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Updated Aircraft Review : Cessna 172M Skyhawk DGS Series v1.1 by Thranda Design I'm three thousand feet above County Clare, Ireland. Dribbling along nicely at 130 knts. Life is easy, free... carefree. I'm in the "Skyhawk", the Cessna 172M, the most popular aircraft ever built with 44,000 units constructed, and is still going strong. The C172 is popular because it is just that right perfect fit for it's main role... pilot training. The C152 is good for training as well, but is also a little too small, the C172 came out of the C170, but that aircraft was a taildragger, were as the C172 has the Tri-cycle undercarriage, it also has a slightly more powerful engine 160 hp (120 kW) (C152 has a 110 hp (82 kW) engine, so it was the follow-on larger and faster aircraft... and it hit that perfect spot all round, a sort of Volkswagon Beetle for the air. The C172 was first flown in 1955. Part of the reason it is very good as a training aircraft, is the visual outlook from the aircraft. Being a high-fixed wing, the view internally to the external is very, very good. It wasn't always like this as the earlier 172's, as it had a had a "fastback" rear cabin with no rear window and also featured a "square" fin (tail) design. 1963 172D model introduced the lower rear fuselage with a wraparound "Omni-Vision" rear window and a one-piece windshield. On the 172K the rear windows were slightly enlarged again by 16 square inches (103 cm2). Although a Cessna 172, in later life it became known only as the "Skyhawk" and the 172 moniker was dropped from the name. -Update v1.1- Less than a month on from the original release of the Cessna 172M, here is a significant update to the aircraft in a Float and Amphibian variant. The changes to v1.1 are now all noted in this revised and updated review. This Cessna 172M is another Cessna from Thranda Design, after the Cessna Caravan and the later Cessna U206G Stationair, you could easily confuse this C172M with the U206G, but although they share the same bodyline they are completely different aircraft for different roles. Modeling is of course superlative. Thranda quality in extreme detail and fittings. As noted the Skyhawk 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 C172M 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 load of old 2(K)or 4(K) texture sheets. It shows of course, but lately I have found Thranda aircraft to be incessantly dark. Externally and internally with the current development process, with an emphasis of the blackness shadow areas, however hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision is very, very appreciable, you can spend hours going over the finer details of the aircraft. The dihedral of the wing is 1° 44′ and the total wing area is 174 square feet (16.17 square meters). The horizontal stabilizer span is 11 feet, 4 inches (3.429 meters). So it's a nice clean wing as seen here. The M model is important as it was the first drooped wing leading edge for improved low-speed handling. This was marketed as the "camber-lift" wing. The 172K model, introduced those sported fiberglass, downward-shaped, conical wing tips , as seen here. The 172L, sold during 1971 and 1972, Cessna replaced the main landing gear legs (which were originally flat spring steel) with tapered, tubular steel gear legs. The new gear had a width that was increased by 12 in (30 cm). The new tubular gear was lighter, but required aerodynamic fairings to maintain the same speed and climb performance as experienced with the flat steel design. These legs have been well reproduced here by Thranda. Rear legs are fixed, but the nose wheel comes with an oleo strut and scissor-or torque links, it has a 15º degree adjustable turn. Tyres are so detailed that you can read the name "Goodyear Flight Specials", and there is great wear and tear on the hubs and rims. Overall excellent. Glass is very good, as usual with Thranda... here it comes with a nice green tint, always lovely reflections and depth to the thickness, there are also the nice motley glass marks and scratches, some even distracting, like the lines lower left windscreen. Thranda comes up with some really interesting cabin interiors. In the Skyhawk it is the most unusual yet? The U206G had a nice cream and blue fitout, the Islander BN-2 had odd white seats. Here you get a light grey cabin with green highlights on the seats, lower instrument panel and side panels, seats are green with darker green inserts and even the adjustable blinds are green... it's all a bit Shrek? The side panels though are totally exquisite with the highlighted squares, and the cabin roof is dirty and worn with detail, beautifully done. Everywhere you look you see the aged wear, door posts, window surrounds, wing end plates.... all so well done. Instrument panel has a plastic cover plate (70's) design. But the DGS system is still an option here in a dynamic panel, the "Dynamic Generation Series" or DGS, is a Thranda speciality feature that takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications. Avionics with the fixed panel include Garmin 340 Radio, Bendix/King KX 165 radios, Garmin GTX Transponder, S-Tec FiftyFive X Autopilot and Bendix/King KR87 ADF unit. A EDM 800 Engine Data Management system is also installed, and most pop out, as do almost 50 instruments! You can hide one or both of the Yokes, they also come in two styles "Classic" and "Modern". But the trim (pickles) on the modern yoke (shown) don't work with the yoke options. Lower instrument panel is the trim wheel and fuel selector (19 GAL per wing tank). The 172 is a very basic aircraft, but