scenery pack itself. Night Lighting When night falls, the airfield dons a vibrant display of lights. The runway gleams with a full array of illumination, mirroring the well-lit terminal, its accompanying structures, and the car parks. Venturing away from the airfield, the lighting takes on a more understated quality, echoing the modest and dispersed nature of the island's population. Interestingly, the port maintains a lively ambience after dark, hinting at a nocturnal bustle. Performance During my testing of this scenery, I encountered no issues affecting performance. Frame rates remained consistently high and stable, devoid of any noticeable lags or fluctuations. To give you an idea of my setup, I'm running X-Plane on an Intel i9 10900K with 32GB of RAM, coupled with an NVIDIA MSI RTX 3090 Suprim X graphics card, all on a Windows 10 Home 64-bit system. Conclusion I’ve enjoyed exploring and flying around St. Helena Airport by Cami De Bellis / CDB Sceneries and Maps2Xplane. While the presence of more diverse vegetation and a wider array of generic buildings would enhance the scenery, these are minor points. In any case, they seem more indicative of X-Plane’s limitations than any shortfall in the scenery design itself. The airport and its surroundings, including Longwood House, are depicted with impressive accuracy, and the bespoke models, around eighty in total, contribute to a relaxed and authentic atmosphere. Although the island's seclusion means you might not fly in or out regularly, piloting your favourite GA aircraft or helicopter over this picturesque landscape is an experience not to be missed. ________________________ St Helena Airport for XP12 by Cami De Bellis is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: St Helena Airport by Cami De Bellis Priced at US$16.95 Features: Highly accurate scenery for FHSH -St Helena Airport with all buildings modeled. Over eighty custom objects all with Ambient Occlusion Terrain mesh created and modified to fix bump terrain and set and correct the topography of the Airport’s area Custom Terrain Mesh for the entire island of Saint Helena by Maps2XPlane Custom Overlay/Autogen Scenery based on CDB assets by Maps2XPlane" Photo real textures on buildings, vehicles, trees… Photorealistic ground textures based on a satellite image. Detailed airport objects and GSE vehicles Custom textured taxiways, runways, and apron Custom surrounding buildings Custom airport lights HD Custom Overlay High-resolution building textures – all in 2K and 4K Excellent night effects World Traffic 3 compatible Native characters created specially The terrain mesh is complemented with custom overlays: dense vegetation and country-typical autogen, as well as custom road networks with dynamic traffic. Two fictional heliports, for those fans of helicopters. One at the beautiful Longwood House, and the other on the shores of the island’s main port; Ruperts Wharf. Requirements: X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac, or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.5 GB Current version 1.0 (August 28th, 2023) Review System Specifications Intel i9 10900K – 32GB RAM - NVidia MSI RTX 3090 Suprim X – Windows 10 Home 64 Bit __________________________________ Scenery Review by Peter Allnutt 10th November 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions.
    3 points
  12. Cami, outstanding work. Not just the airport, but the whole island. I loved the review, and seeing so many familiar faces from the CDB Library. An airport needs a bit of life in my humble opinion, and you set the perfect balance. I'm also impressed by the amazing skill you have at creating the 3D buildings, not just the exterior, but interior too. Just amazing work.
    3 points
  13. Aircraft Update Review : McDonnell Douglas MD-11 v1.08 by Rotate Up at dawn, time to load the freight... we are at Leipzig/Halle Airport EDDP, for a routine flight to the UPS Facility at Philadelphia, US, KPHL. God it's a "Beast" of an aircraft is the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, but Airhaulers love the "Diva". Those ghost pilots that fly at night, unseen, unknown, but moving tons cargo around the world for your livelihoods or self-indulgence. You start the centre positioned No.2 Engine first to provide power and air-conditioning and other AUX systems, then pushback on time (note the BetterPushback issues have now already been fixed). Then once out of the bay, you can start the other two General Electric CF6-80C2D1F high-bypass turbofan engines, rated at 52,200–61,960 lbf each. I'm not going to shy away from the reality. To get the DC-11 ready for flight, there is a lot of filling in of data and setting up of the route. There are a few helpers in the menu. But overall the developers approach is to make this aircraft as realistic and authentic as possible, that is good obviously, but a bit daunting if you are not familiar with these machines and their complex Honeywell Pegasus MCDUs. The instrument panel and DU (Display Units) have very different layouts as well, their operation are also different from most other flightdecks. But these aspects are also the attraction to the aircraft, you are flying and mastering something entirely different, that is also the seduction of the MD-11. The focus with the release of X-Plane 12 in it's beta phase... a Version 1.05 beta (September 26th 2022) allowed the Rotate MD-11 aircraft to function in the new Simulator version. Then two updates followed with v1.05 (October) and v1.06 (December) and both were focused on X-Plane 12. The final DC-11 (official) release for X-Plane 12 was the v1.07 update in March 2023. For a comprehensive look at the aircraft, here is the X-PlaneReviews review of the XP11 release; Aircraft Review : McDonnell Douglas MD-11 by Rotate If you are a "hauler" in these "Heavy, Heavy" aircraft, say a B744F, B748F and the MD-11F. The critical phase is just after you leave the runway. You need to climb (obviously), but with a really heavy aircraft, brimmed with Cargo and Fuel, then you need to coax the machine into the air, then have the skill to keep it up there. You pitch is critical, too low and you lose height, too high and you stall, badly and literally fall out of the sky. Between the two barrier zones to a perfect climb-out, and you usually do it very carefully and slowly... the MD-11 is totally like this. Once settled in at 12,000ft you, then have more flexibility on setting speed (usually for me around 295 knts) and an altitude climb-rate (1800 fpm), down to 1,000 fpm from 26,000 ft up. You would never go to full cruise altitude either, usually say 32,000 ft for the first 500 nm to burn off weight in fuel, then step up 2,000 ft at a time to your cruise altitude, here 36,000 ft, you step the speed as well, from m.76, to the cruise speed of m.82. I learnt these tricks/skills well on an underpowered Boeing 747-200 F with 46,300–54,750 lbf of thrust, compared to the 66,500 lbf thrust of the latest GEnx-2B67 on the B748F and the 52,200–61,960 lbf available here. Before we get into the update... In doing reviews you are also evaluating the current situation of the Simulator as well (X-Plane12.07r1), and how it interacts with your flying. There has been a lot of development around the weather this year in X-Plane 12 by Laminar Research, some changes were really bad very early in the year, but with lots of improvements of reading GRIB forecasts which are based on the National Weather Service (NOAA) since v12.06. But real world simulations are getting very good in X-Plane... Here I was approaching the European Coast and the weather was getting quite nasty. Navigraph have this year added a weather component to there excellent "Charts" application, and you can see the weather topographic mappings, look outside of the MD-11 and I have the same precipitation areas around me... I needed to climb, but instead stayed at FL320 until I saw a gap (shown on the topographic) to finally climb from below the weather, to be on the top (FL360)... I was impressed with not only the exact weather mirrored on the Application, to the weather situation around me, and to take advantage of that... it also shows how X-Plane in this area is also getting very close to the real weather situations we crave, admittedly there is still more development needed for upper level Cirrus clouds and shading, but the improvements are there to not only see, but to feel as well. Update v1.08 But to the business at hand, the latest v1.08 update. There is again a massive list of fixed and improved areas on the XP12 MD-11 in this update, but first three new additions. Added into the MD-11 cockpit are two EFB (Electronic Flight Bags) or tablets, one positioned each side of the pilots. You can adjust the angle of the EFBs to your personal preference, but you can't hide them. Power switch is lower left corner. There are eleven tabs to select from. They are an amalgamation of the MD-11 Menu, and AviTab (Plugin Required). The list is HOME, W&B, GndOps, Fails, Man, Chart, Maps, Apts, Rtes, Data and Notes. All HOME (Options), W&B (Weight & Balance), GndOps (Ground Operations) and Fails (Failures) are all direct copies of the same Menu items found in the Plugins/Rotate MD-11/Aircraft Menu. Basically they have been repositioned there in the tablets for convenience. The other seven tabs are the various AviTab tools set differently. MAN - Manuals This MAN option allows you to navigate folders to find Manuals or Tutorials within the Computer's file system, here set in Windows, and you can display pdfs on the screen. Its clever, handy but pretty basic as well. Chart - AviTab You can insert a navigation chart or other document in the AviTab "charts" folder (X-Plane 12/Resources/plugins/AviTab/charts) and have it appear in this tab... It will also show pdf files, ideal for loading in SimBrief "Briefings". Basically this option would be used if you didn't have a Navigraph or another chart account. Maps Is the standard AviTab Maps function. Apts - Airports Airports is the standard AviTab function to get airport information, and if you have a Navigraph account and access to their charts Rtes - Routes This is the "Route Wizard", A tool to compute a route for you to enter into the aircraft's FMC. First you add in your Departure Airport, then your Arrival Airport and it creates a route for you. Data You use the "Data" tab to authorise accounts, like for Navigraph and ChartFox, both charts can be viewed in the "Apts" (Airports) tab when selected. Notes This tab uses the AviTab "Notes" Function... Honestly I can't get it to work, there are no manual notes and the Rotate Developer doesn't know either... but the idea is to write down notes, but how do you save them? it is supposed to be for VR (Virtual Reality) users. Basically most users are very familiar with AviTab functions and tools, and having it built in well in here is obviously a bonus to the pilot. The last two additions to the v1.08 update, are both for those long distance pilots that move away from the Simulation. There are two options now to pause the Simulator... the first is to pause the Simulation on a "Master" warning alert, the second is again to pause the Simulation before T/D or Top of Descent. The list is split between "Improved" Areas and general fixes. In the improved focus there has been a lot of attention on the ATS (AutoThrottle) in the Servos behavior, in the AFS (AutoFlight) there is improved altitude capture, speed on pitch guidance and better system stability and accuracy. There is also better lateral guidance for NAV/VOR/LOC modes and improved LAND sequence guidance. For engines there is better N1 trim and thrust precision and and engine drag near idle. The VNAV descent prediction has also had attention, drag prediction for non-clean configurations, and finally there are Improved navigation lights textures. I do really like the nice strobe effect, not one strobe but two in sequence. Rotate is always very serious about bugs, finding those nasties in there and improving the Simulation. The list here is very long... 35 fixes that covers a lot of areas, we can't cover every item here, that would drive you nuts, so we will take only the important items. There was a radio bug in the VHF2 Channel, in that it could receive but not transmit, it's been fixed. Flight Mode Annunciations (FMA) has had attention as well, in Altitude mode blinking during capture, and PROF TO (Profile) reading during climb. There was some negative values in the altimeter tapes that have been corrected, a bug in the PERF page predictions. Finally a rounding error in some lat/lon readings (mostly Oceanic coords). There was a discrepancy between active and shown flight plans... fixed. And a problem with direct bearing to AT/B restriction during descent calculation. Also speed used for flight path prediction below speed transition altitude was not working properly. speed tape logic has been refined, and a bug in Vspeeds boxes color codes has also been rectified. On hardware, there was a bug in the start lever sounds, and intermittent repose of TCA hardware handles, toe-brakes didn't work either without a joystick plugged in. The wingflex has also been refined a little better, and for XP11, the wingtip glass (floating) has also been fixed. My thoughts with the UPS flight are actually few, but worth noting. The LWR Cargo TEMP LO warning (yellow) is still (very) persistent, even though Rotate acknowledged the bug very early in the release phase. My other thoughts are with a lot of current classes of complex aircraft, as there is no SAVE feature for the aircraft. Using the default "Situation" save creates a not very realistic return to the cockpit, and a major reset to make the aircraft flyable again. So you are restricted to do a flight from block to block in one go to get a smooth Simulation. Biggest offender is the non-working ATS (AutoThrottle), that refuses to reset, and the gymnastics when you restart the Simulation... it can be reset to fly correctly, but you will need patience and skill to do so. My point is this is very long-haul flying, and sometimes for ten hours in the left seat, and sometimes you have to break up the simulation, of which you can't do here, it also hates the replay and the X8-X16 speed changes with the complexity... And I loath the ghost throttle simulation, there should be an option to hide the distracting animation. The rear rest cabin still has extremely low-res textures and a non-working toilet, and the cargo loading feature, while well done, is still restricted to 4 containers that disappear when loaded, you need better here if you are a serious cargo hauler. MD-11 is a seriously nice machine in the air, one of the best simulations in X-Plane 12. Internally it is a very nice environment, again with the long hours you have to have change from the left seat options, like a snooze in the third rear seat, or a break in the rear... Great to watch is the excellent fuel management system on the MD-11. It has a fully automatic aircraft balance system, like Concorde it pumps fuel forward after takeoff to keep the CG (Centre of Gravity) within limits, shown upper left on the Fuel page display. In flight the pumps are always switching on or off, you don't just have a Tail Tank, but an Auxiliary tank as well. All fuel tanks are simulated here, including the separate outboard and inboard wing compartments, 18 fuel pumps, 16 valves, 5 manifolds and the 4 fuel feed valves... The full system is modeled for as a physical model for fuel flow and thermal behavior. There are also Automatic and manual modes. Quantity, pressure and temperature for each of the fuel tanks are computed separately. All this data is processed in the custom Fuel System Controller, where logic for most of the sub-systems have been written to simulate most of the system’s functions, including fuel scheduling, cross-feed, CG management, ballast fuel management, anti-ice re-circulation, tip transfer, fuel dump, and abnormal operation. Manual mode, failures and electrical dependencies are also simulated. It's altogether very authentic and realistic. Interesting on the MD-11, is that you can only set your departure Takeoff details, but not the Arrival/Approach settings. This is done as you reach your TOD (Top of Descent) phase by pressing the TO/APPR button. Then you set your Flap position and speeds. Secondary is setting your Arrival Radio Approach Frequency, here at Philadelphia, KPHL, Rwy 27L... the Freq is 109.30 IGLC, but you have to wait until it is available from the list to insert. So you insert the ILS Freq 109.30, then you are taken to selection page to select the correct frequency, here LK6 as it has just shown up on the list, selecting the correct frequency will then insert it into the ILS/CRS box, adding in the Course º degree and the ILS name "IGLC. This is a change in selecting from the list, instead of just earlier inserting the ILS Freq late into the the flight. I'm now over Pennsylvania, tracking into JIIMS4 STAR, but I had to make an adjustment to the flightplan with an extra way point VC177 to make a cleaner rounded turn to finals on Rwy 27L. Going into the final turn it's time to drop the gear! "Chunk, Clunk,Clunk" and its down and we are ready for landing. You press the upper large centre APPR/LAND button centre FGCP to ARM the approach phase (as noted this also arms only the LOC if you selected that option) If you have activated the ILS Frequency correctly it will show lower left in the PFD with the set Flap degree, you can also now set the APPR screen in the ECP, for better approaches. Notable is the auto selection of "Single" or "Dual" landing (Land) selections (green banner top right PFD) , it will flash the selection it will use then LOC it in. I'm sitting at 175 knts, but in reality the MD-11 is certainly a gut sort of aircraft in this phase like I found in the release review, the throttle response is very slow on resetting the speed, so you have to be ahead of the aircraft, sometimes by a long way, to get the right speed in the approach phase, same with the ILS landing phase in resetting the approach speed to the descent angle. Yes your always nervous, it's a tricky approach to get right, with a very heavy and fast aircraft rushing towards the ground. MD-11 as we were told, had the fastest VAPP of any civilian airliner. At MGLW (Maximum Gross Landing Weight), it was usually known to be landing at around 168kts.... and you are aware of that aspect and all that weight in the back. In landing again the MD-11 is very much like the Airbus, as there are landing modes, certainly the callouts are very good, with also "LAND and FLARE on the PFD... I was however seriously again very impressed on how I could just pitch the nose up nicely in the flare to touch the main gear down first. I'm on the runway, so you activate everything you can, in reversers, airbrakes and stand on the toe-brakes to stop the momentum of a landing weight of 204,331 kg, thankfully it all works... ... it's a real substantial beast of an aircraft, so mastering it with skill and ambition is certainly a challenge, but also the MD-11 gives back huge rewards for all the effort... If we are looking at substantial Simulations then the Rotate MD-11 is certainly it, not for the absolute novice, but certainly for the brigade of users that have Long-Haul experience and want a "Heavy, heavy" aircraft to master. Summary The release of X-Plane 12 in it's beta phase... a Version 1.05 beta (September 26th 2022) allowed the Rotate MD-11 aircraft to function in the new Simulator version. Then two updates followed with v1.05 (October) and v1.06 (December) and both were focused on X-Plane 12. The final DC-11 (official) release for X-Plane 12 was the v1.07 update in March 2023. This is the v1.08, with three new features and along with another long bug and fix update. Biggest addition is two EFB (Electronic Flight Bags) or tablets for each pilot. They have four tabs that mirror the Rotate MD11 Menu in... HOME, W&B (Weight & Balance), GndOps, Fails (Failures), the rest of the; Man, Chart, Maps, Apts, Rtes, Data and Notes tabs are the same tools as in the AviTab plugin (required). Other additions are to pause the Simulation on a "Master" warning alert, and the second is again to pause the Simulation before T/D or Top of Descent. There are thirteen improvements to systems, and 35 fixes that covers again systems and hardware intergration, it is a very extensive upgrade here in the fix department. But there are still a few areas that need attention, a warning light for the cargo hold is beyond annoying, the ghost throttle that requires a hide option is another annoyance. But most of all the MD11 needs a SAVE option as it is difficult (not impossible) to restart mid-flight, or if you have a CTD, it is simply too complex to rebuild the systems to work effectively from the standard X-Plane Situation save. I will again state if you are going to think if purchasing the aircraft, is it just too far in it's complexity? I'm not going to waver from the fact that this is noted as a "Study" aircraft, yes you need a skills and heavy aircraft skills to fly it. But once you understand the systems and preferences, it is simply a brilliant aircraft to fly, and a very good simulation, if one of the best currently in X-Plane 12 (also available for XP11). Being a Long Hauler, I obviously really love this aircraft, and with any chance or free time it is one of my prime simulations to fly. The images in this review highlight the the brilliant look and feel the aircraft delivers in X-Plane 12, a top simulation, and a prime simulation for those serious Cargo Jockeys out there. _____________________ Yes! the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 v1.08 by Rotate is currently available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Rotate MD-11 Price is US$83.95 The feature list is HUGE, so if you want to read it, then open the text file. Feature List.txt 5.83 kB · 147 downloads Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows 8 or Mac OSX 10.12 or newer (using Rosetta for ARM Processors) , Linux Ubuntu 64b 18.04 or newer 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM recommended Current version: 1.08 (November 1st 2023) You can download this updated v3.0 Updater free here; SkunkCrafts Updater Standalone client AviTab Plugin is now required. Navigraph Subscription only on a monthly or yearly basis or EUR 9.05 / mo or EUR 81.64 / year Designed by Rotate Support Forum at X-Plane.org or http://support.rotatesim.com/ Full v1.08 changelog is here; Changelog v1.08.txt _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 7th November 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane Version 12.07r1 (This is a release review). Plugins: JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Skunkcrafts Updater Scenery or Aircraft - EDDP - Leipzig/Halle International Airport by JustSim/Digital Design (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$20.00 - KPHL - Philadelphia International Airport by StarSim (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$24.00 - Full review available here: Scenery Review : KPHL - Philadelphia International Airport by StarSim (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  14. Scenery Review: Telluride Regional Airport UHD by X-Codr Designs By David York Introduction I'm delighted to bring you this review of XCodr Design's Telluride Airport scenery package, designed specifically for X-Plane enthusiasts. While the focus of my comments is on the X-Plane 12 rendition, it's worth noting that the scenery also performs well on the available X-Plane 11 version. Situated at a soaring altitude of 9,070 feet atop Dove Creek Mesa, Telluride Regional Airport (TEX) holds the distinction of being the highest-elevation commercial airport in the United States. Covering an expansive 542 acres, the airport features a single runway—TEX 9/27—which has an asphalt surface and dimensions of 7111 feet in length by 100 feet in width. Known for its challenging landings due to fierce mountain winds, especially in the winter, this runway is both one of the most dangerous and most beautiful to land on in America, according to Uncover Colorado. The surrounding terrain itself exceeds elevations of 14,000 feet. The landscape at either end of the runway is equally dramatic. Off one end, the terrain plunges a sheer 1,000 feet down to the St Miguel River in the valley below. At the opposite end, the terrain rises steeply, culminating in the sloping meadow that houses the Telluride Mountain Resort. A softer, engineered stop has been installed at the base of this slope to prevent serious runway excursions. Since its initial planning by the City of Telluride back in the seventies and its opening in 1984, Telluride Airport has been a collaborative venture between the tourist industry, as well as federal and local governments. Owned and operated by the Telluride Regional Airport Authority, the airport boasted 9,412 operations in 2019 and is home to twenty-seven based aircraft. It is primarily served by Denver Air Connection, offering scheduled daily flights to Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona. Additionally, there's active charter traffic, with at least five Charter Services available. Finally, general aviation use is not only busy but also enthusiastic, making it a source of pride for those who fly out of Telluride, as per Business View. Why this Scenery? For those who relish day-to-day challenges, flying in the mountains is hard to beat, and Telluride, as a winter destination, promises the kind of excitement and realism one could desire in a flight simulator experience. As someone who has been a skier, the nostalgia of the ski slopes adds another layer of attraction for me. Despite now living in the south, I find myself yearning for the sight of ski runs and fresh powder, especially when I can experience it without the financial burden usually associated with it. Though it's not quite the same as landing in Nepal, the approach to Telluride's plateau-based airport offers a unique character that you won't find in eastern U.S. destinations. If you opt for an autopilot landing, you may even get a glimpse of the canyons below—but be warned! You'll need to stay alert for sudden wind changes and other environmental factors. Installation The scenery pack you'll need is titled 'XP12_Telluride Regional Airport Package.zip,' or its XP11 equivalent if that's your target system. The file size is a mere 2.98GB, but once installed, it will occupy over 7 gigabytes on your hard disk. This doesn't include the 'Living Scenery Technology' plug-in that is also required. The main archive is specific to Telluride and its surrounding areas, featuring the Regional Airport, the town, and resort areas. If you're new to Xcodr Designs, you'll also need to download the Xcodr Library, available in versions for both XP12 and XP11. The 'Living Scenery Technology' plug-in is essential for Xcodr products and can be downloaded from X-Plane.org. Install this plug-in in your X-Plane plug-ins directory, which you'll find in your base X-Plane directory resources folder (<X-Plane Root Folder>/Resources/Plugins). Unzip and copy the X-Codr Designs Library folder into the Custom Scenery Folder/Directory of your chosen X-Plane version. Extract the three scenery folders from the 'XPnn_Telluride_Regional_Airport_Package.zip' into the Custom Scenery directory folder. These folders are Telluride_Regional_Airport_Z_Mesh, Telluride_Regional_Airport_Y_Overlay, and Telluride_Regional_Airport_Ski_Lifts. This archive also includes your Scenery Manual. A quick note for new users: don't forget to check the 'scenery_packs.ini' text file to ensure the order list is correct. All scenery, particularly the airport, should be listed above the 'Global Airports' entry. The overlay and mesh files, in this case: SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Telluride_Regional_Airport_Y_Overlay/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Telluride_Regional_Airport_Z_Mesh/ should generally appear towards the bottom of the list but can be placed either above or below the global airport’s entry. If you have old scenery from previous installations of this package, make sure to delete them; otherwise, they may be overwritten as they bear the same name. Once you're done with these steps, no further activation is required. Just load up your version of X-Plane, and Telluride will appear in your list of available airports. Although the installation process involves quite a few steps, they are pretty standard for any scenery setup. That said, it's worth noting that the developer could have provided a small script to automate what can be a tedious and error-prone process, making for a more seamless installation experience. Documentation The documentation that comes with the package is concise, providing all the essential information you need to get started. While it does contain some outdated information, such as references to Great Lakes Airlines, which ceased operations in 2018, it's mostly current, spotlighting Denver Air Connection as the main scheduled service. The provided manual offers a succinct yet insightful introduction to both Telluride and its regional airport. They even include advice that Telluride isn't a destination for novice pilots, serving as a helpful caution and an exciting challenge for those with more experience. Some simmers might appreciate more narrative details for a richer understanding of the area, an addition that could also serve as a clever marketing strategy. Though the documentation does an excellent job of outlining the package's features, it could be enhanced by visuals like charts, graphics, or FAA airport diagrams. Such additions would provide a more comprehensive guide to the Telluride experience in X-Plane. In summary, the documentation is practical and to the point, providing the essentials for starting your Telluride journey in X-Plane while leaving room for enrichments that could make it even more user-friendly. Exploration Walkthrough Flying in this scenic area comes with a number of caveats—such as wind, obstructions, and altitude—that make it different from taking off at sea-level. Factors like fuel-air mixture and take-off distance will need to be adjusted accordingly. For those interested in the specifics, this type of operation is often referred to as 'Mountain Flying.’ As you prepare for landing, you're greeted with an awe-inspiring spectacle. Several plateaus are visible in the middle distance, the San Miguel River meanders in the valley below, and the Telluride Mountain Village is straight ahead, with rugged mountains continuing to rise beyond. The Ortho scenery is absolutely breathtaking and amplifies the simulation experience immeasurably. Take note of the moderately high fence at the edge of the plateau, your touchdown point needs to be clearly visible; there's no room for mistakes on this runway. Once you touch down, you'll taxi toward a rather modest set of well-modelled structures, including the terminal. It's a fair taxi distance to the ramps at the opposite end. Upon reaching the taxiway entrance, you proceed to either the gate area or a parking spot. Once you shut down your aircraft, you can indulge in a 360-degree sweep of the scenery; mountains surrounding you and the Telluride Resort above in the distance. The terminal itself is compact yet well-placed, with the public entrance situated conveniently above and to your right, just behind a wire boundary fence. While the interior of the terminal isn't modelled, the external details make up for it to some extent. For those accustomed to more detailed offerings like those found at Kenai, AK, this might be an area where future updates could add value. In terms of accuracy, the detailing around the terminal largely aligns with what one might observe through Google Earth. For instance, the larger entrance roadway into the main parking lot adds a touch of realism. Features like the mailbox and dumpster further contribute to this effect, although additional signage could provide an extra layer of authenticity. Outside, you'll find a paved area surrounded on three sides by well-presented hangars and other outbuildings. The textures used in the modelling are professional and offer excellent detail, complete with visible wear and tear. Up the hill behind the hangars, you'll notice a large fuel bunker by the access road—a nice touch! The airport is populated with static aircraft, attesting to the activity in general aviation, but the presence of charter services is less prominent than one might expect from a Google Earth survey. As you venture away from the airport, the quality of the provided ortho scenery becomes increasingly apparent, justifying the data investment. The animated, operational ski lifts contribute significantly to the overall immersion, offering a dynamic element to the setting. The vista from the lodge is nothing short of breathtaking. While the view does lose some of its impact if you turn around inside the lodge, this minor detail hardly diminishes the overall splendor of the landscape. The town, hidden in the valleys beyond the runway and plateau, is artistically well-done. You have to venture to the edge of the plateau to get a proper view of the artistic presentation of the town and streets. Switching to a winter setting in the simulation adds even more detail; the ski hills are more prominent in the snowfall, and both the apron at your feet and the mailbox at the back of the terminal receive a nice covering of snow. Night Lighting As dusk turns to night, the sky is graced with a beautiful red hue from the setting sun, set against a broken layer of stratus clouds above. The existing signage, limited as it is, becomes more prominent and readable once illuminated, enhancing its realism. The runway lights add the essential touch of authenticity for a winter night. In the distance, all the ski runs are lit up, lending the entire view a high degree of believability. It's evident that no detail has been overlooked in the simulation of Telluride. Scenery & Aircraft Performance Navigating the valley revealed some frame rate challenges, likely due to my hardware limitations. This suggests that those with higher-end graphics hardware will be able to fully appreciate the scenery's intricate details. In terms of aircraft performance, adjustments to fuel-air mixture and take-off distance could add an extra layer of realism, enhancing the high-altitude experience. While I'm not a qualified pilot, these observations aim to enrich the flying experience. The immersive wind and traffic sounds notably elevate the overall simulation. Conclusion Telluride Airport by X-Codr Design really is a feast for the eyes, boasting high-quality modelling and artwork that make the download size well worth it. While there's room to elevate the experience further, such as adding interior details to the terminal or enhancing the representation of charter services, these are opportunities for growth rather than shortcomings. The developer's emphasis on scenic beauty truly shines, providing a visually stunning experience that is a joy to explore. Enhancements in the business and commercial aspects could add another layer of depth, particularly in the context of an active resort area. Such additions would only elevate what is already a compelling simulation experience. What stands out the most is the package's performance on even modest systems, along with the inclusion of useful plug-ins and libraries. These features, coupled with the sheer joy of flying in the Colorado mountains, make this package a fantastic experience that can be enjoyed year-round. In summary, this package already offers an immersive and visually stunning experience, and with a few more touches, it could reach new heights of simulation realism. ________________________ Telluride Regional Airport UHD by XCodr Design is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Telluride Regional Airport UHD Priced at $21.95 Features Highly detailed and realistic rendition of Telluride Regional Airport Ultra-detailed, high-resolution buildings Ultra-detailed, high resolution ground textures Lots of airport clutter, i.e. baggage cart, chocks, tie down cables and tires, etc. Integration with X-Plane 12 weather effects Accurate taxi routes, airport flows, and ramp starts Detailed rendition of nearby Mountain Village Ski Resort Animated gondolas and ski lifts using Living Scenery Technology Custom model of all major hotels Custom ski resort homes Night lit ski routes (visible from the airport and when in the pattern) Animated 3D skiers using Living Scenery Technology Custom Ortho4XP Mesh realistic runway slopes Thanks to Oscar Pilote for creating the amazing tool Ortho4xp) Custom overlay scenery based off Alpilotx’s UHD Mesh V4 scenery (used with his permission) Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 (both versions included) Windows, Mac, or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum. 8Gb+ VRAM Recommended Download size: 3GB. Current version: XP12 - September 6th, 2022 XP11 - 1.51 (July 4th, 2019) Review System Specifications AMD FX-8350 - 16GB - AMD Radeon RTX 570 8GB - Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit __________________________________ Scenery Review by David York 27th October 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copying of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions).
    3 points
  15. This certainly helps explain the "payware lag" that developers have had to contend with to upgrade v11 acfs to the brave new world of v12. Imagine having someone work for months fixing lighting/flight model or whatever, only to find it changes again? *** Message to developers - I DON'T MIND PAYING FOR UPDATES - keep at it 🙂 ***
    3 points
  16. Scenery Review: Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 by HSimulators By Nick Garlick Introduction I am both thrilled and privileged to return once more to share with you my insights and impressions on the newest addition to the X-Plane 12 scenery library: Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 by HSimulators. As we embark on this new journey, let's turn our compasses southward this time, to the other forgotten extreme of our planet: Antarctica. The Antarctic, a desolate, icy wilderness at the southernmost part of the globe, has, much like its northern counterpart, been largely overlooked in the world of flight simulation. Despite its vast expanse, spanning over 5.5 million square miles and including the South Pole itself, Antarctica is practically non-existent in the default X-Plane landscape. As I previously highlighted in my review of HSimulators' Grand Arctic XP12, the default installation of X-Plane, unfortunately, offers only sparse coverage of the world's polar regions. Exploring beyond latitude seventy-four north or sixty south reveals a desolate void, filled not by the expected expanse of ice and snow but by featureless, open water. Thankfully, HSimulators once again steps into the breach with their Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12. Building upon the success of their Arctic scenery, this new package aims to provide a comprehensive solution for this neglected region of the world. It covers a vast area that includes not only the Antarctic mainland, but also numerous research stations, airstrips, and points of interest scattered across the continent. Having thoroughly enjoyed their Grand Arctic scenery, I was eager to see how HSimulators' latest offering would compare. Can it effectively fill the icy void in X-Plane's world, and will it manage to capture the harsh, but often breathtaking beauty of the Antarctic landscape? Join me as I explore these questions, and many others, in this detailed review of Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12. Installation & Documentation Considering the sheer magnitude of the Antarctic continent, the 7GB download size of the package comes as no surprise. Unzipping the files will have you carving out a hefty 31GB of space on your hard drive – hopefully, a testament to the scale and detail captured within this add-on. The installation process is as straightforward as they come, as it’s just a case of dragging and dropping the 'Custom Scenery' and 'Global Scenery' folders into your X-Plane 12 directory. HSimulators have, in this regard, stripped the process down to bare bones, making it accessible even for users new to scenery add-ons. However, this straightforwardness also presents a significant shortcoming. The absence of documentation included with the download is notable and quite disappointing. While the simplicity of the installation might mitigate this issue for experienced users, those new to X-Plane could find themselves at sea without explicit guidance. Moreover, the lack of accompanying information for the numerous locations featured in this package feels like a missed opportunity. Maps, charts, or even simple descriptions could have provided invaluable context to users venturing into these visually stunning, yet unfamiliar landscapes. Hopefully, HSimulators will address this issue in future updates. Scenery & 3D Objects Quality Any addition to the limited default scenery of the poles in X-Plane is always a noteworthy event, and HSimulators' Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 definitely rises to the occasion. The expansive polar wilderness isn't merely a barren expanse of ice in this sim; the intricate terrain details breathe life into the Antarctic landscape. Indeed, HSimulators have skilfully painted a comprehensive picture of Antarctica, complete with visible mountains and plateaus that punctuate the ice. The coastal regions, in particular, are generally well-rendered, albeit with a few anomalies. Some shorelines might appear a bit inconsistent, and mountain spikes might be a tad conspicuous in a few spots. Still, considering the monumental task of recreating an entire continent's worth of diverse terrain, these minor aberrations within the custom mesh can be easily overlooked. When it comes to 3D objects, I would say that they are adequate and do a reasonably good job of conveying the objects seen at numerous bases. However, it's important to note that there is a degree of artistic license used in the design of these elements. Some objects that have been included may not exist in their real-world locations but serve to enhance the overall aesthetic and immersive qualities of the scenery. This is not necessarily a drawback, but rather an artistic choice that gives the scenery its unique character. Quality does vary though, with some objects being a lot better than others, with the living quarters at some of the bases being excellent examples. Some of the other objects, such as a few of the vehicles and smaller huts, could use improvement, as I noticed some subpar textures and unwanted shine on a few of them which looked rather unnatural. However, much like the mesh, the overall effect is quite pleasing. With the above taken into account, the overall impression of Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 is of a barren and isolated landscape dotted with unique and interesting bases. Each base, with its unique set of objects and structures, lends an authentic feel to the harsh Antarctic environment. With room for improvement in some areas, HSimulators has nonetheless done a commendable job at delivering a scenery package that makes the unforgiving Antarctic landscape come alive in X-Plane 12. Key Locations The sheer breadth and diversity of this package is such, that it would be beyond the scope of a single review to explore each of the forty-four locations in detail. Instead, I have chosen to focus on eight select destinations that I believe exemplify the quality and variety of this expansive scenery pack. These locations, carefully selected from the array of available bases, stations, and airfields, offer a cross-section of the different settings and challenges you'll encounter in this Antarctic scenery. From the bustling activity of McMurdo Station to the icy runways of Williams Field, these seven locations each tell their unique story within the stark, beautiful landscape of Antarctica. Rothera Research Station (EGAR) - UK: Rothera Station, the UK's principal Antarctic hub, stands as a testament to human determination against the unforgiving Antarctic environment. The station's coastal location presents captivating vistas of stark white glaciers meeting the steel-blue sea, an experience that really stands out in the sim. As you navigate through the array of facilities, the immersive depiction of Rothera Station effectively captures the essence of its challenging climate and natural scientific intrigue. McMurdo Station (NZIR) - USA: As the largest and most complex Antarctic outpost, McMurdo Station presents a unique facet of Antarctic habitation within X-Plane. Numerous buildings, representative of the station's multifaceted operations, create a bustling hub of activity. Each structure, despite some not aligning perfectly with the custom mesh, adds to the realism and enhances the sense of being part of this essential survival outpost. Sanae IV (A22) - South Africa: In the icy expanses of Queen Maud Land, the Sanae IV base is a tangible testament to human presence amidst a stark, monochrome landscape. The sim presents an array of huts, snowploughs, and even a parked C130, giving a sense of real-world Antarctic operations. Dominating the scene is the large outpost structure with its integral helipad. Exploring this base in X-Plane 12 offers a unique insight into the challenges of surviving and working in this remote, icy wilderness. Neumayer Station III (EDDN) - Germany: Located in Antarctica's icy expanse is Neumayer Station III, Germany's primary Antarctic research facility. The station's elevated design, mounted on stilts to withstand snow accumulation, is captured quite effectively in X-Plane. The airstrip, including another static C130, plus several snowploughs and huts, add to the authenticity and intrigue of this remote location. The nearby radar dome further enriches the scene, providing a comprehensive and immersive experience for users. Halley VI Research Station AT11 (EGAH) - UK: Situated on the Brunt Ice Shelf, the Halley VI Research Station stands as a futuristic beacon amid the Antarctic wilderness. Its stilted, modular design, portrayed quite accurately in X-Plane, provides a sense of the innovative engineering necessary to withstand this harsh, shifting environment. Of all the locations in this package, Halley VI stands out as one of the most intriguing, not only for its detailed modelling but also for its modernistic, captivating design. Rodolfo Marsh Martin Airfield (SCRM) - Chile: This Chilean station, located at the edge of Antarctica, is a noteworthy addition to the sim. Its proximity to the shoreline presents an interesting contrast between the rugged airfield and the surrounding icy expanse. The airfield, with its simple yet functional features, exemplifies the practical necessities of life in this harsh environment. Williams Field (NZWD) - USA: As an essential airfield serving the McMurdo area, Williams Field effectively captures the vast and intricate landscape of this unique location. X-Plane does well in replicating the ice runway and surrounding facilities, delivering an insightful glimpse into the unique challenges faced by Antarctic aviation personnel. The scenery is teeming with numerous huts and maintenance vehicles, contributing to the sense of a bustling, fully operational outpost. Despite the presence of some minor graphical anomalies on certain objects, their impact on the overall experience is negligible. Palmer Station (NZ12) - USA: Located on the Antarctic Peninsula, Palmer Station provides a unique contrast with its coastal setting and smaller size. Its proximity to the ocean gives users a distinct Antarctic experience, differing from the predominantly inland stations. This variety makes it an intriguing component of the sim, highlighting the diverse geographic and operational challenges present in Antarctica. Conclusion In assessing Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 by HSimulators, it's hard not to appreciate the sheer magnitude of the undertaking. The vast expanse of the Antarctic continent has been transformed into a tangible, explorable, and remarkably detailed environment. It's a change of scenery that X-Plane 12 users have long been waiting for. Performance-wise, the scenery is commendable as it offers excellent framerates no matter what the weather. The barren landscape of Antarctica, far from being a disadvantage, has contributed to making this a smooth-running addition to the sim. Even when exploring more densely populated bases, or navigating complex terrains, the performance remains consistently good, which is a testament to the efficient design and implementation of this scenery package. However, one disappointment is the lack of documentation accompanying the package. The absence of guides, maps or charts, and additional information on the various bases and locations, feels like a missed opportunity. It would significantly enhance the user experience and, I hope, is something that the developers will consider for future updates. At US$29, some might argue that the purchase price is quite steep for a scenery add-on. However, when you consider the geographical breadth of the package, over five million square miles of diverse Antarctic terrain, and the meticulous detailing of forty-four separate locations, it becomes clear that you're getting a significant return for your investment. While the inconsistencies noted in areas such as object detailing and shoreline rendering, along with the degree of artistic license employed in some parts, are worth acknowledging, they do not significantly detract from the overall experience. Given the size and complexity of the project, minor blemishes are almost to be expected. Importantly, they do not diminish the thrill of venturing into previously uncharted territories in X-Plane 12. In conclusion, Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 is a daring and ambitious project that has largely succeeded in its goal. It offers a rare and exciting opportunity for X-Plane pilots to explore the often-overlooked Antarctic region. Whether you're captivated by the stark beauty of its landscape or intrigued by the challenge of its harsh conditions, this scenery pack is an invitation to a unique and compelling polar adventure. So, fire up your engines, adjust your flight plan southwards, and embark on an Antarctic journey that's sure to be both memorable and rewarding. _______________________________ Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 by HSimulators is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 Priced at US$29.00 Features Mesh terrain covering more than five million square miles (over thirteen million km2) Forty-four airports, heliports, and localities 3D Airports Tnt Rodolfo Marsh Martin - SCRM - Chile Amundsen - Scoth South Pole - NZSP _USA Sanae IV - At22 - South Africa Byrd Surface Skiway - BIRD - USA Progress Station - PGRS - Russia Zhongshan Station - China - Served by Progress Station Novolazarevskaya - AT17 - Russia Mario Zuccelli Station - AT13 - Italy Enigma Lake- AT-09 Nova Zelandia Browning Pass - AT02 - New Zealand Palmer Station - NZ12 - USA Concordia Skiway - AT03 - France / Italy Dumont d'Urville Station - AT04 - France Plough Island Skiway- PLGI - Australia Kunlun - KULU - China Davis Plateau - AT07 - Australia Davis Sea Ice - ATAU - Australia Druzhnaya 4- DRUZ - Russia Fossil Buff - AT10 - UK Halley Research Station - AT11(EGAH) - (discrepancy in navdata - EGAH) - UK Rothera Research Station - EGAR - UK McMurdo Station- NZIR - USA Kohnen Station - AT12 - Germany Marambion Base Station - SAWB - Argentina Marble Point Station - GC07 - USA Mawson Station - AT21 - Australia Mid Point Skiway - AT14 - France / Italy Molodezhnaya - AT15 - Russia Neumayer Station - AT16 - Germany Odel Glacier Skiway - AT18 - New Zealand OHiggins Station - AT19 - Chile Ohiggins Station HLPN - OGGN - Chile Patriot Hills - SCPZ - USA Willians Field - NZWD - USA Pegasus Field - NZWD - USA Phoenix Airfield - NZFX - USA Plateau Station - NZFX - USA Troll Station - AT27 - Norway 2D Airports (in development 3D) Petrel Station - SA47 - Argentina Perseu Temporary Airfield - PRSU Rumdoodle Station - AT28 - Australia S17 - JS17 - Japan Requirements X-Plane 12 Windows Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Video Card. 8Gb+ VRAM Recommended Download size: 7.5 GB. Current version: 1.0 (January 18th, 2023) Review by Nick Garlick 7th July 2023 Copyright©2022: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows 10, Intel 4790K liquid-cooled, overclock to 5GHz, 32GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, Nvidia GTX 1070ti, Titanium HD Audio Card. (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  17. Aircraft Review: AOASimulations-T6A Texan II X-Plane 12 By Stuart McGregor Introduction The release of the AOA T-6A Texan ll was done in the change over twilight zone of a legacy version with its ground-breaking advancements that was achieved with X-Plane 11, which essentially is at the end of its commercial run, and the eagerly awaited X-Plane 12, which still had some way to go until it is in its final release state in December 2023. For us armchair pilots this can be a little frustrating in our 365, 24/7 on-the-go world, where patience isn’t a commodity you see a lot of these days, so I can only imagine the dilemma this gives commercial developers. Do you wait until all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed in X-Plane 12, or do you continue creating and releasing in X-Plane 11, knowing the platform has been superseded by its younger brother? AOA Simulations decided not to wait to bring us their ‘Texan’, the T-6A Texan II. The aircraft was released for X-Plane 11, with a commitment of a free upgrade to X-Plane 12 for existing users when the simulator upgraded to the new version. That X-Plane 12 release has now happened, and to top off the T-6A package you get both versions for X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11. In real life, the Texan is described as a single-engine turboprop aircraft and has been around since the late 1990s. It has been used as a training aircraft by several military organisations around the globe and more than 850 have been built to date. From what I have read, it is still very much the mainstay of the United States Air force and Navy when it comes to pilot training. It has a low wing cantilever design with the majestic Pratt & Whitney PT6A-68 1100 hp engine, tandem seating arrangement with ejector seats to allow the flight instructor and trainee to live every moment together, all topped off with a hefty four-blade constant speed, variable pitch prop. The Texan also has a retractable tricycle landing gear assembly, with many of the features being based on the original development aircraft, the Pilatus PC-9. However, don’t be fooled, because the Texan is indeed a very different aircraft in many ways. To explain this in greater detail, the AOA Simulations folks have included a very nice reference document in the manuals section of their package that describes the Texan’s development journey. This is well worth a read to see just how much it has changed from the original Hawker Beechcraft development PC-9. I personally always like additional features like this because in my opinion they bring a greater level of depth to the user experience and allow a more immersive environment when you know a bit about the aircraft, its history and how it came into being. Documentation I will be honest and say that military jets and combat aircraft are not an area I typically venture into very often, so when I had the opportunity to try out what looked a bit like a fighter jet with a prop on its nose, I was intrigued to find out more. My GA side was screaming, “Oh yes please!” The package in review comes in a 360MB download with the aircraft itself and a couple of liveries, as well as a few added extras in terms of documents. In the Manuals folder, you will find an alternative abbreviated checklist (X-Checklist plugin is required) to the one provided by default, a paper kneeboard checklist you can print, emergency procedures, a training flight tutorial with charts (KNGP to KRND), pictorial overviews of flight instruments, and if you are a MAC user, there is an explanation of a workaround if you experience issues when you first load the model. There is also a highly detailed 38-page User Guide to take you through every inch of the aircraft and that is a must-read if you really want to get the most out of the Texan. The developer has also included some contact details and links of where to request help if you get stuck. Sadly, I can’t offer any comment on how successful the MAC workaround is, as I use a PC, however it looks like the developer has put some serious thought into the issue which is good to see. The Aircraft The developers quote that their Texan has been in development since early 2020 and clearly a huge amount of work has gone into the aircraft. You get a real sense of the details and the hours of work by just reading the manual alone, so I believe it is fair to say that the Texan really does come fully loaded. I loved the fact that both the front and rear cockpits are fully functional, thus providing a unique flying experience from each seat, and it was nice to be able to have the choice. The internal details in both cockpits are well presented and bristle with features. The texturing is of high resolution and high quality, and I found reading the various dials and panels to be of no issue, even in VR, when using my Rift S. The developers even quote that the Texan has been optimised to maximise performance in VR, and I would have to admit, that when using my system, I had no issues and enjoyed a very smooth experience. When you first step into either cockpit, it is a bit daunting if you’re not used to military-style aircraft, however, the automated tutorial-level Checklist provided is very useful when navigating around the various systems. In my tests, I probably only scratched the surface of the instrument capabilities of the Texan, and you literally could spend hours and hours just working through your flows and testing out every feature, switch, lever, knob, button, panel, and fuse. As far as I could tell, everything shown works or is at least animated. If you are used to flying fast jets, I am sure the layout will come very naturally to you, however, I must admit it did take me a little time to work my way around. By the way…the ejection seat does work, so be careful with that handle!!! The unobstructed view that the glass canopy offers, is truly excellent, particularly in VR, and you really get a sense of just how compact and well-fitted everything is around you. The feeling of being in the cockpit was something I really enjoyed, and as I mentioned previously, just moving a few feet back to sit in the rear seat, adds a totally different dimension to the experience. The Texan comes with specially created FMOD sounds and the cockpit interaction sounds were nicely done, from the very subtle fuse click actions to the more distinct canopy locking mechanism. From the X-Plane main menu bar, you can access the dust lock removal option, as when in cold and dark, there are several covers protecting sensitive parts of the aircraft. Even these covers are well modeled, as they sway gently in the wind, a very nice touch and great attention to detail. From the outside when the canopy is open in cold and dark, there are no pilots visible, however, they both appear when closing the cockpit and removing the dust covers. The characteristic turbine whine as the engine starts up is very nice, and you really do have the sense of that mighty Pratt and Whitney engine roaring into life right beside or in front of you. As you move around the exterior of the aircraft, the engine tone changes as you would expect, and this is particularly noticeable when you throttle forward and set the Texan into action. The sense of power from the 1100hp engine and prop thrashing through the air as you accelerate down the runway is something you must experience to really appreciate it. The exterior details of the Texan are superb in my opinion and incorporate very high-quality textures, such as the hydraulic lines in the landing gear, through to the multitude of rivets across the shiny aircraft skin. During prefight, it is worth just taking a few minutes to walk around the aircraft and take in the quality of the modelling, and this is particularly impressive if you can do this in VR. You can literally walk up to the various parts and take a good look, reach out and almost touch the surfaces. There is a significant difference between the X-Plane 11 release version and the X-Plane 12 here. You will see far more detail added, and the surfaces are more highlighted than before, the result is a substantial and better overall realism to the aircraft. The developers really have done a wonderful job both inside and out, and in my opinion, the Texan is one of the best in terms of overall appearance, although I do still think it is a little bit of an oddball with the fighter-style canopy, dual seating arrangement, and that big old prop at the front. It does take a little bit of getting used to at first. Now, if you’re anything like me, when you get a new toy, the first thing you want to do is to try it out, so the thought of working through a full set of start-up procedures may not be top of your list. The good news is that very early on, the developers thought of us “impatient types”, and kindly provided a very nice simple 11-step process on page 5 of the User Guide to get up and flying, and this is very helpful. Now don’t get me wrong, at times there is a real sense of satisfaction about going through every step of your flow and eventually seeing the ground disappear below, however, at times I just want to start up and off I go. I like the fact that in the Texan you can do both and I did, although I must admit that just firing up and heading down the runway was my preference. This is perhaps a suitable time to mention that I am using a VKBSIM joystick and pedal set as my control inputs, and I found these to work very well both on the ground and in the air. As there are no toe-brakes with these pedals, I did use a small script to give me brakes and this worked well, although there is a stick forward option that you can use within the aircraft if you prefer. I had no complaints about the handling of the Texan, although care with the throttle is highly advised both when taxiing and when taking off. There is a mighty amount of power at your fingertips, so my advice is to use it wisely. As they say, ‘with great power comes great responsibility…’ and never a truer word was said in the Texan’s case. Remember this thing can do more than 300 knots when flat out!! The glass canopy really does give an amazing view, particularly in VR, however, if you are using flat screens the developers have included a couple of highly novel add-on features to enhance your views in the cockpit. The manual goes into quite some detail to explain what you can expect; however, the best way is just to try them out. These are actioned via buttons on the glare shield and using dedicated buttons on your controller, and the ‘Roll to See’ feature allows you to pan around while taxiing, as well as some interesting effects when doing aerobatics. The Target Track feature allows you to lock on to AI aircraft if you are flying in formation (a key skill by all accounts) and if you are familiar with other aircraft from AOA Simulations, you are likely to be at home with this feature already. As I do most of my flying in VR, these features are disabled so I didn’t spend a huge amount of time testing them out, however from what I did see, this is quite unique and adds another and different layer of immersion to the Texan. One final system feature I would like to highlight is the Flight Assistance system which allows various assistance features to be turned on and off. The button is a bit fiddly to find (highlighted in the manual on page 11) however there are eleven different features such as AOA indexer and brake cues, airspeed indication of gear and flap speed bands, wind direction and speed, through to braking using the control stick and many more. The basic idea is to make life as easy as possible for any newbie pilot or as realistic as possible by switching this off for those who would like more of a challenge. When you are new to an aircraft, this sort of thing really does help, as there is nothing worse than getting frustrated and giving up before you have even started. The lighting is basic, mostly indirect lights on the the panels and the two side wall lights on the separate consoles. You can move the instrument panel spot lights to where you want them to shine on. Externally the landing and taxi lights don't work unless you lower the gear, as they are positioned on the inner gear struts. As I mentioned earlier, the Texan is fully loaded with so many great details and features, and although this type of aircraft is not necessarily my “go-to” happy place in the sky, the more I flew it the more I came to appreciate just how good an offering this is from AOA Simulations, both in terms of the basic aircraft but also just how enjoyable the overall flying experience can be. If you also like lots of technical details, procedures and everything that goes with that side of things, then again, I believe the Texan has something to offer you. Final Thoughts The T-6A Texan II from AOA Simulations, under normal circumstances, is an aircraft I wouldn’t typically be flying, however, I am glad I had the opportunity, as it’s always good to try something new. When you factor in the excellent internal and external textures, the 3D modelling, the control and integration of features, the sounds, and of course the flying experience, I think it’s fair to say that the AOA team really has put out an excellent product. Available now for both X-Plane 11, and to be experienced in X-Plane 12, all the new features in the sim in combination with the Texan’s feature set, it is something quite special. A real synergistic masterpiece… So, should you splash out $40 on the Texan? Well as always that is down to you, your budget and what you are looking for. However, I truly believe that the Texan is well worth thinking about, especially if you have considered the fast jet challenge but have not been sure where to start. If it’s good enough for real-world pilots, then it certainly works for me! __________________________________ The T-6A Texan II by AOA Simulations is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: T-6A Texan II Price at time of writing US$40.00 Features: This model was developed using the official USAF 1T-6A-1 Flight Manual and SNFO (Student Naval Flight Officer) P-880 Aircraft Systems explanatory guide. Two default liveries, USAF and U.S. Navy TAW-5. 17 additional liveries will be available on the X-Plane.org freeware download manager. This is the T-6A model with federated (many small units combined into one system) glass display panels. The project has been in development since February 23, 2020 and is our most detailed model to date. The Model High quality 3D model with high-resolution, 4K PBR textures. Fully functional virtual front and rear 3D cockpits with more than 380 control manipulators. Everything works, fly from either cockpit. Both pilot and instructor models visible in cockpit views. Optimized to save FPS in VR. Ground equipment The Flight model Fully aerobatic, high performance dynamic flight model tested and approved by several former T-6A pilots. Single “Power Lever” control of engine and propeller enables "jet like" simplicity. Unique T-6 Trim Aid Device (TAD) is accurately modeled. This compensates for most engine torque effect with automatic rudder trim. Sounds Professional FMOD sound package by SimAccoustics Documentation Detailed 38 page User Guide and detailed avionics illustrated guide sheets available HERE ON OUR SUPPORT PAGE prior to purchase. Several checklists options to choose from including detailed checklist powered by Xchecklist freeware plug-in. Tutorial checklist and example Training Flight to get you up to speed with the aircraft. More details All panel displays are accurately modeled and powered by SASL plugin / lua code Complete electrical systems model. Every circuit breaker on both the battery and generator bus panels is functional. Individual systems can be isolated, failed and restored via its cockpit circuit breaker. Optional "AOA Extras" for student pilots or those who want to know a little more about what's going on with while the fly. Save load feature allows you to save some options once and they are the same on your next flight in the model. Default Laminar G1000 available to use with a custom database in the panel mounted GPS unit. Future developments This model is for X-Plane 11 only. It is not compatible with X-Plane 12. When X-Plane 12 is stable then a new version will be released as a free upgrade for existing users. Requirements: X-Plane 12 or 11 4 GB VRAM Video Card Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 360 MB Current version: xp12 (March 1st 2023) Review System Specifications: Windows 10 64 Bit CPU Intel i9-9900k 64GB RAM Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti Oculus Rift S Aircraft Review by Stuart McGregor 3rd March 2023 Copyright©2023 : X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
    3 points
  18. Aircraft Update Review : Gulfstream 550 v1.10 by AKD Studio Since it's release back 28th October 2022 there has been 10 (including this one) updates to the AKD Studio Gulfstream 550, obviously four months and with 10 updates in that time period, it shows the huge amount of the development that has changed on the aircraft in those few months, a lot obviously, and the changelogs are long. I'm not going to note all the fixes here in this update review, but only the ones that are significant. I really liked the aircraft on it's release, but the G550 did however feel a little bit under developed, it is a new developer to the X-Plane platform as well in AKD Studio's so there is a lot to learn and refine, but the above changelogs shows the improvements are going in there and very quickly... Release review; Aircraft Review : Gulfstream 550 by AKD Studio After four months both the Gulfstream 550 and X-Plane 12 feel far better than they did back in October... as together they have both matured nicely. Externally there have been small changes, however not still on the front windscreen surround, as they are still missing the screws? but the side windows now show the glass reflections, and not a hollow hole, so the fuselage as a whole feels far better (the cabin windows here on the G550 are really big). Cabin window blinds/shades were added in v1.04, very nice. Biggest change in v1.10, is the addition of a cargo hold area, this is on a revised menu "Ground Handling" page noting now an opening rear door, set below the Main Door operation. Access can also be through the rear bathroom (new door) to the very well done cargo bay, I like the wire protected lights, a nice touch... you can also open and close the cargo hatch manually from the inside. More new features in v1.10 include both an AC and DC GPU's (Ground Power Units), and they are both well done, both available on the Ground Handling page. The "Fuel" or loading page has been upgraded as well. You can set your fuel load by the + or -, but also by scrolling on the REQ TOTAL to add in or off load fuel... When pressing SET you get now a well modeled tanker outside. You can also set the cargo weight (both Kgs and Lbs are available), and finally your Passenger load of up to 16 Passengers, weights are adjusted to the loading parameters. Pressing BOARDING, will activate a Tesla Car (It takes ages to turn up) and proceeds to deliver passengers and luggage to the aircraft... when done it goes away, to unload passengers you press the selection "Take Passengers to Terminal". If you had read the release review, we have seen this Tesla before, but at the totally wrong scale. It is now the right scale, but in reality it is all still a bit odd isn't it... I mean how would you get 16 passengers into a 5 seater Tesla? A Mercedes Bus would have been a better idea, the Tesla doesn't feel finished either? The Fuel truck has an annoying foible as well, it appears simply out of nowhere, then suddenly disappears again when the aircraft is refueled, so there is no animation to the jet or in leaving? Static Elements can now also be selected to appear on startup. Other external notes include... wheels now actually touch the ground! In v1.04 the internal lighting had an overhaul. There are sixteen individual sets of lights around the huge cabin, these can be all switched on or off manually at each light, or on the selections of the CABIN LIGHTS Menu page... Thankfully you can "Turn on all Lights", and do the same to turn them all off again... And very nice it all is in the cabin... there is a secondary lighting page that covers three areas, rear Bathroom and each side downwash lights... This gives you a more softer cabin feel, and lights up separately the bathroom. It does also help lighting up the galley area which was extremely dark before, and sort of the entrance, which I complained about in the release review. Oddly the Red on to the Green off selections are the opposite of the cabin lighting commands? Lighting is better, but it still doesn't quite all work? as separate galley and baggage area lighting is what is really required here, and you still some entrance lighting missing... the stairs have the inbuilt lighting elements shown, but it doesn't work... as light bleed into the cockpit with no door is a problem? External lighting was upgraded in v1.05. It is very good, if the main landing lights a bit over bright? There are Navigation, Strobe, Beacon (belly), Ice/Wing and wheelwell lights.. the tail light is too dull to be effective. Cockpit lighting is good, and it comes with a lot of adjustments, with glareshield dropdown lighting, yoke, overhead and side panel lighting. The only thing I didn't like, was that I couldn't dial out the footwell lighting... this made bright reflections upwards on to the instrument displays, so an all dark cockpit was not possible. While we are still in the cabin, the window frames are still quite average and they come with nasty gaping holes and badly fitted cabin (glass) windows. Yes while flying you do have to look through these badly made windows and I'm not in liking the view!... however the "Time to Destination" has been added to the Cabin Display. Don't get me wrong here, the lighting is now very good, but still needs more refinement to be effective, or totally realistic. Instruments The HUD (Head Up Display) now works... just touch it to drop it down. You have to adjust it, as the form and lettering is too thick and that is done via the knob above, it works, but it's not the best available, it also still feels like a WIP. "Banana" indicator is now working on the PFD. On the MAP/MFD you now have the Terrain Radar working as well. It is the DrGluck (Plugin v1.30+) tool and the plugin is required. The Terrain shows the Independent terrain display on both the left and right displays, and it also gives you a working Vertical Situation Display. I always had issues with the METAR report on the menu. Add in your ICAO code and the system would freeze, or CTD. Now it works, but not by pressing the PRINT METAR? but by doing a keystroke RETURN, still very odd? But at least you now don't freeze the Sim. Support for 8.33 kHz radios is now also available. Flying v1.10 Gulfstream 550 For updating the Skunkcraft's Updater now works with the aircraft, thankfully with so many updates it is a very useful tool. In v1.07 in December, a Manual was also delivered (by Ivan Luciani), seriously you had to wait two months for a Manual, and you wonder why reviewing is hard without developer notes. Look closely and you will find now there are pilots flying the aircraft, they are the default Laminar Pilots, but still a great addition. In v1.05, there was a lot of performance changes (a change over to SASL v3.15 was also completed) by AKD. I found the release aircraft not to bad to fly actually... but in the takeoff roll and climbout, it was even far better in this later version. Changes include engine performance, flight model and better airfoils. And the new wingflex is also very noticeable, mainly because it wasn't done before? It is worth noting that the engine performance and flight models, are tuned to each different X-Plane version, X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11. Obviously the X-Plane 12 dynamics are better, as felt here. Added or refined is the rain effects (V1.03) on both forward windscreen and side cabin windows The AKD G550, is a quite complicated aircraft to fly, there is a lot of detail to cover in here with the Symmetry Flight Deck, and the specific glareshield "Display Controller" system. But it is well worth the effort to do so. I will admit I'm not crazy about the manuals? There is a lot of them in sixteen categories, but they are done in a drawing layout? Interesting in one way as the detail is very good... but odd in another. Specifications are; Range 6,750 nmi (7,770 mi, 12,500 km) range, with a High Speed Cruise: M0.85 at 41,000 ft (12,497 m) or the standard Long Range Cruise: M0.80 at 41,000 ft (12,497 m), and you can cover the ground with a Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (16,000 m) Flying 41,000ft at m.80 is the dream of living with the Gods, but you can easily do that with this Gulfstream, it is a great simulation with high numbers. Fixes on the the instrument panels are high; NavSource on Display Controller, squawk page in FMS3 radio panel, better RNP indicator on DU1/DU4 and fixed AoA indicator DU1/DU4, Stall warning system logic, Altitude mismatch on ALT tape and Autopilot FLCH mode. Note a confusing thing is using the Autopilot. Noteable is that the G550 does not have an Autopilot, hence the trickery here... To activate the Autopilot, which is set below the Speed selector... you press one of the screws on the left of the panel, hard to find if you don't know where it is, otherwise you get a yellow caution alert. At Mach 80, faster if you want to, you travel and arrive at your destination quickly, here I'm back at EVRA Riga, Latvia. You just like looking at the Gulfstream, because it is a very nice aircraft to look at... I still can't work out how to ARM the Airbrakes for landing, press the button, positioned rear the centre console, but it doesn't ARM? Nice 6º nose up flare, shows nice control in the flare, and you lower the power to sweetly touch the runway... nice and easy. Sounds haven't had much attention in the updates, but the reverse thrust is loud and powerful... Flaps are MASSIVE, and lower to the full 39º... The full landing configuration is shown on the PFD, and I really still can't get over how much I like this visual FLT arrangement, brake pressure is shown as well. The Gulfstream 550, puts the world at your feet, it is an intercontinental flying machine, and in v1.10 it better than ever, not totally perfect, but a great simulation. Summary In world of the elite, then the word of Gulfstream is the biggest token you can play in this upper exclusive club. The Gulfstream G600/G700/G800 Series was built upon the last series of G500/G550 Series and that series evolved out of the Gulfstream V as the GV-SP. First an almost disclaimer on the review and the aircraft. The Gulfstream G550 is a first time project by AKD Studios and obviously they have to pick an extremely complex aircraft to start with, add the release right in the middle of a new X-Plane 12 Beta run, and you can expect a lot of bugs and weird things with the aircraft. It's not like that at all in context, in fact it flies very well. But it is very hard to do development on shifting sands. This update review covers the extensive update list from the release aircraft (v1.0), to the current version v1.10. The update list here is extremely long, but the main features are a new Cargo/Baggage area, with animated door, internal detail is very good. New Fuel Tanker, Two GPU AC/DC units and a smaller (scale) Tesla car, with a lot of touchups and details externally. Cabin lighting has been totally redone, but still needs some fine tuning and stair lighting, but far better than the original set up. HUD HeadUp Display now works, as does the inclusion of DrGluck's Plugin v1.30+ that has Independent terrain display on the left and right displays, and a working Vertical Situation Display. Pilots have been added as has WingFlex, and a lot, a real lot of changes to the engine performance, flight model and custom performance for both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11. I still have a few quibbles, poor window surrounds, lighting still not right, default FMS, pop in/pop out Tanker and other quirks, but you have to understand to a point this aircraft (and by the extensive list of updates) is really still a work in progress, it has in reality come a very long way since it's release late October 2022, obviously released too early, but the developer has made some highly significant progress on the aircraft. Personally I absolutely love the Gulfstream G550. X-Plane has wanted a really excellent transoceanic Private Jet for decades and here it is, it is also available in X-Plane 11 and more importantly in X-Plane 12 in the same value package of just over US$30. For your money you get a lot of aircraft with it's Gulfstream related systems. ________________________________ The Gulfstream 550 v1.10 by AKD Studio is NOW available here at the X-Plane.OrgStore GLF550 - Ultimate Business Jet by AKD Studio Price is US$31.95 This aircraft is now both X-Plane12 and X-Plane 11 supported Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.1 GB Current version : 1.10 (February 7th 2023) Download for the Gulfstream 550 by AKD Studio is 1.03GB And the final install in X-Plane Aircraft folder with the above loaded liveries is; 2.53gb. Authorisation is required. The AviTab plugin is also required to use this aircraft, and it is deposited in your X-Plane Plugins folder. Simbrief proflie is; https://www.simbrief.com/system/dispatch.php?sharefleet=256234_1658264083720 Documents AKD GLF550 Introduction.pdf FMS_Manual.pdf GLF550 Normal Checklist.pdf GLF550_air_conditioning_system.pdf GLF550_auxiliary_power_unit_(apu)_system.pdf GLF550_electrical_system.pdf GLF550_fire_protection_system.pdf GLF550_flight_control_system.pdf GLF550_fuel_system.pdf GLF550_hydraulic_system.pdf GLF550_ice_and_rain_protection_system.pdf GLF550_landing_gear_and_brakes_system.pdf GLF550_oxygen_system.pdf GLF550_pneumatic_system.pdf GLF550_powerplant_system.pdf GLF550_pressurization_system.pdf Changelog Changelog v1.10.txt Designed by AKD Studios Support forum for the Gulfstream G550 _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 18th February 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.01r3 (This is a beta review). Plugins: JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : RK Apps XPRealistic v2 - US$34.99 Scenery or Aircraft - ELLX - Luxembourg Findel Airport v2.1 by JustSim (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.95 - EVRA - Riga International Airport v2 by JustSim (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$18.50 (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    3 points
  19. Aircraft Update : Airbus A350-900 XWB Advanced v1.6 by FlightFactor/SteptoSky Since the earliest days you mostly saw FlightFactor Aero as a Boeing developer, there was the Boeing 777, then the Boeing 757 and then the Boeing 767... then out of the blue came an Airbus in the Airbus A350-900 XWB. But right from the first version of this aircraft it never felt... well very Airbus? Where as all the Boeings felt and flew like Boeings. Since the A350 FlightFactor went on to do another Airbus in the A320 Ultimate, which DOES feel like an Airbus and is still the best Airbus in X-Plane. But the FlightFactor A350XWB was a really odd aircraft from the start? Excellent on the external, the A350 always looked very nice in X-Plane. The clever six display layout with X input system is also really clever and is well done (early versions were however extremely buggy) and the airbus system depth is very good. So overall it should have been perfect for me as I like to fly Airbuses more than Boeings... but I never ever really fell in love with FlightFactor's A350XWB? Which is really odd because Long-Haul is still my favorite form of flying and also the A350 XWB is the latest of the New-Gen aircraft and X-Plane is very short of Long-Haul airlines and certainly of the New-Gen class. The FlightFactor A350 should of very easily ticked off every box for me, but in all honestly it left me cold and I rarely flew the aircraft, even the last time departing Barcelona I even stopped mid-flight (I very rarely abandon flights) because I was really not liking it at all? Why? well that is a good question... the first one in the most obvious. The FF A350 didn't have SID/STARs and the FMS was in reality the default FMS undercover. And this missing aspect really was the biggest complaint, but to be fair the A350XWB FMS (Flight Management Systems) is quite complicated and very different in input from either a Boeing and even another Airbus as only the bigger A380 has the same input and navigation system. Poor Sounds didn't help either and they were really awful, and the cockpit textures were weird in a non-Airbus way, and the aircraft always felt buggy, it never seemed to come together as a whole or as a linear simulation, it was an aircraft you simply couldn't love. The news of a v2.0 of the FlightFactor A350 was very welcome, but it became confusing in the light that the next update in v1.6.0 would be next and also include the infamous missing SID/STAR intergration, my guessing (wrongly) would that the SID/STAR intergration would only happen with the full new version of v2.0 (In selling the new version of the aircraft)... The surprise is that the SID/STAR is in this update v1.6.0 version, so that will be a free update, the better news is that the FMS is now really, really good... far better than I expected and to the point even brilliant. Nothing wrong with the way the A350 XWB looks, but this is still the v1.0 aircraft and in a few areas the v1.0 has a few niggles, the wings do have flex, but in a weird stiff flexy way, so the wing flex still looks old and outdated, and the cabin is still also old and very dated as well. A worthwhile download is the new Lufthansa A350 livery by fscabral as the cabin textures have been redone and the results seriously lift the cabin from the really drab to the really nice... and yes this cabin layout should be the default. Note in that the cabin lighting is controlled from the EFB (OIS/AIRPLANE/CABIN settings), lighting and sound settings settings are currently off at default. Ground support still has those cold war Russian vehicles, and you shake your head why as all the FlightFactor Boeings now have the updated western styled vehicles. But thankfully where it counts in the air the A350 XWB still looks very nice. Airbus 350 XWB v1.6 We will come to the big event in a moment, but first unlike other areas of the A350 the cockpit has had a very nice spruce up of the textures. The original cockpit textures were a darker Airbus blue with some wear around the edges, but somehow it didn't feel right in context as the A350 is the most modern of the Airbus fleet? These textures are now in a far lighter blue/grey Airbussy feel and are far better to the current state of a A350 XWB. The panels are still very left side pilot focused, with the right position more fixed with no display cycle active, the far right display is also fixed to a users guide page. The range and baro adjustments however do work, so it is not impossible to fly from the right seat as you can flip the FMS screen to the right middle display setting, but with no access to the menu sections unless again you move the menu selection to the middle screen. Glareshield textures are lovely, modern and very nice. Gone are the wheat coloured seats to be replaced by a very not corporate look of "stars"? A very unusual choice, but they do look better than the wheat seats with far more cloth and ripple detail.. FMS - Flight Management System The most important and the most welcome aspect of this v1.6 update is the intergration of SID/STARS into the FMS navigation, not only is SID/STAR routing now available, but it is also in how well the system has actually been done here is the biggest factor. Pilot left station is very good with most items and displays active and interactive. FlightFactor recreated the X pointer system for use on A350 displays and although very buggy in the early days (the X pointer would stray badly out of the display limits) it is now a very robust system that works well. There are two drop down menus tight together top left of the MFD (Multi-Functional Display). Top one selects your FMS route (Sorry there is still only one FMS1 route available) and below to start a new route then select INIT from the lower menu. If you are used to the usual FMS via a left or right button input key, then you will have to adjust to this different pointer system. There are a few rules to know... one is that everything is via an input and menu selection, so you select the box with the X pointer (arrowed below left)... ... put the X pointer over the box you want to input into and you get a green dash line and a flashing cursor, the display then also becomes "KEYBOARD FOCUSED" for direct key input... Type in your data, in this case Nairobi Airport "HKJK", but most IMPORTANT is to re-click to lock the data in! This is usually placed over the very first letter in the box with the pointer, if the "Keyboard Focus" line goes out and the input text sets a little to the right... then it is correctly inputted (locked in). Add in your INIT details... Flight Number, From (HKJK) to (EGLL) Alternative (EGCC) and Cruise FL (Flight Level) and Cruise (CRZ) Temp ºC. DEP and ARR locations set it is now time to do the flightplan, you access the flightplan via the "ACTIVE" menu and select F-PLN. Now comes the new SID (Standard Instrument Departures) selection... Press the departure airport (HKJK) and up comes a menu, select on the menu "DEPARTURE". Drop down menus give selection for RWY (Runway), SID and TRANS.... ... in my case it is RWY 24, SID "IBRA3D" and TRANS "KAMAS", all selections are then shown in the above Selected Departure box. Go back to the F-PLN and the SID departure route (waypoints) are now completed. Next waypoint (WPT) or AIRWAY is inserted in a similar way. Just select the last waypoint and select via thew menu either "INSERT NEXT WPT" or "AIRWAYS". For to "Insert Next Wpt" you select the selection box and insert the waypoint name (TUFTE) and make sure you click to insert, and you don't use the AIRWAY selection to add in the next WPT. For Airways then select AIRWAYS and add in the AIRWAY and the TO selections and like all FMS systems you can add in as many airways as you require. In every flightplan you get "DISCONTINUITY" breaks... to remove you just select the Discontinuity selection and then select "DELETE" from the menu. STAR (Standard Terminal ARrival) is the same procedure as the SID selection, select the arrival airport, then ARRIVAL from the menu and then use the menus to fill in the arrival data... ... the drop down menus select RWY, APPR (Approach), VIA, STAR (shown) and TRANS. All selections are shown in the upper box like with the SID selections. All changes and selections are only TEMPY or Temporary in yellow and insert via INSERT TEMPY, or backstep by ERASE TEMPY... .... and at any time while constructing the route you can make it active (Green) to see your progress on the PFD... The final full Flightplan is shown with diversions of which you can scroll up or down.... brilliant! It takes a little while to adjust to this pointer system, but it is quite easy to do once you are used to it. Overall the FMS is very versatile in creating route flightplans and I found it very refined and not buggy at all, which is very good thing with long route insertion flightplans like from Nairobi to London. Other FMS details are important as well... OIS (Onboard Information System ) Aircraft AIRPLANE/PASSENGERS gives you the A350 weights, and the AIRPLANE/PERF CALCULATOR gives you TO Performance and vSpeeds. ... and the calculated data is then transferred to the PERF (performance) page and the very important FUEL & LOAD page in the FMS... You can save your flightplan via the INIT page under "RTE SAVE", but the interesting aspect is that you have three choices of save, 1. the FULL complete flightplan, 2. SID or 3. STAR, so this makes it a very versatile system... .... the route is confusingly saved in your standard X-Plane FMS folder but not in the alphabetical order, but under a (*) moniker at the very bottom, which means a lot of scrolling. Quicker access is to use the "Filter" box lower right which reduces the flightplans to the chosen ICAO label. Wind pages have been added and it noted is that Alterative Flightplans are also now available, but I couldn't find a second flightplan? All in all it is a very extensive and detailed upgrade to the FMS in the A350XWB, I absolutely love it, yes there is more you want like a second FMS for the First Officer, but overall it is a fantastic working system... not perfect but far better than we had before. _______________________ There are no notes that the sounds have had attention in v1.6, but they certainly sound far better to me? Cockpit hum and wind noise is very good for a long haul flight and the exterior sounds far better as well, more distant in the background now is that really annoying "tring, ring" from the engines, it is still there but now highly subdued... thank god, the annoying Purser to Captain "Dings" are still as bad as ever, finding the issue is made hard by the language spoken in a gobble... usually it is the cabin that is TOO hot or TOO cold "but mister if the damn engines are switched off I can't heat or cool the cabin can I?... so go away", or the cabin lights are down, but it is really, really annoying... If any aircraft requires a specialist addon sound pack it is the A350 XWB. Contrails and and particles have now been added as well, the APU hums and breathes out exhaust air, and in the air the aircraft looks great. Another new menu page on the OIS is the "JOYSTICK ACTIONS" menu and noted to make the aircraft compatible with the new Thrustmaster TCA Airbus Throttle Quadrant. The new hardware offering from Thrustmaster, part of its new TCA Range is due to release in late September this year. This covers your joystick "Deadband" area (centre), throttle detent location and "MCT Detent" (Maximum Continuous Thrust) location. All the settings of course are for fine tuning your hardware joystick and throttle systems, but one selection is quite important... "REV ON SAME AXIS" will set your throttles with a "Beta' reverse detent. fine in some cases but horrible with my Saitek X56 Rhino setup as it set the idle position to reverse thrust, you can turn the action OFF here (arrowed below left). Radios are now 8.33 (as X-Plane11 went to this earlier). The 8.33 kHz channel spacing adds two additional channels for every 25 kHz channel. This is to overcome the frequency congestion in the medium to long term by providing more channels. Navigation ILS, VOR and ADF frequencies are under the "NAV" button, but you still have the default FMS at the rear of the pedestal and it's radio channels if you want a easier way to access any of the frequency settings or route information. _______________________ Summary Although noted as a "Advanced" version of the Airbus A350XWB, the Flightfactor version never really hit the mark in delivering a totally realistic simulation, and so in that aspect I was never yearned for the aircraft and rarely flew it, which is a shame because we need really good long haul and next generation aircraft in the X-Plane simulator. But now with this new v1.6 version of the A350XWB we have a game changer. The missing SID/STAR intergration that was missing is now part of this extensive Flight Management System. A difficult system to replicate because of it's unusual pointer and menu based input applications. But this intergration has been a huge success here in creating a master simulation of this unique Airbus FMS. Most FMS areas are now covered, but you will never ever cover everything as it is simply too complex, but the aircraft in reality should lose it's "Advanced" moniker and be now named a "Professional" aircraft because of the depth of the systems here... the only area missing is the right hand seat interaction to the OIS (Onboard Information System). A few areas have also been cleaned up including the cockpit textures which are more Airbus grey and lighter in tone and new seat (star) coverings. Over the updates the A350XWB has had a lot of behind the scenes work done and not actually noted officially, but you certainly feel in this version a far more co-ordinated and less buggy aircraft to fly, the FMS especially is really well coded and quite bug free in being versatile for corrections and data changes, a far cry from the original interface and flying conditions. So now it works, in almost every area and if not absolutely perfect the A350XWB starts to live up to it's quality standing as a very good if now excellent simulation. Over many hard flights (most Long Haul) it is an excellent aircraft to enjoy, the v1.6 update maybe on reflection small, but the aircraft has become something else than just a pretty aircraft to look at, it now a very realistic flying simulation as well. Once the outcast, the Airbus A350-900XWB can now be seen in the same context as the other aircraft from FlightFactor. A brilliant update that in the long wait users deserved... Not perfect but a free update with these enhancements will bring a lot of smiles to a lot of users faces, if you don't have the A350XWB from FlightFactor, but love long distance flying, maybe it is now time to take the plunge and enjoy this amazing aircraft. _____________________________________________ The Airbus A350-900 XWB Advanced v1.6 from FlightFactor is Available from the X-Plane.Org Store: Airbus A350 XWB Advanced Price is currently US$ 64.95 Livery packs at US$10 for ten liveries are available here: A350 Liveries Include: North America, Oceania, Africa & Middle East, Asia, Atlantic, Europe 1, Europe 2 and Pacific. If you already have purchased the A350 XWB from FlightFactor then go to your account at the X-PlaneStore and update to v1.6 Requirements: X-Plane 11 Windows - Mac - Linux - 64bit Operating System Required 4Gb+ VRAM Minimum, 8Gb+ VRAM Minimum. Release Review : Aircraft Review : Airbus A350 XWB Advanced by FlightFactor Support forum : FlightFactor A350 XWB _____________________________________________________________________________________ Update and Tutorial by Stephen Dutton 18th July 2020 Copyright©2020: X-PlaneReviews
    3 points
  20. Hi Bob, Thanks, I am really happy to know that you are liking my articles. Both aircraft are extremely good. Personally, I like the A319 more, especially with the IAE sounds, don't forget that you need the CFM too. Independent of your decision, you will be extremely happy.
    3 points
  21. Totally. Even though they look similar, each aircraft has its characteristics.
    3 points
  22. X-Plane Year Review 2014 and Welcoming in 2015. Well that was 2014? What did you think of it? The usual, the different or just forget the whole year happened. Well it was different in a unusual way in that it wasn't filled with the usual things that turn the simulator upside down. My view it was quite a subdued year in a way, but a lot still happened and a lot changed. But I did feel this time last year that X-Plane needed a more stable settling period to consolidate its main base and in a big way that did happen. The word "consolidate" is the key point here, and in that context for X-Plane it was a very good year. Review 2014 The year started off with loads and just loads of scenery released, The excellent LEVC - Valencia from DAI-Media started it all off and I loved this Spanish scenery. Tom Curtis had another great year with KDEN - Denver and big updates to his great packages "Final Frontier" and "Seattle - Boeing Country" and his "Las Vegas "Glitter Gulch" through out the year had a touch more magic as well. Another good solid year from Tom. Santiago Butnaru was another who gave a lot of prolific scenery releases this year with KBUF (Buffalo-Niagara) which is underrated, KFLL - Fort Lauderdale and last week KEWR - Newark. Two stood out in CZST Stewart by beti-x and EIDW - Dublin by Aerosoft were both brilliant but in their very different ways, But as scenery goes it was a really good year, a lot of really great freeware and many new faces having a go at doing some work with a lot of the usual suspects delivering outstanding work. Two points I will highlight here in the return of ISDG with a bang with Steve K and YMML - Melbourne and the simply amazing "tdg"and If one person has single-handedly changed our scenery base it is tdg. I really loved the recently released "Winter_Package" of winter scenery from Albert (xflyer) who is the person that creates the default Laminar Research autogen art... simply amazing, and Laminar has also made hints it could be included in the base simulator in a start of the seasons feature, well bring that on. Another great late in the year release is the v3 terrain files from Alpilotx, another step up in high-quality detail, but a huge just under 100gb download for the lot (It takes two days alone if you want it all downloaded now) but it does now also include Australia. I earlier had my doubts about the Laminar Research default airport scenery system, but it works very well and not as intrusive as I expected, the updated WED 1.30 is also now very, very good. Overall the scenery aspect came along in heaps and bounds this year, 2014 was a really good year for scenery and I am getting really very impressed by a lot of the images coming out of the simulator. Not perfect by a long shot, but a big and definite step forward and X-Plane is finally fixing its biggest blackhole. Laminar Research felt like it was being diverted by another presence in 2014 and that turned out to be fact in most of the development time of the year went into an upgrade of LR's other simulator business in mobile games or X-Plane 10 MOBILE for iPhone or iPad. They note that these products help the desktop version and vice-versa, and you can't argue with that philosophy, and the launch of X-Plane 10 on STEAM has again shown that LR is aiming lately at the gamer crowd for more business and users, So is X-Plane a game or a simulator? will the roads narrow as the products come closer aligned? I still see a big difference flying on my desktop to using X-Plane on my iPad (you can however fly around the room making loud aircraft noises with your steering iPad), but my only really big fun and main focus is my addictive personality of minecraft proportions of collecting and building my huge X-Plane scenery world and flying around it. One major (and only) X-Plane release for the desktop simulator form was version or v10.30 in a mid-year release in June. But it was a beauty, and its biggest feature was how well rounded it was when it was released. It didn't feel like a beta and had no really big hidden nasties, it was also brilliant from day one and a really good well rounded product. Laminar noted that they had taken their time to do this one and it showed, great quality and great features. The standout was the inclusion of an updated GARMIN 430/530 gps which was just sensational in design and operation. Created by Philipp Münzel my personal "Person of the Year" in 2013, in he had been recruited by LR to do development work directly for LR in 2014 and that took Philipp out of the daily limelight, but his brilliance was once again shown in a great feature and also gave the simulator another big push forward. He will be there for 2015, so expect more great things from him, Chris and Guru in the next year. Again v10.30 provided a very good consolidation of the desktop simulator, it refined and changed it into a more complete application that was more reliable and even smooth. There was a few missing features that had been promised like a wider visual distance that is really (really) showing now its time and age in the simulator these days and there was still no update to the average autocratic ATC system that is so badly required to make X-Plane 10 deliver on its promised features, no better water shading or cultures either, but maybe in 2015 a few of these changes will finally grace our screens. I noted in last years 2013 review that this year would be the last year for X-Plane9, that has come to pass as most developers now don't issue X-Plane9 versions with their releases, the biggest is of course Carenado and in that the v3/10.30 upgrade was completely X-Plane10 and no new product from either Carenado or Alabeo would in the future will be in X-Plane9. If you keep X-Plane9 into 2015, you are going to find it very slim pickings indeed for (payware) aircraft and a lot of quality scenery for that simulator version. X-Plane has now moved a long, long way even from its own X-Plane10 release version, in to a point it is now barely recognisable from its own small time beginnings. The biggest satisfaction for me in 2014 was the emergence of more developers that were willing to put their talent on the line and build payware. The gap from freeware to payware is simply massive, you have to be good not only in one area but many or create a stable team to produce good aircraft. It is not easy in covering this gap, as even the very best have had their moments this year. Once you cross that line and ask for payment, you are then required to deliver in every area, but the rewards are also very good if you can pull the off the project. X-Plane now requires extremely high quality, no half-measures can pass the line and it is a tough line, but it is still very highly required. In that talent and products build the simulator and the good news is X-Plane uses will pay for quality products, and that is a very good thing. As it goes both ways in that the users get great product and the developers will keep producing great product to satisfy the need. So both the users and the developers both benefit... In that area X-plane has crossed that invisible line. But quality was there even if at first the fine-tuning points are not. So basically the work was always very good, but the real work and talent is in that very last 5% to get that tuning and the quality first rate. Stephane Buon of Aerobask was a real talent this year in not only turning out interesting modern like the Lancair Legacy FG aircraft but refitting out his older work to the 10.30 requirements, and with a flourish even finished off the year with an amazing glider (Antares 20E). The X-Trident team with their amazing Bell - 412 was another great intro. X-Crafts produced his ERJ-195ER that really was a great start in quality payware and Jetsim gave us an Airbus A330-300 with CRT instruments. MLADG gave us some WW2 German fighter experience with the Me 262. And Colimata's Mig-29 blew me away, and on a modern twist AoA Simulations released just lately their F-35B Lighting ll. But the old hand operators still delivered as well. As a group they delivered very deep immersion simulation with always new tricks to get your attention. Reviewing these challenging deep system aircraft is taking longer and longer to deliver your verdict, as you have so much ground to cover. Many need not a week now but weeks to understand and get the very best from and to understand how to fly them to their best performance. Peter's (Hager) Aircraft started off the year with his 3d A320/A321 series, but I was simply a non-starter from the very start. The aircraft no matter how much I twisted my settings could they run on my computer, frame rate was always in the low single figures and I simply had to give up any chance of giving them a fair review. It was the first time I had actually gave up and moved on, something I simply don't like to do. I tried again later in the year with the same results. JARDesign did a few updates till mid-year to his A320 but then left it to focus on the A330. SSG - Supercritical Simulations Group started the year with a bang in the B748i which was a bit raw, but steady and quality time in development brought this aircraft (And the just released Freighter version) up to a very high standard and they now both now sit in that high point quality area. Jack and Joe from FlyJSim did not disappoint with their excellent Boeing 732, another really great simulation and a great companion in your hanger with the B727 Series. FlightFactor also was busy with great upgrades (including engine options) to both their Boeing 777 and 757 series aircraft, and later in the year the release of the amazing A350-900 with a menu system that is just so unique and clever. It had QPAC airbus systems as well, and the very best in airbus laws and protections that made it something really special to fly. It was delayed and frustrated by a very stubborn bug for Mac users? Not a major issue in context, but it simply refused to be hunted down and fixed, as a beta tester on the A350 I spent hours (and hours) doing loops in trying to focus it down, but it still remained elusive. It will in time be usually something very simple that fixes it, but that is not to take away the achievement this aircraft is to X-Plane's quality and position in flight simulation, and a pro version of the A350 is still coming. Hydroz and Khamsim brought out their excellent HU-16 Albatross that was a great aircraft to get your head around, and Khamsin also updated his Mitchell. And I liked the old B-29 from Virtavia and Dawson Designs, strange to fly but very rewarding if you are willing to put in the effort. Carenado had again a huge year with constant updates right through the range and great releases. Putting the updated GNS 10.30 gps into Carenado aircraft was always going to brilliant, and it was. And Carenado also created a unique manipulator system that could change the way we operate knobs and switches in the simulator. great for scroll mouse users, but I found it a bit strange with my one puck mouse. In aircraft it started with the PA-38 Tomahawk, which i simply loved as it was simply a great aircraft to fly. Then came the brilliant B200 King Air, a monster of an aircraft that was then even later over shadowed by the even bigger and more monstrous KIng Air in the 1900D that was just the ultimate King Air you can ever get in simulation. Released in-between these two giants was the Piper PA-46 Malibu and the excellent CT206H Turbo Stationair, which is really the very best single-upper wing aircraft in X-Plane bar none. So for Carenado it was a just that a huge year, and great simulation. Helicopters did exceptionally well as well. You don't get a huge amount of releases in the rotary world. But the quality is out of this world, and 2014 did not disappoint. DMO started it out with a really great update to the S92, now a major player and a great big aircraft to fly. Then came the Bell 407 by Dreamfoil Creations which is quite possibly the very best helicopter ever created for X-Plane, it was simply in every area sensational. But my overall favorite was the B412 Huey from X-Trident. It is still the most addictive aircraft I have ever flown in X-Plane... When you are still flying at 4am in the morning and still wanting to have another go after five hours of flying already means this aircraft totally has your guts and heart at its controls. I now fear going near it as I know I will lose hours or a day if I do so and reviews are then left hanging half done. It is a total love/hate relationship, but the love for the B412 will always win me over. None expected shows for the year are also to be noted. The IXEG 737 classic is still going into another year of development. Real 733's are now going to the graveyard in big numbers and X-Plane still hasn't had any hours behind the controls of one of them, it is now promised before next Christmas... 2015! But still well worth the wait (ing). The EADT x737 3d cockpit aircraft was a no show as well, but the update images show an amazing experience when it does arrive. maybe 2015 will finally be the year of the B737? I doubt the PMDG B737 will join the queue, there was a lot of noise from PMDG in the middle of the year referring to X-Plane and then nothing? So PMDG is slowly going into the "I'll believe it when I see it" zone. JARdesign didn't release his A332 either, but I doubt it is very far away in early 2015. An area I am interested in is the DC-9/MD-80, There was a great freeware release from Roger2009, but three projects were announced and going into 2015 only one in "Rotate's" MD-80 is still ongoing, but what an aircraft this is. If one aircraft should be in your hanger in 2015, it will be or should be this one... looks simply brilliant. Going into 2015 and news of new work is very thin on the ground. Developers are holding their cards closer to their chests these days. But they are all out there work and creating... we will just have to wait and see what 2015 brings us. To wrap up this review of 2014 and the year, I will now list my Best of the Year 2014: Best Aircraft : FlightFactor aero A350-900 Late in the year but an excellent, fully featured and clever aircraft. Honorable Mention : X Crafts ERJ-195LR, A great debut aircraft and expect great designs from this designer. Best Classic Aircraft : Boeing 737-200 Series - FlyJSim As good as the B727 series, but smaller. Honorable Mention : Grumman HU-16 Albatross Really different and versatile aircraft, loved it. Best General Aviation Aircraft : Carenado Beechcraft 1900D King Air Just simply brilliant... thats it. Honorable Mention : Any Aerobask aircraft Very modern and very different, and now a glider as well Best Helicopter : Bell 407 by Dreamfoil Creations/Bell 412 X-Trident Both totally brilliant and very hard to split By design it is the B407, but the B412 totally won my heart. Best Scenery : CZST - Stewart by beti-x and EIDW - Dublin by Aerosoft Both really really good scenery, but EIDW is more usable and functional for everyday use. Honorable Mention : Tom Curtis His work throughout 2014 was just excellent again in scale and detail. Person of the Year 2014 : tdg (scenery) Airport by airport and a release sometimes daily... tdg is slowly changing the face of X-Plane Airports. His facade work is simply overwhelming and sensational, his detailing is superb. How can he do all that work? and in a single day? Honorable Mentions : Philipp Münzel and Daniel Klaue Again Phillipp has touched X-Plane with his brilliance. The GARMIN 430/530 gps in X-Plane 10.30 is another master work and Daniel drives X-Plane forward with his brilliance in so many areas that you don't see... but use all the time. Best Plugin : SkyMaxx Pro Real clouds and real weather. Honorable Mention : TugMaster - JARDesign Finally a really decent pushback truck(s) Best Moment of the year 2014 : Using the GNS 430/530 GPS for the first time. Worst Moment of the Year 2014 : Monday 22nd December 2014? Biggest distraction of 2014 : The none shows that promised us an announcement that never came. Personal Favorites of 2013 : The Bell 412, CT206H Turbo Stationair, 1900D Carenado King Air, B200 King Air in fact any King Air? and the A350-900 and finally flying the CRJ-200 correctly (It is a very long story) So that was 2014... So was it a good year or a great year. Certainly X-Plane grew and even passed the significant milestone of 300,000 users on the X-Plane.org, many will of course churn over and leave, but many are also liking what they are seeing and are joining us and most importantly are contributing to the cause. So we grew as a simulator, a lot and that is a nice feeling. The X-Plane.Org shop was overhauled and ready for 2015. A very difficult and long task, but well worth the effort. So in many ways X-Plane is in great shape for 2015 and another big year in simulation. I will be back with more and a better X-Plane Reviews in 2015, but at this point I'm not sure exactly when I will be actually able to restart? The date above of 22nd December 2014 was a day of "oh hell" as my trusty iMac went into meltdown and totally blew out its graphic chip?, Yes its true, X-Plane actually blew my graphic chip to pieces and that is how hard I have pushed it this year... In fact I am proud to say "I ran X-Plane so hard I blew my computer up!" It works but only in "Slow" mode which means no X-Plane for me at all and I am in denial. When I can get it fixed depends on when the Australian workforce decides to come back from its annual holidays and I can get the parts. Hopefully in the very early days in January 2015. I have to thank Joe Charman for his huge contribution this past year, thanks Joe and to all the incredible developers that provide me with their work and and valuable information to make these reviews work and happen. I am as always in awe in what they do. Finally to Nicolas Taureau and the backing of the guys of the X-Plane.Org that keeps the site running smoothly and give great advice and assistance. So all X-Plane flyers, have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year 2015!... more to come and soon! "Anyone know of any good books to read, while I get my computer fixed?" Stephen Dutton Copyright©2014: X-Plane Reviews
    3 points
  23. Competition! : X-Plane Reviews first anniversary competition and win either a Boeing 748i, 777 or 757! To celebrate X-Plane Reviews first year anniversary we are holding brilliant competition to win either a : FlightFactor/Vmax Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional FlightFactor/Vmax Boeing Aircraft:757 Professional SSG/Vmax Boeing Aircraft:747-8i Advanced Great prizes and well worth a few minutes of your time to enter: Well what we want to know is - "What is your favorite aircraft or add-on we have reviewed on X-Plane Reviews in the last twelve months and why?" Just write in the "comments" below what your thoughts are.... Conditions: Only one entry only, more than one will be deleted... so make it count. You must be a registered as a member with X-Plane Reviews to give a valid comment... "Guest" comments will be deleted. Keep the comment to around 350 words, monologues will be deleted. (unless very funny!) The best three will of course win one of the prizes in no order, Judges decisions are final. The winners comments will be posted as a separate post on the X-Plane Reviews site. Competition runs for 14 days till midnight 14th August 2014 (winners will be posted on the .Org) Have fun and lets us know on how really great the X-Plane Simulator really is. Stephen Dutton X-Plane Reviews Note! to sign up as a member then use the Account link : 1st August 2014 Copyright©2014:X-Plane Reviews
    3 points
  24. My Favorite Review (probably because I'm just a C206 freak) is the CT206H Turbo Stationair review. Located Here: Awesome Detail, great layout and the amount of detail in the pictures. Very good! I really enjoyed reading the play-by-play of the flight. It was very well put together. I really appreciate it when you bring up every slightest detail in the product you are reviewing. I would have never known* that the GPS530 was in a different folder! Giving us the history of the aircraft, as well as specs,and many, many pictures just put icing on the cake. When it comes to detail, you got it for your reviews! In the CT206H Review, you went all the way to awesome when you noted this: That was a cool fact that I would have never known. Carena *Now I do not own the C206 since I have v9. But I am a C206 fan, and I wanted to look at it more for information purposes. I do, however own other Carenado Aircraft. I was impressed that you took careful note of the navigational details of the flight. Examples are: "....and track North East until I was 17nm past to a final 180º track back to RWY 24 at 1200ft." "Using the DIR (Direct) mode on the GNS530 put me on a direct course with the fix, and then when close to NEGEL I did another DIR direct back to EICK and RWY 35...." Of course, the actual play-by-play was not vital information for us who do not fly that same route, but explaining the reasons why you did what you did, I found to be good information for owners of the aircraft to know to help them better know the GPS and IFR equipment of the airplane. I found it quite adventurous reading the play-by-play of the review's flight. I do think that this review fits the bill for the best. It's a great review for a great plane. Over all, I believe that this is my favorite review. I applaud you for the detail, adventure (of the flight) and the layout of the review. Tha onli thang i fownd rong was that u speld "sumery*" rong. Thanks for the great reviews my friend! Toby Rice P.S. I have seen some good posts on this thread. I hope mine (as from my heart as it is) is "up to snuff" for one of those addons you are offering. If I win, I will donate the aircraft to a pilot of an airline of AeroFlight Alliance, through a contest.
    3 points
  25. Hi X-PlaneReviews, congratulations on your 1st anniversary celebrating a year of great reviews. My favorite review… I would put my favorite as the 757 review, very well-done, but because I don't own the 757 in my hangar, my favorite review has to be the Carenado C208B Caravan/Cargomaster reviews. Awesome review, it made a great impression of the aircraft on me, after reading I went to buy a copy of my own. Keep up the good work X-PlaneReviews, and if I win I hope to win the 757!