you have everything you need here. All oddments like ashtrays, in-wing air-vents work, as do both the side windows open.... and the glovebox/cubby opens to revel the Thranda development team. Lighting Like a lot on the C172, the lighting is quite basic. You have the option of having "Light Posts" on the instrument panel, ON or OFF. And they make a big difference on. The one lighting knob has two adjustments, the panel lighting and the overhead red (dome) light. The red overhead light is quite powerful, and baths the cabin nicely, to the rear is a single large cabin light, its bright, but not very effective in the rear? Externally I really like the light spray around the twin Taxi/Landing lights, Navigation light/strobes and a single tail beacon is all just basic lighting. Flying the Skyhawk The Skyhawk is noted as "The Cessna 172 is arguably the most elegant compromise in the history of aviation.” A nice quote and not far from the truth, as the aircraft is perfect in the "right size, feels right" category. Once trimmed, the Skyhawk is a very neutral and balanced aircraft on the central axis, again to make it easy for pilot training, interesting is to do tight turns, very heavy degree turns and you will need very little back pressure on the yoke to keep the same altitude... .... the aircraft will literally "Turn on a dime", stand on it's wing, as you twirl the aircraft around the sky... certainly any aircraft will do this sort of semi-aerobatic manoeuvres, but it is the ease and cleanliness of the actions that make the aircraft so easy to control, and this is a General Aviation machine here, a heavy one by aerobatic standards. It's great fun, you can understand the love for the machine from not only newly born pilots, but from the professional aspect as well. Unlike the C152, the instruments and controls are not totally in the basic, basic category in here. You have your VOR Pointers (again great for point to point training) and for doing circuits with ILS central alignments. Performance of the C172M is good; Cruise speed is 122 kn (140 mph, 226 km/h), with a never exceed speed of 163 kn (188 mph, 302 km/h) (IAS) . The range is 696 nmi (801 mi, 1,289 km) with 45 minute reserve, 55% power, at 12,000 feet (3,700 m) and the service ceiling is 13,500 ft (4,100 m). Time to return to Kerry (EIKY). The Flaps indicator is quite buried (Fixed Panel) right lower, hard to see, settings here are 0º-10º-20º-30º-40º, a lot of adjustment, also they are continuous in operation, but really great for slow speed approaches with plenty of lift and support. But the flap support is great for novice trainee pilots, it gives them time to adjust the aircraft ready for the approach, minimises mistakes. I found this out by dropping the flaps to 40º at the start of the EIKY Rwy 26 ILS approach (108.70 (IKR), then slowly approaching at 70 knts until the point of descent... .... adjusting the speed down to 63 knts, and you will get a nice 300 fpm descent into the runway, smooooth and clean, if a little slow, but again great for practising your approach skills, as the C172M allows you to do this. (note; Rate of climb is 715 ft/min (3.63 m/s) or usually about a 500 fpm). I feel too complacent, as i'm now too high, so an adjustment to 500 fpm is required, but the descent speed stays low enough around 70 knts to pull off the manoeuvre... ... in reality you wouldn't get away with this steep approach, but I feel totally in control of the Skyhawk. 200 ft above terra firma, I pull back the yoke, up goes the nose and I smooth out the descent pitch, the C172M responds perfectly, speed runs off, descent rate slightly climbs, and I'm soon in the perfect touchdown flare. 60 knts on touch... stall is a low 47 kn (54 mph, 87 km/h) (power off, flaps down), and I'm rolling down the centre line, too easy! Again you can see why the Skyhawk is perfect for learner pilots, it's so sure (if a little too safe, that it can distract you into complacency), but the feedback from the controls and airframe are excellent, highly recommended for practising skills or circuits, of which is the aircraft's Modus operandi. It's nice to fly an aircraft so perfect. At taxi speed and idle throttle the familiar "knock, knock" from the Lycoming O-320-E2D is well heard from the cabin, all sounds are perfect here with high-fidelity, multi-track FMOD2 sounds, there is aural simulation of multiple layers of engine and prop sounds, depending on camera angle, distance, atmospheric conditions, doppler as well... well everything you need for a great aural experience, Thranda are good at details like this, and it's important to the overall joy of the aircraft. And it all works to the last splutter of the prop at shutdown (as also the excellent start sounds) are perfect... "perfect", that word comes a lot around the Skyhawk here! There is no doubt on how much I like this Skyhawk, but debatable on still which is the really very best one? I totally loved the Careando Skyhawk with a G1000 avionics suite, flew that 172 everywhere, there are glass instrument options here as well as we shall see, so time will tell if the Thranda Skyhawk can take the title away from the older version? Added in to v1.1. are the optional Float and Amphibian Float Versions. Float design and detail is exceptional, and anyone who has had an earlier Thranda Amphibian (C208B) will know about the high quality here. Float shape and modeling is about perfect, as are the the front strut and main wheel assemblies. Rear rudders are controlled by a push/pull lever left centre console to raise or lower the twin fins... the undercarriage is controlled by the "Gear Advisory" panel right Instrument panel... there is the secondary pump lever between the seats for a manual upping or lowering of the wheels. Option of a "Float" version is also available... the detail is again absolutely "top notch". v1.1... Two other changes to the v1.1 update are the fixed Alt Static Air knob's Dataref, and now also enabled is WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) in the GPS units. 