    3 points
  26. Through your enchanting scenery Cami, I feel the warmth of this sun-kissed location, like stepping off a flight, taking breath, then, meandering through town, down to the glistening water's edge, across castor sugar sands, and finding that perfect, family run Ristorante, seated outside, with a cool breeze, sipping a life-giving granita, savouring the freshest local cuisine, all while watching the sun set lazily across shimmering tranquil seas. Am I dreaming? Not anymore. Thanks to you Cami, for transporting this Kiwi to distant shores and your stunning atmospheric render, and to you Dom for your beguiling review. I feel like I've just had a holiday. In-fact, now I can, anytime! Now... where's my suitcase?lol Nigel
    2 points
  27. Aircraft Review : JRX Design Bell 407 v1.30 for X-Plane 11 and 12 A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter that uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with the composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, instead of the two-blade, semi-rigid, teetering rotor of the 206L-4. So the breed line is from the famous "Jetranger", but the 407 is the far bigger and powerful relation to the family. The Bell 407's fuselage is 8 inches (20 cm) wider, increasing internal cabin space, and includes 35% larger main cabin windows. The more powerful Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C47 turboshaft allows an increase in Maximum Takeoff Weight and improves performance at hotter temperatures and/or higher altitudes. The helicopter has standard seating for two crew and five cabin seats. In 1993, Bell began the development of the New Light Aircraft as a replacement for its Model 206 series. The program resulted in the 407, a development of Bell's LongRanger. A 206L-3 LongRanger was modified to serve as the 407 demonstrator. The demonstrator used hardware for the 407 and added molded fairings to represent the 407's wider fuselage then under development. The demonstrator was first flown in 1994, and the 407 program and was publicly announced at the Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 1995. The first 407 prototype (C-GFOS) then accomplished its maiden flight on June 29, 1995, and the second prototype (C-FORS) followed on July 13, 1995. After a short development program, the first production 407 (C-FWQY/N407BT) flew on November 10, 1995. Since then almost 1500+ aircraft have been built. In 2021, only three years ago JRX Design started in the X-Plane Simulator with the dual SA 341B and SA 342J Gazelle, then their next release was the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 DBS-4, a big name, but also a lot of helicopter, which was updated only 12 months ago to X-Plane 12. All sensational and quality designs. This is JRX's latest release with the Bell 407. Notable is that the release(s) are separate for both the X-Plane 12 version or the X-Plane 11 version, as they are not packaged together here. We will of course focus on the XP12 version for the review, in details the X-Plane 11 is identical, but missing the X-Plane 12 dynamic features. This is not the first Bell 407 for X-Plane. That was the excellent Bell 407 from Dreamfoil Creations, a standard bearer for it's time with a huge feature list and flying dynamics. Currently still only X-Plane 11, but with the release of the terrific Schweizer S300CB, it noted the developer was back in a big way, and he notes that the Bell 407 (and the AS350 B3+) are now being developed for X-Plane 12, expect in a few months. So that obviously sets up a quandary, which would be the best B407 to buy? A hard one even for me, as both as we shall see are very highly quality developed machines. The B407 from JRX is available now and for X-Plane 12, but the Dreamfoil 407 will have a bigger feature list and personal familiarity... it is a very, very tough choice. Note, that since this review has been published, JRX Design has since updated the 407 to v1.30 (forget v1.10 as it was a non-starter). There were a few new additions, the biggest new feature was the CINEFLEX camera feature, and that item has now been included in the review. Design wise JRX have a superlative quality record, and to scale, and that aspect shows here. The 407 is beautifully done in modeling terms with excellent glass. Odd here though is you can't hide the glass reflections (inside or external), but it is still very well done with both front and rear doors with window (opening) hatch inserts. The huge fuel filler is excellent. Notable is that the riveting is drawn on and not modeled with highlights, same with the engine cover latches. It's well done but noticeable, but the external panel bolts are nicely 3d. The engine internals are also images, again highly realistic, so you admire them and are not as so distracted by them being only 2d Rear tail boom, horizontal stabiliser and upright tail support are well modeled, with the original orange/white tail-skid. The heart of a helicopter are the rotors and their assemblies.... The main rotor is a 35 foot diameter, soft-in-plane flex beam (flapping flexure) type yoke/hub with four interchangeable blades. Elastomeric technology is incorporated and allows for blade movement. The blades and yoke are all composite materials. The rotor is designed to rotate at 413 RPM at 100% Nr. As rotor heads go it is very, very simple design, just the tower and four pushrods. Plate construction is really good, as are the arms, but we are going to lose points because only the collective bite is animated (13 degrees of twist), shame as we know the Dreamfoil 407 is fully animated, but the movements here are good. Rear tail-rotor is intricately designed, great detail and fine work. The yaw animations are also well done and visible. All doors are animated, can be opened externally and internally, and they can also be removed, but only all and not individually. Left side also takes away the cam centre panel, for a very wide open space for the Medi-Vac. So you really do wish for more selection on which doors you want removed as you can't slide the rear doors open in flight, missing also is the long and short window door panel option. Rear cabin seats five, or four chunky seats and a tight centre child seat in the rear. Default colour is a light grey with the very nice "Bell" logo on the seat back, the trim material is all very nicely done. Seating colours change to the selected external livery, with four choices in Light Grey, Red, Green and Dark Grey. The familiar restricted cabin roof is well reproduced here, making the rear cabin feel very authentic to those familiar with a 206/406 environment. Forward pilot seats are also very chunky for a helicopter, but very well designed and created. Again the materials are of a quality nature, a feel real effect if viewed in closely of the excellent chosen materials, the above roof switch and CB-Fuse panel is also excellent. All circuit breakers are active and animated. Side doors are beautifully realistically molded, with the authentic bell 407 logos and opening slide window, same in the rear. There is the option for single or duel controls, the left side pilot's cyclic and collective are very basic, with just a throttle built in. The right side pilot has a more detailed collective head, with FLOAT activation and lights with SEARCH, LDG (landing) and Start/Disengage switch. Chunky could also describe the instrument panel, for a small helicopter the 206/407 instrument panels are massive. But the instrument arrangement is quite simple. Top left is a Radio Altmeter, Engine readouts (TRQ - Torque, MGT, NR/NP - RPM, Davtron Clock/OAT/Volt meter, Fuel PSI-AMPS, FUEL Qty and Gearbox and Engine Oil pressure/Temp). Flying instruments include Airspeed, Artificial Horizon, Altimeter. Main NR/NP Tachometer dual gauge, Bendix/king HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator), Vertical Speed instrument. OBS (Omni-Bearing Selector) for ADF 1/2, OBS NAV 1 and Turn rate dial. Lower is the avionic stack, with a custom GNS 530, KX 155A COM/NAV 1 radio, another KX 155A COM/NAV 2 radio, Bendix/King KMA 30 radio, Bendix/King KT74 Transponder and bottom (flat) a Bendix/King KR87 ADF radio. The metal rudder pedals are also highly designed and have pretty Bell logos. Panel can be set in either a light or dark tone There are two sets of headphones, in that their cables drag across the cockpit and obscures the instrument panel, you can click (lower volume) to hide the right headset, but you can't click on the left co-pilot one to hide it? so it hangs there! and right in your view line (It can thankfully be hidden another way as we shall see later). v1.20 and the Co-Pilot headset can now be thankfully also hidden directly via a "hotspot" click. Power on and the panel is beautifully done, love the instrument contrast to the red radio readouts. Then simply glorious at night! Caution Warning Panel (CWP) is very authentic, you can also test the systems via the button right panel. CWP can be set to BRIGHT or DIM illumination. Other internal lighting includes rear bulkhead adjustable spot light, plus the same as a cabin (switch) light, rear cabin lights again look very nice in the darker light, single overhead panel switch, or the individual rear switches can be used. Overhead panel lighting is again sensational. Menu To access the menu, you press the "Tablet" button on the far right top of the instrument panel. It is in the design of the RWP GTN 750 module. The tablet is extremely well intergrated with a support arm to the instrument binnacle. There are four option tabs on the left; MENU 1, MENU 2, RXP TAB, Avi TAB and LIVERIES. MENU 1 You could call Menu 1 the options tab set into five categories (not labeled). First two, with first the Static Elements, Covers, Tiedowns and Flags, second is the external "GPU" (Ground Power Unit). Note the "Rotor Park Brake" has to be down to activate the Static Elements. Next category covers the pilots and passengers; you have "Fly With Copilot" that puts a crew member in the left seat, notable is when you do this that headset disappears from your POV. You also have "Crew Helmets" but those pesky hanging headsets then return... damn. Pressing "Crew Headsets" will hide only the Pilot's headset, but not the Co-Pilot's. Final option here is the "Passengers", which inserts two lovely ladies in the rear cabin If you adjust the X-Plane "Weight & Balance" menu, it makes no difference or adds in NO more passengers or cargo. In this area the JRX is limited in options Next category covers options; "Dual Flight Controls", and Doors ON/OFF... Under the rear there is a large "Searchlight", or you can have the "Emergency Floats" installed on the skids. There are upper and lower "Wire Cutters" and last is the "ROTOR DAMPENER" cap. New in v1.20 were some very nice rear "Bear Paws" Last category is the set of options for the (optional) Reality RXP GTN 750. There is also a "Autopilot Unit" or Stability Augmentation Systems (SAS), this panel is placed lower right on the instrument panel. Last two options here is the "AviTab" tool (Plugin required), and the selection of the Light/Dark instrument facia. Also on the right side of "Menu 1" are three "Engine Exceedances" readouts, these can also be reset in TRQ (Torque), MGT and NG RPM Listed top of the panel is the current "Version" MENU 2 In this tab you set the aircraft's configuration. Top is the "Fuel Load" in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1/1 or FULL. Lower left is the changing weights as you select the (Fuel) and Weight/Payload selections right, "ALL UP WEIGHT" and "MAXIMUM TAKEOFF WEIGHT" must balance. Lower are three options with CofG (Centre of Gravity), "Vibrations" Off-x1, x2,x3... last is the selection of the FOV or "Field Of View". RXP/Avi TAB Are both quick button selections of the Reality WP GTN 750 and the Avitab tool LIVERIES You can select your livery via the tablet, and it gives you an image of the 407. There are 21 liveries, that covers a wide spectrum of services and countries, all are excellent. CINEFLEX A new feature added to the JRX B407 in the update v1.30, was the excellent CINEFLEX camera system. The Cineflex V14 is a 5-axis gyro stabilized camera system that delivers images completely free from even the smallest vibrations. It has a Sony Cinealta HDC 1500 camera integrated in the carbon-fibre housing that rotates a full 360°, and all movements are operated from within the helicopter. The first place you would look to activate the camera is the JRX Menu, but it's not located on there? The Camera system is activated by the "Camera System" switch, on the overhead panel, row below the circuit breakers/fuses, far right. Switching it on comes with a disclaimer from the developer... it will deliver a 25% FPS hit on your framerate (any internal to external X-Plane viewpoint, usually has this same negative effect). It is a significant hit, so if the CINEFLEX is not in use it is best switched off. Activated you get the camera pod assembly now visible, slung under the nose of the B407, the modeling is excellent with the detail and the quality of the camera system. On the left side of the instrument panel, there is now positioned a cowled screen and operators panel... The panel has two sets of camera operation knobs, and four buttons. Power, Overlay, Reset and Park. "Power" is to switch on the system, "Overlay" puts a frame and recording data on the screen, including REC, Timecode, Resolution, Camera Coordinates, Airspeed, Heading, Altitude, Track, (camera) Pitch & Zoom "Park" will foldup and store the camera rearwards, "Reset" will set the camera to it's forward "ready" mode. Left small knob is the "Zoom"... 0%-100% Right is the knob/joystick to adjust the camera angle, ROLL, ROTATE and UP and DOWN angles. All the camera movement controls can be set as commands, for keyboard or joystick (HAT) actions, this allows easier control while flying. The CINEFLEX is expertly done, and a great addition to the 407. ___________ Flying the Bell 407 If you open the JRX 407, it will have the annoying habit of just shutting down again? even if the "Start with engines running" tickbox is active. There is a trick here... The issue is caused by the "Idle" button and throttle being set to closed, this is the shutoff point to kill the engine. To start you have to de-click the "IDLE-REL" and give the 407 a bit of throttle (80). Once running, then you can go back to the idle stop, but don't press the IDLE-REL, if not it will just shutdown the engine again... or your back to square one. The "Start" switch is on the same collective, and as long as the fuel is on, then a press and hold of the switch is all that is needed. At first you don't think it is going to fire, then at once around 50% NR rpm, the Allison 250-C47 turbio-shaft engine (813 shp (606 kW)) gets itself together and your in the flying business... its all a FADEC-controlled engine (Full Authority Digital Engine Control), as the FADEC system is designed to reduce pilot work load and increase engine reliability by fully automating the start procedure, and holding engine parameters to tighter tolerances in flight. It feels excellent in this JRX machine... .... then twisting the throttle to "FLY" will increase the NR % to 100% Does the JRX 407 sound good... brilliant in fact. The start whine is excellent, so is the throttle adjustments through the spectrum, then the full rpm chop is really, really good, I've flown on a 407 (and a 206) and it is as good as you will get. I couldn't get any noisy internal blade slap, but external blade sounds in movement when in flight manoeuvres are excellent. Whoa! off the ground with a bit of slight cyclic back, and a feel upwards movement of the collective, and you go into a perfect hover... ... "Oh I like this!" I've had my time with wiggly nervous helicopters for a fair while, "This one is smooooth". Already happy, a bit more collective and a push forward of the cyclic and you are up & away. 206/407 usually need a bit of low nose to get them moving... not too much here and the speed builds very quickly. Bell later replaced the tail rotor pedals with the taller and slightly closer-to-the-pilot versions, as many pilots complained they were too high, as they preferred the 206 pedals than the 407's. The Bell 407 has a maximum speed of 140 kn (160 mph, 260 km/h), with an economical cruise speed of 133 kn (153 mph, 246 km/h). The range is 324 nmi (373 mi, 600 km) with a service ceiling of 18,690 ft (5,700 m). There is the vibration option... OFF is no vibration, x1 is not really a lot, x2 is about perfect as x3 is very, very noticeable shaking, really it feels like your blades are coming loose! I was very impressed with the Autopilot Unit or Stability Augmentation Systems (SAS). It has had some fine tuning in v1.10, but it felt fine to me... you can LVL (Level) then hit the AP, then HDG (Heading) and ALT (Altitude) and the transition in flight is excellent, only a slight lift as you go to the auto system. V/S (Vertical Speed) changes are 5 points either way, but honestly, if your not climbing high, then unlock the ALT and add a little collective to go up, then reselect ALT at your set altitude, the same to go down with less collective. Coming out of auto is good as well, but you need to disconnect the HDG and ALT selections before you disconnect the AP itself for a smooth transition, or it bumps coming out. Heading changes under the SAS are nice and smooth, long and with not any tight jumpy turns, so excellent... yes very impressed. Really the 407 is so nice to fly manually (balanced when trimmed), you won't rely on the SAS, it is a relaxing controls machine, even distances are easy. Time to head back to the Jay Stephen Hooper Memorial Heliport. The 407 has a reputation for solid control feel in flight. That, combined with plenty of power, makes the 407 a real performer. The 206 (Jetranger) feels heavier than the 407 on the controls, so most pilots prefer the 407's flight control’s hydraulic boost, it is quite heavy if you turn the assisted system off. The Bell 407 is not a low-inertia system, it is also not a high-inertia system either like the JetRanger. So the feel is set somewhere in between, in making your approach it can be quite different. Autorotating the 407 going down I found there was still a high degree of maneuverability during the glide (power off), then the transition to Effective translational lift (ETL) was okayish, as you have to be aware on the loss of speed to avoid too much sink, so it's best to transition further out than closer to the pad in case of a sudden loss of lift. The flare and touchdown also requires a different technique than in the JetRanger. Timing is more critical because less energy is stored in the lighter-weight spinning rotors and the more collective pitch is used to cushion the helicopter’s touchdown. In addition, the pilot holds the helicopter in a nose-high attitude and touches down on the heels of the skids. It’s a fairly standard procedure for a lower-inertia rotor. One warning though is the 407 in the low hover is very susceptible to the swing effect, "Mast Bumping" is only present with a 2 blades rotor ...like R22 , R44, B206, but I found here the pendulum effect was very pronounced, the wrong (too heavy) input, and the 407 will swing quite violently, with the obvious results, so keep the final inputs extremely small, even pull away and do a new approach to get the procedure right. A few hours rest and I am airborne again, now twilight... The 407's external lighting is excellent, except for in one area. There is a "Landing" light in the nose, and two amazing flashing strobes underside, rear red beacon and Navigation/Strobes on the horizontal stabiliser fences, the best though are the fantastic "Logo" spots on the side, I totally absolutely loved the lit logo look at night! It is mostly excellent, but the collective switch "Spotlight" created nasty ant lit marks all around the nose and windscreen, so you need to keep it switched off. Now darker, and I am cruising low and fast over the Freeways & Highways Los Angeles County... my favorite Heli-Pilot pastime, the 407 is simply brilliant here, easy to cruise... did I say fast. In roles (or role-play) you are restricted here by the JRX door arrangement, there are no sliding doors on the rear, and not being able to individually remove, say the rear left door, restricts your role playing. Scouting for "News" I am playing a version of the "Nightcrawler", yes the movie , as I love this livery and the cruising above the LA landscape at night. I would have loved an open door, even a cameraman shooting the streets, but there is not even a Medi-Vac version, so it all feels all a bit limited if you wanted to be part of the action. So the JRX Bell 407 is excellent to fly, even say a novice could handle the aircraft and enjoy it's abilities... too benign, no I didn't get that feeling at all, it just felt right and the 407 was a totally enjoyable dynamic experience... then what a way to end the night flying with a visit to that famous "Hollywood" sign... perfect. _____________ Summary The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter that uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with a composite hub. So the breed line is from the famous "Jetranger", but the 407 is the far bigger and more powerful relation to the family. The release(s) of the JRX 407 here are separate for both the X-Plane 12 version or the X-Plane 11 version, as they are not packaged together. So make your choice wisely as they both cost the same. JRX Design are now very accomplished developers, the Bell 407 is their third release for the X-Plane Simulator, after the earlier dual SA 341B and SA 342J Gazelle and the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 DBS-4. Notably the aircraft is created to a very high standard, beautiful modeling and lovely intricate details to scale. However rivets and engine fences are images and not 3d, but the main exterior bolts are modeled. Rotor hub is exceedingly well designed, but only has semi-animations for (twist) collective, and tail yaw. Glass is excellent (maybe the rear windows are bit dark) and there are no reflections disable for the internally or externally for the windows. Cabin and instruments are exceptionally well done, and all is very quality work in feel and look, but there are restrictions with only a singe door hide, and there are not many options for different fitout versions (Medi-Vac, lift hook) and role-playing that is mostly common with Helicopter packages. Lighting internally and externally is again excellent, but for ant whites around the frames with the spotlight feature. Although the official Bell 407 Manual and Procedures are very nice (authentic), a JRX Design manual was also required here. The updated v1.30 also comes with the sensational CINEFLEX camera system, hung on the nose, you have a full control of the camera and it's storage, v1.30 also has some other nice visual and menu tweaks as well. The JRX Bell 405 flies very well, I loved it as it was certainly not a edgy machine to fly, too benign, no I don't think so, so great for first timers and novice fliers, performance and dynamics feel also perfect. Would I like JRX Design to also do the famous 206 Jetranger? After this 407 I certainly think so, as it would be an excellent idea to do a fly off of their different capabilities, but more options overall would be nice. I love the 407, to a point now it is my current favorite helicopter to fly, I don't love niggly machines, I want to fly, hover and do things without the stress, throw in the sheer quality and X-Plane 12 realism and the JRX Bell 407 is a worthy winner... highly recommended. ________________ The Bell 407 by JRX Design v1.30 is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : JRX Bell 407 for X-Plane 12 Priced at US$35.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11. If you want the XP11 version, get it here ) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.4 GB Current Version: 1.30 (January 28th 2024) JRX Bell 407 for X-Plane 11 Priced at US$35.99 Requirements X-Plane 11 (not for XP12. if you want the XP12 version, get it here) Windows, Mac or Linux - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.4 GB Current Version: 1.30 (January 28th 2024) Installation and documents: download for the JRX Bell 407 is 1.38 Gb and the aircraft is deposited in the "Helicopters" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 2.76Gb AviTab Plugin is required for this aircraft Documents supplied are: JRX Bell 407 - READ ME.txt Bell 407 - Operational Evaluation Board Report.pdf Bell 407 - Pilot Ground and Flight Procedures.pdf Bell 407 - Rotorcraft Flight Manual.pdf JRX BELL 407 - END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA).txt Documentation consists of three official documents that cover the 407 Flight Manual, Pilot Ground and Flight Procedures and Operational Evaluation Board Report... but there is no JRX 407 Aircraft manual, that was badly needed and certainly required here. Designed by JRX Design Support forum for the JRX B407 Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.09rc3 (This is a Release Candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - Hooper Heliport (58CA) - ___________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton' 6th January 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  28. Aircraft Review : Leonardo Aermacchi M-346 AJT by Deltawing Simulations This is the excellent Leonardo Aermacchi M-346 AJT "Advanced Jet Trainer". The Aermacchi M-346 Master is a family of military twin-engine transonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft. Originally co-developed with Yakovlev as the Yak/AEM-130, the partnership was dissolved in 2000 and then Alenia Aermacchi proceeded to separately develop the M-346 Master, while Yakolev continued work on the Yakovlev Yak-130. The first flight of the M-346 was performed in 2004. The type is currently operated by the air forces of Italy, Israel, Singapore, Greece, Turkmenistan and Poland. Since 2016 the manufacturer became Leonardo-Finmeccanica as Alenia Aermacchi merged into the new Finmeccanica, then finally rebranded as Leonardo in 2017. As the X-Plane 12 Simulator now has 18 months of maturity behind it, then users are now getting aircraft releases of only dedicated X-Plane 12 aircraft, in other words only true X-Plane 12 designed and higher quality releases. This M-346 is from Deltawing Simulations, a very well known and quality based developer, also known for their excellent F16C Fighting Falcon series of aircraft. Another thing notable is that this M-345 is an official Product and licensed by Leonardo. First impression is the Aermacchi just jumps right out at you, the quality is really very overwhelming, very X-Plane 12 and highly, highly realistic... I love an aircraft that just leaps out at you, your gut says, "This is going to be good", and the experience awaits. The M-346 is designed for the main role of a lead-in fighter trainer, in which aircraft's performance and capabilities are used to deliver pilot training for the latest generation of combat fighter aircraft. Powered by a pair of Honeywell/ITEC F124-GA-200 turbofan engines of 28 kN (6,300 lbf) thrust each, and designed to reduce acquisition and operating costs, the M-246 is capable of transonic flight without using an afterburner . Modeling is absolutely first rate... you will get no complaints from me in this area. Inlet and exhaust outlets are brilliantly conceived, all the diverse panels and riveting are excellent, the detail here does not reflect the sub-$40 price, but for a quality delivered from a far higher 25% price-point... Highlight is the superb twin-canopy, brilliant tinted glass shows a hugely complex cockpit, with two very highly realistic animated pilots, and even their mask air-tubes move with the movements... incredibly well done and like mentioned, highly realistic Another highlight is the gear.... First two front doors open, then the gear uncoils out of the underbody of the fuselage... The gear twists and turns it's way down, the animation detail is brilliant by Deltawing... highly realistic, I love watching the theatrics of it all. When all finally down and locked the gear detail from the struts, links, arms and the hydraulics is focus study stuff, in being just perfect and original to the design. Menu There is a banner menu "Aermacchi M-346" that has four options; Refuel Probe Toggle, Remove Before Flight Toggle, Ladder Toggle, Choks (sic) Toggle and OPTIONS Static elements are very good. The M346 is hung like a Christmas Tree with tags and flags, you also have engine inlet and exhaust covers. Highlight is the Ladder, beautifully detailed, it allows both pilots to insert or extract themselves from the Jet. There is a lovely fuel probe and an earthing cable and clamp.... and also rear wheel chocks. Set to the side is an emergency fire extinguisher. A nice touch is that both pilots can be inserted or removed individually from the cockpit via the OPTIONS menu. You can flip the pilot's visors by using Shift + F2 (front), and SHIFT + F3 (rear), but I found the F3 didn't work? Cockpit The Aermacchi is a twin-seat trainer, but being modern, the layout between the front and the rear are both mirrored in controls and instrumentation. The first look detail is excellent. It's tight in here as the boundaries don't give you much flex room, slightly forward and up are your only movement directions. It is a complex cockpit, but you soon navigate around the instruments, switches and dials if you are familiar with military aircraft. The instrument panel is dominated by the UFCP (Up Front Control Panel) top central and three MFDs (Multi-Function Display) lower, all laid out with universal menus. All four units pop-out via a pointer-circle... In the banner menu there is also the option to "Pop Out The Pop Outs" or switching them to full window menus. Left console covers; APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), yes it is built in! RENG (Engines), TCT, FGS, TRIM and PWR (Power) sections. Right console covers PWR (Radio), ICS, ECS (Environment), IFF (Identify Friend or Foe), INTR LT (Internal Lighting), EXT LT (External Lighting), MASS... rear is the RADIO (right and MAINT. ENG DRY left. Behind the HOTAS stick, is the HOTAS and FCS (flight control system) panel. The highlight of the cockpit is left, these are the lovely Twin-Throttles, again worth a close investigation. Also notable is the Ejection Seat "Safety Catch" SAFE or ARMED. There is a full selection and activation settings for the ejector seat, and very authentic to the real seat operations. The UFCP has input selection keys and data selections, with 8 Function keys, 35 data entry options all done on a 4 line dot-matrix display unit. Data selection cover IFF (Identify Friend or Foe), COMM (Communications), FPL (Flightplan), SP (Steering Point or waypoints), Data Page (Fuel, Height, Laser, Altitude), BARO, AP (Autopilot)/ FD (Flight Director), TACAN, VOR/ILS, CLOCK... it's complicated, but all the selections are noted in the manual, but sadly there are no descriptions of the tools or how to use them, so a bit of study and pushing buttons is required to master the unit, but clever and authentic the UFCP is. Here are a few of the displays available... The three MFDs (Multi-Function Display), are interchangeable, or you can display the same page on either MFD. Selection is via the MENU button top, the Menu selections disappears again with non-selection. Again there are a lot of menu choices (most currently are INOP), but active are FCS (Status), COMMS 1, COMM 2, IN/GPS, CAD 1 (Including AP/FD and ROLL), HSI (Horizontal Situation Display) with "NAV Source", MAP/ TSD and SYSTEMS, there also menus within menus like SYS and FUEL pages. Again the Manual could be more descriptive of these systems and have labels in explaining what they are and how they work, so your work wil be a bit hit and miss in making notes on how to navigate the screen pages. I feel more MFD options will come later from Deltawing, the idea is to do the basics of the MFD first, then do the deeper detail in coming updates. The HUD (Head Up Display) or noted here as the "PDU" or Pilot Display Unit, but I will still note it as the HUD. This one is a very comprehensive HUD, quite different in it's layout arrangement, but very well done and the main feature of the cockpit, we will focus on this HUD in flight. Lower set on the glareshield are the ATL (Altitude) SEL, BARO, CRS (Course) SEL, and HDG (Heading) SEL knobs, and the Caution Warning Panel (CWP) Annunciators. Lower is a (pop-out) backup (here noted as a GHD or "Get Home Display") ISIS or Integrated Standby Instrument System. If you press the lower center of the HUD assembly, it will move you to the rear seat, and vise-versa. Control wise the rear station is exactly the same as the front, most of the same instruments are present back here as well, the only difference are the side panels, that have a lot of the switch panels missing. Lighting There are three knobs for adjusting the internal lighting. CONSOLE and INST (Instrument) does the main honours, and it looks gorgeous. A third knob FLOOD will give you cockpit lighting via four spot-lights... overall totally excellent, but I couldn't find the HUD brightness adjustment. External lighting has flashing white beacons top, lower and tail, inner Navigation lights, and a single taxi light on the front gear strut, and landing lights on each of the rear gear legs... A highlight are the adjustable "Formation" or Slime lights... nose, rudder, rear fuselage, and on the tips of the wings. Flying the M-346 Pooowwwer, what is it about with these trainers that have so MUCH thrust... the Aermacchi is certainly not lacking in this area with those huge Turbofans with 28 kN (6,300 lbf) of some heavy thrust capacity... enough to give you a climb-rate of 112 m/s (22,000 ft/min), then a Mach 0.95 Maximum speed or 1,090 km/h (680 mph, 590 kn) in the old school. You feel it, through your back and in the controls. The other thing with trainers is balance... they are extremely easy to trim and to find that sweet spot, you know the point where you can take your hands off the stick and feet off the rudders and the aircraft will just stay there, powering along at a god fast awful speed, it exhilarating! The M-346 is an absolute gem of a handling aircraft, you get precision here, but also that relaxed control feel in the way the aircraft turns and reacts to your inputs. It doesn't feel like a trainer, but more like an efficient attack aircraft. In the advanced jet trainer role, the original M-346 model is unarmed; however, in November 2015, it was reported that Alenia Aermacchi was close to finalising a combat-capable dual-role variant of the aircraft. During late 2017, a series of armed tests involving the AIM-9L missiles took place. In 2015, an armed variant, designated as the M-346 LCA (Light Combat Aircraft), was offered to Poland; this reportedly included a capability of operating the Brimstone air-to-ground missile. The armed variant is still under development, designated M-346FA. The first pre-series aircraft has however flown from Venegono airfield in July 2020. You are at one with the aircraft, not only in the front seat, but also if you prefer the rear. Realism is provided by the moving front pilot's helmet, it is SO realistic in here. One of the highlights is the comprehensive HUD or PDU. There are 16 display readouts... .... although most HUD's are identical, the layout of the data is different here, so you will need to study the visual references before going flying, it's brilliant but confusing if you don't know what is what... the basics are shown here. You have to keep it centred in the scope as well, move your POV and you lose a section of the HUD data. Once I had worked it all out, I loved the display, but will note that at certain angle to the bright sky, it can wash out the lower details, so you have to squint closer for the data, this can make tough with reading on approaches. You can't hide or lower the HUD either, so it is always on. No doubt is if you have VR (Virtual Reality) headset, it would be realistically amazing in here, the Deltawing M-346 fully supports the VR environment, its great on a monitor in 2d, but in 3d 360º would be absolutely excellent. The CAD page gives you the standard flying instrument display on the MFD. It has the standard Artificial Horizon and speed and altitude tapes, but there is an option when in the AP mode for the AP details to be also shown on the CAD, and very good it is, sometimes easier to read than the HUD whiteout. My only gripe is that using the V/S Speed and Altitude capture is very hit and miss, sometimes it works, but in most cases refuses to capture your selected altitude, either more refinement is required, or more information on in how it works needs to be forthcoming from Deltawing. Range is 1,925 km (1,196 mi, 1,039 nmi), with an endurance of 2 hours 45 minutes (4 hours with external drop tanks). Ceiling like most trainers is a very high 13,716 m (45,000 ft) to replicate fighter limits, same with the g limits of +8 -3. Sounds, brilliant of course, FMOD 2 in design, they totally reflect the tone and power of the F124-GA-200, its behind you as you accelerate, but aurally around you as you twist the Aermacchi around in the air, so yes it comes with 360º doppler movement... other smaller, switch, gear extension/retraction and alert sounds are all perfect, its a very sonic environment... just listen to the air-pressure opening and closing of the canopy. A feature of the Aermacchi M-346 is the PARS system which is a "Pilot Activated Recovery System"... the idea is to recover the aircraft to a safe flight situation, say if a student panicked, or a loss of conscious (blackout)... there is a button on the console behind the stick that activates the system... So I drop the M-346 into a death roll and fall... ... so I pushed the stick more forward... more nose down and now past the point of recovery... ... then you hit the PARS button, and lo & behold the Aermacchi, just quickly and simply recovered itself to a nice safe level flying position! So the system is very realistic. Fuel system is very good. You have 2x Internal Tanks and 2x Wing Tanks... plus 2x Pylon Tanks for a total of 4075 Lts, or 8965 Lbs of fuel Hit the "EMERG JETT" or "Do NOT Touch" button and the pylon tanks drop away... In one area of the flight envelope, it is the landing that needs skill. This is a powerful, but also slippery aircraft... So first it is at first hard to slow down, certainly if you fly very high and lose altitude quickly, rubbing off the speed is tricky, difficult. You do have a very effective airbrake above your heads to the rear, and it makes a difference. It has two stages of deployment. The default official stall speed is 95 knts, but you would never go that low before falling out of the sky, it feels more like 130 knts, several approaches at the Full (LDG) flap setting, I was already sinking at around 135 knts, so the best approach speed is 140 knts. Slipping to 129 knts I had a nice slope down into the runway, but you feel you are on the edge of lift, worse you feel that your approaching the runway far too fast, it just comes at you at a "hell" of a speed, fast... but how can you go slower? Touch is around 120 knts, but it feels still to fast... this is actually my second approach and landing, the first, then I had literally fell out of the sky with the loss of lift, this time around was better, not perfect but better... so you can see it needs practise to get a landing right at the feeling of the high speed. Once down you feel you are now sprinting down the runway... fast, so be careful on the brakes. To help, once the rear gear hits the tarmac, the both aileron surfaces popup to act as airbrakes, its very well done. So the M-346 is tricky to get right in the lower speed zone, the same in the air as the throttle adjustments have to be absolutely perfect to get the right speeds to keep you aloft, you do however get the right feel the more you spend time in the aircraft. Power on in most phases of the flight, and you simply don't think about it at all, but it is certainly one aircraft to learn and absorb at those slower speeds. I have sort of mentioned it above. the Manual is very good, it is 85 pages including a rough checklist. But there is the issue in that the manual is all images, so you can't search or find certain topics, so the only way to find the information is to constantly scroll through the manual, and look at every area, with it's complex acronyms makes it hard to find, and worse most are not labeled on their action. Notes are few and far between, so with aircraft of this Menu driven complexity, then a tutorial is required. Skunkcraft Updater is also available here. Liveries There are eleven liveries with the Aermacchi. Three are Leonardo Factory liveries, and six are the current Air Force operators, altogether they are all excellent in design and 4K quality. Deltawing is the default developer livery, but also the best of the set. _____________ Summary The Aermacchi M-346 Master is a family of military twin-engine transonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft. It is a twin-seater modern powerful trainer that has been a recent success in being active currently in six Armed Forces. Deltawing Simulations, a very well known and quality based X-Plane developer, is also known for their excellent F16C Fighting Falcon series of aircraft. And here is another brilliant Simulation from this evergreen master. Modeling is simply X-Plane 12 wow factor. The aircraft stands out in the simulator for total realism and immersion, both externally and internally. Military systems are first rate including a quality HUD (Head Up Display), UFCP (Up Front Control Panel) top central and three MFDs (Multi-Function Display), that are interchangeable. System depth is already excellent, but expect more pages to follow in updates, its all complex to use, but authentic. This is trainer, so not armed (unless you count dropping the external fuel tanks), but a M-346FA Fighter variant might come in the future. All animations, certainly the complex gear movements are also a highlight. The clever PARS system "Pilot Activated Recovery System" is also very well replicated here. Banner menu covers; Refuel Probe, Before Flight , Ladder, Choks (sic) and pilot OPTIONS in show/hide pilot and opening of the helmet visors are all great well done features... Static elements here are very good, and the aircraft has it's own built in APU. Lighting is excellent inside and out, and features "Formation" lights or Slime. Sounds are also top notch, with 360º FMOD 2 quality and aural cockpit sounds. Gripes are extremely small, more or better documentation... better still a tutorial on theses complex aircraft are required, they are acronym hell, and the details need to be explained. You are starting to expect or are referencing a higher quality and feel factor in these X-Plane 12 only created simulations, these are projects done under the X-Plane 12 environment and are not transitioned from earlier versions of X-Plane. It is highly noticeable in every aspect of these modern creations. But in being also value priced at under US$40, you are getting here the total best of both worlds, higher quality and systems, for a very credible price. The Deltawing Aermacchi M-346 certainly delivers massively in both or all areas. It's nice to fly and balance as well... but the thing that comes across more than anything in the Aermacchi is the higher realism... with projects like these, the real world gap to simulation is closing in even more.... Highly Recommended! ___________________ Yes! the Leonardo Aermacchi M-346 AJT by Deltawing Simulations is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Leonardo Aermacchi M-346 AJT On sale: US$39.95 Main Features: Highly detailed 3d exterior model Highly detailed 3d cockpit model Highly detailed landing gear system Highly detailed pilot figures Dual cockpit Custom remove before flight objects Custom particles system Realistic FMOD custom sounds 4K textures Realistic startup sequence Custom cockpit lights Custom external lights Custom external fuel tanks (droppable) Fully custom electronics system Fully custom environmental system Fully custom autopilot Fully custom Fly-By-Wire system 3 individual fully custom MFD displays, as close to the original as possible Supports Skunkcraft updater 11free 4K highly detailed liveries included Supports VR Requirements: X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac (M1 and M2 are supported) or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 742 MB Current version: 1.0.0_0r3 (January 26th 2024) Note: In order to use and enjoy VR environment in X-Plane, user hardware and system specs should meet the required specifications for OS, CPU, GPU, MB and RAM which are specified both in the given VR hardware websites and at X-Plane.com. Aircraft download is 741 Mb, and unpacked then installed in your X-Plane Aircraft folder 2.36 Gb. Authorization on startup is required Documents DWSim M-346AJT Manual Design by DeltaWing Simulations Support forum: https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/forum/753-aermacchi-m-346-advanced-jet-trainer/ https://deltawingsim.com/ _____________________ Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.09rc3 (This is a Release Candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - LICC - Catania-Fontanarossa Airport 2.1 by FlyDave (X-Plane.Org) - Free ___________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 29th January 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  29. NEWS! - KDEN Denver is updated to v2.1 by X-Codr Designs X-PlaneReviews "Best Scenery of the year" 2022 was X-Codr's sublime massive KDEN Denver International Airport. Here early into 2024 is a nice little update v2.1 to fine-tune DEN with a few more new features. Denver International Airport locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At 33,531 acres (52.4 sq mi; 135.7 km2), it is the largest airport in the Western Hemisphere by land area and the second largest on Earth, behind King Fahd International Airport. Runway 16R/34L, with a length of 16,000 feet (3.03 mi; 4.88 km), is the longest public use runway in North America and the seventh longest on Earth. The airport is 25 miles (40 km) driving distance northeast of Downtown Denver, 19 miles (31 km) farther than the former Stapleton International Airport, the facility DEN replaced. In both 2021 and 2022, DEN was the third busiest airport in the world as well as the third busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic; DEN has been among the top 20 busiest airports in the world every year since 2000. KDEN v2.1 First change or new features are that the service vehicles are now branded to the airline, services to Denver Airport (Swissaport). They also have new custom made sounds as well. Entrance elements are also updated. Some gates didn't work correctly with the SAM plugin, but are now fixed... and a few other fixes and improvements were done around DEN. Notable for the v2.1 update is to also update the X-Codr Library to v1.8, and the Living Scenery Technology to v1.11, besides the KDEN scenery package update v2.1... ✓ High Quality Rendition of KDEN - Denver International Airport       o Detailed, realistic terminals, accurate as of mid-2023.       o Realistic terminal interiors with numerous POIs (such as hanging display aircraft).       o Lively terminal interiors with animated escalators, and thousands of animated sitting, and walking people, whose density varies with time. All of which are visible from the aircraft.       o Windows on buildings with interiors loose opacity at night, mimicking the optics of real glass, for gorgeous night views.       o Realistic, high resolution, hand-crafted textures complete with PBR normal maps and realistic, accurate wear.       o Accurate, highly detailed buildings through the airport, including the new Southwest hangar. ✓ Realistic, natural ground textures       o Tile-free pavement textures with textures detailed down to the pebble       o Realistic normal maps give pavement depth       o Accurate, detailed markings, with realistic reflections       o Hand aligned concrete lines where possible, for natural transitions to newer, brighter pavement areas       o Realistic, hand painted grunge, with unmatched up close detail, that is cohesive with the rest of the scenery. ✓ Lively scenery through use of our Living Scenery Technology plugin for animations, and Stairport Sceneries SAM for jetway systems       o Thousands of walking animated people, with minimal performance impact       o Cars traverse the airport roads realistically, vs spawning in the middle of a road.       o Accurate, realistic speeds for people and cars throughout the airport.       o Animated electronic display boards on Concourse B display local time and temperature.       o AC fan blade speeds vary with the local temperature.       o Realistic, ultra detailed jetways through use of SAM       o All major parking spaces have excellent SAM marshallers to guide you in ✓ Maximum performance       o Every model is meticulously optimized for the best possible performance.       o Localized LODs reduce rendering load by over 80% on average, relative to traditional LODs       o Texture reuse other technical techniques improve VRAM efficiency.       o Shadows are disabled on objects that don’t benefit, for big performance gains. ✓ Full X-Plane 12 support       o Realistic weather effects       o Optimized native aircraft services.       o Use of the excellent native 3d vegetation The v2.1 update is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore... the price, for all this, only a brilliant US$29.95 _______________________________ Yes! KDEN - Denver International Airport HD v2.1 by X-Codr Designs is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : KDEN - Denver International Airport HD Price is US$29.95 Features This scenery is a ultra detailed recreation of Denver International Airport. Some of its features include: Ultra detailed rendition of Denver International Airport Winter and wet rainy versions are included as well Highly detailed custom buildings Most parts of all concourses have detailed custom interiors Detailed yet performance friendly models Normal maps for great bump mapping and glass reflections Ultra detailed ground textures 1 pixel per 6 inch orthophotos equivalent to ZL20 Orthophotos have been cleaned of duplicate flat textures under 3D models (such as traffic and bridges) Extreme detail for pavement, while still maintaining minimal repetition Highly detailed normal maps for impressive specular reflections X-Codr Designs SoundXP Plugin (Windows 10 ONLY) Ambient airport sounds will be played based on your location in the airport - a first in X-Plane Listen to chatter, announcements and other sounds when inside the terminal, trucks rumbling by and beeping when near busy ramp areas, and the drone of traffic speeding by when on the landside of the airport Dynamic living airport Watch heavies, regional commuters and other air traffic bring the airport to life with superb WT3 routes by Brian "Cpt. K-man" Navy (Bird Stryke Designs) Animated jetways using Autogate by Jonathan Harris (marginal) Animated car traffic using Ground Traffic by Jonathan Harris (marginal) Native ground services will service your aircraft upon request Highly detailed custom mesh using Ortho4XP Detailed under and overpasses Sloped runways and taxiways, and ditches Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 7.5 GB Current version: 2.1 January 22nd 2024 ____________________  NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 1st February 2024 Copyright©2024 : X-Plane Reviews 
    2 points
  30. Aircraft Review: X-Hangar Lockheed C-130 Hercules By David York Introduction The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, an iconic American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft, was designed and built by Lockheed, and is renowned for being the longest continuously produced military aircraft for over 60 years. I recall initially mistaking the Air America movie's aircraft for the Hercules, with Mel Gibson seemingly playing a supporting role to the airplane. The confusion was understandable, given the quick shots and my incorrect engine count. The C-130, with its four engines, shares a resemblance to the Fairchild C-123 Provider, which is a derivative of the Chase XCG-20 Avitruc. My familiarity with this magnificent airplane grew when my in-laws lived near the runway at CFB Trenton. On 2 February 1951, the United States Air Force issued a General Operating Requirement (GOR) for a new transport aircraft. This was to replace the aging WW2 era piston-engined transports. The Request for Proposal (RFP) was quite specific, listing the need to accommodate ninety-two passengers, seventy-two combat troops, or sixty-four paratroopers. The cargo compartment had precise dimensions, 41 ft long, 9 ft high, and 10 ft wide, and a turboprop powerplant was specified, as jet engines at the time did not meet the necessary tactical requirements. The C-130 was designed for versatility, capable of operating on short and rudimentary runways. Its range of 1,100 nautical miles made it suitable for a variety of missions. Kelly Johnson, initially not a fan of the design due to his preference for more combative aircraft, eventually came to appreciate the C-130. Willis Hawkins, the lead designer, suggested that Johnson's eventual acceptance might have been influenced by the C-130’s adaptability for various roles, including as a cruise missile launcher. The Hercules has been adapted for numerous roles such as a gunship, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refuelling, maritime patrol, and aerial firefighting. It remains the primary tactical airlifter for many military forces globally, with over forty variants and civilian versions like the Lockheed L-100, operated by more than sixty nations. X-Plane Model The package for the C-130 model is thoughtfully designed for compatibility with both X-Plane versions 11 and 12. It's bundled in a way that facilitates an upgrade path for those using version 11, which is less demanding on VRAM. My setup includes an AMD 8-core FX processor, 16GB RAM, and an AMD Radeon RX570 series display card. With 4 GB of VRAM, it manages decently, though there are occasional slowdowns. Installation Procedure The installation of the C-130 Hercules package requires a few straightforward steps: Begin by unzipping the main package to obtain two separate zips: c130_12.zip and c130_11.zip, for X-Plane versions 12 and 11 respectively. Choose the version you need and unzip it into your preferred subdirectory within the <Aircraft> directory of the respective X-Plane version. Once you start X-Plane, the program automatically detects the new aircraft and adds it to your <New Flight> menu. You’re now ready to fly! The C-130 manual is located in the C-130H Hercules\Docs\manual x-plane\ sub-directory. It's recommended to review this manual early on, as it details extra features and helps familiarize you with the aircraft's cockpit, which can initially appear quite complex. You should also take a moment to look over the checklists available in the pop-up. For those interested in using the XFSE plugin: Install XFSE if it’s not already set up. A basic xfse-alias.txt file is included. Refer to the FSEconomy add-on manual for setup instructions. Documentation The manual for X-Hangar's C-130 is quite comprehensive, providing a solid overview of the model's features and a helpful guide to the flight deck and panel layouts. The manual is well-illustrated, including performance charts from the original aircraft's Pilot's Operating Manual (POM), giving a practical insight into optimal aircraft operation. From personal experience, I usually dive right into flying before consulting the manual (typical of many, I suppose!). However, I've found that an early perusal of the manual significantly flattens the learning curve and reveals many nuances that might otherwise be missed. Exterior The Hercules' shoulder-wing design might initially surprise those accustomed to more sleeker looking aircraft, but it highlights the craft's functionality over showmanship, and X-Hangar's model captures this robust spirit well. The level of detail is commendable, from the textures to the overall structure, though it lacks specific liveries like RAAF, RCAF, or UK allies. However, the provided blank livery templates offer a chance for personal customization. The minute details like antennae, propellers, and doors are well modelled, adding to the realism. This realism is further accentuated when you open the crew and cargo doors, revealing the intricacies of ground handling equipment, a vital aspect of the Hercules' operations. The airdrop animation is a notable feature, though I personally miss the inclusion of the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES), a system I've often seen in Canada. Despite this, X-Hangar's selection of features for the model is astute. The model uses Blender-based particles for exhaust and other systems, enhancing realism, especially with the airdropped cargo descending by parachute. The inclusion of the L-100-30 build, a stretched version of the C-130 with six-bladed propellers, is executed with the same attention to detail, showcasing the model's versatility and commitment to realism. Interior Recalling a special occasion when I once sat in a C-130 pilot seat, I can't help but compare that memory to X-Hangar's rendition of the cockpit. While it doesn't match my memory exactly, they've done a solid job without resorting to full photorealism. For those of you looking for a bit of modernity, the L-100 stretch model features an option for a digital panel, which is a nice addition. In the C-130H, the clipboard pops up when the square red button is pressed, offering functionalities like showing or hiding the crew, JATO selection, and airdrop details. The control yokes are toggled as usual with the ‘Y’ key. The absence of high-degree photorealism might be a downside for some, as well as the lack of interactivity with every button or switch, but personally, I'm not at all disappointed. The panel and cockpit are well-designed, filled with controls, albeit with some non-functional elements like the microwave in the kitchen behind the flight engineer's station. It’s these small details that add charm, even if you can't leave the water running. Opening the crew door, descending the ladder, and then opening the passage door, reveals the cargo hold. Initially, I found myself walking through the fuselage wall until I figured out how these doors functioned. Remember to close all doors and ramps, or you might find yourself with unexpected airborne companions like a cargo crate and lift truck. It’s unclear if the weight of the lift truck is factored into the plane's gross weight, though the regular cargo weight is included when selected from the weapons menu. Flight Dynamics While I've never flown a C-130 and am not a licensed pilot, I've explored its unique characteristics based on available information. Willis Hawkins, in an interview with Lockheed's Code One Magazine, mentioned the C-130's resistance to stalling. He recounted an attempt to stall it, which led to a flip rather than a stall of the main wing, possibly due to the six-bladed props' effects on the wing's boundary layer. Curiously, I tested this on X-Hangar’s model. At 10,000 feet, as I slowed down, the stall alarm activated, but the wings seemed to keep flying, even with the four-bladed props. With the L-100-30's six-bladed props, I didn’t experience the reported “unstallability” but rather a gradual descent. This simulation is remarkably forgiving, making it the first plane I've successfully landed on my first attempt. Its handling is stable, smooth, and relaxed. I even took a virtual flight from CFB Trenton to Niagara Falls International, enjoying the XP-12 view and exploring the plane in flight. Sounds The alarms and alerts have custom sounds, but the engine, prop, and wind noises are the default turboprop sounds from X-Plane. While they work adequately, the unique sound of the Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines would have been a treat. However, obtaining specific engine sounds, especially in FMOD format, is challenging, so I respect X-Hangar's decision to keep the model affordable. Night Lighting The night lighting of the model is functional, following a tried-and-tested method. It effectively illuminates the interior, creating an appropriate ambiance for night operations. While it doesn't employ the latest lighting effects, it ensures a dependable and solid experience in line with the Hercules' reliable nature. Performance In my experience with X-Plane 12 on my somewhat dated hardware, frame rates were around 22-30 fps, so generally smooth but with occasional flutter during high-speed, low-altitude passes. However, it's important to note that these performance metrics are largely influenced by my hardware capabilities, and users with more up-to-date systems can expect improved performance. In X-Plane 11, the model performed slightly better on my setup, achieving 28-37 fps with fewer instances of freezing, particularly when accessing the map window. Given the model's detailed custom objects, which surpass those in X-Hangar's Caribou model, longer load times and avoidance of multitasking in XP-12 were necessary on my system to maintain stability. Conclusion I've always loved the Hercules, and this X-Hangar model is the best rendition I've flown, making it a worthwhile purchase even by my Scottish, thrifty standards. The cargo handling effects might not be my favourite, but the JATO option and overall art and animation are top-notch. When you look out and see a lift-truck flying alongside because you forgot to close the crew door, it's both amusing and a testament to the model's detail. The cockpit, while not overloaded with interactive features, perfectly suits my flying style. This model is enjoyable and realistic, a great fit for both X-Plane 11 and 12 users. Whether you're on a budget or equipped with a high-end system, this model will not disappoint. The more demanding simmers might long for additional features, but there's plenty to enjoy here. Overall, the C-130 is a superb addition to X-Hangar’s fleet ________________________ C-130H Hercules by X-Hangar is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: C-130H Hercules Priced at $27.95 Features Two separate versions to fly for both v11 and v12 Two separate .zip files Both a digital Instrument panel and analog Working wipers in v12 Rain on the glass for v11 (limited to win Vulkan) and v12 Much improved landing and taxi lights in v12 3D modeled crew Working cargo door Working crew door X-Plane FMS for v11 and v12 with pop up panel or press 3d buttons X-Plane Garmin 530 with pop up panel or press 3d buttons Many interchangeable international liveries Both civil and military liveries Easy to paint liveries with the blank included Checklist in .txt format for use in the sim PDF manual to help familiarize yourself with the aircraft Static elements Cargo automatically loads with added weight to the aircraft Animated parts Option to use and display JATO rockets (fun for shorter take off). FSE file included Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac, or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 595 MB Current Version: 12.07 (November 14th, 2023) Review System Specifications AMD FX-8350 - 16GB - AMD Radeon RTX 570 8GB - Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit __________________________________ Aircraft Review by David York 11th January 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copying of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions).
    2 points
  31. Aircraft Review : T-7A Red Hawk X-Plane 12 by Angle of Attack In March 2024, Angle of Attack Simulations released for the X-Plane 11 Simulator the T-7A Red Hawk. The Boeing/SAAB T-7A Red Hawk is the US Air Force’s newest fast jet training aircraft. It was designed to replace the more than 50 year old Northrup T-38 Talon, and to better prepare new military pilots for the future advanced aircraft they will fly later. The first T-X aircraft flew on 20 December 2016 via the T-X program. The Boeing-Saab team then submitted their entry after the Air Force opened the T-X program to bids in December 2016. In September 2018, Air Force officials announced that Boeing's design would be its new advanced jet trainer, under an up-to-US$9.2 billion (~$10.6 billion in 2022) program and would purchase 351 aircraft, 46 simulators, maintenance training and support. This contract has options for up to 475 airplanes in total. The aircraft entered series production in February 2021. In April 2021, Saab Group delivered one aft section of T-7A aircraft to the Boeing St. Louis plant. In July 2021, Saab had delivered the second aft section to the Boeing St. Louis plant. Boeing will splice Saab's aft section with the front section, fins, wings and tail assembly to become a complete test aircraft for use in the EMD's (Engineering and Manufacturing Development ) flight test program. The first production T-7 was rolled out on 28 April 2022, and the first flight of the T-7A production aircraft was conducted from St. Louis Lambert International Airport in June 2023, by Major Bryce Turner, a test pilot with the 416th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and Steve Schmidt, Boeing’s chief T-7 test pilot. On 21 September 2023, the first Red Hawk was shipped to the US Air Force. By November 2023, the USAF was now actively considering the possibility of turning the T-7 into an armed combat aircraft. Conceptually dubbed the F-7, such a jet could provide roughly the same capability as a fourth-generation fighter which could maintain force numbers as F-16s aircraft are retired, and could also replace older Northrop F-5 and Dornier Alpha Jet platforms on the export market. The single production Red Hawk was deployed at Edwards Air Force Base for advanced testing for this role. X-PlaneReviews covered the release of the AOA T-7A Red Hawk in an X-Plane 11 review: First Impression Review : T-7A Red Hawk by AOA Simulations It was an interesting review. Remember that the aircraft at the time was still really at it's experimental stage and AOA only had limited information on the aircraft performance and design capabilities, overall it was a very good representation of the new era trainer and it's features. Here is the X-Plane 12 upgrade to the aircraft, a new release version, as the number is noted at v1.0, the same as the original X-Plane 11 release version. The T-7A is again released as three versions; TX prototype, T-7A advanced trainer and the T-7N Navy version. The T-7A has a thorough modern design and feel to the aircraft, fully carbon composite in construction, as it looks to the future, and not to the past in aircraft design. The X-Plane look and feel is quite different from the bland X-Plane 11 look, with now more depth and better shadows... however look closely and the poor resolution skin is still there with very blurry text and logos, a real shame as AOA had a chance to update with X-Plane 12 in these areas to give the aircraft detail more depth, add in 4K, even 8K textures and bring out the quality to a higher standard. That said AOA aircraft (the Raptor) was the same, are brilliant at a distance, but become lo-res in detail at a close up inspection. But the Hawk here is definitely, if a massive improvement over the XP11 version with the X-Plane 12 PBR and lighting effects now active... The gear and inboard bays are the same as well. Well done but starchy white, yes this is a pre-production aircraft and clean, that said it is really well done in the excellent complex detail and design. Ditto the engine inlets, too modeled, still too noticeably bright (distracting) from the external. The rear exhaust is again well done, better here than with X-Plane 11, even though the textures are the same, same with the twin-vertical rudders, with the same modeled (not textured) joints. Canopy and glass is still as good, very nice with depth and nice curves and reflections, a requirement with a trainer aircraft. So in the transition, in modeling and texture terms the T-7A is in reality the same, but thankfully X-Plane 12 does add in a bit of flare because of it's superior lighting. and dynamics, after three years the X-Plane 12 version is far superior. The "T" is in "Trainer", so you have a twin-seat aircraft, with the rear for the instructor/observer. Both flight instrument and controls are exactly the same, so you can fly the T-7A from the front or rear (an option here). Compared to say the F-104 Starfighter, it is highly minimalistic in the cockpit, very little switch gear and everything is on the one large and two smaller instrument displays... Left side panel gives you Lights, Engines, Electrical and the chunky throttle. Right side has DOORS (Canopy, IFR, BWS), IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) or Transponder, right is also the Joystick controller. The internal mirrors now can be hidden with a click, not in the usual earlier menu option. Notable is the laptop AviTab, it can be rotated from Portrait to Landscape positions, but not hidden. There are two main instrument panels, the selection "Up-Front" Display (UFD) and the lower wide "Panoramic cockpit" Display. There is a third Engine/Fuel display that is positioned right, with both switchable numbers and percentage displays... The "Panoramic cockpit" display covers eight different choices, with three displays with the NAV/MAP central and two switchable screens left and right. But you can use the top 1 2 3 4 pre-set buttons to change the display. Left button options include; Aircraft Configuration, ADI (Attitude Direction Indicator), Flight Controls and RWS (Target mode). Right buttons include; MAP, HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator), SYS (Systems) and NAV. The NAV/MAP range is selected by pressing the ZOOM-IN and ZOOM-OUT selections, and the Pop-Out is the XP G1000 panel display. Note on the ground On the ground, aircraft configuration is shown and a start-up checklist is provided in the left column. Once airborne only the applicable information is then displayed. Overall the "Panoramic cockpit" display is the same as the X-Plane 11 version. The "Up Front" top display is however different in X-Plane 12. In reality the UFD has been simplified, gone is the complex grid layout, to a more easier accessed display... press the NESW logo to change the UFD to a "Compass" Page. Outer knobs adjust (left); HDG (Heading), SPD (Speed), TST (Test), HUD (on/off). Right knobs include; ALT (Altitude) VVI (Vertical Velocity Indicator) RDR (terrain follow altitude) and screen Brightness. Lower options include NAV tuning and bottom COM tuning. There are 54 pre-set GPS (VOR 2) options that can be inserted (active) by pressing the D->. You can add in your own GPS frequency, but it is a messy and tricky process with a text editor, it would have been nice to have had an easy way to add in the function. Selecting VOR or GPS selection is oddly via the SRC, not the GPS, so it is hard to find. Also selecting the headphones on the COM, you can go into "Silent" mode on the radio. TST (Test) mode is very good, and TAC/VOR toggle: NAV1 is a combination VOR or TACAN radio. There is a backup ADI (Artificial Horizion), with a barometric pressure set knob. If the HUD power is OFF then airspeed, altitude, and heading are presented in the backup ADI. There is also a click spot “cheat” for the IFR door toggle in the upper right corner of the display. (IFR - In Flight Refueling) Menu The Menu system is the same X-Plane Banner placement, but the menu selection is very different, with now only two selections with; "Ground Equip" (Equipment) and "Options". Previously there were 10 options, but that has been reduced down to only these two. Ground Equipment, (Static Elements), selecting ground equipment will give you flags, pitot cover, large side stairs and engine intake covers... Newly added for XP12 are chocks (finally) and a rear exhaust outlet cover (very nice). Options: For the "Options" there is now a new Pop-Up dialog box with ten selections. First three selections are the "Auto" control of Flaps, Gear and Speed Brake systems, off is Manual control. Then Canopy Reflections on/off and Baro/Temperature switch. Left column has; TX Nose Probe, Navy Version with twin-nose wheels, tailhook and refueling probe... The External Power doesn't give you a physical GPU externally, just the internal power supply, it also oddly kills the Static Elements? "Quick Start" will set the T-7A ready to fly with the engine running, and the "Back Seat" set you in the rear instructor seat, not the forward seat. Overall the Ground Equip and Options selection is now far better coordinated and certainly easier to use than in the earlier XP11 layout. Liveries are the not same three as before with... US Air Force T-7A (Default) and TX - Prototype still present, but the US Navy Arctic Camo has been dropped to be replaced by the T-7N Navy Hawk. There are also a load of additional liveries available here: T-7 Red Hawk ______________ Flying the T-7A XP12 The Red Hawk is a trainer aircraft in a sequence of levels to acquire a full Jet Fighter certificate under the JPATS or Joint Primary Aircraft Training System. Entry level is Student on the T-6A Texan ll aircraft (propeller), that then moves to the T-1A Jayhawk in SUPT roles, then the T-38C Talon is used in the advanced pilot training role, but the T-5A category (APT T-X Program) is for the advance training to fourth and fifth generation aircraft (i.e. computer based) and multiple system based technology capability. The first thing you notice in the cockpit of the T-7A is on how so very minimalistic everything is, I will note that a lot of this new technology capability is also built into the pilot's helmet that can not be replicated here in X-Plane (well not yet anyway). AOA do however show you how to set up your joystick with XP commands that does certain actions, and the XP A.I. (AI Aircraft) is also similarly set up for hostility operations and refueling. The GpsFPLInput plugin by Gtagentman is also recommended to be installed as well. First there are a couple of settings in the T-7A to understand before takeoff. First is the "NWS" or Nosewheel steering, it's a tricky one to get right... I lost a bit of time with this one? First of all if it shows NWS in the HUD, the steering (via Nosewheel Tiller yaw) won't work? to get it to be active you have too have set (keyboard or Joystick button) the command "Nosewheel steer toggle" to activate the steering, it shows by the HUD icon changing to T-7A (or T-7N -Navy), then you can steer the Red Hawk. I will note that I also lost a considerable amount of time because the steering still didn't work with the NWS steering set correctly, even the developer couldn't work it out.... the cause was actually Laminar? I found that when X-Plane 12 loads, it loads with the "Landing gear" lever in the up position? And yes I have complained to Laminar to fix it! but that was the cause of the non-steering this time... put the lever in the correct down position and you will have steering. Second is the BWS or "Brake With Stick", which will use the Joystick to control the braking, pull back slightly to release the brakes, the use of the stick on the takeoff or landing roll, then push forward to brake, a neutral stick then releases the brakes. But it's tricky to use, and you feel initially the aircraft is locked down. To deactivate, then switch it off via the BWS switch far right on the "DOORS" panel. My advice is to turn off all these "Auto" helpers in the BWS, Flaps, Gear and Speed Brakes, and fly the T-7A manually, then turn them back on individually to see how they work, everything turned on together can be confusing to a novice, when the aircraft is doing all the actions for you, they are very good, no doubt, but also control the aircraft in an systematic way. Taxiing is a little tricky if you go too fast, the Hawk will wriggle under the stick, so keep the knots down, otherwise it is a nice ride. Full Throttle and the "afterburner" igniter kicks in, and you power off down the runway, speed at full thrust is colossal. Rotation was around 250 knts, high, but no flaps here, and the Hawk just powers into the air. Gear retraction is excellent, and very realistic. Note I set the flaps at 4% next time, and that was about perfect for a (shorter) run takeoff. I have to quickly reduce the throttle, if not would break the sound barrier at a low level... the speed numbers are just twirling up so quick. Now in a (fast) cruise I fly by St Louis City... time to feel out the aircraft. First of all the X-Plane 12 version feels very different than the XP11 release. Yes those fine touchy movements with stick are still required, but the machine feels far, far more refined, as a lot of the earlier feel was very touchy, certainly in the pitch. I'll hold my hand up and say I wasn't in liking the earlier feel, the aircraft I loved, the control I wasn't that fussy about... but this is now a revelation, this is FANTASTIC. Although a trainer aircraft, it still has to perform to a standard, a high standard if you are going to mirror a fifth generation fighter. And so the Hawk does. Back on the throttle and you climb... 33,500 ft/min (170.2 m/s) or 10, 211 m/min to a ceiling of 50,000ft... WOW! There is a bit of a trick here, keep increasing the Vertical Speed (V/S) until you match the increasing/decreasing speed and until they both slow and then hold steady together, it is a fabulous ride. Your at an altitude of 30,000ft in no time. Maximum projected speed is Mach 1.05, with a general cruise speed of 526 kn (605 mph, 974 km/h), and a range of around 990 nmi (1,140 mi, 1,830 km). Turning is unusual in the T-7A. The aircraft has no ailerons, as the tail elevator does the all work here. So if you turn into a bank, then the turn is slow and wide... no matter the bank angle? To get the turn tighter you need some rudder control to twist the Hawk into the direction you want to go... ... a touch of back-stick is also required to stop the nose dipping downwards. So it is a more physical machine to fly than before. Then there is the "Roll 2 See” or R2C feature. This is activated by the left side instrument switch... and the function is shown in the menu left bar Basically you now move with the aircraft (or roll with it)... left, right, up or down. At first it can be a bit discerning as you lose your perspective control, but it works well, certainly in following low terrain or deep in a canyon which is highly recommended. Again another to be switched off until you are familiar with the aircraft, and best experienced in flight, unless you are used to using the R2C system. It's the same with "Target Track mode" that is displayed on the icon bar. The Target Track takes command of the pilot point of view camera in order to point the camera at a selected AI plane (the target) and then follow it. Then keeping it in view at all times until you change the view to either 2D or the usual 3D. To activate the TRK mode, you need to be in the 3D cockpit view. The R2C rocker switch is switched ON, you have “Weapon select” and “Target select” completed, then “Weapon select up” once to enter “Track Mode”, then click “Target select up” once or more to your preferred target. Tricky to get right! but clever when it works. Track-IR and VR headsets do work well, but they do require complete control of the pilot POV camera. GCAS Ground Collision Avoidance System protects the airplane and the pilot by estimating time to ground impact and restoring level flight using the auto pilot. As the aircraft approaches the ground two converging arrows appear in the HUD along with a time to impact. When the arrow meet in the center then the system will enter a recovery mode (FLY UP) to avoid ground impact.... sounds like fun... not! Notable is the IFR (In Flight Refueling) the switch is on the DOORS panel, and recesses the IFR panel top of the T-7A. GPS As noted you can set any of the 54 pre-set GPS (VOR 2) options or place coordination of say a AFB or City. When selected (GPS) the aircraft will then track to those coordinates, very good it is... but what if where you want to go is not in that set list (for me St Louis KSTL). Like mentioned it is not easy to add in a new pre-set location, and the ones in there can over-ride the GPS system... so a system is required by AOA to allow you add in a new GPS coordinate into the system easily is definitely required? I found it frustrating, even useless to use, unless you only fly out of a USA AFB. Lighting Because of the dynamic views features, you do find some view tools restricted even in 3D use, so you are sort of locked into the seat, and you can look up, down and side to side, but you can't move around like forwards or backwards... so the lighting images are restricted here. It is basic anyway, the instrument lighting is good, but locked with no adjustment except for the UFD with a knob on the panel. The only adjustment is the "Overhead Light" on the ELECTRICAL panel, one for front and one for the rear. The canopy reflections are excellent and can also be turned off if to distracting. Externally the Red Hawk is basic, there are no "Formation" lights? or even a red beacon light. The T-7A's landing lights are on the undercarriage, so they only work when the gear is down... here the lighting has been tuned to XP12, and very nice it looks. As mentioned, I wasn't that in liking the T-7A earlier, we just didn't gel as a partnership. Maybe it was the total automation of the aircraft? This time around for X-Plane 12 I have turned most of the automation off, odd yes, but I found the aircraft came alive in my hands when it did, maybe it was because I felt I was in control, and not the aircraft. It is an interesting point. I only left the "Speedbrake" Auto switched on, but found you still could not drop the flaps (manually) until you had dropped the gear down. Approach is around 175 knts with full flap 56%. The flaps marker will flash, then only go solid when you are at the full flap position. This time around I found the Red Hawk so much more docile on the approach, rather than with those earlier wild erratic movements. I could sit there elevated in my position and fine tune the approach with ease, its a trainer aircraft, this is what it should be like for the novice airman. Throttle control is very nice, and you can easily adjust your height approach by slight forward and rear movements of the lever, just a smudge below 150 knts and you have the perfect slight nose up angle finals. More nose up going into a high flare, reduces the speed to 130 knts, you feel like an Eagle feathering the tips of your wings ready to land. Touch was around 128 knts, it felt faster, as the auto Speedbrakes kicked into action. Lovely, nice... perfect landing, what more do you want. Notable is that I had to reset the NWS to T-7A to get my steering working again before tuning off the runway, otherwise I was very impressed with the XP12 Red Hawk. __________________ Summary In March 2024, Angle of Attack released for the X-Plane 11 Simulator the T-7A Red Hawk. The Boeing/SAAB T-7A Red Hawk is the US Air Force’s newest fast jet training aircraft. It was designed to replace the more than 50 year old Northrup T-38 Talon, and to better prepare new military pilots for the future advanced aircraft they will fly later. This X-Plane 12 is a totally new release, on the X-Plane 11 version. As in reality it is mostly a complete rework of the aircraft. Admittedly the XP11 version was at the time lacking in any real world data on the aircraft, not even the performance had been published, and those aspects have been now fixed here. This is now a far, far more refined simulation. The T-7A comes in three versions; TX prototype, T-7A advanced trainer and T-7N Navy version. The modeling is actually very good, but more different at a distance in quality,. The Lo-Res closeup like the XP11 version is still there to a point here, but this time around in X-Plane 12 the PBR and lighting effects really bring out the quality and realism and give the aircraft far more depth in the air. Features are excellent and very modern, R2C “Roll to See” POV camera, "Target Track" which points, locks and follows AI planes with pilot camera, AGCA - Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, "Virtual" ground and In-Flight Refueling capability and Track-IR and VR compatibility are all great features, notable are the "Auto" tools for Flaps, Gear, brakes and Speedbrakes are advanced features as on the real aircraft. Great Static Elements and probe are also nice menu additions, in that also the menu has been simplified but now more effective. So also changed is the old "Up-Front" Display from the complicated grid display, overall all are great improvements. Instrumentation and weapons are an all military style glass system, clever and well replicated here. There are some compromises with your view movements with the speciality view tools used in the features here, so forward and rear movements are restricted. Restricted GPS auto track is also limited with no edit or add position access. The biggest maturity with X-Plane 12 however is in the flight dynamics and handing for the T-7A. This is a more benign but more controllable machine, gone are sharp pitches and the sudden jerks of the Autopilot actions. The T-7A is more smooth and now handles like a trainer aircraft should, I wasn't completely convinced on the Red Hawk's earlier dynamics, but this new improved XP12 version is a revelation in this current form, and I really simply love it now, but it still requires time to learn the systems and tune into all the aspects of this aircraft. You get both the new X-Plane 12 and updated X-Plane 11 version T-7A with the package, currently there are no upgrade deals. So overall the new X-Plane 12 version of the T-7A Red Hawk is a massive step forward, it looks, feels, and handles far, far better in it's new environment, so the trainer of the future is here now, and it comes with a big YES from me. _______________________ The T-7A Red Hawk XP12 by AOA Simulations is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store: T-7A Red Hawk XP12 Priced at US$36.00 Advanced Features SASL 3.16.1 based plug-in system “Roll to See” dynamic pilot POV camera option (non-VR mode) points pilot camera based on pitch, roll and G forces "Target Track" points, locks and follows AI planes with pilot camera Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System Fly from forward or aft cockpits as student or instructor "Virtual" ground and In-Flight Refueling capability Track-IR and VR compatible AviTab tablet integration (Download AviTab plugin separately) Cockpit based on preliminary assessment of prototype T-X screen shots Head Up Display Up Front 32 points touch screen control and display panel Large format glass panel with embedded G1000 color moving map Multiple sub panel page options Dedicated engine data display Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 (both versions included) 4 GB VRAM Video Card Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 429 MB Current version: XP12 1.0 (September 29th 2023) This aircraft is noted as a new version, to date there are no upgrade deals from the X-Plane 11 version, but that may change. ________________ Installation and documents: download for the T-7A Red Hawk is 429Mb and the aircraft is deposited in the "Fighters" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 521MBb AviTab Plugin is required for this aircraft Documents supplied are: 2019 CRS report T-7A Red Hawk program.pdf Get Me Flying, NOW!.pdf Printable Checklists Red Hawk bases.png Route around Europe.png T-7A User Guide.pdf Training Flights Documentation consists of a Quick Look overview, User guide, and the official CRS T-7A report... also provided is a Speed Chart (png), Checklists, and Red Hawk Bases and Route around Europe (png) and a "Get me Flying NOW!" tutorial Designed by Fabrice Kauffmann and David Austin of AOA Simulations Support forum for the T-7A _____________________ Update Review by Stephen Dutton 21st December 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.08rc3 (This is a Release Candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - KSTL - St. Louis Lambert International Airport by StarSim-KSTL (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$22.00 (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  32. Experimental Vehicle Review : LLTV - Lunar Landing Training Vehicle by NHAdrian It was a moment of inertia. A pause in the air that could have changed history as we know it. It is 6th May 1968 at Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base (AFB) in Texas. As the strange web framed vehicle was now suddenly frozen at 200ft above the ground with the sudden loss of helium pressure, that then caused the depletion of the hydrogen peroxide that was used for the reserve attitude thrusters. The pilot only had one option, "to get the hell out of there", he did so by ejecting upwards as the machine twirled downwards into the ground and violently exploded beneath him, he landed safely by parachute with only a few aches to his back and a bit tongue from the intense jerk upwards... in two hours he was back at his desk at the Houston Space Centre, doing paperwork. The pilot in question here was Neil Alden Armstrong. The same person that commanded the Apollo 11 mission, during which he became the first man to set foot on the moon (20th July 1969). That infamous moment was captured on film, observing it closely, you saw the nerves of steel to defeat the jaws of death, just like Armstrong had done a few times before. In Korea, as he was making a low bombing run at 350 mph (560 km/h) when 6 feet (1.8 m) of his wing was torn off after it collided with a cable that was strung across the hills as a booby trap. He planned to eject over the water and await rescue by Navy helicopters, but his parachute was blown back over land. A jeep driven by a roommate from the flight school picked him up. Then again in a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, which was to air-drop a Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. Climbing to 30,000 feet (9 km), the number-four engine stopped and the propeller began windmilling (rotating freely) in the airstream, then the propeller disintegrated. Pieces of it damaged the number-three engine and hit the number-two engine. Butchart and Armstrong were forced to shut down the damaged number-three engine, along also with the number-one engine, due to the torque it created. They then made a slow, circling descent from 30,000 ft (9 km) using only the number-two engine, and landed safely. Then the most dangerous moment of all in orbit in Gemini 8. While out of contact with the ground, the docked spacecraft began to roll, and Armstrong attempted to correct this with the Gemini's Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System (OAMS). Following the earlier advice of Mission Control, they undocked, but the roll increased dramatically until they were turning rotations about once per second, indicating a problem with Gemini's attitude control. Armstrong engaged the Reentry Control System (RCS) and turned off the OAMS. Mission rules dictated that once this system was turned on, the spacecraft had to reenter at the next possible opportunity. Armstrong was a cat that had 10 lives, so they sent him to the moon, were he saved the long landing in the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) and made history, which brings us to our weird looking machine in this review. The Bell Aerosystems Lunar Landing Research Vehicle LLTV (nicknamed the "Flying Bedstead") was a Project Apollo era program to build a simulator for the Moon landings. But lets clear something up first. There was five of these vehicles built, the first two were the LLRV or "Research Vehicle". Then later three more were commissioned and called LLTV or "Training Vehicle", they are in design almost identical, but the LLTV's were slightly improved and the forward Styrofoam cockpit enclosure (to simulate the LEM's cockpit) had also the roof removed, to stop an excessive yawing force. Secondly they also had a new mode introduced, called "Lunar Simulation Mode"... of which we will see later. Built of aluminum alloy trusses, the LLRVs (and LLTV) were powered by a General Electric CF700-2V turbofan engine with a thrust of 4,200 lbf (19 kN), mounted vertically in a gimbal. The engine lifted the vehicle to the test altitude of 500ft, and was then throttled back to support five-sixths of the vehicle's weight, simulating the reduced gravity of the Moon. Two hydrogen peroxide lift rockets with thrust that could be varied from 100 to 500 lbf (440 to 2,200 N) handled the vehicle's rate of descent and horizontal movement. Sixteen smaller hydrogen peroxide thrusters, mounted in pairs, gave the pilot control in pitch, yaw and roll. The LLTV is an ungainly insect like machine. Really well designed and produced here by NHAdrian, a developer known for his quirky but very interesting machines, a flying AirCar anybody? The LLRV evolved out of the Bell X-14 (Bell Type 68) experimental VTOL aircraft, but it had problems with ground effects. The X-14 had the reverse effects of helicopters, in that when close to ground, a helicopter needs less power to stay aloft, were as the X-14 needed exactly the opposite in a huge amount of downward thrust. The LLRVs were built by Bell Aerosystems and were used by the FRC (Flight Research Centre) now known as the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to study these VTOL dynamics. Helicopters were the obvious choice to simulate Lunar Control Characteristics. And astronauts at the time who were very familiar with helicopters, pushed heavily for them to be used as the LEM training vehicles. But Dick Day the simulations expert at the FRC, pushed heavily for the LLRV to become the better (or correct) vehicle to do the LEM simulations. The person put in charge of the conversion was no other person than Neil Armstrong (the reason he was not on the Apollo 1 fire committee) and was and in the early part of the LLTV "Design Engineering Inspection" that was the selection committee for the program. He quickly deduced that to build a fully modified LEM Trainer, which he called "prohibitively time consuming and expensive" was not the answer, and noted that the characteristics of the LLRV was not at all that different in physical size, and had the same control rocket geometry from the Lunar Lander. When the earlier VTOL program had been completed, the two LLRV's were shipped to Houston in December (12th) 1966, and three new vehicles in trainers with modifications were ordered by NASA, these were the LLTVs, all five machines were used in Lunar training. The earlier LLRV's were reassigned as LLTV A1 and LLTV A2, the new LLTV's were designated LLTV B1, B2 and B3. Neil Armstrong's strong views against Helicopters was against the current normal thinking. This was because Armstrong was noted as a "Engineer Pilot", and not a "Training Pilot", so basically Helicopter pilots were flying Lunar Simulations on Earth, were as Neil Armstrong was studying and flying Lunar Simulations on the Moon. It was a critical assignment that produced an Historic moment. He of course later had that vexatious moment in LLTV A1 in the final 100 ft of descent going into land when his controls had suddenly degraded. By a rule Apollo Commanders had twenty-two flights to certify them for the mission, but for backup commanders in the later stages of the program, these numbers of flights were reduced to maybe a dozen. The LLTV's design is beyond simple, a frame holds the CF700-2V and surrounding it are the four downward facing HP thrusters (earlier LLRV had only two), then the clusters of HP directional thrusters are positioned on the outer frame, it is all a very spacecraft LEM like in design. Tanks hold the Jet-A1 fuel and the twin globes of Hydrogen Peroxide (HP) are outer centre, rear is balance weights and the large equipment/avionics pack. The whole design has been intricately recreated for your flying pleasure, everything is perfectly done here, like noted, very simple, but intricate at the same time to get it all perfectly authentic... and yes you can spend a lot of time just looking at all of the design and on how it all works, this is one clever aspect of a Simulator, as you have almost the real thing on view for your inspection. Can this be called a cockpit? sort of. The original LLRV just had the pilot hanging out on the front on the frame, in the LLTV version is was boxed in to recreate the feeling of the inside of the LEM. The light metal frame construction and riveting is totally excellent, and note the nice touch of the Apollo mission patches... but there is an important one missing? An oversight or just a small trivia question by the developer? The cockpit layout is very familiar if you are also familiar with the LEM's controls. The hand controls both sides, and the instrument box right. Left side here are two levers, the "Lift Engine Control Lever", and the secondary "Lift Thrusters Control Lever" known as the "T-Stick". Top left panel is the CB Control Panel, with Circuit Breakers (fuses) and system switches. Note the rear COM Radio with 25khz and 8.33 khz modes and fuel cock lower. The "Main Control Panel" covers Battery A/B and Generator A/B switches, Altitude Controller over-ride, Lunar Simulation wind compensation switch, Helium Isolation valve, Altitude Thrusters operations mode, Inverter A/B switches, Pitch/Roll AHRS source, Artificial Horizon source and Altitude controller rate sensitivity adjustment knobs for; Pitch, Roll and Yaw. Right side is the "Main Instrument Panel", from top; Engine Fire annunciator and test button, HD quantity indicator, Annunciator Panel, Lateral/Forward velocity indicator, lift rockets chamber pressure, Helium Pressure, analog stop-watch/button cycle, Artificial Horizon, Radio Altimeter and V/S (vertical Speed) indicator, Thrust-to-Weight ratio indicator LSM mode, EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature gauge), Oil Pressure, Analog Altimeter, Analog Variometer, N1 Indicator, Jet fuel quantity and aft Jet fuel quantity. On the right is the actual LEM panel for comparison, and the main flying instruments in layout are almost identical. The Annunciator panel has 4x4 block of warnings and failures. Note the "LUNAR MODE" selection. Bottom right is the "Right Control Panel". It includes; "Attitude Control mode switches", DC Volts and AC Volts, "Source Switch A/B and finally the same famous "Ground Contact" light. Right hand joystick is fully animated in forward-back and left/right movements, as is the well done NASA pilot in his arm movements... let us call him "Neil". You can hide "Neil" by pressing the seat base, but be careful, it is very easy to mix up the hotspot of the "Ejection Seat", and just disappear. If you move the slider on the pilot's helmet... it will push down the visor, also then go into "Sunglasses" mode, in dimming the view, honestly I'm not sure about this while flying, as you need as much a clear view as possible, and an option to turn it off, but the idea is very clever. _____________ Installation and Settings In X-Plane, you will find the LLTV in the "VTOL" section at the bottom of the "Flight Configuration" page. There are no liveries (laughs) LLTV Authorization is standard with a key, then a restart is required. Control settings are for all the "Control Response" (Pitch,Roll and Yaw) sliders to be at the minimum setting, and at least "5 Flight Models" per frame, it is highly recommended to have at least a 30 frames or more capacity, if not it will struggle to simulate. The LLTV fuel and weights are setup via the X-Plane "Weight, Balance & Fuel" Page, the HP is top, and the Jet Fuel is set lower, note the correct CoG (Centre of Gravity). If you have (or I recommend) a 3-Axis Joystick... then move your Yaw axis to the Joystick X-Axis from the rudder pedals for an authentic feel of the machine, the LEM did not have rudder pedals as both pilots stood up side by side together. A final tip is to set the "Lunar Simulation Mode" to a Toggle or "On/Off" switch, I used the hat on my joystick, the custom command is available and as all the usable "Custom Commands" are noted in the manual. This action will reduce the distraction of the switch between the different modes, and keep your hands on the controls. ____________________ Flying the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle I found that before every flight you have to set your fuel quantity, it resets back to zero if you don't, in other times also top up the H202 tanks, the LLTV guzzles fuel like nothing else, so this is always your first action. The fuel cock is down under the COM Radio, and this needs to be horizontal for fuel flow, then it is the simple need just to flick up the Ignition switch, then the START ENG switch, the system does the rest of the startup sequence, when done it will settle down around 20% RPM and EGT around 450º The startup whine and thrust from the CF700-2V is very good, then becomes a roar if you add in a bit of throttle, plus there is the puffs and blasts of Hydrogen Peroxide all around the vehicle, and you haven't done anything yet? Increasing the throttle increases the noise and the activity from the thrusters as they intensely fire off (really well done) the HP, and slowly your off the ground... and your first target is just to hover. Honestly it's not that hard, just like flying a drone in every aspect... up/down... hover. Then your just glad to lower the LLTV back onto the ground... safety. Confidence restored, "Lets try that again". This time I hovered far higher, the limits are 500 ft and 2 minutes of fuel, and the clock is ticking. Again it was easy to climb and hold, twist the throttle grip and turn easily in the yaw, left or right... then front or back with a slight dip in each direction... "easy peasy" Trickier is sideways... any slip has to be carefully coordinated, and keeping the vehicle almost upright. Push too far in angle or speed and you will easily lose the LLTV, and there is no coming back, except for an explosive crash on the ground. A note that there is an "Ejection" to do an "Armstrong" and get the "hell out of there". There are two modes, the first is really the "Drone" mode were the LLTV flies basically just like a drone. Second flying mode is called "Lunar Simulation Mode" that is activated on the joystick. The difference between them is that with the first (drone) mode the CF700-2V is locked in it's cradle, so the thrust is completely downwards. In Lunar Simulation Mode (LSM)" the engine is now loose on a Gimbal to still produce the balance thrust, but the vehicle angle can now change, however the engine (thrust) stays relative to the ground to simulate the Moon's gravity (1.625 m/s2, about 16.6% to that on Earth's surface or 0.166 ɡ), to replicate the same propulsion system on the LEM. Several other actions also happen when you initiate LSM, first you change levers to the T-Stick, this lever now controls the downward thrusters and in giving you only control over them (disengages the Jet Engine) and lifts the rockets thrust between 20% and 100% power range. Note... there has been an update, v1.01 now has the animation working that moves "Neil's" hand from the throttle to the T-Stick, and the T-Stick movements are now animated as well... The LSM system won't work unless you are at 500ft (or slightly more), then you flick the switch to change the modes... Then the "Luna Mode" light is illuminated to show you are in the active mode. The transition between modes is seemless, initially you can't tell the difference, but adjust the T-Stick and you are quickly aware of the more heavier thrust at your disposal, with both the Jet engine and thrusters now producing lift, actually altitude control is far more easier, you as you have significantly now more control over the machine, but there is more and more lag in reactions the closer you get to the ground. Yaw and slip is still the same, so be careful... but the flying of the "Bedstead" was far easier than I had imagined, you would love to stay here in this controlled environment all day, but your now guzzling fuel at a ferocious rate, so it is time to descend and do a nice controlled landing. The amount of thrust power is excellent, and in reality you do feel what piloting the LEM would actually be like, I was amazing on the amount of power that was available to you, even on the moon! The trick here of course is to learn an actual moon LEM sequence landing, moving forward and picking your landing spot, controlling the flow of the descent and the angle of approach to a hover position and then a "Contact". It would take a fair bit of practice and familiarity with the LLTV to get that all right, but the adrenalin rush would be worth it, remember the old "Lunar Lander" game, well this is far more better and in 3d, you also have the same limited amount of fuel as well! Armstrong noted on his return from the moon. "Eagle (the Lunar Module) flew very much like the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle which I had flown more than 30 times at Ellington Air Force Base near the Space Center. I had made from 50 to 60 landings in the trainer, and the final trajectory I flew to the landing was very much like those flown in practice. That, of course, gave me a good deal of confidence — a comfortable familiarity" Considering the traumatic events on 6th May 1968, then the LLRV and the later LLTV, were actually very reliable over thousands of test flights. Actually only two crashed, the LLTV A1 (Armstrong) and Test pilot Stuart Present ejected again safely from crashing LLTV-2, 29th January 1971, the surviving rest are listed below LLRV-2 (LLRV NASA 951) is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. It was lent to the museum by NASA in 2016. LLTV-3 (LLTV NASA 952) is on display at the Johnson Space Center. A Replica of NASA 952 is in a partially complete state in the aircraft boneyard at the Yanks Air Museum. __________________ Summary So how do you replicate landing on the Moon when you have never actually been there? This was the problem facing NASA in 1966. To build a full trainer of the Lunar Excursion Module, or LEM, that was the lunar descent vehicle, was considered then be too expensive and even impractical. Then came the idea to convert two VTOL experimental aircraft at the FRC (Flight Research Centre) now known as the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. These were LLRVs, later renamed LLTVs (A1/A2) and to build three more for training lunar astronauts in the skills of using the lunar lander in B1/B2 and B3. The LLTV vehicle is reproduced here by NHAdrian, and brilliantly good it is. This is not a helicopter, more drone in skills, but the "LUNAR MODE" is replicated in absolute realism, in allowing you to practise Lunar Landings on Earth, or to practise this significant skill set, and actually get the feel of what flying the LEM was really like. Sounds and the feel of the machine are simply excellent here (it's very loud), the rocket pulses perfectly synchronised, there are no extras or liveries, but a very well detained machine. The LLTV is also fully VR (Virtual Reality) ready, for an even more authentic immersion. With the update v1.01, the T-Stick in "Lunar Mode" is now also animated as well as the throttle control... It is all very clever, very X-Plane as well, and the modeling detail and systems recreated here are exceptional, it is also very Lunar Lander, the 1979 video game, you get addicted to it, and try over and over again to achieve your goal... of landing on the Moon. Highly recommended, and great authentic fun. __________________________ Yes! - the LLTV - Lunar Landing Training Vehicle by NHAdrian is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : LLTV - Lunar Landing Training Vehicle Price is US$19.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 Windows, Mac (using Rosetta) or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 331 MB Current Version : 1.0 (December 1st 2023) Important note for MAC OS X users: please read this article about enabling Rosetta: https://www.x-plane.com/kb/using-x-plane-11-addons-with-x-plane-12-on-mac-systems/ Designed by NHAdrian - Support forum for the LLTV by NHAdrian Installation Installation of LLTV is done via a download of 296 Mb... With a total installation size of 566Mb into the Aircraft Folder. Authorization is required, then a full X-Plane restart. As noted above there is a requirement to use Rosetta on the Mac System There is one basic highly detailed Manual pdf (29 pages) with an install, set up, description of the LLTV, plus full checklists. The menu design is to replicate an official NASA document. Review System Specifications Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.08b3 (This is a Beta review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - KEFD - Ellington Field - X-Plane default - Free ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 1st December 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  33. Problem with SAM3 is that it is seriously bloated for this job, yes I agree the developers have been MIA for awhile, and SAM needs attention
    2 points
  34. Aircraft Update Review : Embraer E-Jets Family v1.03 by X-Crafts Earlier this year was one of the year's most significant new aircraft releases for the X-Plane 12 Simulator. The E-Jet Family series of aircraft was released on the 10th May 2023 by X-Crafts, and obviously X-PlaneReviews did the full release review on the aircraft: Aircraft Review : E-Jets Family by X-Crafts. Release reviews are always an early in-depth look of the aircraft. Detailing the Features, Systems, Instruments and focusing on the Modeling, look and feel of the release. In this case it was a long review, because there are five different variants of the E-Jet family, four in E 170 - E 175 - E 190 - E 195 as they all were part of the release package, the fifth is the still to be released E 190 Lineage Business Jet. So it is always interesting to come back to the aircraft a few months after the initial review, to not only see the updates (fixes) on the package, but also have another perspective on the aircraft after a period of flying the machine and absorbing it's features. These update reviews are not a totally in-depth review like a few months ago, but to pick out the highlights and changes since that original release. The new E-Jet Family from Embraer in Brazil, was not the first Embraers from X-Crafts, first was the E 175 LR: Aircraft Review : Embraer E 195 LR by X-Crafts, which came into X-Plane 10 in August 2014, with then later the smaller E 175 on December 5, 2015. The difference with the 2023 release in that it was a completely different remodeling and systems redesign for X-Plane 12, and nothing on the earlier E-Jet aircraft was passed over to the new, the E-Jets also came with a significant price increase. But I found with the extremely high quality and huge feature list, it did also certainly realign the product to this new price point level, in some ways it is a remarkable achievement for X-Crafts on what they delivered. Since the release there has been three updates, v1.01 (19th May), v1.02 (26th June) and this latest update to v1.03 (October 3rd). The first v1.01 update was a reaction to release, to fix immediate bugs and issues. v1.02 was a more in-depth revision focusing on System Improvements, PFD (Primary Flight Display), MFD (MultiFunctional Display) fixes and sounds. Which brings us to the latest v1.03. This update is what you could call a mature update. All updates can be done via the excellent new Skunkcrafts Updater... and first impressions back in the E-Jet cockpit support that feeling. Those first impressions are simply "Wow", it really is superbly created. The detail and quality really does jump out at you. Remember this is really the first X-Plane 12 aircraft (in this category), created and designed specifically for the X-Plane 12 version and it's new lighting effects. And the E-Jet certainly has that extremely look and realistic feel... In the release review I flew the E-195, this aircraft is the E-190, slightly shorter (36.25 m (118 ft 11 in), less passengers, but comes with a longer range in 2,450 nmi (4,537 km; 2,820 mi) and by flying an extra 150 nm. It is still a huge cabin... galleys are small, but extremely well done. The cockpit is stunning as well, the detail is even overwhelming, even though I know it in complete detail from May. And you can slip yourself into the pilot's seat and adjust it forward. The E-Family uses the Honeywell Primus "Epic", Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) glass cockpit... I really don't have a lot of negative comments with X-Crafts E-Jet Family, but there are two, or really one that can absorb the second one. The custom "Authentic" FMS is very good, yes authentic. But it is very long-winded to programme, not just the actual route, but there is a lot of performance and data to feed in. But there are helpers... On the EFB there are three pages covering Weight & Balance, Takeoff Perf and Landing Perf. You can import the Flight data from SimBrief (Simbrief ID Required), and it fills out your loadsheet, you can then use this data to "Load (the) Plane"... but it won't insert your route? The quickest way is to use the X-Plane 12 FMS flightplan (you can use the SimBrief Downloader App to insert the file in the X-Plane FMS plans folder). Then load in the route as a CO ROUTE You still have to insert your Departure and Arrival procedures, to complete the route detail. Again on the EFB, you can create the "TakeOff" and "Landing" performance data. You then have to fill in the Wind, (Airport) Temperature and Baro QNH. When computed, you can send the data directly to the FMS, via the upper right link. It is hard to find, but to set these Takeoff and Landing speeds you then have to go to the ACARS MAIN MENU, under NAV-INDEX/DATALINK. But it does not set other crucial data... one of the big annoying diversions is caused by setting the TO-CG (TakeOff - Centre of Gravity). The TO-CG is shown on TAKEOFF INIT page 2, but it won't accept the TO-CG %, as you would usually program in the Trim on the TAKEOFF page. The TO-CG is actually set on the PERFORMANCE INIT-KG page 2, then it fills in the TAKEOFF INIT (page 2) setting... it also then sets the "PITCH TRIM" and "TO PITCH", both slots you usually do manually, here it is automatic. Another diversion is to set the Takeoff flap setting. Here it is set to FLAPS 2, to change the Flap setting you go to the TO INIT lower left LK6 Select Page 2 and the Flap selection is the first row RK1... OR Then select your Flap Setting 1, 2, or 4 and the "ACT" is the active flap setting, when done press RETURN. The Flap setting change is now done on the TAKEOFF main page. More data also has to be filled out on TAKEOFF INIT, this time page 1. WIND is required RK3... Another one... back to the PERFORMANCE INIT-KG Page 2, to fill in ISA DEV, ZFW, CRZ ALT (Altitude) and CRZ WINDS. Get it all right and your FMS active FLT PLAN lights up with SPEED and ALTITUDE data. Don't get me wrong, it is a brilliantly deep FMS system, really well done. Once you get skilled at the way you programme in the data, you will be well pleased with the result... but what if you make a mistake, or your flight is tomorrow? That is the crunch... you can't save all your set up hard work, shut down the Simulator, and it's all gone. So it becomes a use it or lose it situation, and it's a lot of (programming) work to lose, and it's time consuming to reprogramme everything back in ready again. Developer note- "Use the ICAO code instead of the identifier to search for airports. This should fix some airports not being found on the EFB, If this still happens to you, then quit X-Plane, then navigate to …\X-Plane\Output\caches\xcrafts, and delete the airports.db folder. It will be recreated automatically next time you start X-Plane. And this should resolve the issue". Throttles Those lovely throttles have been troublesome since the original release of the XP12 E-Jet Family. Certainly if you have some add-on hardware throttles, like I do with the Saitek X56 Rhino. At first they didn't work at all with the Add-on set up, in v1.02 they did work, but both levers were locked together? In v1.03 the throttles now work independently of each other and realistically... nice! But there is something working even better here now, and clever as well. Reverse on these sort of "BETA" gate style throttle quadrants was always very tricky to get right with Add-on throttle systems Just try FlyJSims DASH Q4XP to see how hard it is to get it working realistically. But X-Crafts have come up with a novel solution here. Select your Reverser Mode as usual (Toggle thrust reversers), and the throttles drop back into the MIN REV gate, push up the throttle power and the throttles do the reverse action in going rearwards to MAX REV.... So simple it makes you cry, but so easy to use. Do the reverse procedure to get back to IDLE position (pull back throttles then re-toggle the reversers)... brilliant, you can play and marvel with them for hours. X-Crafts has also changed the Throttle Retarding detection method to prevent previous hardware issues, also the LNAV and VNAV will not disconnect if you disengage AP anymore. One of the biggest protestations with the release version was the aircraft would lift off the runway before the v2 (149 knts) + Rotate position was acquired. X-Crafts have done a lot of work on this issue, and it shows, at the rotation point it is now perfect, and at the correct vSpeed. Visually it's better as well with improved wingflex. So as the wings take the weight, they will bend now higher (or more realistically) on takeoff, but they don't flex in the replay mode, a Laminar bug it seems. I initially climb to 12,000ft, or 15,000ft if the airport is at a high altitude. Once there you switch off the seatbelt signs and clean up the lighting, and increase the speed (285 knts). Lately I have been comparing FLCH (Flight Change) modes in various reviews, to see how they stack up. I have in the past always been a procedures person and did all the Flight Level and Speed changes (Knts/Mach) myself. But decided to see how the E-Jet performed. And the results are impressive. Like noted I was at 12,000ft with an altitude change to FL320 (32,000ft), so I pressed the FLCH and watched it perform... The (vertical) climb was originally set at 3,200 fpm, but quickly settled down to around 2,200 per minute, then over the climb it changed the pitch feet per minute from the 2,200 - 1800 - 1600 - 1200 - and going past FL300 it was down to 800, until reaching the correct altitude. Like I said, that was sensational in the sort of climb rates I would do manually. in v1.03 there has been some adjustments on the Mach number changeover point, now 31,000 ft. The VNAV has had a lot of attention as well... first the VNAV not engaging if AP not selected before 1200ft AGL, thats now also been fixed... ... TOC is now visible if it occurs within the SID. TOC is displayed currently based on average climb performance, but you may even reach FL before or after TOC, and that is normal. Route waypoint altitudes didn't before conform to climb or descent altitude profiles when before TOC or after TOD, thats been fixed as well. Finally the Vertical deviation bug does not stay in the middle during level offs during the descents, now it does... all small stuff in being corrected, but it adds up to a very realistic Simulation. The results are impressive, in reality you can press the FLCH button (after selecting the new altitude), and climb professionally straight up to the new flight level in perfection, no dramas, with a Mach switch over on the ride up, in fact the E-Jet is fully automated, a one button press does the lot. I will note though that the FL change to my cruise altitude of FL340 (2,000ft) was a bit abrupt, 2,000 fpm was a bit excessive, but it quickly readjusted to 900 fpm, me I usually change levels around 500 fpm to 600 fpm in this category of aircraft over small altitude steps, don't want to scare the passengers. Glass transparency was debated, and the conclusion by X-Crafts was that the transparency was true to life and depends highly on the lighting conditions in the sim, that is a point... I don't think any developer can adjust cockpit lighting at the moment, it's still to transient. The one distraction I don't like is Throttle hunting. I have a nasty tailwind of 67 knots, so the Yokes are flickering and the Throttles are adjusting to the wind changes... but it's actually good here, not that abrupt movement, but a seemless casual adjustment as required, so the actions of the systems look and feel very realistic in flight. Is this E-Jet a great reflection on the state of X-Plane 12 currently, yes it is, very impressive. Rear Navigation lights are now white, from the earlier red, look nice as well... all Navigation lights have been increased in intensity of around 20%, and so have the strobe lights. Cockpit lighting is excellent, but the Autopilot glareshield controls are still very hard to read in the daylight, fine at night... but confusing in the day. FLCH descent felt a little excessive at 3,500 fpm? I would usually descend around 2,000 - 2500 fpm, only 3,000 fpm in an emergency, you press FLCH and the nose just goes DOWN... I'll do it manually. Our arrival at Athens, love it when the gear unfolds. On the E190/E195 variants, the engine pylon was going through the flap when the flaps were extended, now that is fixed, another change is that the Flap extension times were reduced after evaluating some real-world videos. Flap 1 now takes 15 sec to extend instead of the earlier 20 seconds... so quicker. Manual approach flying is exceptional, you have to be impressed on how really good Flight Simulation is today, X-Plane dynamics give you an exceptional "hands on" feel for the aircraft in "Finals". Sound changes in v1.03 are all mostly focused on the landing contact... with added cabin mains (gear) ground contact, cabin nosegear ground contact, a new cockpit mains ground contact and cockpit nose ground contact sounds. The "autobrake" warning is also now aural. One other aural adjustment was the rather noisy electric hydraulic pump by about 6dB, so the sound pitch is now down slightly. Obviously I couldn't wait to try out the better engine reverser actions, and they look and feel excellent, inside throttle actions and external. The E-Jet is fantastic and impressive as well. _________________ Summary Released to great fanfare in May 2023, is the totally upgraded E-Jet Family Series from X-Crafts. The aircraft set new standards for regional aircraft design and detail, and was the first completely new X-Plane 12 focused release, plus it went up into the upper elite category price wise. Since the release there has been three updates, v1.01 (19th May), v1.02 (26th June) and this latest update to v1.03 (October 3rd). The first v1.01 update was a reaction to release, to fix immediate bugs and issues. v1.02 was a more in-depth revision focusing on System Improvements, here we focused on the largest update yet with v1.03. A full changelog is below. The update list is long, but highlights in v1.03 include fixes for the earlier troublesome Throttle quadrant for Add-on hardware. This time the fixes are done, and with the added extra of a well designed Thrust reverser action, for the same add-on throttle systems. Aircraft dynamics relating to early runway lifting has also been attended to, in fact TOC and TOD points have also had attention with a focus on the Knts/Mach transition, lots of attention for all VNAV, LNAV, PFD, MFD elements and the EFB Tablet are also well detailed, and goes a long way to giving the aircraft a maturity it deserves. A few physical changes are done as well, Navigation rear lights are now white, and all Nav lights are 20% brighter, modeling Engine Pylon into flaps is fixed, as is the flap speeds. Sounds are focused on Cockpit and Cabin runway contact speeds, and all have been revised. This is a very complex aircraft, programming the Primus "Epic" FMS, can take time, but gets far easier with familiarity and use, but X-Crafts have done a lot to make it a realistic, if also a provided a lot of "helper" options, but the important global save is still missing, and badly needed here. The non-connection to the Tiller is still there, and the lighting is still unusual in excellent night lighting, is in contradiction to the various daylight lighting being blanked out? an X-Plane 12 issue? The Guidance Panel is still impossible to see the daylight. Every thing here with the E Jet Family from X-crafts comes down to price. The packages are set in the high quality category, a single aircraft version is priced only US$5 lower than the category leader the FlyJSim Q4XP, the full five aircraft package (the lineage coming later) is US$134.95, yes that is expensive. For the past purchaser of the X-Plane 11 v2 version, the new purchase still gets a 15% discount, if you upgrade later to the full package, then there is a 50% discount, the best deal is 15% off the full package if you are a previous owner, still a big investment, and one that runs the full life of the X-Plane 12 version. The astounding quality of the aircraft here hits you in the face, this is "Top Notch" category that easily matches the class leader in FlyJSim's Q4XP Dash 8 aircraft, but there is also that "New Gen" feel of the quality and detail that gives this series the signal that it was created and designed for the future, or X-Plane 12, and it is not a conversion aircraft of the past. In truth this is the first (in this high-level category) of a pure X-Plane 12 release, and you see and feel it, and the E-Jets still feels very new and fresh after six months of release. The E-Jet Family from X-Crafts is a standard bearer in quality and systems for the X-Plane 12 Simulator. These revisions and consistent updates are moving the aircraft very quickly to a mature standard. It's a brilliant in-depth Simulation, that shows off X-Plane 12 to it's ultimate best. _____________________ Yes! the Embraer E-Jets Family v1.03 by X-Crafts is currently available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-Jets by X-Crafts Price per single aircraft is US$74.95 Embraer E170 by X-Crafts Embraer E175 by X-Crafts Embraer E190 by X-Crafts Embraer E190 by X-Crafts Purchasers of the E-Jet v2 (X-Plane 11) can get this new XP12 version with a 15% discount Embraer E-Jets Family by X-Crafts Price for the FULL E-Jet Package is US$134.95 Includes every E-Type | E170 | E175 | E190 | E195 Plus + Linaeage 1000 Private jet (When Released) Purchasers of the E-Jet v2 (X-Plane 11) can get this new XP12 version package with a 15% discount Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 The first few initial updates will still be X-Plane 11 compatible, however, 6 months after the release, the X-Plane 11 version will be final and development will continue only on the X-Plane 12 version. Windows, MAC or Linux - 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 1.03 (October 3rd 2023) Download via Skunkcraft Updater Download (Package) installed is; 5.56GB. The AviTab plugin is also required to use this aircraft, and it is deposited in your X-Plane Plugins folder. Designed by X-Crafts Support forum for XCrafts Documentation There is excellent full coverage documentation and built in checklists, including; E-Jets Family by X-Crafts - User Manual Changelog v1.01, v1.02 and v1.03 Version Notes v1.0.3.txt _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 28th October 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane Version 12.07r1 Plugins: JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Scenery or Aircraft - LIMC - Milano Malpensa XP by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$29.95 - LGAV - FlyTampa - Athens (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$28.00 (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  35. Aircraft Release Review : DHC-2 Beaver DGS Series XP12 by Thranda Design In aviation folklore, there are machines that have created an impact by their design alone, but a few have gone even higher into a sort of immortal status, Say Spitfire or DC-3, Concorde and even the Boeing 707. One other aircraft can also join this upper echelons of achievement, and that is the de Havilland Canada Type 2... also known as the "Beaver". Often referred to as the “best bush plane ever built”, the DHC-2 has been instrumental in developing and servicing far-reaching frontiers since it was first introduced in 1947. The DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft that was developed by de Havilland Canada in 1946, and is known as a bush plane, in fact one of the most highly regarded bush aircraft ever created. There was 1,657 Beavers built between 1947–1967 and half are actually still flying and working hard. In fact you can currently buy a zero-time frame and just rebuild your current aircraft and keep the machine flying as long as you can service the radial engine and afford the new airframes... History de Havilland Canada hired Punch Dickins, a famous bush pilot, as Director of Sales who began an extensive program of collecting requests from other pilots and to understand what they needed in a new type of aircraft. Almost without variation, the pilots asked for tremendous extra power and STOL performance, in a design that could be easily fitted with wheels, skis or floats. When de Havilland engineers noted that this would result in poor cruise performance, one pilot replied "You only have to be faster than a dog sled". Other suggestions that seemingly sound mundane but important in the bush plane world; full-sized doors were installed on both sides of the aircraft so it could be easily loaded no matter which side of a dock it tied up on. The large doors (known as Alaska doors) were also made wide enough to allow for a 45 Imperial gallon drum to be rolled directly up and into the aircraft. On September 17, 1946, de Havilland officially put together a design team consisting of Fred Buller, Dick Hiscocks, Jim Houston and W. Jakimiuk, led by Phil Garratt. The new aircraft was designed to be all-metal in using "steel from the engine to the firewall, heavy aluminum truss frames with panels and doors throughout the front seat area, lighter trusses toward the rear and all monocoque construction aft". At the time de Havilland Canada was still a British-owned company and there were plans to fit the evolving design with a British engine. This limited power, so the wing area was greatly increased in order to maintain STOL performance. When Pratt & Whitney Canada offered to supply war-surplus 450 hp (340 kW) Wasp Jr engines at a low price, the aircraft ended up with extra power as well as the original long wing. The result was unbeatable STOL performance for an aircraft of its size. it was decided that the new bush plane was much like the hard-working beaver and so as many aircraft at the time were named after animals, the aircraft was designated after this industrious animal. The first flight of the DHC-2 Beaver was in Downsview, Ontario by Second World War flying ace Russell Bannock on August 16, 1947. The first production aircraft was delivered to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, a design partner, in April 1948. The Beaver was designed for flight in rugged and remote areas of the world. Its short takeoff and landing capability made it ideal for areas normally only accessible only by canoe or foot. Because it often flies to remote locations, often in cold climates, its oil reservoir filler is located in the cockpit and the oil can be filled in flight. A series of upgrades to the basic design were incorporated. One major customer introduced the use of flat steps replacing the earlier tubes, a feature that is now almost universal. In 1987, the Canadian Engineering Centennial Board named the DHC-2 one of the top ten Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th century. The current ownership of the certificates and tooling gives Viking Air of Victoria, Canada the exclusive right to manufacture new Beavers. Viking now sells a remanufactured and rebuilt DHC-2T Turbo Beaver upgraded with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 680 hp (507 kW) turboprop engine. With a maximum gross takeoff weight increased to 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) it can carry 2,450 lb (1,110 kg) of freight. However, Viking Turbo Beavers are only rebuilt from existing air frames, and are not new-builds, unlike Viking's own DHC-6 Series 400 Twin Otter, which is manufactured from a completely new airframe. (wikipeida) Performance - Maximum speed: 158 mph (255 km/h) - Cruise speed: 143 mph (230 km/h) - Range: 455 miles (732 km) - Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,486 m) - Rate of climb: 1,020 ft/min (5.2 m/s) Thranda Design This is the second Beaver for X-Plane by Thranda Design, their first release was the X-Plane 11 version released in November 2020, and this is the totally revised aircraft for X-Plane 12. Current users of the earlier Thranda XP11 Beaver can also get 30% off this new XP12 version of the DHC-2 Beaver. The older XP11 version is still also currently available, if you want to fly the aircraft in X-Plane 11 This version is the Beaver that incorporates the "Holmes Extended Engine Mount", which moves the 917lbs engine forward by almost 10 inches. This modification then moves the center of gravity of the plane forward, and in then allowing additional loads to be carried in the back without exceeding the aft CG limit. First impressions are quite impressive. This is now also X-Plane 12, so you also get that huge photographic realism from the aircraft as well with the X-Plane 12 lighting and effects. In features and detail, there is is not that much difference outward between the two XP12 and XP11 versions, on the surface they are quite the same aircraft package. It is in the hidden areas, like textures (more soon), lighting, aircraft dynamics, aircraft performance, aircraft flight models is in were they differ. One significant difference is that the extra Floats and Amphibious floats variant is already included in this XP12 package, were as with the original version release they came a short few months awhile after, you also get a canoe as well! Thranda quality is extreme in detail and fittings. As noted the new XP12 Beaver comes with 8K textures, a huge pixel area 7680 x 4320. Just because it is 8K doesn't mean that you need a 8Gb Graphic Card to run them. 4 Gb VRAM is still recommended as Minimum. And 8 Gb+ VRAM is however recommended as normal. But like with the earlier Thranda releases, they had more than one 4K texture size, sometimes two 4K textures to fill in the same 8K area. So in reality you are only using the 8K to fill the same gap of the two 4K set of textures before. So Graphic Card size is not the issue, if you can run your current Thranda aircraft with your current graphic card size, then the DHC-2 will be exactly the same, in fact even a bit more efficient in that it only has to load in only the one texture sheet, rather than the load of old 2(K)or 4(K) texture sheets. As a classic Beaver, you won't get any better in modeling and design than this one, there was the original X-Plane Beaver from SoulMade Simulations DHC-2 version a few years back, that aircraft is a pure DHC-2, but without any updates, certainly no upgrade to X-Plane 12, the SMS DHC-2 is now quite dated and in the past. The detailing is exceptional, the mapping of the precision of the rivets are simply excellent, and I love the gap in the cowling, actually done twice with the Holmes extended engine mount if you look closely. The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engine, is rated at 450 BHP at sea level. This is an air-cooled, carburetted, 9-Cylinder radial engine, incorporating dual magnetos and an engine-driven single-stage supercharger. And the engine detail really jumps out at you with the coloured inner components, that aspect should not work on such an old aircraft, but it simply looks brilliant here... Undercarriage is basic, but again very well done in total authentic detail, the DHC-2 is a taildragger, so there is only a small loose swivel wheel at the rear. Notable in the detail are the excellent double metal plate reinforce plates, they are all over the fuselage and they all make the aircraft very authentic. They are beautifully done, and shows the high craftmanship of the aircraft. Rear Rudder, Elevator control surfaces reinforce work is also top notch. Wing shape and camber is perfect, again you have a highly realistic wing, realistically modeled and designed with all the correct rivets. Oddly the aileron goes only about 3º up, but 8º down, note the full barn door flap deflection of 58º, mostly used for slow water landings. There is the debate if X-Plane 12 surfaces are too "shiny, shiny". The X-Plane 11 surfaces were certainly in the opposite of being very flat, but it also bought out the intimate detail, here, or for all current Thranda Aircraft, is that every surface is shiny, reflective.... I'm not sure if I am a total fan of this look. In one aspect aircraft certainly looks realistic in X-Plane 12, but in other ways they just don't, as the shininess can hide a lot of the wear detail that presented well on the older XP11 version of Thranda's Beaver. Glass is superb, thick where it counts (windscreen), with a mottled/scratch wear in the glass. All glass is a heavy green tint, and "Bubble" windows is an option on the passenger doors. Reflections can also be turned off. There are four forward doors, Two for the pilots, and two behind for the front row passengers (note the right side door has no external handle, and can only be opened outside via a hotspot). Rear are two separate large upward opening "Alaska" doors. Space inside was created to be wide enough to allow for a 44 Imperial gallon drum to be rolled up into the aircraft. There are four passenger seats, and one large rear bench seat in the rear, all seats are beautifully done in blue canvas, with metal legs and rear plate supports. All of the five Passenger seats backs can be folded forward. You can take one or all five seats out, to create a huge cargo space. This space can then be filled with cargo, including cases, crates and (small oil drums), cargo is also put in the small baggage area behind the restriction net (bench seat if installed). You can of course also mix the passengers with cargo... Cockpit You sit up there very high at the front of the machine... Both the pilot seats are amazing, with their metal clamshell bucket rear design, and hardwearing blue patterned levi Jean look cushions. Both pilots windows can be opened, or positioned in any place, up or down... you can play with the small window air-vent as well. The Thranda Beaver cockpit is not like the antique cream version like on the SoulMade Solutions DHC-2, that is very much beloved by me as to it's reference to an early Beaver. But this version is very much a more relative version to most of the working Beavers out there and it is extremely well done. The SMS version had a single left side Yoke, but here you get the TwinBar Y double version that disappears if you press the base. The logo we all admire... all in it's chrome and black plate glory "De Havilland" and in the right lighting conditions it just glows and shines like it has just been lovingly and newly polished. The cosmetic detail here is excellent, and you simply can't believe the intimate authentic detail all around you here. There are two choices of the famous throttle quadrant, the older original classic version with the Throttle Lever left, with in order Propeller lever and Mixture right... or the more modern squared off version with the Throttle now centre, Prop left and Mixture right. Centre top are the magnificently large DHC-2 iconic Manifold Pressure and RPM gauges, and the mid-screen mounted whiskey compass. The pilot gets all the flying instruments in the form of the six standard flight instruments in the Airspeed, Artificial Horizon, Altitude, Turn/Slip Indicator, Heading Indicator and the Vertical Speed, left is the main fuel tank selector It has positions of OFF, FRONT, CENTRE, REAR. Top panel is the (very) hard too find "Avionics" switch, and the metal plate flaps indicator is a work of art. There is a sensational JOS. POLLACK CORP Ignition switch, ELT and the logo plated MaxDim panel lighting knobs lower left panel, the metal plate storage box opens as well, to revel the three faces of the Thranda Design team. Right side panel has the avionics and electrical panel... There is an altitude selector top, then an S-Tec Fifty-Five x Autopilot, KX 155 NAV/COMM Radio (NAV 1/COM 1), Garmin GMA 340 Comm radio, and a Garmin GTX 325 Transponder lower... it is to be noted that these items are the default set of avionics, but as we shall see, you can use more different units if you want to. To the far right is an OBS Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) - VOR NAV 2. Lower right panel is a fully active (Fuse) Circuit Breaker panel, with the relevant electrical switches set below for power and lighting (Avionics power switch is as noted is high up on the left side panel facia). Next to the Fuses is the AMP's gauge, and Suction Gauge, and below is a lovely PS radio volume panel. Like with the XP11 Thranda Beaver there are still the two basic panel selections, the iconic version we know so well, but also a flat metal grey facia version, with the fancy LED lights under the glareshield. Centre panel is a default X-Plane GNS 530, but it can be replaced with a Reality XP GTN 750 if you own the extra feature. Mid-Panel are the engine gauges, with the Oil temperature shown on the top of the gauge, oil pressure on the left, and fuel pressure on the right. Next right is the sublime gauges to indicate the quantity of fuel remaining in the three primary internal fuel tanks. From left to right these gauges indicate the Front tank, Rear tank, and Middle tank, and below is a CYL. (Cylinder) Temperature gauge, with a Hobbs hour meter. Three lower levers cover (LtoR) the carburetor heat control lever, the famous Fuel Wobble Pump Lever and the Fuel and Oil Emergency Shutoff Lever. To the right is the internal Oil filler (yellow cap). Detail again comes to the fore with the Manufacture's and Aircraft registration plates. The authenticity is simply mind-blowing and it keeps on coming with the ratcheting carb heat lever, the manually pumped flap system (with direction valve), and the primer system that are all faithfully modeled for maximum immersion. The fuel system is complicated, with three internal tanks Front (35 GAL/132 Lts), Centre (35 GAL/132 lts) and Rear (25 GAL/95 lts), two wing tanks (21.6 GAL/85 Lts each) and an optional Belly Fuel Tank (43.1 GAL/163 Lts)... for a total of 181 GAL/685 Lts of fuel. The main internal tanks are controlled via the red switch upper left panel, the wing tip tanks via a red switch upper door left, and the belly tank via a handle under the instrument panel (Vacuum air pressure is required). On the roof are the manual Rudder and Elevator trim wheels and indicators. Lighting is two side spot lights and ceiling LED lights, note the roof mounted temperature gauge, both (green) blinds twist and turn into place. There are loads of pumps and levers on the Beaver, one is the pump handle for the flaps, down right of the pilot's seat and another is the engine primer pump on the left of the pilot's seat, the actions of both are really well done and authentic. You are probably now thinking "This Beaver is exactly the same as the X-Plane 11 version?". It is, nothing at all is different in here except for the Thranda team image in the storage box. But there is a difference though... in the look and feel. Oddly it feels different in here with the X-Plane 12 lighting, far more grey and dark metal. The centre quadrant(s) are now all black, not the steel metal grey of before, so the aircraft feels more modern now than aged, it has also lost something from the organic feel of a Traditional Beaver in the process. Cabin Lighting You still get the post style instrument lighting, but the brightness (even when adjusted to full), is nothing as bright as the X-Plane 11 panel lighting? And the Avionics are too bright for the main instruments, thankfully you can tone them down a little. The grey metal panel facia, has those lovely LED lights, but the instrument lighting can barely be seen? A switch on the lighting panel (arrowed) will turn on all four forward cabin overhead lights... ... oddly there is STILL no lighting in the cabin? But you can turn the roof LEDs right backwards to give some illumination, but a few rear lights in the cabin would be nice. Overall the lighting although the same, is actually worse? External lighting is also worse than in X-Plane 11. Basic lights and the landing lights have no flare or floor shine? Beacon on the roof and tail light. Navigation and a very bright strobe on the wings. Floats and Amphibious floats In the X-Plane 12 package, the earlier extra Floats and Amphibious floats version are now included. Both variants can be found in the X-Plane "Configuration Menu", The Seaplane version is shown twice, under "General Aviation" and "Seaplane". Both the land (Amphibious) and standard Float design is excellent, all the usual Thranda Design quality detail, both the forward wheels, and rear rudder system, the four float supports are well intergrated into the Beaver fuselage, detail is first rate as well. Both Amphibious and Standard Floats are really well shaped and perform nicely on the water, and with the right amount of drag in the air. The wheeled floats do create more drag than the cleaner "Float", and it is noticeable (slightly) from the cockpit. Menu Thranda's Menus are very feature rich and highly detailed. There is a popout TAB under the arrow, that can be (mouse) scrolled to hide it, that is if you don't like these sort of items crowding your screen (I don't). The Menu system includes the "Dynamic Generation Series" or DGS, a Thranda speciality feature that takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications. As noted the "Menu" Tab (arrow) is far left middle of your screen, this will activate the Pop-Out Menu... The Menu has seven menu tabs in; GENERAL, LIVERY, WEIGHT/BAL, CAMERA, AUDIO/SLEW, PANEL and MISC (Miscellaneous). Basically it is the standard Thranda default menu. Menu - General The menu "General" sections covers quite a lot of options, the layout is highly detailed and very comprehensive. General menu selections cover; Engine Mode (Simplified/Realistic), Electric Tug, Window and Instrument Panel Reflections on/off, Startup Running on/off (sets aircraft to full running mode), External Belly Tank, Chocks and Brakes on/off, Steering (Simplified/Realistic). Three selections placed right cover group items, but any one item can be also accessed via "Click Spots" and can be individually selected or hidden via the aircraft graphic. "ALL COVERS" will select engine inlet/outlet covers and pitot covers, "ALL TIE-DOWNS" for rear fuselage and wing tie-downs and "ALL DOORS" for both the cockpit doors and the right side luggage door. All EXT - External Lights can be switched on and off as can the ALL INT - Internal lights. And finally "Radial Engine Animation". Static Items include Wheel chocks, wing pitot cover and that rugged heavy duty engine cover over the nose. The Engine cover can only be seen/hidden via the forward selection on the General-Menu page (arrowed). Engine Mode - Toggles the engine realism between "Realistic" and "Simplified". When this is set to "Realistic", the engine will require the correct amount of priming for it to start, depending on the engine's temperature. When the Engine Mode is set to "Simplified", it makes starting easier. Electric Tug can be used to move the aircraft around on the ground via your Throttle (Forwards/Backwards) and Rudder Yaw (Left/Right), brakes can be used as well. Startup Running on/off this switch will re-load the plane either cold and dark or with the engine running. EXT Belly Tank is really well done (note the filler pipe), too much weight? then remove it, but I like the extra range it adds. Steering Toggles between "Realistic" and "Simplified". In Simplified mode the tail wheel steers directly with the rudder, through a range of +- 30 degrees. In Realistic mode it functions as in the real aircraft, becoming free-castoring past +- 25 degrees of deflection. There is an exciting separate animated pop-up window that shows details of the Beaver's engine in operation. At the top of this pop-up is a graph that indicates whether the engine is properly primed for starting. A small indicator line moves horizontally along the bottom of the graph to indicate the current conditions. This graph is only active if the Engine Mode is set to Realistic. There are no pop-up checklists for the Beaver, usually set on the General page, but there is a basic set of checklists in the provided POH Documents. Menu - Liveries Second Menu option is "Liveries", there are two options here with the first being "PAINTED LIVERIES". There are altogether 10 liveries and one blank (DynamicLiveryResource) overall Eleven designs, and all the liveries are of extremely high quality and have creative flare with the package. I will note that seven liveries only loaded after I ran the Skunkscrafts Updater to v1.0.1. The X-Plane 11 Beaver is supplied with fourteen liveries, but there is now only eleven on the XP12 aircraft? with the DynamicLiveryResources being the currently selected "Dynamic" livery. Dynamic Liveries Not happy with any of those designs, then why not create your own! With their earlier release of their Kodiak then Thranda also introduced a clever feature to design your own livery.This is done by switching from PAINTED LIVERIES to DYNAMIC LIVERIES top. I created this orange, black and grey for this review... You have a menu to select on the right that can colour a certain part of the aircraft, like the Roof, Wing, Tail or Wing tips. Select which one you want, and then adjust the RGB colours for that area, it looks hard but you can easily design a very nice livery in about twenty minutes... You can also change the aircraft's registration number, or have original de Havilland logo on the tail. There are also four effects you can apply. The said "Dirt" and "Scratches", and also "Metal" and "Rough(ness)" this gives the aircraft a dirty rough appearance. So applying these Dirt and scratches on the airplane will make the surfaces rougher, this is giving you the full PBR control in creating stunning metallic liveries, or matte, sand-blasted look, and these aspects will also slightly affect the Beaver's drag, and therefore it's cruise speeds. With full dirt and scratches you can expect a loss of 2 to 3 mph of cruise speed. Cleaning the plane by setting both values back to 0 will give you a smoother and slightly faster plane. ... when done you can then "APPLY" it to the aircraft. It was all quite easy to do. Then the aircraft goes through a sort of transmogrifying process that takes around a minute and a half.... ... you can "SAVE" the livery, in that then the custom livery becomes the "DynamicLiveryResources" livery in the "Painted Liveries" selection. Altogether there are 29 optional Dynamic Liveries to change or use. New to the Dynamic Livery application is ERA options in "Modern' or "Classic".... and of course personal taste is optional! In the Float/Amphibian menu, you can also colour in the float design to your own preferences, or to match the floats in with the same aircraft fuselage design, all the same livery options (29) are available here also. Menu - Weight/Bal The Beaver also has a great Weight and Balance menu. Lbs and Kgs which can be selected and changed via the toggle... Lbs In Green, and Kgs in Blue. There is the weight selection of all the seats. The X option on each seat will toggle the seat off/on, or go from a Passenger to Cargo layout. Fuel (including the EXT Tank) can be added in and the amounts are then shown and are adjustable as well in the menu (above)... pilot, passengers and cargo can all be set for individual weights and all are selected via a scrollwheel... and then all of the CofG (Centre of Gravity) parameters are all shown on two graphs, go too far or too heavy and the CofG goes red. When done you can Save the Configuration and then later re-load it, or press Load to add back in the set weights. Working out that right CofG balance here is critical, setting just inside the parameters is just not really good enough, as you need for the aircraft to be balanced in it's fuel and load weights, or you will have difficulty in flying the aircraft. So put too much (cargo) weight aft and you are tail heavy and unbalanced in the TakeOff, and in Flight. Menu - Camera There is a camera feature under the menu "Camera" selection. The left side of the panel is the "Walkaround" views, just pick the dot for the external viewpoint you want to see to rotate around the aircraft. To the right is the default views can be selected via a menu, or press the keypad to select the internal viewpoints. The FoV or "Field of View" is adjustable via a slider. Menu - Audio/Slew Sound can be adjusted via the Audio menu. There are seven slider selections with: Master, Aircraft External, Aircraft Internal, CoPilot, Radios, Environmental and User Interface. One other sound setting is on the Flap panel... As noted, on the right and left of the panel you get the audio simulation of an active noise canceling headset, which is seen as wearing a headset. Sound quality is beyond excellent as it is a built in audio mixer, so you can individually control the audio channels in real-time and you can adjust the volumes while hearing them play. Slew mode allows you to manually move the aircraft around in a disconnected X-Plane space. It functions by temporarily overriding the various aerodynamic and physical forces on the X-Plane settings, it is to allow the user to reposition the plane as desired. This feature is however highly touchy and it is used mostly only really with the Amphibian/Floats option in docking the aircraft to say a pier or marina. Menu - PANEL The sixth "PANEL" Tab option allows you to adjust or change the instruments and dials. Scroll the "PANEL BACKGROUND" number to see all the four background preset layouts. Scroll the "Panel Preset" number to see all the five preset layouts. The layouts can include both GNS 430/530 and the Aspen EFD. Even the The Reality XP GTN 750/650 Touch can also be installed if you have that external option, as the 3d bezels are provided. Aspen EFD is a self-contained multifunction digital display that is divided into a Primary Flight Display (PFD) in the top half, and an Electric Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI) in the lower half. As EDF 1000 systems go it is not as highly featured with the GPSS, MAP, 360 and Menu functions all not simulated... all the lower NAV1/NAV2/GPS selections are however available, as is the TPS (Tapes) see/hide option with the MIN (Minimums) selectable as well. and the PFD can be reversed with the EHSI. The EFD 1000 PFD pops-out for convenience. Customising the panel to your own personal layout is just as easy. Just select the "3D EDIT PANEL MODE" (arrowed) that gives you access to all of the 54 individual instruments and avionic units... There some great options including the Aspen EFD 1000, S-TEC 55x Autopilot, Angle of Attack gauge and so on... For those that find instruments are not to their liking, in say, "I wish I could move that altitude meter just a bit more to the left", then here you can simply adjust and move that particular instrument, or even swap the instruments around the panel to your liking. Here I have added in a Reality XP GTN 650 Touch instrument on the right lower panel... You can even adjust the brightness of the instrument. When you can "ADD" (or Duplicate) in a new "Preset", and then "SAVE" that new layout Preset (Preset /6). So basically you can start off with a completely blank instrument panel and then create your own unique or personal instrument layout if you have the time and patience... and you can have up to or save 14 different instrument layouts. It is however very important to restart X-Plane to lock in the new instrumentation layout before flying. Panel features include; S-Tec Fifty Five autopilot and the noted Aspen EFD 1000, KR 87 ADF Radio, Garmin GMA 340, Garmin GTX325 Mode C Transponder and the usual GNS 430/530 PS/Nav/Comm units. Both GNS units also require their own installation area. Note that the "Gear Advisory" Panel for the Amphibious/Float version can also be added to the custom panel. The DGS system is certainly very clever and versatile, but a small annoyance is that to get your custom livery or panel, you have to reset everything, every time you fly? Yes the custom SAVES are all there ready for you, but not when you start/load the aircraft. Menu - MISC The Misc (Miscellaneous) page has four panels that cover External; Skis, Wheels; Tires and Mud Flaps. Internal; Windows options and Throttle Quadrant options. Notably missing here is the usual "DynaFeel" Feature. High quality designed "Skis" are available for the Beaver... Tyres can be changed from "Regular" size, to the larger "Tundra" style. The larger tundra tyres however won't work with the skis... On the rear you can have "Mud Flaps", and here they work with either the regular or tundra tyre options. Rear Door windows can be "Flat" or "Bubble"... Throttle Quadrant options include; OLD (classic) or NEW... On most Thranda Design aircraft they have a "Pilot" option in that the pilots can be changed around from Male to Female. There is no Female pilot with the Beaver, but only the Male "Beaver Dan"... he is also fully animated in the arms, legs and head movements. The Float/Amphibian MISC Menu is different. You still have the earlier Throttle Quadrant (Old/New)/Window options (Flat/Bubble). Yes, you get a canoe! Amphibian or Float option... There is a Ventral Fin, that is an option under the tail... You can Retract or Extend the rudders from the MISC Panel There are another two options to raise and lower the rudders, One is a handle and cord in the cockpit, left floor... another (the most simple) is to use the Keyboard command "Toggle Water Rudder". ________________________ Flying the DHC-2 Beaver There are two options to starting the DHC-2, the (very) easy way via the Simplified "Engine Mode" option in the Menu/General panel... and the long winded "Realistic" way. With the full engine start up procedure as is explained in the manual. Did you always want to look actually inside your engine? Well now you can and the idea is to see how the engine is primed to start... here Dan Klaue's genius strikes again! There is the option via a menu selection "Radial Engine Animation" that brings up an animated Wasp Radial engine, you can also "PreHeat" and "Prime" your Wasp ready for start, but you have to be careful not to "OverPrime" the Cylinders. You can also prime the engine via the hand pump, deep left of the pilot's seat, switch the large ignition switch on (Fuel on as well of course)... setting the Mixture to almost full RICH lever and a slight 5th throttle... then flick the left switch under the red cover to start the Wasp.... get the procedure right and the Beaver's prop will rotate then fire into action... and also the Radial Engine Animation" will erupt into activity. On the Animation the pistons are exploding, and the animation is amazing beyond belief, adjust the throttle for a some serious movement, but the animation will also react to the adjustment of not only the throttle inputs, but with the fuel mixture from "Rich" to 'Lean" adjustments as well. Just move the mixture lever (not fully back) and see changes and the weakness in the sparks. These movements and the running of the DHC-2 also compliment the amazing sound range as well, there is a consistent adjustment of the excellent engine sounds to the condition of the running of the engine, that is the "Ugh, Ugh" of low lean to the high power "roar" of the full throttle. Also no two starts will sound alike, as there is coughing, sputtering, and the clanking of valves that all contribute the full aural experience, it's clever and highly realistic as well. The sounds actually also give you clues as to what's happening under the hood as is for the shear band of extensive sound patterns available here that show no gaps or the same patterns that just gets you all tinkly down your back... it is highly, highly aurally realistic... well like a full throated real 450 hp Wasp Jr engine sounds like. As noted you can have a freewheeling rear or locked to the rudder yaw, You really need a set of rudder pedals for the Thranda Beaver with built in toe brakes to use the freewheeling option, that aspect takes a little skill to get right. Taildraggers are a feel thing, and thankfully the Beaver is one of the better taildraggers. Of course experiment with the load and trim until you get that feeling the DHC-2 is rightly balanced. Thankfully the DHC-2 Beaver is one of the easiest taildraggers to taxi, keeping the right speed though is important, otherwise it's just easy to track straight. Thank God, because you can't see anything (sh**) with the nose high profile of the aircraft, so a slight hunch up out of the seat left is needed to follow the runway. I have also become quite adept at twisting the Beaver 180º to takeoff, right speed, then a touch more throttle, and then the full yaw tight turn, then quickly off the throttle again... You sit high, and the view out is quite good for a taildragger, but a slight glance to the left will align you up with the runway... flaps are set to "Takeoff" which feels extreme here, in a very high degree setting. But the Beaver has a very wide flight dynamic in that the flaps can be set to extreme positions, but still be well within the aircraft's STOL (Short TakeOff and Landing) performance envelope. Speed builds gradually then suddenly the tail unstick's, and you need a kick of full of right rudder to maintain the straight ahead line... ... another tool is to lightly touch the right toe-brake slightly to maintain the correct aligned course, between the two movements you can keep the Beaver straight. Takeoff is usually around 90 knts, but you don't need to pull back the stick as the Beaver just glides into the air on lift alone (the heavy set flaps), and to climb, it then only requires a little pitch to meet the 600 fpm climb-out you need. You can climb-out to the extreme of 1,000 fpm, but the 600 fpm angle is perfect, the one thing that should be highly noted is the aircraft's weight and feel, it is excellent. Now a slight adjustment to 800 fpm, which is perfect with still no loss of speed, also the Flaps are now at the "Climb" marker, as I need to climb up to 6,000 ft... high? not really as the Beaver can do a ceiling of 18,000 ft (5,486 m)... impressive. Unlike other aircraft you can consistently use the flaps and even in level flight, most aircraft need the flaps in and clean as soon as possible, but not the Beaver, as if you have a slightly uneven balance (front to rear) in the aircraft you can use the flaps to even out the balance without touching the trim, it is a tool every Beaver pilot's use. Stewart River is a 533-kilometre tributary of Yukon River. And heading up river towards Hecate Strait. But I am also not going all the way to the Strait either, just far enough to climb up high to turn west, but with the high mountains surrounding me, it means a climb of at least 6,000 ft, maybe more. Obviously you don't go very fast... 158 mph (255 km/h) or 140 knts is max and your cruise speed is only 143 mph (230 km/h) or 125 knts, but you don't really care about that factor, as this DHC aircraft is an absolute dream to fly. You can see why tourists love this lower Alaskan part of the world, the views are amazing, even X-Plane 12 amazing... I'm now at 6,000 ft, but it's still not enough, so another 2,000 ft to go up to 8,000 ft. Now higher I finally see a gap in the mountains and head west... Trimming the DHC-2 out is easy, the trims are set up up on the roof (But I use keyboard commands), and the Beaver trims out the pitch beautifully, now just small stick and rudder inputs keeps DHC straight, but better still yet is if you trim out the rudder as well, and now you can take both hands and feet off the controls and the Beaver will still fly like a dream straight and level.... this is one amazing simulation of a real aircraft. Fuel management is critical... Six tanks altogether, but basically you switch between three, Front - Middle - Rear, via the big knob, far left panel. The three tanks are shown on the lower console. The Wing tanks are selected via another large knob on the left side above the door. Select Left or Right Tanks or BOTH, and all selections feed to the Front main tank, usually you would leave it on BOTH, for an even balance... The EXT (external) Tank also feeds into another tank, the Middle one. There is a lever under the pilot's instrument panel to turn on the EXT tank flow, this then moves the ancillary fuel into the Middle tank, obviously it is good idea to select the middle tank to use all the extra fuel in there... The EXT tank lever is moved vertical (down) to access the fuel, when done then shut it off by moving the lever left. it will fill up the Middle tank quite quickly. I know why I love the Beaver, as you just purr along doing the job. The Beaver is like a light truck of the aircraft world, it shifts people and cargo with a ruggedness into a wilderness. Your sitting up there high, in charge, master of your own little universe, just shuttling along... heaven is a Beaver in flight, you can easily see why any pilot loves the DHC-2 so much. Ketchikan is rear to my left, Clarence Strait is to my immediate left... ... soon the Stikine Strait comes into view on my right, a glance down and I'm horrified on how much fuel, including the extra top up amount has been used from the middle tank, I switch again to the rear tank, supping more fuel from that one instead, the whole trip distance is only 177 nm, but I'm also using a lot of fuel with that powerful Wasp. Time to turn into the Strait... I have already lost 4,000 ft as I enter, but it was a slow descent. At first the Beaver dropped altitude, then crawled to a stop? the only way to continue the descent was to pull half back on the throttle, then you were moving downwards again. As we already know, the Beaver is known as a "flap-happy" aircraft and you can see and feel that aspect of why here... That is the "Landing" setting, but you can go even slower if you go deeper with more flap and into the red zone to the full 58º degrees... Usually you would never use 58º, that aspect just gives you too much drag, but it is useful for the water landings, as it gives you a far lower speed and more lift at those almost static water approaches. Wrangell pops up now on my right. I'm down to 800 ft, and ready for the approach into PAWG Rwy 10 (6000 ft). Approach speed is around 70 knts, here your altitude is controlled only via your throttle, more power to go up and less power to go down, but even the mixture adjustments can even have an effect, so be aware if you are leaning out the engine more while reducing power. One note I will say is that the touchdown speed is still around 70 knts, dropping to 60 knts on the runway, and that feels a tad fast at full flap? but the speed does still give you full aerodynamic control on the landing and you can finely follow the centreline as good as when you took off... The landing bit is quite easy, the tricky bit is lowering the tail and keeping tracking directly straight, master that and you master the DHC-2. Part of the trick is to use the toe-brakes, but lightly and the rudder (stabs) and find that straight line... I'm not saying it is easy because it isn't, but it comes to you with practise. But let us be thankful, this is an amazing experience of an aircraft, and now the Beaver is available to fly in X-Plane 12. Summary Often referred to as the “best bush plane ever built”, the DHC-2 has been instrumental in developing and servicing far-reaching frontiers since it was first introduced in 1947. The DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft that was developed by de Havilland Canada. This version has the "Holmes Extended Engine Mount", which moves the 917lbs Wasp Jr engine forward by almost 10 inches for a better rear load balance (Centre of Gravity). Any aircraft coming from Thranda Design is usually full of amazing features and outstanding quality design, and certainly you are not disappointed here. In the design aspect the aircraft is extremely the best yet from Thranda, the quality is overwhelming to the point of ridiculous... the DHC has full hi-res PBR realistic effects, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision, not to mention the high quality materials internally and externally. Detailing and the modeling is absolutely first rate, this is an outstanding Beaver. Not only is the instrument Panel one of the best yet in X-Plane, it is also fully customised via the "Dynamic Generation Series" in not only giving you your own control over the way the instruments are laid out, but to swap and change other instruments as well including; Aspen EFD 1000, S-Tec 55x autopilot, RealityXP GTN 750 (these are optional addons) and a Collins 614-12 ADF. Eleven liveries are provided, but also again you can create and design your own liveries with the DGS system. Options include, Skis, mud flaps, Old and New quadrants and bubble windows, and the Amphibious/Float version is now part of the X-Plane 12 package. Sounds are outstanding, with High fidelity, multi-track sounds with smooth transitions and amazing atmospheric effects, 3D audio effects, including "blade slapping" sound when view is perpendicular to propeller, start up and engine mixture variance is also highly realistic. Menus are also extensive, with sound adjustments, weight and balance manager with visual chart, lighting, doors, views, reflections and an amazing radial engine visualisation in a pop-up window, which showcases the inner workings of the engine. Yes a lot in this review is very much like the X-Plane 11 original version, as most in the design features and menus are the same, but a lot of the hidden areas, including the flight dynamics and performance related to X-Plane 12 have all been revised. Also the textures all now 8K, up from two 4K textures for better fidelity, the Skunkcrafts Updater is also now used for direct updates. All earlier purchasers of the Thranda X-Plane 11 DHC-2 can upgrade for 30% off with the new XP12 model. This aircraft is X-Plane 12 only, but the XP11 version is available. But a few things have been affected in the transition with the Beaver. Debatable is the "Shiny, shiny feel" of XP12, although overall the aircraft looks extremely better than XP11. Lighting has lost a lot of it's shine (pun intended) Instruments are hard to read and external lighting is virtually not visible, but to note a lot of X-Plane 12 aircraft are like this, we feel that lighting needs a lot more adjustment from Laminar Research. Thranda Aircraft also extremely dark, hard to see inside and use, but that also may improve over the X-Plane 12 changes. This is the iconic de Havilland Canada Beaver as in depth simulation, with as much quality and it comes with the sheer force of ideas available here, and in reality isn't that is what simulation is really all about, brilliant aircraft with exceptional quality and flying dynamics and a huge feature list. So really want the very best then here it is.... Highly, Hugely Recommended. _______________________________ Yes! the DHC-2 Beaver DGS Series XP12 by Thranda Design is NOW! available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : DHC-2 Beaver DGS Series XP12 Price is US$34.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Minimum. Download Size: 1.2 GB Current version 1.0.1 (October 16th 2023) The plane comes with the Skunkcraft auto-updater Owners of the Thranda DHC-2 XP11 can get this new XP12 model for 30% off. Please find the coupon code in your original DHC-2 XP11 Invoice. ________________ Installation and documents: Download is 1.66Gb and the aircraft is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Installation key is required on start up and is supplied with the purchased download file. Full installation is 3.27GB Documents supplied are: Changelog.txt Thranda Beaver Documentation XP12 v1.0.pdf X-Plane G430 Manual.pdf X-Plane G530 Manual.pdf Checklists and loads of Performance graphs are provided in the extensive manual. Review System Specifications Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.07r1 (This is a release candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Skunkcrafts Updater Scenery or Aircraft - CZST - Stewart - XPORG (formally Beti-x) (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$25.00 - PAWG - Wrangell Airport, Alaska by NorthernSky Studios (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$16.95 ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 20th October 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  36. Scenery Review: Banff National Park UHD XP12 by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini By Nick Garlick Introduction Once again, we venture into the vast and diverse landscapes of X-Plane 12, setting our sights this time on Western Canada's stunning province of Alberta. Renowned for its natural wonders, Alberta is a land rich with more than ten national parks, each showcasing a different facet of the region's geographical beauty. From over six hundred shimmering lakes to prairies, desert badlands, dense coniferous forests, and majestic mountains, the province offers a breathtaking panorama that we're about to explore. Among these treasures is Banff National Park. While there are numerous ways to explore this vast wilderness, be it through camping, hiking, or biking, I believe that flying offers a unique vantage point, and what better way to soar above these landscapes than within the immersive confines of your X-Plane world! First Impressions When I think of mountain park destinations in X-Plane, Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini's 3D Mountain Park series immediately comes to mind. Their work has always set a high standard, with their "FSC Dolomites 3D" being a prime example, and even though it stands as one of the pricier additions to my X-Plane collection, the exceptional quality and attention to detail made every penny worth it. The vibrancy and intricate details of that scenery still captivate me, making every flight in that region a delightful experience. Another commendable piece from their collection is the Matterhorn Park. With such sterling experiences from their previous products, my expectations for Banff National Park UHD for XP12 are undoubtedly elevated. Will Banff for XP12 match the excellence of its predecessors? Can it replicate the joy I've found in other Dainese and Bellini products? Most crucially, can it encapsulate the mesmerizing beauty of the park's landscape? Join me as we delve deeper and explore these questions in this comprehensive review of Banff National Park UHD for XP12. Documentation & Installation Consistency in quality is a hallmark of Dainese and Bellini, and this extends beyond just their scenery, as they consistently provide thorough documentation for all their products, Banff being no exception. Included with this package is a 7-page manual detailing the installation requirements, insight into the project's construction, plus separate maps showing the area covered (I've highlighted the route covered in this this review). The installation process remains straightforward: download, extract the files, and place them in your X-Plane custom scenery folder, ensuring the correct file hierarchy. Scenery & 3D Objects Quality Dainese and Bellini's new edition for XP12 highlights an expanded scenery footprint, covering a vast area of approximately 1500 sq km. This range spans between +57 – 177 degrees of latitude and longitude. Notably, the updated package introduces us to the picturesque Moraine, Louise, Bow, Peyto, O'Hara, and Emerald lakes. Additionally, it incorporates characteristic resorts within the park, such as Baker Creek, Storm Mountain, Bow Lake, and Paradise Lodge. A standout feature of this edition is the 3D water rendition within the park's lakes, capitalizing on XP12's new 3D water capability. As you immerse yourself in this expansive scenery, there are thirteen distinct locations to commence or conclude your virtual flights, embracing the park's natural splendour. Among these, you'll find a single grass runway, two water runways, and ten helipads. Here's a detailed list: • Water Runways: • LCLLW: Lake Louise, Canada • LCLM: Lake Moraine, Canada • Grass Runway: • XLCU: Louise-Banff, Canada • Helipads: • HLML: Lake Moraine • XCYCHLL & HLCLO: Lake Louise • HLSKT: Louise Ski – Station • HLEMR: Emerald-Lake • HLHAR: O'HARA-Lake • HCYO: Yoho National Park • HCBK: Baker Creek • HCBW: Bow Lake • HCPY: Peyto Lake The Park's 3D Mountain Models The mountain models within this area are meticulously crafted, drawing from DEM (Digital Elevation Model) data, and then enhanced with striking 4K resolution textures. The alignment of these textures over the adjusted meshes is precise, emphasizing both the elevation changes and the primary terrain characteristics to great effect. 3D Objects & Occasional Anomalies In creating this Mountain Park, Dainese and Bellini have carefully referenced numerous real-life photographs of the region, reconstructing the area based on these authentic visuals. However, as with all scenery packages, there will always be anomalies, even in high-quality offerings like this 3D Mountain Park. In the context of all the 3D mountain parks, such anomalies are minor and often go unnoticed during routine flights. It's only upon close examination, outside the standard flying environment, that these quirks might become apparent. Such imperfections are not exclusive to this product; they're a common thread across various simulation platforms, including X-Plane. Remember, these infrequent occurrences typically arise due to the platform's limitations, and they shouldn't overshadow the overall quality of the product or influence your decision to invest. Tackling these anomalies directly might improve the visuals but could also significantly compromise in-sim performance or even hike the product's purchase price. Balancing perfection, performance, cost, and quality is a tricky act. While acknowledging these slight imperfections, it's crucial to view them in the broader context of the product's overall value and experience. With that said, let's delve into my experience... The Banff Adventure As the first day of my Banff adventure dawns, I find myself approaching the picturesque Lake Louise with a mixture of excitement and awe. Picture this: I'm piloting the default 172, and as the early afternoon sun casts its glow, I make my way over the mountainous horizon, transitioning seamlessly from the default X-Plane world into the breathtaking surroundings of Lake Louise. My descent takes me over the iconic Fairmont Chateau, culminating in a gentle touch down at XLCU. Unique in its placement, XLCU is the sole airfield within the national park on terra firma. This quaint grass strip, nestled amidst towering mountains and bordered by pine trees, promises a memorable experience during take-offs and landings, more so during the unforgiving winter months. A closer look reveals the airfield's character: motorhomes, sporadic vehicles, parked aircraft, glider trailers, and modest structures, all of which add additional life and context to the area. Fairmont Chateau Just moments from the airfield stands my haven for the upcoming days: the Fairmont Chateau. Renowned for its impeccable service, gourmet dining, and stunning setting, the 3D representation of Fairmont Chateau impeccably mirrors its real-world counterpart, earning its spot on the "Gold List". Nestled on Lake Louise's edge, its backdrop is a symphony of towering mountains, shimmering waters, and the grand Victoria Glacier. The careful placement of 3D objects replicates the hotel's ambiance, delivering an immersive rendition of this luxurious retreat. After such an exhilarating day, the allure of a sumptuous dinner and a restful night beckons, as tomorrow, the vast parklands await me! Awakened early by a chorus of chirping birds and the refreshing scent of pine wafting through the open window, the excitement for the day's adventure pulls me from the bed. After indulging in a hearty breakfast (cholesterol momentarily forgotten), I leisurely make my way down the driveway to the helipad, nestled just short of the shimmering water's edge. Poised there, ready for my arrival, is the Default Robin R22, promising a day of breathtaking exploration A tingling anticipation courses through me as I hop aboard. Checklists done, I ascend gracefully (for me anyway), drifting eastwards. Soon after skirting past XLCU, I veer southward, heading straight for my initial stopover: the picturesque "Baker Creek". Baker Creek Historically, dating back to 1949, Baker Creek Mountain Resort served as a tranquil stopover for visitors traveling the old coach road connecting Banff and Lake Louise, now recognized as the Bow Valley Parkway. The exclusively wooden, honey-toned architecture radiates an aura of serene rusticity, evoking solace, and grounding amidst the urban existence many of us know. Storm Mountain Bidding adieu to Baker Creek, I soar southward, navigating towards the formidable Storm Mountain. Situated at the culmination of the "Misty Ridge", Storm Mountain peaks at an imposing 10,154ft or 3,095m. Perhaps it's just my perspective (or age), but dimensions voiced in feet resonate more impressively than in meters. Anyway, I digress! As I circumnavigated this region, it's impossible to remain unimpressed by the stupendous beauty Dainese and Bellini have demonstrated within this scenery package. Moraine Lake Our aerial odyssey ushers us next to the ethereal Moraine Lake, an enchanting location, with the lake's waters fed by glaciers, nestled amidst the Valley of the Ten Peaks. The aquatic expanse mirrors an iconic shade of azure, an effect which has been precisely replicated in X-Plane’s virtual world. The lake features a secondary water runway, LCLM, which could have been used, but I instead opted for the Helipad (HLML), positioned adjacent to the lake. O'Hara Lake At an elevation of 6,630 ft (2,020 m), Lake O'Hara graces the alpine domain of Yoho National Park. This "jewel-blue" waterbody is undeniably a standout feature of the scenery, enhanced by log cabins lining its shores and a couple of boats resting on its tranquil surface. Whilst our tight schedule doesn't permit me to land on this occasion, a cursory flyover reveals not only the helipad's meticulous detailing but also the authentic representation of its surrounding environment, consistent with other landing zones within the scenery. Yoho National Park Yoho National Park is a newfound expansive gem that has been added in the Banff National Park update for X Plane 12. Spanning 507 square miles (1,313 square kilometres), it stands as the smallest in the quartet of national parks alongside Jasper, Kootenay, and Banff. The name 'Yoho,' originating from the Cree language, is an exclamation of wonder or astonishment. Flying through this section of the scenery, meticulously crafted by Dainese and Bellini, one can't help but resonate with that sense of awe. Nestled within the park's expanse is the helipad HCYO. Emerald Lake Tucked within Yoho National Park, Emerald Lake stands as one of the prime jewels of this digital depiction. As the park's most expansive waterbody, it finds itself surrounded by the grandeur of the President Mountain Range. The helipad at this site, HLEMR, mirrors the high standards observed elsewhere in the package. One can't help but stand spellbound by the lake's teal-blue sheen and its meticulously recreated surroundings within X-Plane. Peyto Lake Within Banff National Park lies another glacial marvel, Peyto Lake. Located conveniently near the renowned Icefield Parkway, hailed as one of the world's most scenic drives, this lake draws its name from the pioneering trail guide and trapper, Bill Peyto. Bow Lake Our journey progresses to Bow Lake, situated closest to the headwaters of the Bow River. Derived from the meltwater of the Bow Glacier, the lake's waters shimmer with the familiar turquoise and jewel-blue hues, a unique coloration attributed to the glacial till deposits within the lakes. As dusk's tendrils inch across the sky, the R22 rises from the helipad, charting its course southwards. Drifting through the valley, I circle back to our starting point at XLCU, Lake Louise. Exiting the R22, I saunter back to the chateau, drawn by the promise of a robust G and T, awaiting at the bar. My evening culminates with a sumptuous dinner, accentuated by the effervescent delights of a Cave Spring 2017 Riesling Brut, Canada's answer to champagne. As I retire for the night, I can't help but glance at the weather forecast, which tantalizes with the promise of the season's first snowfall. An air of excitement fills the chateau as guests prepare for what could be a picturesque transformation of the scenery. With that, the following day beckons, marking both my departure and my concluding thoughts on this breathtaking scenery As dawn breaks on the third day, the magical sight of a snow-clad landscape greets me. The prediction held true; the first snows of the year fell heavily overnight, transforming the terrain into a sparkling winter wonderland. Peering out the window from the regal confines of the Chateau Fairmont, I marvel at the beauty of the season's first snowfall. Nursing a heavy noggin around the 10 o'clock mark (I'll never learn), I indulge in a duo of delectable 'pain au chocolat' and a strong, invigorating brew of dark coffee. The task before me now is to ponder over the intricacies of this 3D mountain park scenery, and how best to describe it in a brief summary. Several rich sips and 'pain au chocolat' bites later, the “Nick” epiphany strikes. Conclusion This scenery file is nothing short of enchanting as it presents a myriad of experiences for the avid X-Plane simmer. Far from claiming perfection, the Banff national park scenery transcends expectations, revealing lush forests, pristine lakes, rustic lodges, and panoramic mountain vistas. This Mountain Park, regardless of your takeoff point, promises an unparalleled return on investment. Be it small aircraft, ultralights, floatplanes, or helicopters, it caters to the full range of general aviation enthusiasts and, if you've a penchant for VFR flying under strict yet simplistic Visual Flying Rules, then this is your haven. In this context, Dainese and Bellini’s 3D mountain park series has consistently hit the bullseye, and this Banff edition upholds that legacy. When you take to the skies, don't simply glide past the iconic Lake Louise or strictly follow the path I charted. Venture out and explore, for Banff, in all its grandeur, conceals countless gems waiting to be discovered, each location as breathtaking and awe-inspiring as the next. Frequently celebrated as Canada's most picturesque spot, locales such as the Ten Peaks Valley and Moraine Lake are reputedly among the nation's most photographed vistas. Like the original FSC Dolomites package, this 3D park for X Plane 12 has evolved, covering more ground than its legacy counterpart. One can't help but hope for more Canadian national parks to be encapsulated in future editions. Perhaps, with enough support, enthusiasm, and coin from our community, we'll witness this 3D park's horizon further expanded upon and enriched. So, to address the looming question, is this an exceptional scenery? My unwavering response is...absolutely! But don't just hang on my words, dive in and bask in its majesty firsthand. This package is not just VFR, it's pure VFM (value for money), costing merely a few shillings and some! Until our next airborne escapade... Pip, Pip, Tally Ho! _______________________________ Banff National Park UHD XP12 by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Banff National Park UHD XP12 Priced at US$24.95 Features The area included in this new edition is about 1500 sq. Km included in the degree + 51 ° -117 °. this edition includes a larger area than in the previous one with Moraine, Louise, Bow, Peyto, O'Hara, Emerald lakes and some very characteristic resorts: Baker Creek, Storm Mountain, Bow Lake, Paradise Lodge, Field... All Textures based on 4K (4096x4096) Airports and Heliports Housing Areas Chateau - Louise Lake Moraine Lake Mountains - 3D Models This scenery is only suitable for VFR flight, only with a "visual flight" Requirements X-Plane 12 only (not for XP11) Windows, Mac, or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 486 MB Owners of the previous Banff XP11 can get the new Banff XP12 version for 40% off. Please find the coupon code in the original Banff XP11 invoice. Review by Nick Garlick 22st August 2023 Copyright©2022: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows 10, Intel 4790K liquid-cooled, overclock to 5GHz, 32GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, Nvidia GTX 1070ti, Titanium HD Audio Card. (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  37. Aircraft Review : BN-2A Islander XP12 by Thranda Design Britten-Norman was formed in 1953 for the purpose of converting and operating agricultural aircraft on the Isle of Wright in the Southern United Kingdom. John Britten and Desmond Norman or the BN of the title, had observed the rapid growth of the commuter airline sector, and concluded that capacity was of a higher value to these operators than either range or cruising speed. On 13 June 1965, the first prototype BN-2 Islander conducted its maiden flight. It was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce/Continental IO-360B piston engines; only four days later, the prototype aircraft appeared at the Paris Air Show. The IO-360B engines were later replaced by more powerful Lycoming O-540-E engines, which were located further outboard on the wings, for superior single-engine climb performance. The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a rectangular fuselage and two wing-mounted engines; early aircraft were equipped with a pair of piston engines while later production models may be alternatively fitted with turboprop engines in their place. The rectangular cross section fuselage, which is furnished with a conventional tail unit and fixed tricycle landing gear, can accommodate a single pilot and up to nine passengers in a commuter configuration, or operate in a mixed cargo/passenger capacity. The X-Plane Simulator is no stranger to the talents of one of it's premier developers, Daniel Klaue. Klaue has been at the forefront of X-Plane aircraft development now for over a decade, first with his own designs, then as custodian involved with Carenado, that the partnership produced over 50 aircraft for X-Plane version 10/11. Then Daniel formed his own development house... Thranda Design, and has since produced some of the most significant aircraft in the X-Plane Simulator. First with Utility and bush aircraft then with three Cessnas in the 208 Grand Caravan, U206G Stationair, and finally the 337 Skymaster earlier this year. This is Thranda Design's latest release in the BN-2A Islander for X-Plane 12, and to note there will be no X-Plane 11 version of the aircraft. Being a Thranda design, features and quality abound including the Dynamic Generation Series or DGS, feature this is a Thranda speciality that takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications. BN-2A Islander XP12 First let us clear something up. The BN-2A comes for the first time with 8K textures, a huge pixel area 7680 x 4320. Just because it is 8K doesn't mean that you need a 8Gb Graphic Card to run them. 4 Gb VRAM is still recommended as Minimum. And 8 Gb+ VRAM is however recommended as normal. But like with the earlier Thranda releases, they had more than one 4K texture size, sometimes two 4K textures to fill in the same 8K area. So in reality you are only using the 8K to fill the same gap of the two 4K set of textures before. So Graphic Card size is not the issue, if you can run your current Thranda aircraft with your current graphic card size, then the BN-2A will be exactly the same, in fact even a bit more efficient in that it only has to load in the one texture sheet, rather than the old 2(K)or 4(K) texture sheets. The Islander is a utility aircraft. Its nothing flash, not fast but can carry ten (including the pilot). This makes it perfect for inter-island transfers, even close spoke and hub operations... it's primary job ferrying people to and thro, an AirTaxi. It's sixties design is very evident, even boxy, but I have a soft spot for Islanders, in their shape and design... I'm English after all. Detail and detailing is of course superb... It's a Thranda of course. Notable is what you pay for. If you pay more you get that extra detail, the minute intricate detailing, but the Thranda BN-2A is only priced around sub-$35, so the payoff here is that your extreme detailing at a value price. Modeling in shape, panel design and fit is faultless. You see every panel, rivets and area (fuselage) strengthening, and it is all there in absolute superb detail. Note most door/access doors are external hinges, and all have been well and individually created for authenticity. The detail around the inboard trailing edge is exceptional, notable also are all the rain gutters (rear left doors). Although the aircraft is quite simple in design, the detail is exceptional here, note again the horizontal stabilizer and rudder trims. Overall it is quite impressive. It's a lovely wing... again nothing flashy in design, but note the lovely sweet upturn at the rear of the tip. Yes it is all very professionally skillfully modeled. Underside is excellent with aileron balance weights, air pressure probes, flap tracks and fairings The BN-2A comes with two Lycoming O-540-E4C5 engines, pushing out 194 kW/260 HP per engine at 2,700 RPM. There is the 250-B17C turboprop engines configuration rated at 320 shp, and known as the BN-2T, but here we have the earlier more basic installation. And boy is the engine installation nice to look at, magnificent! Highlights are cowling shape, under extra cooling snout, chrome spinners and a fully detailed front view of the Lycoming O-540-E4C5... rear are the excellent twin exhausts and air-breathing pipe. I really like the chrome cowling catches, they are some really nice detailing and highly visible from the cabin. Propellers are 2-Blade Hartzell, but some 2A's can use a STC 4-Blade conversion... the feathering (animated) detail is excellent. The undercarriage is very, very basic and utilitarian. Single nose wheel and long fairings on the twin-wheeled main gear was used to save on weight, personally I love this configuration that give the aircraft a sort of "Bird of Prey" look from a lot of angles, certainly from the head on orientation. Wheel and tyre detail is simply excellent, worn, tired, rusted... these wheels has seen many a wet salty runway (or even a beach up here in Scotland). Thranda has got the look and feel of the wheels perfect. Glass is another area of perfection. Deep thickness, beautifully reflective and tinted a dark green. Yes you can turn off the reflections if required. Note the smaller opening (actually quite large) access window built into the main front door window. Externally you can't fault this Thranda Islander, it is a perfect reproduction of the real aircraft. Basically the Islander has an odd door configuation. There is a door for the pilot (left), a door for the co-pilot and second/third row passengers (right), and a third door left rear for the rear-back seating in the aircraft. There is a large baggage hold door (but no cargo door) far rear left. In the cabin there are six individual seats (chairs) and a wide rear bench seat. Oddly the seating colour is a bright white? with nice dark blue tartan cloth inserts... why odd? Because this is a hard working utility aircraft, clean white is not going to last very long in this wear and tear environment is it... it looks very nice, but also a little out of place. If you are not crazy about this all white seating, there is already a tan-brown seat/carpet option on the X-Plane.Org; Thranda Islander Tan Interior 1.0.0 and others in dark/red/wood instrument panel/seat options. But I really like them, I like the colour scheme a lot, it is distinctively different, but still nice. Cabin sides are grey with a dark blue piping separator. The roof lining is masterful, rippled and brown with lovely chrome screws, mid-way down is a passenger sign, works as well... there is a large rear baggage area but we will look at that in a few moments. Instrument panel It is a crowded instrument panel, but also like the aircraft utilitarian. The Standard Six instruments are mounted separately on their own panel, of which I really like. Panel facia colour is a dark blue. Glareshield (not much overhang though) has a mottled vinyl surface, with a nicely done inserted avionics heat vent Yokes are nicely worn with use, and only a single red PTT button. The authentic Brittan-Norman logo is set centre. You can hide either yoke independently, so hide one or both... nice. Deep down in the footwells are the lovely chrome rudder pedals. The Toe-Brakes work independently from the moving rudder movement, and note the hydraulic containers on each brake pedal. Power on and the panel looks excellent. Usually we have an instrument description, but this is a Thranda DGS Series aircraft and it comes with a "Dynamic Panel", so we will cover the instruments in the menus. Lower left is the PS-Engineering PM1200 audio panel, then the Heater/De-Icing (Services) and "Lighting" and "Electrics" switchgear with Panel lighting adjutment and BAT (Battery) switch. Lower right is a working (active) Circuit Breaker (fuse) panel. Centre is the throttle quadrant, usual (Twin) Throttle, Propeller and Mixture levers, with the pitch trim wheel oddly on the right hand side of the quadrant and away from the pilot. Over your head there is a lot of instruments/switches in the headliner... Far left headliner are the Cabin Temps/Air controls, directly overhead are the four (two per engine) Magneto switches, with the "Port" (PORT) and "Starboard" (STBO) engine starter switch set middle. Note the large inset "spotlight" on the switchgear. Right is the Flap (UP-TO.-DOWN) indicator, with the Fuel Pump switch. Right side headliner are the two "Tip" tank fuel gauges. Central headiner/roof is basically the Fuel system. Both main Fuel gauges are front and centre with 65 US Gallons per main tank (Tip tanks are 29.5 US Gallons per tank) for a total fuel capacity of 190 US Gallons (1,140lbs,517.1kg). The switches below select between the main and tip tank reserves. You can select (or cross wing) to select from the other main tanks via the large Red and Green knobs. Top roof is the rudder trim knob and indicator. There is also a hanging Whiskey Compass in the pilot's eye-line left window. Instrument/Cabin lighting There is only one (single) large knob to adjust the instrument lighting, but there is also the option of "Lighting Posts" that create an added illumination of the instruments, which is very nice. There is the mentioned headlining switch illumination spotlight (very nice), and all the upper instruments are nice lit for use... ... in the cabin headliner there are ten seating spotlights, all can be adjusted (rotated) to shine the light were you want, there are also two baggage area lights as well. Notable is there is the setting to turn all ON or all OFF with the internal lighting, which is a time saver. Menu Thranda's Menus are very feature rich and highly detailed. There is a popout TAB under the arrow, that can be (mouse) scrolled to hide it, that is if you don't like these sort of items crowding your screen (I don't). The Menu system includes the "Dynamic Generation Series" or DGS, a Thranda speciality feature that takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications. As noted the "Menu" Tab (arrow) is far left middle of your screen, this will activate the Pop-Out Menu... The Menu has seven menu tabs in; GENERAL, LIVERY, WEIGHT/BAL, CAMERA, AUDIO/SLEW, PANEL and MISC (Miscellaneous). Basically it is the Thranda default menu. Menu - General The menu "General" sections covers quite a lot of options, the layout is highly detailed and very comprehensive. General menu selections cover; Electric Tug, Window and Instrument Panel Reflections on/off, Startup Running on/off, GPU on/off, Chocks and Brakes on/off. Note there is no "Cargopod" option with the BN-2A, a usual default feature. Three selections placed right cover group items, but any one item can be also accessed via "Click Spots" and can be individually selected or hidden via the aircraft graphic. "ALL COVERS" will select engine inlet/outlet covers and pitot covers, "ALL TIE-DOWNS" for rear fuselage and wing tie-downs and "ALL DOORS" for both the cockpit door and rear cabin doors. All EXT - External Lights can be switched on and off as can the ALL INT - Internal lights. The "Electric Tug" that can be used to move the aircraft around on the ground via your joystick (left,right-forward,backwards). Static Items include Engine Inlet covers, Pitot covers and Tie-Downs. There is built in "Checklist" (lower right menu, arrowed), and very good it is. But also again changed back to a simple black on white graphic (no cross-off line colours). You can have checklist pop-up, or in a window mode, and thankfully move the checklist pad around, and scale it even from the very small to the very large. The two lower arrows give navigation around the checklist pages. The action detail and hints in the lists are simply excellent and the checklist is fully detailed from Pre-Flight to Shutdown. Menu - Liveries Second Menu option is "Liveries", there are two options here with the first being "PAINTED LIVERIES". There are altogether 10 liveries or two blank and eight designs, and all are of extremely high quality and creative flare with the package. Oddly there is no Thranda house as default on the BN-2A? Two of the liveries are noted as "DynamicLiveryResources" and "ZZTEMPLATELIVERY", these are the current selected "Dynamic Liveries". Dynamic Liveries Not happy with any of those designs, then why not create your own livery! With their earlier releases of their Kodiak and with the PC-6, PZL-104 and Caravan. Then Thranda introduced a clever feature of a way to design your own livery. This is done by switching from PAINTED LIVERIES to DYNAMIC LIVERIES top. Two liveries are "Dynamic" in resources (White)... another New feature is the (Quick) selection of Dirt (Ext) Externally, Scratches and Dirt (Int) Internally. Via three percentage selections you can adjust the amount of Dirt, Scratches and Dirt Int on the aircraft (0%-255%) and apply it instantly.So you can have either a pristine or a very grubby aircraft with just a twirl of the numbers. This can be applied to any of the liveries. You have a menu to select on the right that can colour a certain part of the aircraft, like the Roof, Wing, Tail or Wing tips. Select which one you want and then adjust the RGB colours for that certain area, and the selected colour (here green) is shown in the square. it looks hard but you can easily design a very nice livery in about twenty minutes... the selections of Dirt (Ext), Scratches and Dirt (Int). Metal(ness) and surface Rough(ness) can also be added or adjusted as seen earlier... When done you can "SAVE" or ADD the livery and then "APPLY" it to the aircraft. The conversion takes a few minutes (arrowed below), but the results are excellent and in your own design... There are already 30 preselected selections in their various designs, all are very good, and like noted you can add in your own version to the list. New to the Dynamic Livery application is ERA options in "Modern' or "Classic".... of course personal taste is optional... Menu - Weight/Bal The Islander also has a great Weight and Balance menu. Lbs and Kgs which can be selected and changed via the toggle... Lbs In Green, and Kgs in Blue. There is the choice selection of all seats, four seats (front) and the large bench in the rear. Selection is via an X on the box for that seat that you want to remove from the rear cabin. Fuel can be added and the amounts are then shown and are adjustable as well in the menu (above)... both Main and Tip Tanks are available. Pilot, passengers and cargo can all be set for individual weights all selected via a scrollwheel... and then all of the CofG (Centre of Gravity) parameters are all shown on a graph, go too far or too heavy and the CofG goes red. When done you can Save the Configuration and then later re-load it, or press Load to add in the set weights. But obviously there is a compromise? If you want a full passenger and baggage load, then you can't have full fuel tanks, as the excess weight takes you over the weight and the CofG limits. For six passengers (with maybe a bag thrown in) then can you have your full tanks and the longer range and not go into the red. You can really pile a lot into the rear cargo/baggage section and all the cargo is of very high quality. Another option is if you hide the cabin chairs, and if the weight is set, it is replaced in same weight as baggage or cargo (containers). Set the weight in the front seats (pilot and co-pilot), then you get animated pilots in the aircraft, they will also disappear if the electrical power is switched off and chocks added. Menu - Camera There is a camera feature under the menu "Camera" selection. The left side of the panel is the "Walkaround" views, just pick the dot viewpoint you want to see to rotate around the aircraft. To the right is the default views can be selected via a menu, or press the keypad to select the view. The FoV or "Field of View" is adjustable via a slider. Menu - Audio/Slew Sound can be adjusted via the sound menu. There are seven slider selections with: Master, Aircraft External, Aircraft Internal, CoPilot, Radios, Environmental and User Interface. One other sound setting is on the Flap panel... As noted, on the right and left of the panel you get the audio simulation of an active noise canceling headset, which is seen as wearing a headset. Sound quality is beyond excellent as it is a built in audio mixer, so you can individually control the audio channels in real-time and you can adjust the volumes while hearing them play. Slew mode allows you to manually move the aircraft around in a disconnected X-Plane space. It functions by temporarily overriding the various aerodynamic and physical forces on the X-Plane settings, it is to allow the user to reposition the plane as desired. This feature is however highly touchy and it is mostly used with the floats option as used on the Thranda Caravan, Thranda Beaver and PC-6. I doubt that a Float option would come to the BN-2A, so this option is of little use to the aircraft. Menu - PANEL The sixth "PANEL" Tab option allows you to adjust or change the instruments and dials. First feature here is the lighting option we saw before, as you can add or takeaway the panel "Lighting Posts". (hint nice on). Scroll the "Panel Preset" number (arrowed) to see the extra six preset layouts (seven choices in all). Sometimes to restart you have to click to "Apply the Settings" for the GPS units. There are four panel options One panel option give you the Aspen EFD 1000 which is a self-contained multifunction digital display that is divided into a Primary Flight Display (PFD) in the top half, and an Electric Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI) in the lower half. As EDF 1000 systems go it is not as highly featured with the GPSS, MAP, 360 and Menu functions all not simulated... all the lower NAV1/NAV2/GPS selections are however available, as is the TPS (Tapes) see/hide option with the MIN (Minimums) selectable as well. and the PFD can be reversed with the EHSI. The EFD 1000 here can be used with the KFC225 Autopilot. The EFD 1000 PFD pops-out for convenience. Another Dynamic Generation Series or DGS feature is that you can customize the panel to your own personal layout, and it is just as easy. Just select the "3D EDIT PANEL MODE" (arrowed) that gives you access to all of the 53 individual instruments and avionic units... There some great options including Aspen EFD 1000, S-TEC 55x Autopilot, Angle of Attack gauge and so on... For those that find instruments are not to their liking in say, "I wish I could move those "engine gauges" over past the avionics?", then here you can simply adjust that instrument, or even swap the instruments around the panel to your liking. Here I have moved the ENGINE INSTRUMENTS gauges right over to the right hand side... because I can. You can even adjust the brightness of the instrument. Optional is to select the type of GPS unit you want GNS 530/430. And there is a special 3d bezel for the insert of a RealityXp GTN 750 unit if you own that add on. Panel features include; S-Tec Forty Five X (autopilot) and the noted Aspen EFD 1000, KR 87 ADF Radio, Garmin GMA 340, Garmin GTX325 Mode C Transponder, BendixKing IN-182A Weather Radar and the usual GNS 430/530 PS/Nav/Comm units. When done you can "ADD" (or Duplicate) in a new "Preset", and then "SAVE" that new layout Preset (Preset /6). So basically you can start off with a completely blank instrument panel and then create your own unique or personal instrument layout if you have the time and patience... and you can have up to or save 14 different instrument layouts. It is however very important to restart X-Plane to lock in the new instrumentation layout before flying. Currently the optional "Panel Background" colour choice is not available on the Islander, like it was on other Thranda DGS systems Menu - MISC The Misc (Miscellaneous) page has four panels that cover Tyres/Tundra, Windows, Pilots, De-Ice Boots and DynaFeel. Available are both Normal and Tundra wheel sizes Side windows come in two options, Flat and Bubble. Pilots can be swapped from male to female, they switch over in duo mode as well. You have the choice of De-Ice boots on the leading edge of wings and the leading edge of the tail, notable is that they are active and work with the X-Plane 12 Ice feature. "DynaFeel" on the lower right is a system that dynamically adjusts the rate at which the controls deflect. It is based on airspeed and how much the control is deflected. This means the controls will feel light and responsive at low speeds and with small deflections, but will get progressively heavier as the airspeed increases. ________________ Flying the Britten-Norman Islander 2A Basically the Britten-Norman Islander is a Air-Taxi. ferrying people and their baggage to islands or areas of tourism. So the machine is pretty basic, easy to load, easy to configure, and easy to start... honestly you fill the BN-2A up and go, then go again with a new load. The route today is EGPE (Inverness, Scotland) to EGBP (Sumburgh, Shetland Is). Four passengers and their baggage, plus a little cargo in the rear, so I have removed the rear bench seat to add in the bags more to the centre than in the rear hold. All to go 140nm to the north. Mixture rich (okay just slightly lower than full rich), slight throttle, fuel pump on... then select the engine (PORT - STBD) to start above your head. After a few rotations the Lycoming O-540-E4C5 fires into life and settles down at a pulsing speed, until I pull it back to idle. Sounds are excellent. Panning around the plane in exterior view and you awesome 3D audio effects, including "blade slapping" sound when view is perpendicular to prop, so the Doppler effect is very convincing to your relative position of the aircraft, the engines can get very loud externally, so you have to dial it back a lot, open the paper window or any of the doors and the external sounds are far more heightened, again quite loud near the front, relative to near spinning props... but very good it all is. When reviewing the Nimbus BN-2B, there was a strange anomaly, when with the flaps set at UP they were still sitting 2º in the down position? Here in Thranda's case, the flaps sit flush (0º), and only when you set the T.O Flap position do you get the correct 2º down flap. It feels far more normal than the Nimbus version (obviously I checked out that 2º deviation, but couldn't come to a obvious conclusion), but honestly it didn't feel right and the aircraft in the air like it felt it was dragging... The taxi/landing light, one each wing tip, are not noticeable in the daylight? (I have found all internal and some external lighting is odd in X-Plane 12.05? so I don't think the lighting currently is a developers issue). But it shines fine in low light or the dark. External lighting is very basic, Navigation each wing and a white tail light, a beacon mid-roof, and alternating strobes which are well done. X-Plane is saying there are Icy conditions and needs carburetor heat, which is set lower pedestal, yes this is Scotland... but in June? Notable is the effect of using the Carb Heat, for the loss of power to the engines, so use it with consideration on takeoff, and other vital phases of the flight. You need a fair tuff of power to get the Islander moving, my takeoff weight is 5,287 Lbs, and you feel the weight perfectly as you move, the BN-2A is perfectly balanced as well for taxiing. A noticeable effect is that (all) Thranda aircraft react differently to the X-Plane 12 lighting? In clear bright skies they are fine, but have an overcast sky, then they go very dark, even in areas black or with heavy shadows, I will note no other X-Plane aircraft I have reviewed do this to this heavier extent. As only Thranda aircraft do of because within the way the textures are processed in the Simulator create this effect. I have always loved the stance of the Islander, that slightly low nose, with the high tail, and two claws for the gear! Power up, the the BN-2A tracks nicely, but you have to be aware of the engine power outputs, if one engine is not pushing out the same torque as the other engine, the Islander will pull quite considerably to the lesser power... most will say that aspect is given, well of course it is, but it is far more noticeable here in the BN-2A, so you have to make sure the power output is very balanced at full power... Nose pitch up, rotation is around 80 knts, when you leave the ground you really feel the weight and drag of the aircraft. Reach for the gear lever and there isn't one, and the hanging gear drag is highly noticeable on the climbout. The BN-2 is not a high performing sports aircraft and it shows that aspect straight away... 860 ft/min (4.37 m/s) at sea level is the maximum rate climb to a service ceiling of 11,300 ft (3,400 m) is not going to win any favours. 500 fpm is the expected climb out, you may get away with 600 fpm, but your weight would have to be light, even then it takes time to get to 3,000 ft. Get the climb rate wrong (too high?) and Islander will tell you with a frightening buffet and warning, so you have to keep the pitch within the right (tight) zone. Could you say the performance is ponderous, it's not slow if that is what I mean, as the BN-2A can get along quite nicely around 120 knts, but don't expect a fast aircraft, because that is not what this aircraft was designed for... I coaxed the BN-2A up to 6,000ft, mostly to avoid the cloud conditions,the Islander hates clouds... it saps performance and it gets rough! Scotland is falling away, but through the gaps in the clouds it looks marvelous. Cruise speed is around 139 kn (160 mph; 257 km/h) at 7,000 ft (2,134 m) (75% power), I am 6,000ft at 90% power and running at that 120 knts? Max speed is 148 kn (170 mph, 274 km/h)... Range is 755 nmi (869 mi, 1,398 km) at 130 kn (150 mph; 241 km/h) at 11,000 ft (3,352.8 m), but a ferry range is a doable 1,216 nmi (1,399 mi, 2,252 km) at 130 kn (150 mph; 241 km/h). To get out of the cloud mass, I climb even higher to 8,000ft via 300 fpm, I lose around 10-15 knts of speed for the climb, but it recovers the speed quickly at altitude. Of course the BN-2 is famous for flying the Islander services Loganair's Westray to Papa Westray flight, which is the shortest scheduled flight in the world at 1.7 mi (2.7 km); the scheduled flight time including taxiing is just only two minutes! The BN-2A is a workhorse, pure and simple, a basic aircraft to do mundane tasks easily... that is what you get here, an easy but very capable machine. The outside wind intensity is affected by slip and AoA. (The more the surface area of the fuselage is hit by oncoming wind, the louder the sounds). And it feels like that if the air (wind) is coming at you at an angle, or as noted you go into low cloud... it creates an aural immersion sort of feel, thank X-Plane 12 effects for that. As also noted, X-Plane 12 Icing and condensation effects work well here also. Inside the cabin it's all nice and cosy. Second row passengers get a window view, but the middle rows only get a blank cabin wall. I love flying around these parts on the top of Scotland, the area has loads of remote strips, and large islands including Shetland and Faroe to pick from. You can descend a lot faster than climbing, even as fast as 1,200 fpm. But you have to use the throttles to get the best balance between the best forward speed, and your descent rate. It is a very fine zone to get it right, and practise, or familiarity with the Islander will give you the right feel for the getting the descent phase perfect. Below the 3,000ft cloud cover then Shetland pops up on the horizon. Weather conditions can be really challenging up here in the north as well, its June and you still get low cloud and blustery conditions... ... I go parallel to runway to Sumburgh's 09/27 runway at 2,500 ft, and pass Sumburgh Head to my left. 90º then another 90º turn puts us directly on the beam into ILS ISG 108.5. I'm not using the beam (APR) to use it for landing, but only as a navigation aid to line up Rwy 27. The course deviation indicator (CDI) on the lower HSI can be a little deceptive? It shows the CDI position (alignment) fine, but the course needle maybe wrong, as you need to adjust the course position manually. So you are thinking the situation is wrong, but you are actually on the right line if you had adjusted the runway course angle correctly earlier. Flap adjustment is continuous... meaning you can set really any angle of flap you want, full flap and 70 knts is a great approach speed... reduce the throttles to 64 knts and you get a nice 200 fpm descent pitch nose down approach... The BN-2A is a great solid platform in these blustery approach conditions that you get you get up here in Shetland, yes you have to work the controls, but the Islander is very predictable to fly, even a lot of fun to test your skills. Drop under the 60 knts (58 knts) and your primed for landing. The BN-2A is very nose down in feel, so you tend to watch or set your correct flare pitch... EGPB Rwy 09/27 is a very short (4915ft/1498m) bumpy runway, so you have to get the approach perfectly right, or you will go into the sea on the other end. 55 knts and your sinking nicely, then nose (flare) up... I feel too high? But I keep my nerve and let the Islander sink naturally... ... it is a nice touchdown around 50 knts just beyond the keys, my fears of stopping (the water!) were unfounded. The BN-2A rubbed off the speed (drag) very, very quickly as the aircraft has very high STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) capabilities. The Islander is a very natural aircraft to fly, you can throw it around with ease, and it will take the punishment... I flew the BN-2A straight back to Inverness, and was very comfortable with it on the return route... again Thranda have created a real gem of an aircraft. So the question is which is the best Islander? Thranda or Nimbus? Well both have their pros and cons, the Nimbus has great effects (wagging tail!) and is very well modeled, but I think performance wise it is not as good as the Thranda. The Thranda BN-2A also has a lot, lot more features (DGS) and far, far better sounds, and all round it is a more solid design. Want to try skilled flight in the BN-2A, then try this one from EDWS (Norddeich) to EDWJ (Juist) in X-Plane 12... great video, and the type of services the Islander does best. Britten-Norman BN2 - Island Hopping in Germany | day trip from Norddeich to Juist _____________ Summary The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in the 1960s, over 750 are still in service with commercial operators around the world. The aircraft is a light transport with over 30 military aviation operators around the world. Thranda Design are one of the best developers in X-Plane, their history and quality is legendary. So that quality build and detailing is always going to be significant from the start, and so it is again here... exceptional. In every area and detail, modeling, fine details, glass and the interior materials. Menus are also excellent with menu tabs in; GENERAL, LIVERY, WEIGHT/BAL, CAMERA, AUDIO/SLEW, PANEL and MISC (Miscellaneous), that covers all the options and including sound, weights and balances also including graphs, walk-around and camera options and general static elements including chocks, tundra tyres, pitot covers and tie-downs. Settings include pilot/passenger weights, baggage weight and visually placed bags, cargo in the rear of the aircraft and in the large baggage area. Thranda always comes with a high range of clever and unique features to give the user a lot of personal options. Known as "Dynamic Generation Series" or DGS, this is a Thranda speciality feature that takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications. Here you can change the actual livery to your own designs, but build the instrument panel to your own liking as well, including options of the Aspen EFD 1000 glass instrument and a special 3d bezel for the insert of a RealityXp GTN 750 unit if you own that add on. Sounds are excellent with High fidelity, multi-track sounds with smooth, finely tuned transitions, amazing atmospheric effects, different sonic characteristics (with the twin-engine arrangement) and 3D audio effects, including the "blade slapping" sounds and the outside wind intensity is affected by slip and AoA. External sounds are however very high compared to the internal and need to be dialed back. Minuses are minimal... lighting externally (taxi/landing) is not good in the daylight (Laminar issue?), aircraft is dark in overcast conditions, and the white seats are a bit odd. Note... 8K textures are used, but have no effect on framerate. Your first thoughts are that the BN-2A Islander doesn't quite fit into the Thranda fleet. But this is another clever utility aircraft, and it comes with loads of clever features, simply great to fly, so it is actually a perfect addition. A personal aircraft from my childhood, so the affection for the STOL, low nose - high tail classic aircraft was always going to be a winner for me. But putting emotions aside, this BN Islander is another excellent addition to X-Plane, note it is only an X-Plane 12 aircraft and no X-Plane 11 version will be available, that is okay, as the Islander is a fully complete X-Plane 12 machine inside and out. Highly Recommended! _______________________________ Yes! the BN-2A Islander XP12 DGS series by Thranda Design is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: BN-2A Islander XP12 Price is US$39.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for X-Plane 11) Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2.8 GB Current version 1.0 (June 1st 2023) Special features: True X-Plane 12 Aircraft FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel. Fully VR Compatible Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP GTN650 and GTN750) Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! Comes with 5 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface. Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically moves along with the instruments, as you configure the panel. Ability to assign a lighting index to individual instruments, to allow different lighting knobs to be assigned on a per-instrument basis. Save your own presets, and even share them with the community! Almost every instrument can be popped up or popped out as a 2D floating window! They can be placed on other monitors as well. Instruments can be moved in 3D directly, on a 2D pop-up preview window, or by numerical entry for precise placement. GNS430 and 530 can be swapped out, but a restart of the plane is required, as 430s and 530s are mutually exclusive in terms of compatibility in X-Plane Dynamic livery editor (like in the Kodiak, the Beaver, the Wilga, the Caravan, the C206, the C337, and the Pilatus PC-6) Full PBR control! Create stunning metallic liveries, or matte, sand-blasted look in mere seconds! Additional control over dirt/scratches, adjustable in real-time to dial in the exact desired amount of wear and tear. Create "virtual" liveries, based on two basic common design layouts (Modern and Classic), and assign any colour to any available paint segment. Quickly create preview of livery in real-time, using intuitive controls. Previews include visualization of metallic materials and dirt overlays. Apply selected livery in real-time, right in the sim, without the need to even touch a 3rd party image editor! Option to change the tail number in real-time, or disable it altogether. (Enter a "space" instead of a callsign number to create a blank tail number.) Easily and quickly create dozens of paint schemes in-sim! Also includes 8 traditionally painted liveries, all visible in a convenient pre-selection preview window. Ability to swap pilot/co-pilot figures Uses SkunkCrafts Updater. Option to participate in Beta program, via checkbox in SkunkCrafts Updater. Excellent 8k hi-res textures with realistic PBR materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision. Windshield ice and rain effects Individual functional circuit breakers. Feature-rich elegant fly-out menu with the following features: Electric tug, with in-panel controls to move forward/backward at the desired speed, and steer proportionally Control over chocks, individual tie-downs, covers, internal lights, external lights, etc. Option to enable/disable Cargo Pod, with realistically simulated weight, momentum, rotational inertia, and drag characteristics. Option to start up running (all systems ready), or cold-and-dark, for realistic startup procedures, directly from this fly-out menu. Control landing lights, strobes, beacon, and nav lights via fly-out menu Detailed weight and balance manager with visual chart, individual passenger seat weight control, Lbs/KG unit toggle, CG control, external tank control, and the option to save and load configuration. Show or hide individual seats, to create a hybrid passenger/cargo version. When seats are hidden, cargo fills the space when weight is added via the fly-out menu. Multiple camera snap points, above and beyond what's available by default in X-Plane, so you can perform your walk around checks. Adjust your camera's Field of View without having to go to an X-plane menu, allowing for real-time adjustments. Audio mixer: individually control audio channels in real-time, so you can adjust volumes while hearing them play. Slew control: move your plane around the world, temporarily bypassing flight physics. Includes ground mode and air mode. Dynamic panel control page, with a separate view for the entire panel layout preview, or a per-instrument view, allowing for fine-tuning of instrument position, as well as copy-paste function to quickly replace instruments. DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you wish for the controls to react as a function of speed. Option to swap pilot and co-pilot Optional de-ice system Optional bubble windows Optional tundra tires Flight dynamics and systems: Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance, with accurate takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance. Tie-downs and chocks actually keep the plane from moving, even in high winds. DynaFeel: controls that simulate how strongly the control surfaces are affected by oncoming air, and how much strength would be needed to overcome these forces. Advanced FMOD-based sound system: High fidelity, multi-track sounds with smooth, finely tuned transitions (actually having calculated the precise beat frequency for each section, to minimize "muddy" transition sounds), and amazing atmospheric effects. Individual volume control over different aspects of the sound experience, adjustable in real-time (while listening to the sounds) Panning around the plane in exterior view yields awesome 3D audio effects, including "blade slapping" sound when view is perpendicular to prop Far away sounds include aerodynamic interaction effects between engines. Individual buttons and switches in the cockpit each have their own unique sound. Engine has typical cool-down ticking sound, based on engine temperature. Sounds actually give you clues as to what's happening under the hood. Outside wind intensity is affected by slip and AoA. (The more the surface area of the fuselage is hit by oncoming wind, the louder the sounds) Doors and windows opening, let outside sounds in Installation and documents: download for the Thranda BN-2A Islander is 2.63Gb and the aircraft is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 1.30Gb Documents supplied are: BN2A Manual.pdf BN2A Performance Charts.pdf Thranda Graphics Settings XP11.pdf Thranda Joystick Settings.pdf X-Plane G430 Manual.pdf X-Plane G530 Manual There is a huge amount of Documentation provided here, not only for the Thranda BN-2A, including performance charts, reference guides, but also X-Plane/hardware settings and custom and default avionics. All updates are via the built-in Skunkcrafts Updater Design by Thranda Support for the BN-2A Islander ___________ Review System Specifications Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.05r1 (This is a Release Candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : RK Apps XPRealistic v2 - US$34.99 ____________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 6th June 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions.
    2 points
  38. Behind the Screen : May 2023 Not many review sites expose their inner workings. But I believe (as I have since my first reviews), that to go forward in any concept (in this case an Aircraft Simulator) that it is a learning process. To see how we do and deal with day to day involvement with the simulator, you can then make choices with your interaction with your own simulator. Yes I spend a lot of time per week doing X-Plane simulation... interaction means accessing new product, keeping the simulator in a good working order (filing and updates), which oddly can be quite time consuming, learning new concepts relating to the simulator, and also learning the details of the aircraft that are being simulated. I went through that review process last month. But on average I am using X-Plane around seven hours a day for six days a week in one capacity or another, which adds up to 42 hours a week, that is a lot of time to be in a simulator, but weirdly I don't yet find it boring or uninteresting, in fact quite the opposite. So yes the point here with BtheS and most importantly in the reviews is that as a user you can take away information we have learnt and passed on to you, again I believe that yes you want to know the latest information on a new or updated/upgrade releases. But more importantly you take away details that can short cut the learning curve, to getting to the core of the flying or interacting more quickly with the simulator, and most importantly the aircraft. Yes I admit I do tutorials as part of the review process, I call them "Short Cuts", or the way that you can follow the process to learn how it works in an edited form. For example the release of the FlyJSim Q4XP (Dash Q400) had a brand new style of FMS (Flight Management System) called UNS-1Ew Flight Management System. The concept of the FMS (or user layout) is quite different (in using numbered lines) to program the FMS with Flight (Route) details and Performance elements, plus the added elements that are important like X-FILL or Crossfill between the left and right FMS consoles. It is quite deep in interaction information. But here X-PlaneReviews we showed you how to programme the UNS-1 in an edited version. Obviously you can download the official Universal UNS-1 manual and go down in deeper into the "nic nacks" of the UNS-1 system, but to get you airborne and flying the Q4XP as soon as possible, then that tutorial is right there for you to digest. Yes I admit the tutorial adds on a fair bit of length to the review, should the tutorial section even be in a review, and not be set out as a separate tutorial? I will answer that aspect in that putting the tutorial within the review ACTUALLY it keeps it in context with that aircraft. And in most cases I refer to an older review with inserted tutorials if required from another review. As it also keeps the timeline correct of when in X-Plane that new technology or feature was released for the Simulator. I myself will go back to usually the original release review, to reflect the way to trigger my skills. These are again as mentioned last month my "Oh yes" I remember that aspect now, so it is also a stored information bank to access anytime I want to do an update/upgrade review and get my head back into that particular aircraft's cockpit and idiosyncratic natures. So it can take time to not only review (assess) a new aircraft, but to context it's new features and even it's impact on the X-Plane Simulator. Yes some releases are extremely exciting, as they do push the boundaries forward, introduce new ideas and features in to the simulator. These elements have to be analyzed and then explained to yourselves of why they are important, and the relevancy to X-Plane and the Simulator as a whole. These aspects are even more important when you have a generational change, like the period we are in now in X-Plane moving from the older (but mature) X-Plane 11 to the more dynamic X-Plane 12. Time is your biggest factor. Yes it would be wonderful to spend loads of time "Deep Diving" into aircraft systems and performance, but you simply don't have that precious time, as there is always a deadline to adhere to. Another point is that with reviews you can't cover absolutely everything in every aircraft, every single time in each review. We cover or focus mainly on the changes and features of the release, but as some aircraft are totally and noticeable highly detailed, so how do you cover all those elements without getting boring. Worse is that "feature escalation", means a lot of new features and details to cover. Go back only five years, and then look at the releases today to notice the compounding differences between aircraft releases. Reviews were mostly three day affairs, but today a week or even two is required to cover all the detailed points on a high quality, feature rich release. Which brings us to May... On average in X-Plane you can expect a major release (meaning completely new) about every two months, or about seven major releases a year, the rest are updates and upgrades to currently released aircraft. (at this point in time there are an abundunce of X-Plane 12 conversions). So you might get two in one month, then nothing for three (Usually around the Northern Summer period), then multiple releases one after the other in a few weeks in the Northern Fall period. Obviously this is the nature of the X-Plane beast. The big release for May 2023 was the E-Jets Family from X-Crafts. This was a significant release because in the state of play, this was in reality the first new release for X-Plane 12. Your going to shake your head there... as yes, as there already has been loads of committed official X-Plane 12 only configured aircraft released in the months prior. But in reality most had been developed in X-Plane 11 ready for an X-Plane 12 release, the X-Craft's E-Jet is totally an X-Plane 12 creature, it feels that way and the aircraft flies that way as well, so it was a significant release, an important one as it lays down the groundwork of what most major future X-Plane 12 releases will respond to. I was lucky to get into the "beta" development before release, the bugs were there, but nothing in relation to anything that would affect the review (hardware compatibilities), overall it was a masterful Simulation from some gifted developers. The X-Crafts E-Jet family has a huge list of features, the Intricate detail was noted as well, and to top it all off the aircraft had a brand new FMS system that needed explaining, and "yes" it would need a tutorial on how to use it. It was to be a big, if huge review with a lot of areas to cover. But that was okay, as I had one thing on my side... time, or about 10 days. I did the early flight tests when also working out the new FMS, then started the review, three days in and I was at the tutorial point of explaining the FMS system. This area needs a clear head and focus, ultimate focus, but I still had tons of time (a week to the release date). Then I got a tickle in my throat, then it turned slightly raw, the next day I had a full blown Flu... I had worked carefully through all the covid pandemic, but out of simply nowhere I was suddenly really sick, bleary eyed in bed sick... one day, two days, three days... four days? Suddenly my world was collapsing, I had the most intricate part of the review to do and I couldn't even focus on my iPhone.... hell? On the fifth day I went to the desk, I worked through the tutorial, I felt totally awful, but I got it done. Now I was faced with only two days until the release and with only half the review ready? I still felt awful but worked on, time had now been squeezed down to nothing, still tons to do and cover to create the review, but you work on, I missed the release date "damn", but got the review completed late the next day, and then collapsed. (Sorry it was late). Aircraft Review : E-Jets Family by X-Crafts The above timeline shows your life can go from complete perfection to hell in only a day, the most important release of the year and I was completely down and out for the count, yes I was annoyed then, still get annoyed even now, but it's life and there are simply some things you just can't control. A week later I took a reluctant week off the review desk to have a complete break and recover, it's a bad Flu, around here it is everywhere, but that damn Flu completely dominated (ruined) my month of May... and yes I am finally feeling normal again. "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry", Robert Burns Coming up in June is the FlightSimExpo from Houston June 23rd-25th 2023. Laminar Research will hold a booth at the Expo, but no Seminar is currently booked. There will be no Expo analysis, but X-PlaneReviews will be doing an overview of X-Plane 12 from it's early beta release to it's present situation as displayed at the Expo, so look out for that. X-Plane is also currently very buzzy, and coming into the Northern Summer season that is a really good thing. Mostly we are having a lot of X-Plane 12 conversions released, but unusually also lot of new aircraft being released from developers as well. Notable also is the now huge selection of aircraft already X-Plane 12 configured, so there is a lot of choices already of what to fly in the new simulator version... happy times! See you all next month Stephen Dutton 1st June 2023 Copyright©2023 X-Plane Reviews
    2 points
  39. Aircraft Review: DeltaWing Simulations CRJ 1000 X-Plane 12 By Michael Hayward Introduction The CRJ 1000, a product of Bombardier Aerospace, represents a remarkable evolution in regional jet design. As the largest and most advanced member of the renowned CRJ family, this stretched model was developed in response to the increasing demand for higher capacity and more fuel-efficient aircraft in the regional aviation market. With a seating capacity of up to 104 passengers, the CRJ 1000 allows airlines to maximize their profitability on medium-haul routes while maintaining a high level of passenger comfort. The decision to stretch the fuselage of the CRJ 1000 was driven by the need to optimize its performance, operational efficiency, and environmental footprint. Equipped with state-of-the-art avionics, aerodynamic enhancements, and powerful engines, the CRJ 1000 delivers a smooth, quiet, and comfortable flying experience for both passengers and crew. Additionally, this aircraft boasts reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions, making it a sustainable choice for the future of regional aviation. Beyond its impressive technical features, the CRJ 1000 also addresses the evolving needs of airlines in terms of route flexibility and fleet management. As carriers continue to adapt their networks and schedules to shifting market dynamics, the CRJ 1000 stands out as a versatile and cost-effective solution. Overall, the development of the stretched CRJ 1000 model showcases Bombardier Aerospace's commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in the highly competitive aviation industry. Developers DeltaWing, a small team of four members, primarily develops high-quality fighter aircraft for the X-Plane platform. Recently, through a collaboration with AD Simulations, they ventured into creating commercial airliners, specifically the Bombardier CRJ family. The Bombardier CRJ is a regional aircraft produced between 1991 and 2020 when Bombardier Aviation decided to exit the commercial aviation industry and focus solely on private jets. With over 1,900 units manufactured, the CRJ family has led the way in low-capacity and high-efficiency jet travel. In this review, we examine DeltaWing's CRJ-1000 and delve into how this team, experienced in virtual military aircraft development, has approached the creation of one of the most successful regional aircraft in aviation history. Aircraft Specification Crew: two Length: 128ft 5in/39.1m Wingspan: 85ft 11in/26.2m Height: 24ft 7in/7.5m Empty Weight: 51,120lbs (23,188kg) Maximum Takeoff Weight: 91,800lbs/41,640kg Powerplant: General Electric CF34-8C5A1 Aircraft Performance: Range: 1,650nmi/3,056km Service Ceiling: 41,000ft Max Cruising Speed: M0.78/473kts/876mph Download & Install The download and installation process for the DeltaWing CRJ is straightforward. After purchasing from the org store, you receive a ZIP file containing the aircraft's components. Simply drag this into your aircraft folder and launch the simulator. Upon the first load, you'll be prompted to enter your serial number. After pasting it and reloading the aircraft, you're all set. The CRJ package includes four documents: two change logs, a checklist, and a comprehensive 90-page 'quick start' guide. This guide covers everything from the aircraft's operation to its various displays and hardware configurations for diverse yokes and joysticks. With its thorough coverage of the CRJ's details, I highly recommend studying this guide when familiarizing yourself with the aircraft. Exterior Model DeltaWing has meticulously crafted the CRJ model to closely resemble the real aircraft. Employing techniques such as bump and specular mapping, the plane features highly detailed markings and panel definitions. The aircraft's surfaces appear clean and impressive from all angles, with each individual detail visible and well-defined – from the rope hooks on the wings to door levers and emergency slide panels, all animated. The CRJ's every detail has been painstakingly replicated, including the aircraft's skeleton beneath the wing, visible when deploying flaps, slats, and speed brakes. Other features include radar fins on the belly, antennae on the tail, APU exhaust at the rear, and AoA and pitot tubes on the nose. No detail has been overlooked, enhancing the aircraft's realism. Upon closer inspection, the level of detail becomes even more apparent. The landing gear is particularly impressive, with each strut and bolt intricately modelled and weathered to resemble a real aircraft with years of service. The tires and contact points with the ground are also accurately depicted, giving the appearance of slight deflation under the plane's weight. High-resolution 4k textures are used throughout, ensuring that even the smallest details appear sharp and visible across the body. Rivets and decals, including 'No Step' markings on the wing, are precisely rendered. The landing gear's attention to detail extends to the tires, which display the Michelin Man and logo through bump mapping. DeltaWing's commitment to producing a high-quality aircraft sets it apart from other developers in the industry. The DeltaWing CRJ comes with a selection of nine liveries, including six airline designs, a Bombardier house colour, and two custom developer colours. The available liveries are as follows: CRJ 1000 House Colors Delta Airlines British Airways Iberia Regional Air France (by Brit Air) Aegean Lufthansa CityLine AD Simulations DeltaWing Simulations These diverse liveries offer a range of options for simmers to choose from, enhancing the overall flying experience. Cockpit & Interior The CRJ cockpit is incredibly well-designed, featuring every detail you'd expect from a high-quality jetliner in X-Plane. DeltaWing has used 4k resolution textures, giving the cockpit a realistic appearance, complete with light weathering and textured glare shields that look fantastic from any position. A combination of buttons and switches are spread across the main and overhead panels, all clearly labelled and easy to navigate. Manipulating aircraft systems is hassle-free, making the CRJ a joy to fly. The add-on comes with a comprehensive EFB tablet system for managing weight and balance through fuel load and passenger count. It offers a weight calculation tool that provides takeoff and landing speeds based on the aircraft's configuration, which is invaluable for ensuring safe operation throughout the flight. The Flight Management Computer (FMC) employs the default X-Plane system, but it has been customized to match the real-life CRJ's style. Though some finer details of aircraft management may be absent, the default X-Plane FMC is widely used for its realism and functionality. DeltaWing intends to upgrade the CRJ's systems with real-world CRJ pilot support, potentially leading to a complete system overhaul in the future. Additionally, the aircraft features a fully modelled cabin interior, arguably one of the best in any flight simulator platform. The standard two-by-two seating layout is accompanied by interactive elements like window shutters, overhead lockers, and cabin lighting controls. There's also a lavatory at the rear and a flight attendant's jump seat that can be slid in and out of position. DeltaWing has exceeded expectations by including such attention to detail, even though many developers maintain a basic cabin for smoother operation and fewer polygons to model. If you enjoy experiencing the flight from a passenger's perspective, you'll appreciate the effort DeltaWing has put into the CRJ. Sound DeltaWing has integrated authentic CRJ aircraft recordings into this add-on, delivering a high-quality and immersive sound experience both inside and outside the plane. FMOD has been employed to ensure accurate audio positioning relative to the listener. In the cockpit, engine noises are less pronounced due to the distance between the pilots and the rear-mounted engines. However, they remain audible, contributing to the immersive pilot experience. As you move towards the back of the cabin, the engine noise becomes increasingly noticeable, peaking when you're near the engines with throttles at full power. The exterior sounds are equally impressive, featuring genuine CRJ sound samples skillfully integrated into X-Plane. The use of FMOD enhances the aircraft's realism, and the sound samples are of high quality, with no detectable loops. The combination of these elements results in a truly lifelike auditory experience. Flight Dynamics The CRJ is a joy to fly, thanks to its narrow body and relatively lightweight design for a jetliner, which make it agile and suitable for shorter runways. The CRJ-1000, being the longest in the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet series, takes some getting used to when taxiing, especially given the position of the nose and rear gear. However, once familiar, manoeuvring the aircraft is not a problem. It's worth noting that the CRJ lacks autothrottle due to the engine's small size. As a result, pilots must manually manage throttles during different flight stages. This can be advantageous during descent, allowing for precise control over speed and descent rate. During cruise, the CRJ is a stable aircraft with no noticeable irregularities in its flight dynamics. The autopilot systems are capable of guiding the aircraft from point A to point B, with minimal pilot input other than engine management. Approach and landing in the CRJ require careful manoeuvring due to its T-mounted tailplane. Over-rotating the aircraft may lead to a deep stall, where the front wings obstruct airflow to the engines. However, this issue is unlikely to occur unless the aircraft is pitched unrealistically. With practice, pilots can consistently achieve smooth landings. Valencia to Murcia To truly appreciate the Nostrum CRJ 1000 in X-Plane, I planned a short flight from Valencia Airport (LEVC) to Murcia (LELC), which would take roughly 30 minutes at cruising speed. With the aircraft fueled and passengers onboard, I taxied to runway 12 at Valencia. As I lined up on the runway, I set takeoff power, and the CRJ 1000 accelerated swiftly. Rotate speed came up at 125 KIAS, and the aircraft smoothly lifted off the ground. Once airborne, I set the climb speed to 250 KIAS, with a climb rate of approximately 2000 feet per minute. During the climb, the view of the Spanish landscape was mesmerizing. The CRJ 1000's large windows provided an exceptional view of the fields, villages, and winding roads below. Cruising at 25,000 feet, I had the opportunity to experience the aircraft's performance and systems. As I approached Murcia, I began my descent and prepared for an approach to runway 05. The weather had become overcast, with spots of rain. Despite the changing weather, the CRJ 1000 handled wonderfully during the final approach and touchdown. The landing was smooth, and I taxied to the ramp and shut down the engines, thoroughly satisfied with the performance and handling of the aircraft in the X-Plane. Night Lighting & Performance X-Plane, throughout its recent history, has consistently excelled in delivering realistic night lighting for both its default aircraft and scenery, as well as the many add-ons available, and the DeltaWings CRJ is no exception to this rule. The model features excellent night lighting in the cockpit and passenger compartment, along with exterior lights. The authenticity of these lighting effects is further enhanced by the fact that during my testing, I didn't seem to experience any performance penalty. With an Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card and a Ryzen 3600 processor, I consistently observed exceptionally good framerates, free from lags or spikes. Opinion & Closing Remarks Overall, the DeltaWing's CRJ-10 00 is a fantastic experience. The degree of detail and care invested in this model is quite uncommon in the world of flight simulation. Priced at $50 for each variant (with a 30% discount for those who already own their -700 & -900 models and vice versa), the cost might seem high for a regional jet within X-Plane. However, the quality you receive makes it a worthwhile purchase. While CRJ models have come and gone in X-Plane, it appears that we finally have one that meets the challenge in terms of detail and functionality. Although a custom FMS unit for the aircraft would be a welcome addition in the future, this minor issue doesn't detract from the overall excellence of the DeltaWing CRJ. It's a fantastic aircraft, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in regional flying. ______________________________________ The DeltaWing CRJ-1000 for X-Plane 12 is available from the Org store here: CRJ-1000 Priced at US$49.95 Features (not limited to): General Notes Basic Systems are programmed based on CRJ-1000 aircraft. In subsequent updates, we are making systems deeper and adding new ones. CRJ real-life pilots and a few simulator enthusiasts are helping us to develop and make them work properly Flight Control Panel knobs support fast scrolling via left mouse button press and hold and precise scrolling via mouse wheel scroll All switches now support new manipulators with Above/Below click for UP/DOWN movement and mouse wheel scroll Mode Control Panel SPEED and other modes simulate the real Autopilot modes on the CRJs. Implemented Electrical System Circuit Breakers are all animated and ready to perform certain actions accordingly to their function in future updates Tablet/EFB on Captain and FO sides Functional Audio Control Panel with lit buttons and animations Rectangular and Arrows Flight Director Command Bars as an Options MFD Multifunction Display can display the following modes HSI The horizontal situation indicator shows the compass card with overlaid selectable navaids, bearing and course pointers NAV SECTOR Navigation display with compass card and a background map. The navigation display shows course pointer and deviation bar. VOR bearing and DME distance information are shown FMS MAP Flight Management System Map shows the track and waypoints programmed in the CDU (Control Display Unit). FMS MAP shows the aircraft heading. TCAS Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System investigates the air traffic control transponders of nearby airplanes and identifies and displays potential and predicted collision threats. FMS PLAN MAP shows programmed waypoints of the route. Shows north at the top of the display. Waypoints can be selected by using the UP and DOWN arrows on CDU (Control Display Unit) RADAR- to be implemented in future versions Flight Model The flight model has been carefully adjusted to match the real-life CRJ-900. Real-life CRJ-200/700/900 pilots were involved in the process. Realistic wing flex Wing Flex has been modelled and adjusted for realistic aircraft behaviour. FMS FMS and its Pop-Up are customized as far as look but based on the Default X-Plane one. Note: Default XP FMC is based on the Collins FMS-4200 and CRJ is using that one, no Honeywell and Thales types. 3D Modeling and Textures Almost all maps are 4K High Resolution. The exterior is modelled with all details existing in real aircraft. Pilots are visible in external views and turn their heads slightly towards the camera view. Interior modelling has been made paying attention to details in the real-life CRJ-900 cockpit. The cabin and Stairs have adjustable lighting, see above. The liveries included in the package are listed below Aegean Airlines, American Eagle, CRJ, Delta, Horizon, IBEX Ana, Lufthansa, Scandinavian 1, Scandinavian 2, Spirit. Unique Package Features Stairs Rails can be raised and lowered (per customer request). Cockpit shaders slide and rotate as you need them. All Windows Shades, Overhead Bins and Seat Trays are animated and functional. VR Compatibility The package is VR-compatible. Requirements: X-Plane 12 Only (not for XP11) Windows, Mac, or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1 GB Current version: 1.0 (March 8th, 2023) Reviewers System: Windows 10 Professional AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Processor 32GB RAM Palit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro Aircraft Review by Michael Hayward  29th April 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews   (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copying of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)  
    2 points
  40. Scenery Review: PAJN - Juneau International, Alaska by Northern Sky Studio By Joshua Moore Introduction Aviation has played a vital role in Alaska for nearly a century, providing essential transportation services such as cargo, charter flights, medevac, airlines, and backcountry flights to remote towns. Juneau, Alaska's capital, first welcomed an aeroplane in 1920—a DH-4 biplane from the renowned Army's Black Wolf squadron. This marked the beginning of aviation in the region, with Juneau's airport evolving over time to accommodate growing demand and larger aircraft. By the late 1920s, Juneau established a basic grass landing strip, and in 1932, Alaska Southern Airways was founded, offering a direct connection to Seattle using a Lockheed Vega on floats. The airport experienced multiple airline mergers and expansions over the years, including a significant expansion project during World War II, which allowed the airport to support larger aircraft. In 1949, the first passenger terminal was opened, and the airport returned to civilian control in 1953. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, airlines like Pan Am, Alaska Airlines, and Western Airlines were operating jet airliners at Juneau's airport. The 1980s saw the addition of a full taxiway, Taxiway Alpha, to the runway. Today, Juneau International Airport is serviced by two major airlines, Alaska and Delta, and is home to Alaska Seaplanes. The airport accommodates around 600,000 passengers annually and transports millions of pounds of food and cargo to Seattle and Anchorage. Northern Sky is proud to introduce a highly detailed Juneau scenery for X-Plane simmers. The return of Juneau's spectacular approach and the surrounding scenery is an exciting development for fans of the region (myself included). First Impressions The installation process for Juneau is straightforward, consisting of one primary download folder for the airport and an optional link for a prebuilt ortho tile that is highly recommended to enhance the overall experience. To install, simply extract the contents into your custom scenery folder, which has a size of 3.81GB—typical for an airport of this size. The installation manual is more of a pamphlet, containing the same information found on the download page in your account. Note: be aware that I am utilizing simHeaven's freely available X-World America add-on in combination with the airport scenery, so please take this into account while observing screenshots of the city and wider areas. Upon my first time loading the simulator with the Juneau scenery, I was pleasantly surprised to see a passenger gazing out at the aeroplane from the terminal. This airport offers a unique feature not commonly found in X-Plane sceneries: a terminal interior. The terminal interior is exceptionally well-executed, featuring high-quality texturing throughout and a keen attention to detail. The inclusion of local artwork on passenger elevators adds an authentic touch, enhancing the overall atmosphere. The art-adorned walls and wooden flooring contribute to a cohesive and visually appealing design, demonstrating the care taken in creating an immersive environment. The superb modelling, combined with the texturing, creates a rich atmosphere in the terminal. One striking element is the impressive hanging bird models on the ceiling, which capture the essence of the local area. Scattered around the terminal, well-designed 3D character models can be found. Although their clothing seems more suited to a warmer climate, these characters add a sense of life and activity to the space. The control tower, like the main terminal building, is well-modelled and displays various consoles used by air traffic controllers. Situated high up, the tower's 360-degree glass windows not only provide stunning views of the surrounding area but also offer a realistic vantage point for those interested in the daily operations of the airport. Overall, the terminal's carefully crafted design elements come together to create a memorable and engaging experience for simmers. Initially, I was concerned about the performance impact, but I was pleased to discover that there was hardly any FPS drop during the daytime. However, the FPS decreased slightly at night due to the extensive light rendering inside the building. In terms of graphics, the scenery resembled Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) airport sceneries, which was somewhat unusual but a welcome enhancement for smaller airports. Exploring The Airport The airport's overall appearance and integration with its surroundings are impressive, and the seamless blending with the ortho is remarkable. Having experienced this airport in FS2004, it is fantastic to see it again with such high-quality detail. The texturing appears well-blended from a distance, and nothing seems out of place. While the water has some graphical issues due to X-Plane's new water handling method, this is an ortho issue with X-Plane rather than a fault of the scenery. The terminal details are exceptional, with an intricately detailed interior featuring a wide variety of textures and polygons combined to create a highly realistic environment on both the roadside and jet side. The modelling is well-executed, and all elements fit together seamlessly. The exterior model is equally impressive, with fine details and a stunning backdrop of the Tongass mountains. The general aviation (GA) hangars maintain the same high-quality standard, with the Alaska Seaplanes hangar open and displaying a few static aircraft. Although I'm not typically a fan of static aeroplanes, they add a nice touch of life to the airport in this case. One minor point worth mentioning is the taxiway signs, which are the default X-Plane signs. To enhance the resolution of the signage, I highly recommend using MisterX's airport environment replacement taxi sign textures. Textures The texturing at this airport is among the best available for X-Plane, featuring high-resolution 2K textures for nearly the entire airport and meticulous attention to detail on various surfaces of the 3D objects. The terminal interior is particularly noteworthy, offering an abundance of textures covering all surfaces. However, the numerous interior lights at night led to a minor drop in FPS on my system. The ramp, taxiway, and runway textures are a balanced combination of default Laminar textures and custom textures by Northern Sky, with taxiway signage defaulting to Laminar. The dirt and weathering effects are well placed, albeit slightly predictable, but contribute to a better overall blending of the airport. The ground poly has a good resolution and integrates well with the provided ortho, serving as an excellent starting point for those new to ortho scenery. Although some screenshots may appear to have blurry textures, this is primarily due to Laminar's ongoing VRAM optimization issues. When I switched to a smaller aeroplane, the textures became significantly sharper. I hardly noticed any major details requiring higher resolution and was overall impressed with the texturing and appearance. It's important to note that any clipping in the water is a result of X-Plane 12's improper handling of orthos, which is still on Laminar's to-do list and will be addressed in the future. Lighting The lighting at this airport is generally excellent, but it does have some impact on performance, particularly in terms of FPS. The ramp is well-lit, the custom approach lights function correctly, and the overall night-time ambience is impressive. However, as mentioned earlier, the terminal interior's lighting causes some FPS drops at night. I experienced a loss of 3-8 FPS depending on my viewpoint, and while this may not seem substantial, it can affect the overall feel of the simulator, given that X-Plane typically runs at 30-40 FPS. It's worth noting that the lighting system by Laminar may be responsible for this performance impact, as it is known to be slightly FPS-intensive and has caused issues in the past. As such, any improvements to the lighting system would likely need to come from them. Conclusion After a long absence of quality Juneau scenery, I am thrilled that Northern Sky Studios has taken the initiative to bring it to X-Plane. As one of the top developers of Alaskan airports, Northern Sky Studios has done a fantastic job creating an authentic Alaskan feel, capturing the airport's atmosphere beautifully with great attention to detail. The airport is rendered in a way that is both detailed and FPS-friendly, making it a welcome addition to my simulator. Priced at $18.00, this scenery offers excellent value for an airport of its size. I eagerly await Northern Sky Studios' next release, and perhaps they will venture south to a certain Washington state city with three parallel runways. Fingers crossed! ________________________ PAJN - Juneau International, Alaska by Northern Sky Studio is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: PAJN - Juneau International, Alaska Priced at US$18.00 Features: The most detailed replica of airport buildings and vehicles High resolution ground textures / Custom runway textures High resolution building textures Compatible with all X-Plane 12 features Custom working jetways Custom mesh for the airport area (Ortho4XP) All materials created for full PBR Shading and occlusion (texture baking) effects on all airport buildings High-resolution building textures Custom orthophoto for the airport and surrounding areas World Traffic 3 compatible Not compatible with a default mesh (custom ortho link included) Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 3.4 GB Current version : 1.0 (January 9th 2023) Review System Specifications Windows 11 Ryzen 5800x RTX 3070Ti 32GB RAM __________________________________ Scenery Review by Joshua Moore 6th April 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions.
    2 points
  41. Aircraft Update - C172 NG Digital X-Plane 12 by AirfoilLabs This is Version 1.4.0-Beta of AirfoilLabs Cessna NG 172SP, and an aircraft with X-Plane 12 elements as part of the package. It is signed as a "Beta" version and not as a X-Plane 12 compliant aircraft, it works and flies (actually very well) in X-Plane 12, but as the development Beta goes on, this is not the final form of the aircraft for X-Plane 12. The C172SP NG Digital was introduced into X-Plane 11, early December 2021, so it is basically only 10 months old. It comes with a very extensive package of features (yes the feature list is one of the longest in X-Plane), but also brilliant modelling and quality detail. A full comprehensive review of the X-Plane 11 aircraft release is here: Aircraft Review : C172SP NG DIGITAL by AirfoilLabs With the introduction of the KingAir 350. AirfoilLabs also introduced their own plugin system called XJet. (most developers use the SASL System). Which can be a tricky thing to do and that proved to be just so as the Plugin on release was quite buggy in the KA 350 aircraft. But this is now a few years on, I found this time around that the XJet Plugin is now very refined (now up to version v2.0.0) To use the XJet System you have to download the "Product Manager" program and install it on your computer: Product Manager / Xjet 2..0.0) The installer can be downloaded in all Windows (.exe), Mac OS (.app) and Linux (.Jar) forms for your own type of operating System. Notable is that for X-Plane 12, is that you have to download a new "Product Manger" for X-Plane 12... which can be done when you update or purchase the C172 SP aircraft. So it is a completely new install for X-Plane 12. The "Product Manger" is installed in your X-Plane/Plugins folder, and is accessible via the Banner/Plugins Menu. If the aircraft is available it will show up in the Product Manager, the initial release version is v1.4.0-Beta, just select to load... First you must find the X-Plane 12 "Aircraft" install address, then insert your authorisation number (key), if correct you will get a "Activated" signal. Then you install the aircraft remotely which is around a download of 1.2Gb in size... to wrap up the installation, you have to agree to the "License Agreement". The Startup screen with a rotating aircraft scenario (You can disable this startup option if you want to) is still quite impressive. First a few notes... This review is in X-Plane 12 v12.7b (brand new Beta). Secondly I was only going to do a orientation flight (YBBN - Brisbane to YBCG-Gold Coast), but it looked so good I switched it around for it to be the main update review... it is "Dark" or darker that what I usually put out (Sorry about that), but the visuals deserved to be seen with the real weather exactly the same as outside my window, but in also being an early dawn flight. "It hits you between the eyes". WOW it was so dramatic, sensational with the AirFoilLabs C172 SP in X-Plane 12... Great morning for a flight! X-Plane 12's clouds here are overwhelmingly good, and yes as noted in being exactly like it is outside my window, heavy low cloud with breaks of light. X-Plane 12 lighting (external) is still not right here, so don't look at the taxi/landing lights as the final version. Notable is that the toe-brakes are now more refined, and not as so sharp, so softer means more control while taxiing and even for the initial start of the takeoff run. Just look at that centre image, the realism is now utterly simply unbelievable, "Viva X-Plane 12"... Once clear of the field (YBBN) you track south. The main feature (Besides X-Plane 12) in this release is the "External Camera Enhancements" and "Internal Camera Enhancements" (G-Forces), that can be found on the "Settings" menu panel. Note the lower new adjustment selection for the toe-brakes. On the External effect, you get a pull to the tail on the animation (note, if you start up in the earlier rotating aircraft scenario, it is best to turn the feature off, as it interferes with the rotation effect?) Internally you get movement to the G-Forces, and they are very similar to the XPRealistic Effects. We have complained about X-Plane's weak weather for as long as I can remember, but you have to admit X-Plane 12's weather engine here is bloody impressive! Real clouds with real immersion, I'm totally in love. X-Plane 12 features include a total rebuild of the Flight Model from the ground up for XP12, with new (dynamic) Airfoils. There are also new Weight & Balance corrections, Failures and the Wear (and tear) is better tuned and sensational X-Plane 12 Rain, Fog, and Ice effects are also now active on the aircraft. The modern FMOD system is now better in FMOD2, but still with the 320 sounds plus all the detailed layered engine samples and full audible failures. 360º dynamic sounds are also still spectacular, if the best in the business, so yes of course I really like them. G1000 custom features compatibility for XP12, including the new ATC boundaries, and I like the "GARMIN" titles as well for authenticity. Both PFD and MFD displays can not only pop-up (out), but can be separated and lose their bevels for Home Builders. We mentioned the new "Flight Model" before and basically I think it is excellent, but currently overshadowed by the Beta issues, as I find excessive wind (at all levels) is not currently realistic, so it is pretty hard to make judgements while being thrown around the cabin, ditto the internal lighting, which still feels too dark. Lighting fully adjusted it doesn't really affect the cabin much? But this is not a developers issue(s) but Laminar Beta issues, so ignore them. The cabin textures have been tweaked for X-Plane 12, and they feel basic compared to say Aerobask, but still in tune with a basic C172SP in trim. Overall the cabin fitout and detail is impressive. I hit the coast just south of Surfers (Paradise), then a turn right to line up to YBCG (Gold Coast) Rwy 14... Burleigh Hill, then Palm Beach and over Currumbin Creek, now on finals. I'm fighting excessive wind, but with only 2 knts on the instruments says something's not right with the Beta? "Steady, Steady", The AirfoilLabs C172SP is incredible to fly, you have complete control and a perfect balance to show off your flying skills, realism 101. It is why you do simulation. You want that totally realistic experience and the level of immersion goes up every year, but with X-Plane 12, you have jumped a graded few years into the future, but that futuristic realism is available here to you now. VR compatibility is now also initiated on the AirFoilLabs C172SP for X-Plane 12, so you can go even deeper if you have a Vertical Reality setup. Landing is tricky with the crosswind, but the revised Landing Gear forces have been given a tune-up in X-Plane 12 to give you more feel on the touch. Note the realistic exhaust effects, I like the way the effect changes to the power outputs. The menu options list is sensational, the best in the business. There are also 47 liveries provided with the 172, yes FORTY SEVEN. That covers most areas that has this aircraft still in operation. The USA gets the bulk of the action with 23 liveries, the rest are Europe (but only one G- Rego) and two in Australia. Four are shown here. At the bottom of the internal view icon is the "QuickLook" system. Here you can assign keys or a HAT SWITCH with the AirfoilLab's Camera Commands to navigate visually more quickly around internally in the aircraft, you can customise the view settings as well... it is just another take on the X-Plane Number views system, but with far more options. This has also been revised for X-Plane 12. "It's love at first flight"... _____________________ Summary Only ten months since it's X-Plane 11 release in December 2021, and here is the AirFoilLabs Cessna 172SP update version for X-Plane 12. Notable that this version (v1.4.0-Beta) is the X-Plane 12 Beta configuration, and not the full compatible version for X-Plane 12. The C172SP comes with a very extensive package of features (yes the feature list is one of the longest in X-Plane), but also brilliant modelling and high quality in detail. This X-Plane 12 update is free for current X-Plane 11 purchasers, but you have to download a new version of the "Product Manager" to install the aircraft for X-Plane 12. New features include; External Camera Enhancements and Internal Camera Enhancements (G-Forces), VR Capability, Toe Brake refinement, better internal textures, and no bezels on the G-100 avionics package. X-Plane 12 revisions include; New Flight Model (very good), New Airfoils, better Wear and Tear simulations, Rain, Fog and Ice, Landing Gear forces retuned and G-1000 X-Plane 12 capability. Although already a very highly featured package with a huge amount of detail, the AirFoilLabs C172SP delivers now even more in X-Plane 12. The Cessna looks sensational in the new X-Plane version, and flies far better as well. This was the most immersive and hugely realistic flight I have done yet in X-Plane 12. It was simply really overwhelmingly brilliant, those cloud and skyscapes bring home the real 3d effect of flying an aircraft in a simulator. I'm not going to shy away from the niggles of the Beta v12B7 here. They create over strong winds, dark interiors and shakes to the aircraft that are not realistic. But the brilliant totally overwhelms the niggles, this is the future of X-Plane Simulation, and the AirFoilLabs C172SP is a really big part of that overall experience, this possibly the very best Cessna 172SP for X-Plane, maybe even in Simulation. So what more could you ask for.... Highly Recommended! ________________________________ The C172SP NG DIGITAL v1.4.0 by AirfoilLabs is NOW available here at the X-Plane.OrgStore 172SP NG DIGITAL Price is US$49.95 This aircraft is X-Plane12 supported, but to note it is in Beta form. Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 - both versions included Windows, Mac Intel, Mac Silicon, or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 1.4.0 Beta (October 11th 2022) Download for the AirfolLabs 172SP NG DIGITAL is done via an installer "AFL+Product+Manager+Windows+installer" To use the XJet System you have to download the "Product Manager" program and installed on your computer: Product Manager / Xjet 2..0.0) The installer can be downloaded in all Windows (.exe), Mac OS (.app) and Linux (.Jar) forms for your type of operating System. And the final install in X-Plane folder is 2.95gb. Authorisation is now done via the Product Manager. Updates are also done via the same Product Manager. Version 1.4.0-Beta Changelog: Version 1.4.0-Beta (October 10th 2022) Changelog.txt Designed by AirfoilLabs Support forum for the C172 NG Digital _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 13th October 2022 Copyright©2022: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Computer System: Windows - S1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU / 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo M2 2TB SSD - Sound : Yamaha Speakers YST-M200SP Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.00B7 (This is a beta review). Plugins: JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : RK Apps XPRealistic v2 - US$34.99 Scenery or Aircraft - YBBN - Brisbane International by Orbx - YBCG - Gold Coast International by Axonos (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
    2 points
  42. Aircraft Update: B 747-8 Series Anniversary Edition X-Plane 12 Since its first flight on February 9, 1969, the Boeing 747 family of aircraft has become an icon of the skies. Dubbed "The Queen of the Skies", it has served for well over 50 years since its first iteration of -100 in 1969 with four generations following subsequently. A legend in aviation, it adores the hearts and minds of passengers and crew that have flown it. The -8 is the latest and final variant of the Boeing 747 which at the time of writing this review, has only one more delivery to be fulfilled in early 2023, meaning sadly we find ourselves right at the very end of its production lifespan, but certainly, with a few decades more to go for it to fly under commercial and freight operation. I was fortunate enough to have flown on the -8 myself back in September, traveling with Lufthansa from Frankfurt to New York. I always said that my first visit to America would be on a Boeing 747, so as soon as they took their aircraft out of storage and back on the pecking order, I just knew I had to take it on the first opportunity I got! Supercritical Simulations Group (SSG) are a well-respected developer within X-Plane and has recently updated their aircraft to include all the features and extras available to them for X-Plane 12. In this review, we take an in-depth look at the Boeing 747-8 and see how it stands as a fully-fledged simulation of one of the most iconic aircraft to ever grace the skies. Aircraft Specification ● Crew: 2 ● Length: 250ft 2in (76.25m) ● Wingspan: 224ft 7in (68.5m) ● Height: 63ft 6in (19.4m) ● Empty Weight: 485,300lb (220,128kg) ● Maximum Takeoff Weight: 975,000lbs (442,253kg) ● Powerplant: 4xGEnx-2B67 Aircraft Performance ● Range: 7,730nmi (14,320km) ● Service Ceiling: 43,100ft (13,137m) ● Max Cruising Speed: Mach 0.86 (504kn, 933km/h) Download & Install After purchase of the SSG B748, you are given a download page with two versions of the aircraft, one for X-Plane 11 and another for X-Plane 12. Select your chosen version (in this case we opted for XP12), download the file and extract it into your X-Plane “Aircraft” folder. On the first launch of the aircraft, you are asked to input your Serial Number. This can be copied and pasted from the download page to the pop-up. Then, after an aircraft reload, you are good to go. The SSG B748 comes with two PDF files and several text documents. These include a 238-page in-depth analysis and operations manual for the aircraft, a 45-page step-by-step quick start guide for the aircraft illustrated with pictures and screenshots as well as several change logs and license agreements. The Operations Manual I found rather special as while it marks each page as not for use in real-world flying, you can see that SSG took the time to analyse the real-world operators' handbook for the Boeing 747-8 and translate this into simulator terms, bridging the gap between their product and reality. The two guides are certainly worth a read as these go into great detail about the operation of this aircraft as well as tips and tricks on how to get the best performance out of it. When it came to start-up and procedures, I found these guides more than helpful in pushing for the best out of the 747. Exterior Model SSG have included both the -8i passenger and -8F freighter variants of the Boeing 747-8 family. The biggest difference between the two is the upper deck which has been stretched for the passenger variant to include seats, while the freighter sticks to the original length (this also slightly lowers the weight of the aircraft as there are no seating requirements). The -8F also features a nose opening for cargo, but apart from that, everything else from the wings back is nearly identical. From the get-go, I have to say the models look fantastic, as within the X-Plane 12 environment, you really do get a sense of the scale of this incredible aircraft. The Boeing 747 is the second largest commercial aircraft in the world, and as such, when you stand up close to it, you certainly get a feeling of its immense size, something I can attest to, having stood next to the real thing only a few months ago! Detailing on the SSG 747 includes 4K resolution textures across the body, allowing for warning labels and text to be both clear and visible. There is also bump mapping across the fuselage where panel gaps and bolts will sit in place, as well as several animations across the aircraft - this also includes the freighter variant of the 747-8. As per real-world operation, cargo is loaded through the front nose of the aircraft. To allow for this, Boeing made the entire front portion of the aircraft in front of the cockpit raise up, thus providing ground crews unparalleled access to the cargo bay of the aircraft. This is quite some spectacle to see in real life and is well recreated within X-Plane 12. Looking up close at the engines, the GEnx units used by the Boeing 747, share the same diameter as the entire body of the 737! These are extremely well-detailed, with the ability to see inside the engine through the fan blades and vents that appear when the reverse thrust is active. When combined with the wing and flex when in the air (remember, the Boeing 747 uses tungsten bricks in the wings to counteract flutter when airborne!) you can appreciate the size and weight of the aircraft as it flies. Cockpit and Interior The Boeing 747-8 gets its designation from the 787, with many displays and systems crossing over from Boeing’s newest jet to their longest in production. This means several digital displays as well as several backup EICAS units. Having once required three pilots to operate, there is now a lot of space behind the pilots where the flight engineer once was, giving you a lot of room to move around. The 747 is also the only Boeing aircraft of this generation to use the brown cockpit colours, as opposed to the grey they now use within their jetliners. Boeing used brown as it was light and pleasing to the eye of the pilots and SSG has certainly replicated this within their own rendition of the aircraft. Textures are done at 4k resolution, with text, panels, and gauges all clear and easy to read. The overhead panel can appear cramped at first, especially with all the systems in which to manage and maintain the four engines, but I found myself having no issues whatsoever when it came to reading and manipulating the various systems of the aircraft. The 747-8 is also surprisingly well-optimised for what it is too. A lot is going on both inside and out, so it was pleasing to see that everything performed smoothly when it came to framerates. You also have a different interior for both the passenger and cargo variants of the aircraft, and as such, the 747-8i includes a full passenger cabin interior for you to explore. This is both the upper and lower deck modelled in a tri-class configuration, textured and detailed to the same level as you would find inside the cockpit. I decided to position one of X-Plane’s custom camera points on the seat I had occupied when flying on this type myself. When up at cruise altitude, I was taken aback by how the cabin looked and felt - it was almost as if I was back onboard the 747 I had used just a few months previously! The detailing on offer, combined with the sound (something we will cover later in this article), really helps bring this aircraft to life and is something I have really appreciated. The 747-8F features the entire lower deck with cargo box mountains and trails for the movement of containers. This once again looks superb within the simulator environment and fits with the scale of the aircraft. The space is indeed massive, with a number of containers modeled into the aircraft, sitting two-by-two towards the centre of the cabin where the centre of gravity would be. You can decide on the number of containers and load factor and adjust this in the EFB tablet. The upper deck has also been modeled into a small crew rest area, making use of the small hump behind the cockpit. This includes a toilet, beds, galley, and seats for the crew – somewhere to enjoy a bit of shut-eye when flying ultra-long haul. Buttons, Gauges & Functionality For an aircraft of this size and complexity, I think it’s fair to say that a lot is going on within the SSG Boeing 747-8. Your core panel features your main Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display and EICAS screens as you would expect, but with several buttons and switches surrounding it that control your lights, displays and other features within the cockpit. The glare shield is also massively used with all of your autopilot systems sitting ready to take over once your aircraft is airborne and en route. This will be familiar to you if you fly Boeing (and even Airbus) jets often, but it’s the overhead panel that really takes time to learn. The overhead is littered with switches and buttons that maintain each aspect of your flight. Here you will find your lights, anti-icing and engine systems to keep all four power plants alive and burning. With the development of the previous 747-400 which removed the need for a flight engineer, the overhead panel became a lot busier with extra engine management systems included. This was carried over to the -8 and SSG has utilised this well. Everything is laid out in order of use, with most checklists on the aircraft starting in the top-left and slowly working their way down section by section. The Flight Management Computer is also custom-made and developed for the 747-8. This includes all of the route inputs and calculations that the pilot would make on the real aircraft as well as system management and planning that helps you in guiding the aircraft through each stage of flight. This has been well-developed and shows in operation when planning your different phases, allowing for each detail of your flight plan to be tweaked and perfected before you depart. Getting to grips with the 747-8 took a few moments to get going but having spent a lot of time in virtual Boeing jetliners, as well as having flown the -8 that comes packaged with Microsoft Flight Simulator, I didn’t find myself too out of depth. Familiarity with the aircraft is key, especially when planning to take it long-haul, which can take up most of your day. I would certainly advise spending time just looking around the cockpit and gaining an understanding of where different systems are located so that when it comes to flying, you know exactly where to look and know what you are expecting to see and do. As with any aircraft, the more practice you put into it, the better and easier you will eventually find the operation to be. SSG has also included an EFB tablet within the cockpit which serves as the loadmaster of the aircraft, allowing you to input your fuel and payload as well as interact with ground services and calculate your departure speeds. It also allows you to control the doors and exits on the aircraft which in the case of the freighter, includes the nose rising to allow for cargo to enter via the front. As more developers include these within their add-ons, I find them incredibly useful to procure my Flight Management Computer with the numbers it needs to programme a perfect departure and landing. Sound To put it simply, the SSG 747-8 sounds fantastic! There’s no other way of putting it, you can sense that a lot of time was spent recording audio samples from both within and outside of the aircraft, with fine-tuning in which to replicate the actual environment of the real aircraft. The spool-up of the engines sounds great when making that take-off run or listening to the rumble behind you as you start to pull back on the yoke and take the aircraft to the sky. The whir of the engines during start-up is also really well-defined, especially when you focus on all four engines being activated during the pushback procedure of the aircraft. One thing I have always enjoyed and appreciated about X-Plane is its fly-by-camera view. Not only is it visually appealing, but it also enables you to hear the sound variations from around the aircraft as well as the Doppler effect that is applied. Listening to the engines purr as the aircraft glides past your camera is great and a real testament to the time that SSG has put into getting that effect right for their aircraft. The immersion doesn’t just end within the cockpit. Moving my camera over to the passenger cabin and sitting myself down on one of the seats, I found the audio to be rather immersive; I was back in the seat of that Lufthansa 747 flying to New York! Flight Dynamics The SSG 747-8, as expected, feels very heavy when in the air. I find myself putting a lot of input on the yoke to bank and make turns. I haven’t had the pleasure of flying the real-life aircraft myself, but you can certainly (as a passenger) get a feeling for how the aircraft behaves, especially since using far more nimble jets and props in X-Plane in the past. As the 747 grew with each generation, and despite advancements in fly-by-wire technology to make control easier, I can still imagine it takes a lot of input from the pilot to tame the aircraft. The aircraft has a strong rate of climb too, more than you would perhaps expect for its sheer scale and mass. The GEnx-2B67 is a powerful engine and having four of these, helps propel the 747 into the sky. Descent too is quite something as the 747 can drop like a brick, especially with flaps and spoilers to help slow you down. When trying it out on a hop from Frankfurt to New York following the same flight plan as my trip in real life, I had one or two late descents which I could easily manage by dumping the spoilers and watching the altitude go without much movement from the pitch. During cruise, the aircraft is a joy to fly. With the autopilot on and FMS navigation in control, it will glide through the sky getting you to your destination with ease. This especially comes into play when performing a landing with crosswinds involved. You need to make a lot of small corrections to keep the aircraft on course, but the moment those rear wheels touch down and you find yourself gliding down the runway to come to a halt, you can certainly feel the sense of accomplishment of having performed an expert landing. Taxiing the 747-8 is also worth commenting on. It’s the longest commercial aircraft in the world (beating the Airbus A380 by 3 meters) and you’re looking out from the upper deck. This means you have very little coverage of the ground below you, with little sense as to where your nose gear is. Airbus achieved the ground control of the A380 by placing the cockpit on the lower deck, but with Boeing, and using 1960s technology, combined with the need for the cargo variant to load through the nose, this was never going to be the case for the “Queen of the Skies”. The more you practise ground movement the better you will get at positioning the aircraft, as well as learning to fine-tune and steer the aircraft with the throttles, adding power towards the direction you want to go. It’s certainly a beast in that regard! Liveries SSG has also included several liveries for the Boeing 747-8, both freighter and passenger variants, while there are also several more available on the org ready to download. The sets included are as follows: Intercontinental • Air China • BBJ • Boeing Family • Boeing Sunrise • Korean Air • Lufthansa Freighter • Atlas Air • Boeing Family • Boeing Light • Cargolux • Cathay Pacific • Silkway Cargo They are a nice selection of liveries, but all are new. Again there has been a change to the file structure, and so the sets of older liveries don't work anymore, they have to be v2.5+ or higher to work with the X-Plane 12. There are six Internationals liveries and six cargo liveries included. Opinion & Closing Remarks Overall, I have had an absolute blast flying the SSG 747-8 within X-Plane 12. The aircraft is a joy to fly and while it does take some practice getting used to, especially when performing banking turns once airborne, I have enjoyed virtually every minute since adding it to my virtual hangar. With an extremely well-defined model, cockpit, cabin, and audio, what SSG have is a complete package for one of the world’s most popular aircraft, with their passion for this project showing in every detail they have included. A great deal of time and effort has been put into getting the best they possibly could out of the X-Plane platform, and it certainly shows. The Boeing 747 has been around for well over 50 years now, and whilst not necessarily a ‘rare’ aircraft type to fly on (especially between popular destinations), I just knew I had to fly on it. Being able to recreate my two real-world flights within X-Plane 12 has been a wonderful experience and I am very impressed by the end product that SSG have managed to create. The aircraft is also very much in active development, meaning we will likely see updates and improvements for it for some time to come. SSG’s 747-8 is a product that I would be more than happy to recommend to anyone looking to fly the Boeing 747 within X-Plane 12. ______________________________________  Yes! the Boeing 747-8 Inter Anniversary Edition X-Plane 12 By Supercritical Simulations Group is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here B 747-8 Series Anniversary Edition Price is US$69.00 (currently on SALE for US$54.90)  Features: Officially licensed by the Boeing Corporation. The entire external 3D model for v2 has been redone, including the following: All new fuselage closely modeled on the real one with added details Each door can be opened individually and is more detailed dded animations and details (almost all parts that can open/move on the aircraft are modeled). New external details such as a satellite antenna and tail camera New cut passenger windows instead of textures New vertical and horizontal stabilizers with added details New nacelles and engines with more details and new animations Reworked and more detailed landing gear/gear doors with additional animation Improved and more detailed leading and trailing edge flaps and added flap mechanisms Upper deck interior with seats/galleys and stairs to lower deck New wing flex and nacelle animations The textures for the entire aircraft have been redone to match the new model, along with decals for certain detailed areas, right down to most of the external placards, working closely with our technical advisors to ensure all the main details are present and that we have gotten them right. COCKPIT The entire cockpit 3D model has been largely redone and completely retextured. New overhead panel and buttons/switches New forward panel and buttons/switches New pedestal and buttons/switches/handles New miscellaneous panel and buttons/switches Side panels and window frames completely redone New cockpit seats Various added details SYSTEMS/FMC Almost all switches function properly and independently IRS alignment process implemented More realistic fuel system with different pumps and tanks along with FUEL TANK / ENG logic Realistic AUTOSTART and RUNNING indicators on secondary engine displays Improved and more realistic air conditioning system and logic Better track representation on ND Clock and chronometer on ND working like on the real aircraft More realistic baro pressure logic (STD, preselected, transition altitude) Captain and First Officer FMCs are now independent FMC FIX page added FMC Route 2 function added FMC Diversion function added Librain rain effects (currently not working on Macs) Skuncraft Updater Now with Skunkcraft updater. No need to download anything for updates, the plane will automatically be updated Requirements: X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 12 Windows , Mac and Linux 4 GB MB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version : XP12: 2.6b4 (December 21st 2022) XP11: 2.5.1 (June 7th 2022) NOTE: Framerate requires a decent graphic card, minimum of 8gb is RECOMMENDED, so I would also recommend a power machine as standard.  Installation : Download is 1.17gb which is unzipped and is inserted in your Heavy Aircraft folder as: 1.80gb  Key authorisation is required.   Documentation : includes  SG 747-8 V2 FCOM.pdf SSG 747-8 V2 Quick Start Guide.pdf SSG License Agreement.txt SSGCUSTOMLIST.TXT  ______________________________________________________________________  Aircraft Review by Michael Hayward  13th January 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews   (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)   The Technical Bit Review PC Spec • Windows 10 Professional • AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Processor • 32GB RAM • Palit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro
    2 points
  43. I totally agree. I also paid full-price for these too. I hope they can at least work in X-Plane 12 when it releases.
    2 points
  44. Aircraft Review : Embraer E-Jet 170LR Evolution by SSG Supercritical Simulation Group's (SSG) first release was the Embraer E-Jet E-170 back in 2013. At the time of the release the aircraft was a step forward with many good ideas and features and the aircraft flew very well. But in X-Plane times move along quickly and what was once good can be average in a short space of time. But the basics were good and certainly with the external model, but the internal cockpit quickly showed its age. So here is the "Evolution" of that aircraft in the "E-Jet 170 Evolution", yes the word is in there to represent that this is a complete move forward in from that original concept and SSG have also kept the best of the original design and have completely redesigned the weaker areas and incorporated also the best ideas and features of their Boeing 748i Series aircraft. From the outside the E170LR Evo looks pretty much the same, and so it should as it was a very pretty aircraft in the first place. But the external design has had quite a significant makeover, detail is multiplied by a huge degree. Certainly a few major items have been retained like the landing gear, but overall the differences between the two images below as they are now vastly different.... as a highlight look at the detail and rivet work around the front cargo door. Just look at the door hinge and the wing light assembly and even the text is now readable. The cockpit has had an even bigger makeover, from the old... .... to the Evo new No trickery or Photoshop effects here, just the different versions in the same place and time. You can see how dull the displays are compared to the brightness of the new versions. Certainly a huge advance over the earlier displays, and I really like the inner lighter to darker surrounds in the Artificial Horizon area and the new Vertical Profile feature. But there are two things that are to be noted. The text is in "bold" and not the ordinary "regular" and that makes the text look bloated and more blurry than it should, and all the displays don't have any cockpit reflections, which is standard-normal today with aircraft in this price range. Otherwise you are looking at a complete redesign of the panels, textures and only a few small panel items are carried over. Overhead panel looks better as well. Old version on the left and the new Evo version on the right, and in content nothing is different, but everything is new including the overhead map lights. Centre pedestal looks the same, but again the refinements are discrete but highly effective, the Communication Panel shows the higher detail. One thing is very different on the pedestal though is the FMC, we will get to that in a moment. Menus The Evo's menu's have had a big makeover. In the original the single menu was covered by a grainy view of the rear cabin, which looked a little crappy. Now you have a twin option display and a third position with a blank screen. First options page (1) covers the external items in: Doors, Pushback and GPU - Show/hide: Yoke, Seat, Rain and Stair - Field of View and select lbs or kg. (All doors and windows are available on Custom Key sliders as well if required.) Second Options page (2) covers aircraft setup with: Aircraft payload with % percentages, ZFW (Zero Fuel Weight) & Payload weight, Payload settings and Fuel load and defuel. You can do the fuel either manually or use the FMC for loading. The options now available on the Evo are great, and are far better than the small list on the Original version. All doors now open, including the front and rear service doors. Lower cargo doors are also now usable as well. Cockpit windows can also be opened (below), but only on the menu and not by the usual handle grab and pull which feels odd. Excellent GPU (Ground Power Unit) and an outstanding feature is the excellent stand/stairs, with the great idea of when you change the livery the logos on the stand also change... Brilliant! Pushback truck is very well modeled, but is that stick pendulum action that is used on SSG's B748i which I am not crazy about, it is hard to use as you can only control it (forward/Aft) by the menu and you can't look in two places at once... you need key options to make it effective. Both the Yoke and Captain's seat can be hidden, but with both out you have quite a hole in there, one click also hides both yokes. Cabin The cabin has been overhauled with a more modern dark/grey look with snazzy lighting compared to the more late nineties look (above left lower). It looks very nice but there are issues with the movement from the flightdeck rearwards. Open the door and use the X-Plane keys to head to your seat and there is gap between the two virtual sections, sometimes you get through but sometimes you don't... It gets weirder in finding your view out you find missing pieces of the aircraft and in this case the airbrake spoilers (above right lower) are missing? With a lot of the cabin blinds either closed or half open your view selection is also limited. Beacon shines away on the ceiling as well. Flying the E-Jet 170 Evolution Route: KATL (Atlanta) to KDCA (Washington National) DAL375 is the perfect route for this aircraft, a hop to the upper eastern seaboard in a shuttle service from Atlanta to Washington. The E-Jet 170LR Evo now comes with the functional Honeywell Primus Epic 1000 FMC that is housed in two Multifunction Control Display Units (MCDU) at the top of the pedestal. This version is provided by Javier Cortes under the FJCC banner. The FMC faceplate pops-out for ease of input and use, and click with the F8” key in Windows and Linux with “fn” and “F8” keys simultaneously on a Mac to make the pop-up visible. Javier Cortes makes great FMC's with a lot of functions and details, but the interface is not very elegant and highly procedural. Get an input wrong and there is no get out but to start all over again, or mess up all your load's of time and work already submitted to the system. And that makes them frustrating to use until you finally work out the correct way that Jarvier is thinking and has set out the route to get all the inputs in line correct to get the final result. It works well when you do understand it, but the system is totally unforgiving, which unlike Philipp Münzel's designs that if you make a mistake you then just correct it, then "Exec" (Execute) and move on with your programming. But confusion reigns when you load in your SID (Standard Instrument Departure) and mostly over and over in that the "Exec" is actually the "Route" button, where as normally "Route" takes you to the flightplan to load in your waypoints. There is no "Exec" either? so any changes are hard to input and "route" with the input point remember then disappears? To make clear there are two "Route" functions in RTE and ROUTE? Add in more confusion in the fact that "Route" changes to "Step" in the flightplan (FPL) mode and that then becomes the "Exec" button and as you go through the flightplan the with the STEP (after doing a "Exec" to insert the current flightplan) then the <CTR> position position disappears after the first click down? Get to your Flightplan and you will be scratching your head in that the departure airport is noted as your arrival airport? (upper right). There is a "DIrect" function but no "DIR" button to activate it. When I did save the (hard won) completed route it didn't save the file? There is a good "Quick Start" manual that covers a full route from Seattle (SEA) to Los Angeles (LAX) including checklists, but with a FMC this procedural you need a full manual on how it works not only in detail but with arrow diagrams to programme the FMC in the way that Javier is thinking. The FMC is good, but you work with it like a maze with many dead ends or bugs and you find the core by leaving post-it notes on the wall to get it right next time. With enough time you can the full complete flightplan completed as below, and once it is figured out it is easier to use, but a more flexible way of inserting a flightplan is required at the core of the programming, so it is for the experts only. To help there is a video available in programming the FMC and I have included it below... The map view zoom is on the pedestal... a nice touch. You can use the direct keyboard input by pressing the blank button below the FPL button and the words "KEYB" appears below to show you that you are in that mode. The built-in FMC is compatible with AeroSoft's NavDataPro and Navigraph navigation databases. Multi-Function Display (MFD) There are two drop-down menus in the multi-function display with the MAP on the right and SYSTEMS on the left. MAP covers covers your: Nav-Aid, Airports, WPTs, PROGRESS (details on the route), Vertical Profile (Lower MFD, Very Nice!), TCAS and Weather and Terrain is on the lower selections. SYSTEMS covers the standard set of pages that cover the aircraft systems... Areas covered include: Status, FltCtrl (Flight Controls), Hydr (hydraulics), Fuel, Elec (Electrical), and Anti-Ice. Route locked in and the the aircraft ready it is time for departure. Start sounds are good with the Dreamfoil Sound plug-in installed, but not highly detailed and it is slightly too quiet in the cockpit. There is not that real sound detail in Air-con packs or with rear pumps starting to run, but it is good by most standards. Forward lighting is good with three landing lights with two in the inner wings and one front on the front wheel strut. There is a separate taxi-light (front strut) Side lights (taxiway turn) and wing Inspection lights. Pushback truck is called and controled via the upper mid-screen menu. Truck turns like it is on a stick pendulum of which I am not a fan, but it works. Harder to use are the small ticks on the menu screen to control it and your view is looking far away from the windows to find those small controls above and guessing where to stop your pushback point... a few keyboard controls would help. Departure was via KATL RWY08R... Taxi speed is easily controlled and you can place the aircraft perfectly on the centre line by using the kink in the glareshield. Throttle up and if the settings are correct in the FMC you will have FLEX TO-1 automatically, vSpeed tags are also in the Flight Display. Like the Airbus displays you have speed parameters in red and yellow go or no go zones (alpha floor). MAP Display and Vertical Profile is very good (shame about the BOLD text)... With the Yoke in place it is a little tight to all the displays through the ram design, but it looks very good. The manipulators are a bit tight in their active areas, and so are hard to use effectively. The V/S (Vertical/Speed) wheel is the worst but also the most highly used for constant adjustments. You use it by two small arrows (find them if you can?) and usually with these sort of arrowed manipulators you hold them down to turn the wheel either up or down... not here, as they are to be used as a button press per + or - minus altitude change. So they flicker and you search, find them and get usually the arrow you don't want and you are trying to fly an aircraft while buzzing around the Autopilot panel in the area in just wanting to adjust your V/S angle. As with everything you get used to it and clicking one click at a time, but I found in heavy work periods they are seriously frustrating. A lot of the other half-moon manipulators are also too close together and hard to find. Another quirk is the "BANK" as it is two Arrows? and with no indication on the MFD you don't know how to activate the bank function, or if it is actually activated... I think it is on, I think. On the same subject of manipulators, on the original version the engine start plastic covers were a pain to open and close. The idea has been change from a single click and start to separating the opening of the covers with a click and then a half-moon manipulator to start. It works, but just as the manipulator active area is so small you need a lot of patience to actually find it, and getting right down by the floor behind the pedestal will help you finally find that coveted opening hot spot... Three PROG... Progress pages have a load of information, and the FMC is accessible in the air. Route data and two page radio is very good. The E-Jet series was always a nice machine in the air, and the quality shows from all viewpoints. External sounds are again good but not over brilliant, but you don't get that distance droning that tires you out. Lighting The cockpit lighting is years away better than the original version, and very nice it is too. There is not a huge amount of adjustment because I don't think the real aircraft has a lot either. The downlighting of the main displays looks lovely, but the higher glareshield is more darker. The two overhead spot-lights are just a Storm/Dome set and are non-adjustable. External lighting is good and standard fair. As noted you have inspection lights and wing lights and the logo tail lighting looks nice at night. Arrival at Washington is via IRONS5 into RWY 01. Target altitude on the PFD (Primary Flight Display) is a great help in getting your correct altitude at the right distance from the airport correct. Great working VOR2 and ADF 1 & 2 pointers (selectors arrowed) in the lower PFD are excellent for navigation and lining up your final approach. There is not a lot of wind-rush in the air, but great noise sounds when you drop the landing gear, so you get that I'm ready for landing feel. There is a nice feel also from the controls to get the aircraft into a position for landing, overall the aircraft is very nice to fly manually, but who does that anymore with a modern regional airliner, automation in here is now in control. But manual flying I am doing on this approach. The E-170LR will allow you with FULL flap go down into the middle-twenties with approach speed, but beware that get it just too slightly slower and it will stall on you very quickly, so it is best to stay in the low 130knts range which is safer and more controllable The complex flaps and their animation is beautifully done, but my feather-weight landing didn't activate the wing spoilers that are automatically activated on landing. The reversers are excellent in fine detail... Regional flying is hard work with multiple sectors in one day, so it is off with one load and get ready for the next.... Liveries You get a wide selection of very good liveries, this (above) is the "New" factory E170 livery which is very nice. You also get mostly two sets of the same livery in a "Clean" version and a "Dirty" version, I have shown all the dirty versions here because of space. Factory livery (old version) is also the default. Liveries double include Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia (New), British Airways, American Eagle, Delta Connection, Eygptair, Agean Airlines (Clean only), Azul, Flybe and JAL. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Three years can be a long time in X-Plane, and what was once an interesting and detailed aircraft became almost old-fashioned very quickly. This new "Evolution" version does far more than just update an old design to current standards. It is a complete back to the boards and a total redesign of the aircraft and that deep design work certainly shows here. Almost everything is new (you can see a few things moved over but they are just that... few) and so you can't really compare the two but it is nice to see the differences. There is a huge amount of great features and ideas and I really love the total concept of it all, but there are also small niggly things that should not be on an aircraft of this price range, as this is total pro territory. Yes the aircraft is very professional but that extra 3% in the finish can make or break the aircraft. It just slips over the mark because most of these niggles are easily updated as they certainly will be by SSG, but they should not be there in the first place. BOLD text looks horrible and no display reflections should not have got to the release stage. Pushback is hard to use and you need to take a deep breath and not look down through the gap if you are going from the cockpit to the cabin or vise-versa. Manipulator activation areas are too small and you can't find the manipulators and they are messy to use, with the V/S the hardest to use of all. Sounds are good, but now they have moved on, expect better in an upgrade. Overall here you are not flying the aircraft as smoothly as you can because of small factors. The very deep and extensive FMC by Javier Cortes is complex by design and has no elegance in procedure if you make a mistake and sometimes completely confusing if a ) not done one before, or b ) in that some items are duplicated to do the same action and standard button or menu items like a simple (exec) or (direct) are hard to find or use, I understand that the Honeywell unit does not have these functions but there has to be more of an elegance of getting those important actions working correctly. Get a simple command wrong and you are up short street without a torch, and the only way out is to restart the whole thing and start again, and even if you do get it right, it takes way to long (unless you are a total master or the developer) in inputting again the whole plan and aircraft parameters within the usual 30min turnaround time, in most cases you would not put yourself all through that and simply fly something else. And that is a real shame as the aircraft is overall very good to excellent when it all programmed in correctly, it is just getting to that point. No doubt FMC's are hard to use and programme, but they also have a simplicity of the way they do their job. My advice is to live with this aircraft to really understand the deepness of it. It does have a large learning curve and the FMC in it's current state would need an understanding of how FMC's are programmed and used. Once you use it more then the more it will come to you and the deeper levels of enjoyment the "Evo" can then be brought to the surface. Yes this is a huge and very nice update with a lot of investment by SSG of their E-170LR aircraft, and it has some really great clever features and it is certainly a worthy investment if you like great regional airliners. _____________________________________________________________________________________ The Embraer E-Jet 170LR Evolution v1.07 by Supercritical Simulation Group is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-Jet170LR Evolution Your Price: $49.95 Note: if you are already a owner of SSG's E-170LR or the E190 you get upgrade to the "Evolution" version with a US$10 discount! to the price of US$39.95, so Please email [email protected] to get your discount code and include you original purchase order number. Features: Advanced FMC and Navigation system Custom-built FMC (done by FJCC) designed for the SSG Evolution Series SIDs, STARs, transitions, approaches, flare and rollout modes. FMC is compatible with AeroSoft's NavDataPro and Navigraph navigation databases. Manufacturer's performance data embedded as tables in the fully functional FMC. Option to use either a 2D pop-up (resizable) FMC or one within the 3D cockpit. Custom radio communication audio consoles optimized for on-line virtual ATC operations. FMC performance information based on real aircraft data, including calculated V-speeds. FMC includes capability for autotuning navaid frequencies. Vertical Situation Display (VSD) on the MFD. Terrain display mode on the MFD, which is a part of the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) on the real aircraft. High-Res 3D modeling complete with detailed animations and textures. Realistic displays (PFD, MFD with system synoptics, and EICAS) External lights and strobes operating realistically. Display management similar to that in the real aircraft. Autobrakes with anti-skid system that works in all conditions and includes a realistic rejected takeoff mode. Realistic wing flex and other animations. Window rain effects and animated wipers. Option menu incorporated into the cockpit 3D. Ground vehicles include a tow truck, GPU and airstairs. Over 10 detailed liveries comes with the plane Custom systems and Flight Model Aircraft will meet most of the real aircraft's performance data for consumption, AOA, speeds, flight dynamics, etc. in close consultation with real world E-Jet pilots. Realistic 3D cockpit with high resolution. Many systems are implemented with realistic logic, such as electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, engine fire extinguishing, fuel, wing and engine anti-ice (including automatic mode), communications, and TCAS. Comprehensive autopilot functioning in modes similar to those of the real aircraft First Officer's MFD display is independent from the Captain's, and MFD has a pop-up option. EICAS messages based on the real aircraft's with lists and scrolling DreamEngine Sound System 3D sounds with DreamEngine plugin. Requirements X-Plane 10.45 + (any edition) running in 64bit mode Windows, Mac or Linux - 64bit Operating System 1Gb VRAM Minimum. 2Gb+ VRAM Recommended _____________________________________________________________________________________ Installation and documents: Download for the Embraer E-Jet 170LR Evolution is 606.30mg and the unzipped file is deposited in the "Heavy Metal" X-Plane folder at 952.80mg. There is a "Quick Start Guide" manual (44 Pages) and comes with included checklist Sheets . _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 22nd July 2016 Copyright©2016: X-PlaneReviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.45 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Scenery or Aircraft - KATL - KATL - Atlanta International by Nimbus (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$23.95 - KDCA - Ronald Reagan - Washington National by Tropicalsim - No idea if this scenery is still available? And I still call it "National!"
    2 points
  45. Scenery Preview : PAKT - Ketchikan International Alaska by NorthernSkyStudio If your brief was to create an International airport with limited space and on the side of a steep hill, then certainly PAKT - Ketchikan International Airport, Alaska would be the result. Unique as well with this position is as the airport is located on Gravina Island, just west of Ketchikan itself on the other side of the Tongass Narrows, and passengers must take a seven-minute ferry ride across the water to get to the airport from the town. Around the World War II era until the early 1970s, longer range land plane air service to Ketchikan including flights to Seattle were operated via an old military airfield located approximately 20 air miles to the south on Annette Island. Aircraft operated into the Annette Island Airport (ANN) for flights in the local southeast Alaska area included the Grumman Goose and Catalina PBY with these amphibian aircraft being utilized to link the airport with the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base. The current airport PAKT was opened on August 4, 1973 and was dedicated on the following day. The airport opening was the culmination of an effort by local residents, a 1965 study by the Alaska State Division of Aviation, another study in 1967 choosing the current site on Gravina Island, and land clearing in 1969. One of the first airlines to serve the new airport was Alaska Airlines which inaugurated the first jet service from Seattle to Ketchikan International Airport on August 4, 1973 with a Boeing 720 jetliner. Alaska Air primarily operated Boeing 727-100, 727-200 and 737-200 jetliners (including 737 passenger/cargo Combi aircraft) into the airport before switching to later model Boeing 737 jets. (edited wikipedia). NorthernSkyStudio The first release in scenery for X-Plane by NorthernSkyStudio, was in Hawaii with their Molokai and Kalaupapa airport package. This was a well done package, but quite a small release that would be a great addition to anyone that need's a very good Hawaiian scenery. So here is their next release with the very complex PAKT - Ketchikan International in southern Alaska. My main connection with PAKT - Ketchikan is that is a superb supply airport for CZST Stewart, and the excellent Beti-x scenery that is positioned close by there. So I have over the years toodled back and too to Stewart in mostly Bush, 208 Caravan and the odd GA aircraft from Ketchikan. But that is not using this scenery to anything but it's full potential. The airport is of course positioned central on the famous "Inside Passage" that consists of thousands of islands that are stretched right up the upper west North American continent from Seattle to Glacier Bay, and it is noted as one as THE very best flying areas in the world, for bush pilot and regional flying services. Ketchiken is also on the famous "Milk Run”. The Milk Run are routes that are run daily by Alaska Airlines and Flight 65, starts in Seattle and stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Juneau before flying on and landing in Anchorage. The opposite route flight, Flight 66, starts in Anchorage and stops in Cordova, Yakutat and Juneau before flying on to Seattle. There used to be B737 Combi aircraft flying on the route, but the last run was completed last year, and the combi's have now all been replaced by three dedicated 737-700 freighters. Ketchikan International Airport IATA: KTN - ICAO: PAKT - FAA LID: KTN 11/29 - 7,500ft (2,286m) Asphalt Elevation AMSL 92 ft / 28 m The airport does have a very unique layout with the main runway of which is located about 30 feet (9.1 m) higher than the apron further on up the hillside, and is connected between the two areas by two sloping taxiways in Taxiway A - RWY 29 and Taxiway B - Rwy 11 for departures. From an X-Plane modeling point of view this multi-elevation layout is extremely hard to get right as you can't rely on the initial mesh layouts, so everything has to be modeled to fit. Get it right, like here at this PAKT and it makes for one of the best arrival experiences in X-Plane. To fit aircraft parking areas on a hillside, it requires different parking zones and there are two (another zone looks like a parking area on TWY A but it is large turning or holding area.). The lower, lower zone (above) accessed by TWY C is for all General Aviation parking and it is quite a large area. The upper apron in front of the terminal is the main commercial zone. If International in the broad sense is the general idea, then PAKT is not in the same capability as say like KDEN - Denver or KLAX - Los Angeles. To put that into context it is to say international here is going from the USA into Canada, not to Japan or Europe. So in that context you have one (yes only one) airbridge and only one large stand or two large (B737/A320) parking slots. The (small) international terminal and it's very striking offset control tower is excellent, really well done with even the local carving set out around the building for authenticity, all the areas around the terminal are also very authentic and highly realistic... .... including the ferry connection ramp system landside, which is highly detailed. The Ferry itself "Ken Eichner -2" is also animated and docks on both sides of the Tongass Narrows waterway. On the airport side it perfectly fits into the wharf. Only comment is that the single airbridge is static and not animated, which is a shame as that would have been a big feature for the scenery. Next to the main apron is a commercial apron for local services, in i.e. charter, sightseeing flights, and island hopping. On the apron are four large hangars of which the first "Aero Services" of who is the cargo handler for the airport. All four hangars have been faithfully reconstructed and are simply excellent. Note the excellent grass and foliage, that is done all around here very well. Ground clutter is again excellent, with correctly branded and shaped custom cargo pallets (called cargo Igloos!), ramp aircraft boarding stands and branded baggage trolleys. Static aircraft are also provided with 208 Caravans and Lear Jets and are all also correctly locally branded. Detail is also really well done. With all the correct fencing and airport aids (including the ILS System). Seaplane base is also highly detailed, beautifully done. There is also a tunnel under the runway, a small thing but again great detail. Textures and surfaces are good, but feel a little light in colour and especially with the runway and taxiway A, which both needed to be both slightly darker, and note the excellent steel drainage grids. The odd looking light green colour surrounding the runway and taxiway areas is actually correct, and not a faded poor texture as it must be a coloured concrete mix (I checked). Port of Ketchikan Where as the airport island scenery is excellent, the port area on the other side of the narrows is a mixed bag. The area looks fine from the airport view point, but I feel the issue here is the underlay ortho textures in being far too light (washed out) in colour. The textures are flat around the wharf edges and level with the water and that creates a non-realistic feel? Worse there are a few important buildings missing that in their distinctive style and roof colour looked poor in being flat, and are as well front and centre visually... overall there is that "okay we will stop there, why bother doing any more" sort of feeling. And missing is all the shipping at both here at the port zone and in downtown Ketchikan (cruise shipping) as well and because they would be noticed from the airport on arrival or departure it makes it all look again rather more empty than it needs to be ... ... there is a huge slipway building, but I can't find the same on any maps? but it looks visually very good. The sailboats don't work either? They are all a bit bright and samey... I'm not expecting every one to be different, but a few changed styles would have made it that all the more realistic. Lighting The lighting overall at PAKT is excellent... Approach lighting is fine. The signage though looks totally out of scale... ... the sign looks as big as a Cessna 152? The colour brightness reflection is far to strong as well and not realistic. A shame because the terminal building and ramp lighting is absolutely first rate. So many developers get night lighting textures so wrong? but here they are perfect and highly realistic. Detail lighting including the excellent down lights are very well done... Ketchikan Port side is more simplistic, but fine and still includes nice lighting window textures, so the lighting is very good all over the scenery. WT3: WorldTraffic GroundRoutes are provided with the scenery, and over all they work very well including the hard situation of a taxi and turnaround on the end of RWY 29. But don't expect a lot of traffic here at PAKT as it is pretty quiet operations wise. Preview Notes I was actually pretty surprised by this PAKT - Ketchikan International Alaska by NorthernSkyStudio as it is really very good, even excellent. Quality and detail is very through and there is a lot in this scenery to consider it's worth. And plus Ketchikan as in it's position is a pretty important airport for not only recreating the "Milk Run", but for a base to cover and explore this excellent "Inside Passage" area, as it is a bush pilot, and regional service supreme flying area. There is a lot of excellent work in here, and to say that NorthernSkyStudio is a developer to watch in delivering quality scenery, but there is the odd fumble in here that needs to be watched, but overall from them this is an excellent release. Positives: Great modeling with a very difficult X-Plane terrain (mesh) to recreate. All airport scenery is absolutely top notch, and night lighting is first rate, detail is excellent with the terminal and ferry ramp and ground clutter is branded and well recreated in detail. Negatives: Ketchikan Port feels like a bit of a left over from the main airport scenery, and feels a little half finished, no shipping is a big visual emptiness that shouldn't be? Signage is out of scale to the airport, looks odd at night and the single airbridge is only static. ____________________________________________________________________ Yes!... PAKT - Ketchikan International Alaska by NorthernSkyStudio is Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PAKT - Ketchikan International Alaska Price is US$25.00 Requirements : X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 2Gb VRAM Minimum - 4Gb+ VRAM Recommended Current Review version : 1.0 (August 6th 2018) Download Size: 1gb : Install Size 2.29gb Installation is the airport folder must be set above the "terrain" mesh in the .INI order PAKT_Northern_Sky_Studio (2.25gb) PAKT_Terrain_Northern_Sky_Studio (35.80mb) There is optional 2K textures if you run a lower powered computer, but to be honest they are not really needed as there is really nothing around PAKT to overuse your processors, running 4K textures my framerate was well within the 40's to 50's Extras and Documents: Manual in txt PAKT Installation manual ______________________________________________________________________ Preview by Stephen Dutton 13th August 2018 Copyright©2018 : X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this preview are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.25r2 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95 : BetterPushBack - Free Scenery or Aircraft - Boeing 737-800 - Default X-plane by Laminar Research
    2 points
  46. Stephen

    Competition! : Winners!

    Competition! : Winners! X-Plane Reviews have listed the winners below in no order, as per usual we had four that we just could not divide on and so we have given out a special commendation prize for the huge effort put into the entry... and so a huge congratulations to them for their entries. And a huge thanks to all who spent their time to note their views on X-Plane. If you are wondering if the competition was an exercise in feedback on the site, it was not planned that way but on how you use X-Plane and how it relates to you as a simulator and this is the aspect that X-Plane Reviews based its final decisions on.. The comments are interesting in hindsight because it does mean X-Plane Reviews are on the right insights on what you want to know and read in reviews, and the pros and cons of the releaes. We could easily post photocopy (or Xerox) style reviews on every new release in X-Plane (just the facts) but that would be boring. In all scenery or aircraft there certain known items that would be boring to repeat ad nauseam in every review which would go for pages and pages. So our point is that the aim is to focus on the features and the things that make the aircraft different and attractive and the things that are not, and in doing the review process if we find something that should be explained to get yourself up to speed quickly (In other words, we have spent the time, spending days to get our heads around the issue or screaming at the computer in frustration) to fly and enjoy the best aspects of the release in X-Plane. Again to highlight the notes on frame-rate, if I don't mention it then it is fine, as my Mac is semi-powerful my point of difference is that if it works well for me then 95% of computers will have the same results. And secondary aspect is to see how the release relates to being in the simulator itself. I want to put the release to work so to speak. If it is in service or has a job to do and how well it relates to that scenarios and then shows us its strengths and weaknesses, There is nothing more valuable that running a "heavy" from one side of the world to another as it not only shows how it works in that environment, but also how the X-Plane simulator as a whole has progressed in relation to the release. In fact you are evaluating two aspects at the same time with one the release and then secondary the simulator as it progresses. Both results I will always pass on to the users. A final aspect is just to explore our X-Plane world, go to places you would never go and note the reasons we go there and the history of why it is significant, I was top every year in school for geography... my guess is I am still exploring. So the selection of the winners are based on this aspect of you getting the very best out of the simulator. Investing in add-ons is money to be just that in investing in the simulator, and we all purchase for many different reasons. If I do occasionally (okay a lot) get over excited it is because of the simple fact that "I love this so much, then you should to", a bit biased? No not really because if it is that good then you will love it as well, and share the love. Not every time does it have to be totally perfect at release, if you are paying monies then should it be? The simple fact is that simulation does not work that way. All and even the very best will be updated over the next 12 months of their release, our position is that we need need to gaze a little and see the investment in six or twelve months time and where it will be and not where it is now, many would be confused when we have effused a lot over something that quite obviously has flaws. But we are looking at the things that are quality of the basic elements and not the usual in your face issues that are usually fixed in an update or two, The Boeing 748i from SSG is a good example of a poor release version to the excellent aircraft it is today. Above all else I am very proud of our track record in that area. But the last thing to say on reviews is that the one thing that has become most important of the three years I have posted reviews is that the first impression is not always the right one. Quite a few have become firm favorites only after flying them after a period of time. Many a review has been late (even by weeks) because I have to scrap the original assessment of the aircraft (and scenery as well) and reassess it a different way, and unexpectedly many have wound their way into my heart in a way that was totally unexpected and many are not the ones that I expected to be part of my hangar collection or would have personally invested in them. So to the winners.... tsmercer - FlightFactor/Vmax Boeing 777 My favorite aircraft review was for the B200 King Air. I had been eagerly awaiting the B200 having once flown a full motion B350 sim before. I was hoping that the file would be an accurate modeling of its flight dynamics and the details in the review gave a great impression of how it flies. I love how the details of the review are presented in the context of a multi-leg flight. It gets all the details in there, but gives I nice narrative to keep it interesting. The thing that I loved most about the B200 review in particular was the not only the history of the development of the B200, but the history of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. It was a neat bit of history that gave the aircraft a mission other than the executive hamburger run. It was also great how that mission lead into the context of the review flights. Thanks to the descriptions of the review, I purchased the aircraft. The review accurately captured the nuances of the aircraft and it's my favorite turboprop in X-Plane. The aircraft hits a great sweet spot in my hangar. I love that I can get in and out of nearly any airport with it, but still be fast enough that I don't get bored with long stretches of en route flight. It doesn't require nearly as much setup time as the CRJ that I also fly regularly, but still offers enough performance and complexity to be a handful and keep me engaged. On top of all that it's an absolutely gorgeous model with great cockpit ambiance. Congratulations on one year of great reviews! PJS37 - FlightFactor/Vmax Boeing 757 My favorite review is the Final Frontier Scenery review. The reason this is my favorite is because the reviewer understood my plight it felt like when he started off with Juneau (Juneau being where my wife is from an somewhere I am familiar with and enjoy flying around). Every sim I have tried the default Juneau is usually way off. Heck half the time I couldn't even find mesh scenerey that didn't incorrectly render the Juneau area. So when I saw X-Plane had an nice Juneau scenery upgrade I began my migration to X-Plane 10 (Ever so slowly) I hadn't bought the scenery however because I was worried that there would be issues with it or it would look too dated in X-Plane 10. Then I found xplanereviews.com and boy was I glad I did. You guys have single handily reviewed everything I had the slightest interest in an helped me make clear and informed decisions. The final frontier review was just what I needed to jump head first into X-Plane finally after many many month of waffling and retreating back into the safe comfortable arms of the familiar. So I reformatted my PC a week ago have only X-Plane installed as my civilian sim and started buying up add-ons. The Final Frontier review is an excellent example of the work you guys do so well. It is objective; it shows the clear issues (Such as the texture blurriness of the add-on) but also compares it across the spectrum to add-ons available elsewhere and explains to me as a consumer why this is the one I should spend my money on. Darrick - SSG/Vmax Boeing 748i Happy 1st Anniversary X-Plane Reviews!!! I might be a new member here but i've reading your reviews since last year. I really like all your reviews, so it was very hard just to pick one. But in the end i decided to go for your Aircraft review of FlightFactor Boeing 757RR-200, Cause It really is just mindblowing your review is 100% accurate describing this add-on. The Details in the 757 is just gorgeous, I enjoy looking at every detail of this 757. I also like how it handles it is a very nice and fun aircraft to fly. I also like how its nit really complicated and very user friendly. I really think all the measurements in this add-on is perfect. As soon as the FlightFactor B757RR-200 I was really excited as it was one of my 4 Favourite Aircraft. Since it was a new release I need to get reviews first before bought it, I could not find a very Detailed review till i found your review. As soon as I red the review over and over again I decided to go on and buy the add-on. Your review is different. Its more reader Friendly, It made me easier to understand for I'm still a learner to Xplane. Your reviews are very 'light' but has very deep and detailed information users should know. I like how you Divide the parts by sharing your first Impressions and share people who and what is FlightFactor. Pictures!!! Your Pictures are top notch shows the detail of the aircraft form beginning to the end. Your exterior and interior Pictures of the Aircraft is quite a lot so it gives the user lots of pictures to see before they buy the add-on. I also enjoy reading cause you tell us how the plane works so we sure know when we own the add-on. When I first tested my FlightFactor B757RR-200 I did not regret it at all thanks to your review I was sure to buy this add-on. I really like your Conclusion it gives the readers mind a confident and ready feeling when buying the add-on. X-Plane is a great game with your reviews its even better. Thank you for all your Reviews! Two Thumbs Up! Wish you all the best for xplanereviews.com and Happy Birthday!!! Hope I can be one of the 3. Thanks. Yes you are! special commendation prize MadMckMax - Daniel Klaue Embraer ERJ 140 Choice of Review Although I'm very new to this website (I was introduced via forums.x-plane.org). I've had a quick look at the content and I've chosen the since it is the review that I can most relate to. I've bought other products from this developer, and was considering this aircraft as a result. Motivation for Choice Speaking as a 13 year old wannabe pilot, one of the most exciting things about this article is how it links the simulation to the real world with historical references. The down to earth nature of the review raises its credibility and motivates me towards considering purchasing the 732. The fact that Stephen Dutton has conducted a full documented flight also adds value. His balance between opinion and fact is just right. eg."The chunky (and quite worn) Pilot and Co-Pilot yokes do take up a lot of the panel view, removed you can now see the instrumentation clearer." Good terminology, paints the picture, combined with vital information, exactly like you'd want it! Note Due to the quality of add ons and reviews here, I will be visiting this site often as long as I still fly on X-Plane (likely a long time, as I am starting gliding training this year!). Also, the community here is just superb, so far I feel very at home here and I admire how much effort the managers of the site put into communicating with the brilliant community they've created. Summary · Stephens review of the 732 offers an excellent balance of information, and personal opinion · Immersive and thorough review · Helpful when comparing products · Adding confidence to the consumer · Supplying advice/feedback to the seller/developer · Overall positive contribution to the X-Plane Community. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Max His prize is the ERJ-140 by Daniel Klaue! everyone else is a runner up... well done. A small note in some out worldly spelling mistakes that creep in, The system we use has a final click that switches the review to HTML before posting, In the process I have found it does strange odd things to the text (plus block text whole paragraphs), I fix most but some still creep on through... odd business. Stephen Dutton Copyright©2014: X-Plane Reviews 15th August 2014
    2 points
  47. Congratulations and I'll echo others comments - you know how to describe the nuances of each piece of work, call out the unique and special features and generally encourage us to part with our £££s and invest in the payware economy! You've also saved me a few quid by telling it how it is when developers can do better... For me, the best review has been the I would never have played around with the auto-hover so much if you hadn't called this out in your review: Like all your reviews, this has the "scene setting" info to get me interested, the install details, critique of the modelling detail, a walk through of how it flies and excellent screenshots of the included liveries - all your screenshots are fabulous and really add to the articles! Well done on the first year and thanks for all the effort and time you're giving to all of us!
    2 points
  48. Aircraft Review : Boeing 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim Route: KDFW (Dallas Fort Worth) to MMUN (Cancun) The Boeing 732 TwinJet is the third major release from FlyJSim after the Bombardier Dash-8 and the Boeing 727 Series. Without doubt the Boeing 727 Series was the aircraft of the year for X-Plane in 2013 (It was released just before Christmas 2012) and this Baby Boeing is in a very similar if not a perfect compliment to the bigger Tri-Jet. The 8000th Boeing 737 has just been delivered and that makes it the most built Jetliner in history, But this Boeing 737-200 known as the B732 is very different and from another totally different era than the common -800NG series that dominates our skies today. First thing to note is which Boeing 737 is which. The launch aircraft that was rolled out on January 17, 1967 was the -100 version of which only 30 737-100s were ordered and delivered. Then there was the -200 version rolled only months after the -100 version June 29, 1967, and entered service in 1968 of which was an extended fuselage version of the -100. This aircraft and this aircraft released here by FlyJSim was successful at 991 sales (C-Cargo 104), but not straightaway as in fact In 1970, Boeing received only 37 orders and facing financial difficulties. Then after the cancellation of the Boeing Supersonic Transport and the scaling back of 747 production, enough funds were freed up to continue the project. Next was the Boeing 737 Classic -300/-400/-500 Series built between 1984 to 2000, 1,988 aircraft were delivered. The next version was the Boeing 737 Next Generation −600/-700/-800/-900 Series, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG. which brings us up to the present day. 4,887 737NG aircraft have been delivered by the end of April 2014, with more than 6,700 ordered. In the future is the coming 737MAX and that aircraft is scheduled for first delivery in 2017. The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range twinjet narrow-body airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engined airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 it has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers. The 737 is Boeing's only narrow-body airliner now in production. The -200 seats 136 (maximum) and 97 (2-class, typical) and is powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT8D 14,500–17,400 lbf (64–77 kN) low-bypass (0.96 to 1) turbofan engine that is also in the Boeing 727. Performance : Maximum speed Mach 0.82 (544 mph, 876 km/h) - Cruising speed Mach 0.74 (485 mph, 780 km/h) - Maximum range, fully loaded 1,900–2,300 nmi (3,500–4,300 km; 2,200–2,600 mi) - Service Ceiling 35,000 ft (10,700 m) Weights: 69,800 lb (31,700 kg) empty : 128,100 lb (58,100 kg) Takeoff. FlyJSim Boeing 732 TwinJet This review has to be considered in if the user has flown the FlyJSim Boeing 727 series or not. If you have then the conversion to the B732 is quite straight forward and although the cockpits are arranged quite differently (The B727 has a third flight crew member in a Flight Engineer) the systems are organised and used is a similar way but for two engines on the B732 and not the three on the B727. If you are new to the FlyJSim Boeing aircraft then there is a bit of a learning curve to understand the various systems and procedures. The aircraft handle very differently as well, in mostly their age and the era that they flew in... There are no mod-cons on offer here. However like with our Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part Two) "Flying the Boeing 727" we found a certain and if not more fulfilling and simplistic way to fly these aircraft and the B732 here is no exception. Looking into the cockpit of a cold (unpowered) B732 aircraft and the difference of the era compared to today's glass cockpit driven aircraft is quite a shock. How could you believe that these aircraft could and did transport millions of passengers with such naked little instrumentation, mostly from the navigation perspective. They did and they did the work very well and even today there are some aircraft still flying around up there still doing so. There are some great detailed cockpits in X-Plane today, but in both the B727 and here in the B732 the design is simply brilliant. Big clunky switchgear and almost to the touch flick switches, you are in cockpit heaven. The cockpit panel is all dials and gauges (sometimes known as clockwork cockpits) and the detail is simply overwhelming. You really do get the feel of the sixties style cockpit in perfect perspective. The chunky (and quite worn) Pilot and Co-Pilot yokes do take up a lot of the panel view, removed you can now see the instrumentation clearer. The standard six aircraft instruments are as they should be are front and centre. Very clear and easily readable. The Standard Six are - Artificial Horizon (sometimes known as the attitude indicator) with built in turn indicator, Heading with built in OBI, Compass, Vertical- Descent Speed, Altimeter and Speed (in knots and Mach speed). Then there are the back up instruments of Artificial Horizon, Altitude (spare), Radio Altitude, Clock (large) and the DME 2 - NAV 2 (distance) is also situated lower down. The compass allows for the VOR and NDB to be switched on two separate pointer needles, VOR 2 on the pilot's side and VOR1 on the Co-Pilot's side. The Co-Pilots set of instruments are very similar except they have the (outside) air-temperature, hydraulic Sys, Oil and Brake temperatures and the DME 1 - NAV 1 (distance) indicator. The landing gear lever is also on the right side of the panel. Centre stage of the panel are the main engine instrument sets of two engine dials covering "Engine Pressure Ratio" (EPR), N1, EXH (Exhaust) Temp, N2 (Percent RPM) and Fuel flow to each engine. Left of the main engine dials are the three fuel tank gauges, and to the right the twin Engine Oil - Pressure, Temp and tank quantity. Finally the Auto-brake selection switch is here as well. If you know the B727 panel you would feel right at home here as the differences are quite small, just twin dials instead of the three on the larger jet. The biggest difference of a few years of development between the Boeing 727 and the Boeing 737 is the "Sperry SP-77 (option version)" auto-pilot (A/P). In the B727 it was a very simplistic system set behind the pedestal. But here it is more of a modern version set out on the glareshield. Not quite the standard layout version we know today, as that A/P version was fitted to the later B737-200ADV. It is split between the F/D (Flight Director) on the left and the A/P (Auto Pilot) on the right. Still simplistic in nature, it was and is very powerful in operation as we will see in flight. Besides the change of position of the A/P to the glareshield. The removal of the Flight Engineer's station on the B727 also moved the aircraft's systems and operations to the now more familiar place on the overhead panel (OHP). looking over the panel quickly it hasn't really changed much since either on the subsequent B737's versions, and yet it would be very familiar to you as well as it was laid out on the B727 engineers station. Only now a few items have been made automated. They are however still grouped together in their various areas of systems (mostly in long tall sections) in hydraulics, boost fuel pump switches, electrical, APU, air-conditioning, de-ice, bleed and all the various lighting switches. The engine start is now the familiar GND-OFF-LOW IGN -FLT switches. The pedestal is almost identical to the B727 version except it is now for two engines and not three. In craftsman like work the pedestal can not really be bettered. It is sublime in detail and so real in operation you can't really believe it is only a computer generated image. in the cockpits 3d world it is realistic in every form. Besides the beautifully crafted throttle levers there is the speed-brakes (with auto), park brake, engine fuel flow idle/cutoff's levers, stab trim (electric) and flap indicators for the outbound and Inbound flaps (0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º settings). The radio is set out behind the pedestal below the three red fire handles (two for engines and one for the APU) and is very easy in operation. Just set you frequencies and flick a switch to make one or the other active... how easy can that be. Comm's and (early digital!) transponder are set out here as well. Above the pedestal is an early weather radar that just shows the standard X-Plane weather images. Detailing on the rudder pedal's is to be admired. Like everything else here in the B732 cockpit they are extremely well crafted and designed. Missing from the radio panel however are the ADF knobs... they are both (one each side) situated high up besides the throttle part of the pedestal, and have a three way setting that is excellent and very easy to tune. Powering up the Boeing 732 TwinJet Nothing is more exciting than bringing a machine to life. Certainly with a flying machine, and the B732 is no exception. But first we have to set up the aircraft. There are four menu options on the middle-lower left of your screen - V/Card - WnB (Weights and Balances) - OP (Options) and INS. We will start with the "Weights and Balances" menu (manager). Here you can set all the aircraft's weights and fuel and passenger/cargo loads. And as you do so the system will calculate for you the correct number relating to the aircraft's status and also show you your CofG (Centre of Gravity). The important number is your "Max landing" number shown in red. Here I have made the aircraft quite heavy at 117988lbs but I have a fair distance to go so I will certainly be under the landing weight. Cleverly if you open the Vref menu (or V/Card) the Vref's are calculated for you correctly and so are the landing vRef's, note that if you change the flap degree the vRef will change as well to compensate... a more clever idea again. Another note is that the landing speed is incorrect at this point because the aircraft's weight is wrong, this will change as you burn off the fuel or the weight. The other Menu item is the "Options" card. Here you can set all your options in: Cold and Dark startup or Engines running (hot) and set the time to Zulu. Hide the yokes and set weights to Kg's and finally select if required the Ground Power and Air Cart (to start the engines). Views and sound adjustments can also be adjusted. Weights and fuel set we can now power up the aircraft. Battery on via the "battery switch", You know that this does give the aircraft power but not for very long. You do have the Ground Power and Air Cart in the options menu to use. I found that in many instances they don't work? or connect up to the aircraft, which is slightly annoying. You don't get a power cart or air cart either outside the aircraft which are now usually de rigueur with aircraft of this price category. Here at KDFW it does connect and you can connect up the power via the switch and turn the AC switch to GND/PWR. Another option is the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), start it up via the switch and wait, the unit takes it time to warm up... and then switch it over to APU/GEN on the A/C bus. Now ready to start the engines we can switch on the fuel pumps and hydraulics and the outside anti-collision beacons. The panel is "if it is lit, it is not active" so as you do the start up the OHP should clear until all the lights go out. Here FlyJSim has done a brilliant amount of work to make the panel so authentic, in most cases we take it for granted by using it all the time. But this is great work in that how you interact with the panel now is so real. APU to bleed and make sure the L & R Packs (air-con) are off and you are ready to turn on the engine switches to GND (start) if you are flying you then re-start via the FLT (start). As the engines power up then add in the fuel via the levers on the pedestal, and the rest of the engine start up is automatic. The engine gauges in the centre panel will spiral and note the conditions of the engine to the idle position. then all you have to do now is clean up the OHP with turning on the aircraft electrics (buses), pitot heaters and when running at idle turn off the APU bleed and the (air-con) packs on. As they say "A clean panel is a good panel" and you are good to go. One other option is the INS menu... You can purchase the Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System. Nicknamed "CIVA", CIVA Navigation System for $US10.00 that is a basic navigation system that can give automatic navigation of up to 9 waypoints. (you can load X-Plane .fms plans) and it can be used in the FlyJSim B727 as well as other aircraft of that era. Well worth the addition cost. The JT8D's are whining now outside, sounds are excellent and 3d in rotation of the aircraft and has the "Realistic Sound" engine provided by DreamEngine & Turbine Sound Studio sounds. These early engines are noisy and smoky, but you certainly miss today the futuristic missile look of those long engine pods, beautifully done here... they just were not what the future turned out to be. The original engine nacelles incorporated thrust reversers taken from the 727 outboard nacelles. Unfortunately they proved to be relatively ineffective and apparently tended to lift the aircraft up off the runway when deployed. This reduced the downforce on the main wheels thereby reducing the effectiveness of the wheel brakes. In 1968, an improvement to the thrust reversal system was introduced. A 48-inch tailpipe extension was added and new, target-style, thrust reversers were incorporated. The thrust reverser doors were set 35 degrees away from the vertical to allow the exhaust to be deflected inboard and over the wings and outboard and under the wings.[ The improvement became standard on all aircraft after March 1969, and a retrofit was provided for active aircraft. This accounts for the odd angle of the thrust reverser doors and the very long tail pipe, but the main reason was that in thrust reversal deployment the original B727 version would actually lift the aircraft off the runway on landing! The undercarriage is excellent as well, great linkages, legs, tyres and animation. the engines hide most of the work, but it is worth checking out. The wings are very similar to the B727 in forward leading edge slats (inner and outer) and the seven position trailing edge flaps. wing and flap detailing is overwhelming and work to be admired, certainly in the powering out of those flap extensions. The landing light pops out under the wing(s) as well on the flap runners, the lower the flap position then the lower and change of angle of the landing light... great detailing. Flying The Boeing 732 On the options menu you have a pushback built in. No truck outside but the aircraft will pushback when the brakes are off and you press the pushback tab. It moves a little to quickly for me, and turning is via the rudders. Brake to stop and disconnect the pushback. A final check of the takeoff vRef charts shows me my markers, note that vR (rotate) is vR (vRef) +15knts, the bugs will call out the vRef's as you pass them (you get the landing heights as well) which is very authentic. A last check of the gauges at the hold and when cleared the B732 is on the KDFW runway 17R. Power goes up but the JT8D's take a little while to build up the thrust, once there the push is long and quite powerful, the noise builds as well into that unmuffeted roar. Vr and you only need a light pull back of the stick to get airborne, once clear of the runway and you are heading slightly to the right and you can feel the great central balance of the aircraft in the yoke, the aircraft is just under MTW, but the B732 feels very good and turns and climbs without much drama. Boeing pilots note it was always the best handling version of the B737 series, and here you can quickly feel why. In this era it was mostly VOR to VOR navigation, with a few NDB's thrown in for good measure. If you have the mentioned CIVA then you have a flightplan to fly to, If not then the navigation come down to you. It is best to be well prepared with the correct headings and VOR/NDB frequencies at hand. I found like with the B727 that the VOR's can be a little slow coming on line sometimes. NDB's seem to be slightly better for giving out the right direction. It helps here that the NDB knobs are in a great place just down to your right (pilot's side, left Co-Pilot) so I found I used them more in the B732. You want to fly the B732 by hand all the way to your destination as the B732 is so easy on you. But the autopilot is very good as well, if not excellent. You do wonder if change does make system better. In this case the A/P is so simple but so powerful you wonder why they had to change it. The Sperry SP-77 (option version) is a brilliant bit of kit. As you are already pitching in your correct angle, you will notice the pitch knob is following you, engage the autopilot via the big switches and the aircraft just holds the pitch! Select the altitude you want (8500ft transition) and click on the ALT HOLD on the top of the A/P panel. Make sure the IAS-OFF-ALT HOLD switch is in the off position (It should be already) and the aircraft will then climb and level out to the selected height. Want to hold any altitude then flick the switch to ALT HOLD. Note: that to change the pitch (climb or descend) you have to OFF the ALT HOLD first. The pitch is analog so you have to be aware that it won't go back to dead centre when leveling off, It seems to wander around, in that you set it correctly on the straight and level, you could however be descending down (or up) a little. The pitch is also a little big in its click settings as well, A click up or down and you are going 400ft, a second click is nearer 2000ft in pitch, you really need more intermediate settings to get a finer pitch adjustment. but overall the pitch system is excellent in just turn the knob (ALT HOLD off) and up or down you go... You have to click on a separate switch to activate the heading mode, and the Flight Director (FLT-DIR) switch as well, then the aircraft will turn to the heading bug. you can adjust the heading bug on the A/P panel and on the heading instrument as well for ease of use... In fact it is good to note that most adjustments have two sets of manipulators, arrows and curves and both work fine to what you like to use best. The VOR needle will note your direction and the distance is shown in the lower display. The aircraft will climb very easily but don't over stress the engines (they will burn out), keep everything well with in the green or with just a little yellow if required on the dials. As noted you don't need to stress the aircraft even while it is still quite heavy. I am flying quite high at FL350 and only 500ft under the service ceiling, That will cost me a little in a fuel penalty, but still better than the stronger winds just below. At altitude the aircraft is nice and clean everywhere (OHP is nice and blank) and I only have to watch the navigation points. The route took me down the east coast of Mexico as far as Corpus Christi. The Boeing 737-200 could not operate over water as there was no ETOPS (Extended range Twin Operations) allowed in the 60's and 70's in fact only one B732 was made certifiable. most 2-engined jets were restricted by the 60-minute rule. So I kept a visual sight to the coast all the way down before heading out to cross the coast at Campeche. Liveries You get seven liveries with the aircraft and unlike the B727 there will be no livery packs for the B732. A paintkit is coming. All liveries are excellent, but a few more American based liveries would have been nice... The Westjet is the best on the aircraft, the KLM is good as well. Also I checked and there was no hull fatigue cracks on the Aloha... so you are safe there. Night-lighting The cockpit lighting in HDR is gorgeous and yet you only have two adjusters in behind the dials and a flood up high. But you can find that perfect lighting setting and just the dials for landing in the dark. There are two fully adjustable spot lights overhead either side of the OHP. Turn on at night with the switches by the captain left side you can illuminate almost anything, the lighting detailing and reflection is amazingly good. Beacon, navigation, tail (logo) and strobe lighting is very good, but the cabin windows are dark and not lit making the aircraft a black hole at night, FlyJSim says this will be fixed in the update. Landing at Cancun You have to watch your speed on the descent. Pulling back the throttles means losing the power, but the aircraft will still gather speed as it descends. so allow for a period of space to get the speed corrected just under 200knts before your final approach. Yes you can use the speed-brakes but most pilot's pride themselves on not doing so, however sometimes you have no choice if you stay at the cruising altitude to long. The speed can be controlled though but don't expect it to recover until the aircraft is absolutely level again, and then the speed falls off quickly. You will again find the handling of the aircraft to your wishes while manoeuvring the aircraft though the turn to the heading of the airport and switch the A/P back on to use the near perfect VOR alignment to the runway for Cancun MMUN's runway 12R. Be careful though as RWY12L is noted and displayed, but it does not exist in reality? So don't select that one unless you want to land on the grass. Be careful of the speedbrake arm as it doesn't click into a position, only a green light on the panel shows you it is armed. Autobrakes are set to MED. Coming in close to the airport I recheck my land vRef card at 30º flap I can use 126knts, which is very slow... As the flaps go down each notch you need to work the throttles to keep the aircraft from not going into the stall while still losing off the speed. I settled at 130knts going into the ILS system and the really slow approach allows you the one thing you never get in big jets... time. One thing noticeable was that it was also in the daylight back at Dallas are the strong light reflections from the panel. Here on approach with the setting sun behind me some parts of the panel were blanked out, it is authentic no doubt, but it makes you work just that a little bit harder. At 130knts your ride over the runway keys is very slow and the B732 giving you all the time in the world to position the aircraft down on the tarmac right where you want it. No autoland here either, so watch that float. Those wonderful clamshell engine reverser doors bang into place and start the pushing out thrust to slow your speed, but they are not nowhere near as powerful as today's powerful reversers, so don't rely totally on them to slow you down. Power off and you are in the pace taxi mode and clean up the aircraft ready for the exit to the taxiway. X-Plane's HDR lighting is great on the ground. Strobes, strobe brightly and red and green nav lights illuminate the runway, you have four landing lights that can all be turn on with a flick of a small panel behind all the switches. there are also taxiway turning lights and a turning front wheel position taxi light. All lights illuminate the areas around the aircraft to making taxiing at night one of the best and easiest yet. (hard to do in X-Plane) only the RWY turn taxi-lighting is a little dim at the source, the actual lighting is however fine. A taxi to the bay and the flight distance was 1114nm, Fuel was getting low as well with that high altitude at just over 5000lbs left. But a shutdown and connection to EXT Power and the aircraft was ready for the morning return to KDFW. Summary The Boeing 732 will be certainly compared to the FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series. If you liked the B727 then you will certainly want the B732 and you won't be disappointed. In quality and detail they are exactly the same. The B727 was a bit of a drama queen, but then that is what you really loved about the aircraft. The B732 is a more neutral flying aircraft and is really more composed in balance compared to its bigger sibling. The B732 feels smaller than the B727 and in that context you may feel your not getting as much aircraft even though you are paying less (there was three variants as well for the B727 with the full series). But that will be missing the point. there is really not much to slip between both aircraft, They would really depend on your mood in that if you want to wrestle an aircraft (B727) or if you would just want a good no-nonsense aircraft (B732) that is very nice to fly over a continental distance, and both have a time and a place and both aircraft hark back to an era in that when aircraft were in a period of a glorious adventure and breaking aviation records. If you have flown the B727 then you will easily slip into the left or right seat of the B732 and feel right at home. If you are new to these FlyJSim 60's era aircraft, then yes there is a bit of a system's and operation's learning curve, but the results are well worth the effort. All aircraft systems including: Air systems - Anti-Ice - Autopilot(SP77) - Com/Nav radios - Electrical - Fire protection - Hydraulics - Fuel - Weather radar - Warning systems and cockpit call outs are fully active. There are a few more benefits with the B732, the Sperry Autopilot is a gem to use and not hidden away behind the throttles (B727) but right there where it should be on the glareshield. The lighting (except for no cabin lighting?) is excellent and the whole aircraft is so well put together in every area. You don't get a lot of extra features with FlyJSim aircraft, but you do get quality and great flying machines. And the Boeing is certainly a great if not a sensational aircraft to fly and great overall value. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Boeing 732 TwinJet from FlyJSim update is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Boeing 732 TwinJet - Price is US$47.00 Installation and documents: Download is 294.40meg and the aircraft is deposited in the "Heavy Aircraft" X-Plane folder at 381.80 meg and requires a key-code for activation. Note: If you have purchased the xCIVA navigation package it goes in the B732 aircraft "plugin" folder and not in the X-Plane plugin folder... There are three documents covering the aircraft: -Designed by FlyJSim (Jack Skieczius and Joe Vermeulen) Developer Site: FlyJSim Dev Support : FlyJSim Support Small note : in that the actual review was conducted in X-Plane version 10.25, I also flew the aircraft in the b10.30b1 to check for any differences (there was none and the frame-rate was excellent in both versions) a few of the images however were taken in b10.30b1 to check out the clouds... In frame-rate it is worth noting that if you switch off the "draw per pixel lighting" which highlights textures you will gain 30frames!. The aircraft will look slightly plainer outside, but 30frames is still 30frames... And yes I know that Southwest Airlines fly from Dallas Love Field and not KDFW, but there is sadly no KDAL scenery in X-Plane? _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review By Stephen Dutton 30th May 2014 Copyright (2014) : X-PlaneReviews 2014 Technical Requirements: Windows, MAC or Linux X-Plane 10.20 or higher - 32 and 64 bit compatible. X-Plane 9 is not supported Recommended: 1+ GB of VRAM, and 8+ GB of system memory Current version: 1.0 ( v1.1405.1025 ) - Last updated May 28th 2014 Review System Specifications: Computer System: - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27” - 6 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb Software: - Mac OS Mavericks 10.9.2 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.25 (final) - Hi rez planet textures from ISDG - Hi-Res Runway textures by Jack Skieczius Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle Scenery - KDFW - Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport by Brian Godwin (X-Plane.org) - MMUN - Cancun International Airport Mexico by 5171 (X-Plane.org)
    2 points
  49. Aircraft Review : MiG-29 Fulcrum by Colimata Sorties : Frankfurt Hahn EDFH Created as a Cold War intercepter, the Mikoyan MiG-29 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: "Fulcrum") was a direct Soviet reference to combat the new American fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. Known as a Fourth Generation fighter, It was really a bit of a third generation as well as it had no fly-by-wire or flight protection control. It was built in conjunction with the Sukhoi Su-27 (Flanker) and although slightly out manoeuvred by the F-15, The Mig-29 was certainly above the F-15. The western Allies found this fact out after the end of the Cold War In 1997, when the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft under the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program. Fourteen were MiG-29Ss. And the Western counterparts were quite shocked to find out how effective the aircraft was in air combat training. It had formidable armaments on fitted the MiG-29 which includes a single GSh-30-1 30 mm cannon in the port wing root. This originally had a 150-round magazine, which was then reduced to 100 rounds in later variants. Original production MiG-29B aircraft cannot fire the cannon when carrying a centerline fuel tank as it blocks the shell ejection port. This issue was corrected in the MiG-29S and later versions. Three pylons are provided under each wing (four in some variants), for a total of six (or eight). The inboard pylons can carry either a 1,150 liter (300 US gal) fuel tank, one Vympel R-27 (AA-10 "Alamo") medium-range air-to-air missile, or unguided bombs or rockets. Some Soviet aircraft could carry a single nuclear bomb on the port inboard station. The outer pylons usually carry R-73 (AA-11 "Archer") dogfight missiles, although some users still retain the older R-60 (AA-8 "Aphid"). A single 1,500-litre (400 US gal) tank can be fitted to the centerline, between the engines. The baseline MiG-29B has a Phazotron RLPK-29 (Radiolokatsyonnui Pritselnui Kompleks) radar fire control system which includes the N019 (Sapfir 29; NATO: 'Slot Back') look-down/shoot-down coherent pulse-Doppler radar and the Ts100.02-02 digital computer. Tracking range against a fighter-sized target was only about 70 km (38 nmi) in the frontal aspect and 35 km (19 nmi) in the rear aspect. The MiG-29 is powered by two widely spaced Klimov RD-33 turbofan engines, each rated at 50.0 kN (11,240 lbf) dry and 81.3 kN (18,277 lbf) in afterburner. The space between the engines generates lift and thereby reducing effective wing loading to improve maneuverability. The engines are fed through wedge-type intakes fitted under the leading-edge extensions (LERXs), which have variable ramps to allow high-Mach speeds. As an adaptation to rough-field (gravel) operations, the main air inlet can be closed completely and alter using the auxiliary air inlet on the upper fuselage for takeoff, landing and low-altitude flying, preventing ingestion of ground debris. Sharing its origins in the original PFI requirements issued by TsAGI, the MiG-29 has broad aerodynamic similarities to the Sukhoi Su-27, however, there are some notable differences. The MiG-29 has a mid-mounted swept wing with blended leading-edge root extensions (LERXs) swept at around 40°; there are swept tailplanes and two vertical fins that are mounted on booms outboard of the engines. Automatic slats are mounted on the leading edges of the wings; they are four-segment on early models and five-segment on some later variants. Situated on the trailing edge there are maneuvering flaps and wingtip ailerons. The MiG-29 has a ferry range of 1,500 km without external fuel tanks, and 2,100 km with one external tank. The internal fuel capacity of the original MiG-29B is 4,365 litres distributed between six internal fuel tanks, four in the fuselage and one in each wing. First Flight was on the 6 October 1977, with entry into service in July 1983. Most MiG-29s have now been refurnished as multirole fighters capable of performing a number of different operations, and are commonly outfitted to use a range of air-to-surface armaments and precision munitions. The aircraft was exported to 32 operators with India being the largest non-block country with 87 aircraft. The Luftwaffe inherited 24 aircraft from its reunited East-German cousin after the end of the Cold War. Two Mig-29's famously crashed while doing an air display at 1993 Royal International Air Tattoo (UK), Both pilots survived. The Mig-29 is still in production and has yet to be replaced. The Sukhoi PAK FA is still a stillborn project and another is the MiG 1.44 demonstrator which failed in the 1990s. Over 1600 Mig-29's in various variants have been produced. MiG-29 Fulcrum by Colimata Flown here is the updated 1.5 version of the MiG-29 Fulcrum by Colimata. This release was in May 2013 and includes a completely redesigned Instrument panel(s), New low speed flight model, AoA (Angle of Attack) protection, Breathing cockpit sounds, New Flaps, New normal (exterior) maps, Hideable stick, XP10 lighting and Autopilot features and forward HUD. The extensive design by Colimata is very good, with the basic shape and details of the Mig-29 in design is first rate. These Fourth Gen aircraft are extremely beautiful aircraft for the deadly killers they are with their pronounced high-arcing cockpit to the low wide twin-set engine and twin-tail layout. Close up inspection shows great detail but many items (all over the aircraft) are untextured or use the basic 3d colouring to cover the item. Like the Landing Gear (front and main) are very well done but here are still in their 3d light Grey. But as noted the detailing is very good with piping and struts carefully modeled. The tyres are excellent close up but boxy at a distance, the green inner wheels are however excellent and very Russian in-design. The rear engine outlets have also great 3d design inside and the cones contracting actions (when putting the power down) work with great authenticity. The panels, Wings and tails are all very good with great detailing, but you will need a high texture setting to get the most out of them, and the overall finish is very glossy. Fighter interceptors don't like the sun-shining off them for the obvious reasons... It can get you killed. The Mig-29 comes with a Virtual 3d cockpit (VC) that is extensive in layout. The opening canopy has three actions : Open, Taxi and Jettison. Sitting inside the aircraft and your view is dominated by the huge HUD (Head Up Display). The unit is highly configurable and effective with 8 modes to chose from : Nav mode, Radar Mode, Infrared Mode, Close Combat Mode, Helm Mode, Gun Mode, Recticle Mode and forward HUD that puts you directly into the action. The cockpit is fully functional but not very Russian. All instrument detailing is in English, It certainly helps enormously in helping you to find your way around the cockpit items, but you wish it was a little more Cyrillic in operation for authenticity. At first glace it looks quite complicated but it isn't. Most functions are grouped together in panels and if you learn where the panels are located then they are quite easy to find. This is also helped by the very prominent set Checklist right in front of you. It is tabbed and very easy to sign off each item as you swing left or right setting up the aircraft. One run through the checklist and I was ready for flight, when done just click it out of sight... Brilliant. You can set up a flightplan with the pop-up standard Xplane fms. This again is clickable on or off in your view, a clickable GPS data screen is also available. The main aircraft (standard six) instruments are organised within a white line to separate them from the complex set of dials set out on the main forward panel. Two interesting instruments are the AoA and G indicator and the TAS Mach gauge. both are invaluable at high speed and with the AoA at low speeds. The aircraft is very sensitive to CoG (Centre of Gravity) settings and you need to make sure the setting is correct to get the best supersonic cruise and at takeoff and landing balances. As the machine does not have flight protection (fly-by-wire) you need a gauge to note the limits of the aircraft to avoid (dangerous) stalls and spins. The Panel is also dominated by the RADAR DISPLAY - NAV SCREEN. This display provides Nav and weather Information, and you can select map+radar+weather - map + radar - map (Nav). The visual was confusing at first but then I worked out that the aircraft is situated at the bottom of the screen and not at the centre-cross line(s) and after that it was easy. Standard Xplane weather and Nav points are used. The radar is great when hunting down a foe as it appears in orange if you use the Xplane Aircraft & Situations "Chase" feature, using the radar and the RWR Radar warning receiver that points out the direction to the enemy. The good news is your aircraft is far faster and more deadly than the poor foe you are chasing. The panel here is so called dirty? and the textures were upgraded in v1.5. A look at a real cockpit of a Mig-29 and it looks almost pristine. You have the option to put in the choice of "nearly clean - no dirt - weaker spots" textures if you want them. Side panels provide the most switches for the aircraft's functions. Left side is your throttle, Flap, Fuel, chute release, cabin and oxygen pressure. The oxygen switched on creates a breathing effect sound that drives you nuts after 20 min in the air. The manual says it can be turned off but it annoyingly doesn't work, You can however switch the .WAV files in the aircraft folder to finally get some sanity back. Right Side Is Electrical, Systems, APU start, Transponder, Canopy Jettison and all the aircraft lighting except for the taxi/landing lights which are on the main panel. There is an excellent Telelight or warning panel on the right upper side with a AEKRAN (Failure) display on the main panel. The navpanel (Radio) will mean you can pre-set 3 VOR (DME) 3 NDB and an extra ILS (VOR(DME). It is tricky to use and in some cases I couldn't get the system to accept my VOR (2) frequency Above the Left panel forward is the Autopilot. (A/P) it is pretty basic, in that it is just a heading and altitude hold, and there is a rudder damper and APP (Approach) button for using the ILS. The joystick (by clicking) can be hidden and over all the cockpit and functions are very useable and realistic. The gauges are reflective and well created, some are slightly confusing to use until you settle in there for a while. Time on the machine helps in familiarity. When not flying the Mig-29 you can (By pressing a zone by the left side of the canopy) deploy a ladder, Chocks and flight tags Flying the Mig-29 Fulcrum There are two aircraft versions to choose from, Standard and Armed (both Xp9.7 and Xp10 compatible). And both are flown here as the standard is basically a clean aircraft and the armed is loaded to the teeth. There is another two versions (lite) for X-plane 9&10 that uses less frame-rate and a standard 2d cockpit layout. I never had any frame-rate issues with the 3d cockpit version and there is a render setup panel available in the manual. The Armed version carries 4 Vympel R-73 / AA-11 "Archer" Infer guided missiles and 2 Vympel R-27 / AA-10 "Alamo" radar guilded (fire and forget) missiles. External fuel tank (dropable) is 1.500 lit. The standard GSh-30 30mm 2,000 round cannon is on both aircraft. Engines running the taxi speed is very easy but slow. You keep the speed low to counter the braking, in that to touch your brake handle and the aircraft will simply bounce badly (high) on the nose. I noticed in the thread notes to adjust you CoG to counter this effect. Otherwise the aircraft will trundle nicely all around the airport, unless on hard turning when the front wheel does not completely turn inline with the radius?... Notice the Engine ramps are down and the flaps open above the intakes to stop dirt being inserted in the low lying intakes. On power up they automatically open up for the required bigger chunks of air. You don't need any flap for takeoff, Someone noted on the thread that all Fulcrum's use flap, But I didn't need it on a light aircraft (No armaments), But it helped if you are very heavy. You don't use your afterburners either as that is just wasting precious fuel that is required later to go supersonic. Just under the afterburner ignition is enough to make you go skywards very quickly. The aircraft is very natural in the air. You can position it easily with lovely sweeping turns (but watch that turn stall if you go too slow). The Mig-29 powers quickly through the air. There are 3 large rearward mirrors above you that can be distracting. Going low and fast is easy with the stick, and you soon get into the flow of the aircraft and find yourself into a nice groove. There is the option of the Forward HUD that puts outside the front of the aircraft for extreme low runs that can be exhilarating if you love that sort of thing (yes I do!). In fact all the different variations of the HUD system are excellent for flying or killing. The control surfaces are excellent and the leading edges will pop out for you to get those tight powered turns to the foe. So this is a supremely nice aircraft to fly, the protected fly-by-wire aircraft can certainly go more closer to the limits and are more agile. But this aircraft is a more natural machine and it flies that way, It could be noted today as a pilots aircraft and not a technical tour-de-force. You can certainly see how deadly the Mig-29 aircraft could be in the right capable hands. It is best to set up your Joystick as a trigger to fire the cannon (I usually have reverse thrust set on the joystick trigger), and the space bar is used to fire the missiles in sequence. A sound barrier graphic appears as you hit the .m number and vortices appear when you hit certain speeds in turns or steep climbs. You can like this sort of feature or not. For me it depends on how well they are done and here they are middle of the road. One clever feature is the eject. Blow the canopy and then pull the red eject handles and you are out of the aircraft, which then disappears into the distance (arrowed). You then swing slowly down to earth, only a restart will give you your aircraft back again. You can also learn the "Cobra". (pdf included) that is a stall manoeuvre that takes skill and a steady hand to complete - It virtually sits the aircraft on its tail. Mach! To get into the best speed zone I flew up to 37,000 feet and then hit the afterburner to go supersonic. You need your CoG to be pretty good to get the balance right to get to the Outer Limits. But you are now seriously moving across the landscape. Using the AP is the best way to hold the aircraft steady at this speed or getting to the higher .M numbers as any slight wobble suddenly becomes a serious wobble and the aircraft feels very vulnerable under you. You can fly by hand of course but you really need to hold that stick steady. Using the afterburners can use your fuel at an astounding rate so you have to conserve fuel to get home or use the speed wisely. Turning off the afterburners and your speed quickly drops under the .M. You can turn now, but only in a very wide arc. Pull the throttle to zero and you are still heading forward like a bullet. The speed is dropping but you will be half way across Europe or into Russia before you can get to a lower altitude. The air-brake is in two settings and the first will get your nose down. In fact the air-brake is your best friend on this aircraft because at even lower speeds in neutral the aircraft holds a lot of speed. To get the wheels down and use the single flap setting for landing you need to use the air-brake in both settings in popping it up and down, It is like in trying to brake a runaway train. The air-brake is highly effective so now down on the lower speeds and you have to be careful not to stall your speed, again I have the air-brakes set up on my throttle system buttons and that works very well. Colimata has done a lot of work to get the lower speeds close to the numbers and the aircraft feels stable on approach if you get the speeds just right. Once on the runway you have to slow the aircraft down. Colimata has recreated the parachute. It still works with the default Xplane keyboard setting of the default parachute of which I approve of for ease of use. Once you have run off all the speed then ditch the parachute and the mission is over. Lighting and HDR The cockpit lighting for panel and overhead is fully adjustable. But there is a marked difference between using the HDR feature on or off. With HDR off you can't get the main panel to lower the backlight, with HDR "on" (third image) then that lower style spot lighting is available. Without doubt with the HDR function switched on the lighting is much more effective and the good news is it that it doesn't come at too much of a frame-rate kill. Overall the cockpit lighting is excellent. On the aircraft with HDR "on" the spots are behind the lighting fixtures. On the standard mode you have the small blobs of light. Taking off (or landing) in HDR and the lighting is excellent with three separate spots of broad lighting. HDR 'on" and the rear afterburners and the rear exhaust gases look great and authentic with the HDR shimmer effect. Conclusions The Mikoyan MiG-29 by Colimata is an exciting machine, certainly if you like going very, very fast. For carrying out missions or shooting at other aircraft it is like its real counterpart in being highly effective. Overall the detailing is excellent, but I would like just one more version to clear up a few odds and ends. The landing gear needs textures (and the steering fixed), and so does the inside of the front engine intakes. The Mig is too glossy for me, but that is a personal choice. A few more slightly reflective details of texture work (oxygen gauge/Hydraulic - Pneu gauge is at odds with the rest of the panel in quality) in the cockpit with some Cyrillic lettering would make it perfect. And even again it still needs to even a little more dirty and used. I'm not to crazy about the yellow afterburner glow either... it looks too average for an aircraft of this scale and price. In a features wish list it could use an GPU and fuel tanker. That aside you get really great value and an amazing flying machine for your money. The cockpit is fully functional and if you feel like topping it all you can then eject yourself out of the aircraft. Four versions and in both Xp9 and Xp10 is available for "standard" and "lite" aircraft, and you have options on normal image maps and different panel textures. Sounds are all round excellent (except for the annoying breathing) and are created by Artymowicz Aviation and the 14 liveries (listed below) cover almost every operator and an acrobatic version. The checklist is a great feature in setting up the aircraft ready for flight and the Manual (In Engilsh & German) is very comprehensive and easy to follow. Like many aircraft it will take time to learn the Fulcrum in depth to get the very best out of its flying abilities. It is easy to learn as already noted, but you will need time to be really as one with the machine. The more time you have on the airframe then the more you come to like it. Setting up missions will allow you use the aircraft to its full potential and certainly in the high-speed seek and destroy mode. Overall the Mig-29 is an amazing aircraft. And as good as any interceptor you can get in Xplane. Liveries Documents: Yes! the Mig-29 Fulcrum is now Available from the X-Plane.OrgShop : MiG-29 Fulcrum Price is US$24.95 At the point of press of this review the Mig-29 Fulcrum is on sale at only US$19.95 - Which is amazing value! Installation : Download is 301.80mb, and installation size in your "Fighters" Folder is 446.30mb. It is certainly recommended to set your key and Joystick settings for flying a fighter in - Cannon, missile and chaff. I also recommend to have the Air-brake function set at your fingertips for ease of use and for easy control of the speed. All the settings required are very well documented in the excellent manual.There are various other variations of the panel in nearly "clean - no dirt - weaker spots" textures that are stored in the "customize" folder, here also you can change over the normal maps and change the checklist over to German Support Forum : Colimata MIG-29 Fulcrum Review By Stephen Dutton 8th January 2014 ©copyright 2014 : X-Plane Reviews Technical Requirements: Windows, MAC or Linux. 512Mb VRAM X-Plane 9 or X-Plane 10 fully updated - 32 and 64 bit compatible (The store will deliver the v10 version. If you need the v9 version please send an email to [email protected] once you place your order) Current version : 1.05 (last updated May, 2013) Review System Specifications: Computer System: - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27” - 6 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb Software: - Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.25 (final) Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle Scenery - EDFH - Frankfurt Hahn - Aerosoft (.orgStore
    2 points
  50. Ramzzess Aircraft and Phillipp Munzel have announced the imminent release of the Boeing 757-Series. Their Boeing 777-Series was the aircraft of the year in 2012/2013, So will the Boeing 757-Series be the same for 2013 and 2014? There is no doubt that the B757 is one of the most anticipated aircraft in X-Plane at the moment. If you already have the Boeing 777, then you would already know what to expect in detail and depth of systems... Officially licensed By the Boeing © Corporation Accurate dimensions based on 2D and 3D drawings supplied by Boeing © For X-Plane 10 64bit- Mac, Windows and Linux The Cockpit is comprehensive and highly detailed in systems and functionality. With a fully integrated FMC that is separated for use on the Pilot or Co-Pliot stations. The menu and Checklist system is also comprehensive and excellent in detail. Highlights are - Easy settings for aircraft functions - Full compliment of ground vehicles including Pushback Truck) - Custom failures - Brilliant cabin announcements (PA) - Opening Cabin Doors - virtual cockpit with crisp details - Dynamic reflections - Custom 3D sounds. The comprehensive checklist has the feature of leading you through the correct procedure of switches... Is just brilliant. Detailing (below) is also highly visible and outstanding in quality. Special Effects include - Aircraft Fire and Rain (Window) effects - Active window blinds and a fully detailed cabin. Price will be US$59.95 for the standard RB211-535E4 Release Version. Liveries will be US$1 per livery in packs of 10. Four liveries with the release version are British Airways (classic), Air France, Lufthansa and the Boeing House. There is no doubt this is an outstanding aircraft and once released X-Plane Reviews will give you a thorough detailed review of the aircraft and its systems. Some features: Detailed and functional FMS - Works like the real 757 FMS Advanced auto-pilot Super high resolution 3D cockpit with every switch functional Multilayer dynamic reflections on all glass objects Spatial rain simulation with high detail Very detailed passenger cabin graphics (kitchen and toilets) Inn-cockpit custom sounds 3D stereo sound system for the engines In flight announcements Interactive communication with the crew (fault reporting) Ground vehicles and push back track – all operational Very detailed exterior modeling with extensive use of normal maps Blue-out and other visual and auditory reactions to the situation Additional eye-candy features: real working oxygen masks both in cockpit and cabin, dynamic window shatters that react to sunlight etc.. Use of particles to generate smoke, fire, sparks…. Detailed and deep simulation of almost every system in the real aircraft A multistage custom failure system with in-browser instructor’s console Ability to fix failure by following proper procedure Interflight failure and maintenance system – something will spill over to the next flight Custom menus for loading/unloading fuel and passengers, calling for pushback… Ability to customize the plane with winglets and set other options to be saved or default A fully interactive electronic checklist with all procedures programmed in Auto mode for the checklist where the AI automatically preforms the procedures and the pilot only watches and checks Tutorial mode where the pilot follows the AI’s instructions and visual aids Stephen Dutton 2nd November 2013
    2 points
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