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; Electric Tug, Window and Instrument Panel Reflections on/off, Startup Running on/off (sets aircraft to full running mode), Chocks and Brakes on/off. 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. 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 Wheel chocks, Engine Inlet covers, wing pitot cover. One item not shown in the general menu panel is the front nose cowling removal. It's hard to do, but if you click the surround (arrowed) in the engine bay on the pop out menu, it will lift the nose cowling to reveal a fully modeled Lycoming O-320-E2D Engine, very nice it is as well. There is built in "Checklist" (lower right menu, arrowed), and very good it is. But also again changed back to a simple black on red graphic, with green cross-off lines. The Checklist can the moved and scaled anywhere on the screen, but the list can't be reset back again to just the red restart list? and so there are 14 separate pages of the list to uncheck? Menu - Liveries Second Menu option is "Liveries", there are two options here with the first being "PAINTED LIVERIES". There are altogether 8 liveries or two blank (DynamicLiveryResources/Thranda) and six designs, and all the liveries are of extremely high quality and creative flare with the package. 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 Islander, 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. 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 three RGB colours for that certain area, and the selected colour (here red) is shown in the square. You can also separately change the aircraft registration number, here I wanted an Irish Rego in EI-677. The Cessna logo can be added as well. When done you can "SAVE" or ADD the livery and then "APPLY" it to the aircraft. The conversion takes a few minutes with some weird screen changes, but the results are excellent and now the C172 is in your own livery design... If the custom livery does not load? then go to a PAINTED LIVERY, then load one close to the design you created, then go back and reload your custom dynamic livery... and it should now load correctly. A 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. Also changes can be made to Metal or Rough surfaces, this can be applied to any of the liveries. 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! v1.1... in the Float/Amphibian menu, you can also colour in the float design to your own preferences, or to match in with the aircraft fuselage design Menu - Weight/Bal The Skyhawk 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. Missing is the usual Thranda seat removable X option, as here you can only select the seat weight. Fuel can be added 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 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. Oddly there are no bags or luggage shown in the rear (behind the rear seat) luggage area like with most Thranda's with the C172M? But the usual two animated Pilot and front seat passenger are still in there when you adjust the seat weights above 36 kgs/80 Lbs. They both will also disappear if the electrical power is switched off and the chocks added. 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 as shown on the graph. For four passengers (with maybe a bag thrown in) then can you have your full tanks and the longer range and not go into the red. 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 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. Currently there are no plans for an Amphibian version of the C172M, but you never know. Menu - PANEL The sixth "PANEL" Tab option allows you to adjust or change the instruments and dials. First feature here is a new one to Thanda's Dynamic Panel... the selection of a "Molded Plastic Cover" panel, and to add in or takeaway the panels "Light Posts". (hint... nice on). The non-plastic cover look is a flat dark grey facia, actually very nice and the same as the U206G. Scroll the "Panel Preset" number to see all the three preset layouts. Preset 0 is the grey standard panel with the GNS 530, Preset 1 is the Molded Plastic Cover (top)... Preset 2 is the standard grey panel with the Bendix/King KX 165A radios... Preset 3 is the Aspen EFD 1000. 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 53 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 that instrument, or even swap the instruments around the panel to your liking. Here I have added in two instruments... A DME ranger and a PS Engineering Incorporated PM 1200 two place panel mount intercom. 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 /4). 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 the GNS 430/530 GPS units can be selected. But you have to save them, then do a restart to lock them in. The Reality XP GTN 750/650 Touch can also be installed if you have that external option as the 3d bezel is provided. The DGS system is clever and very 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 there ready, but not when you start/load the aircraft? Menu - MISC The Misc (Miscellaneous) page has four panels that cover External; Skis and Fairings. Internal; Yokes, Windows and Pilot options. Wheels; Tires and Mud Flaps. lower right is the DynaFeel. High quality designed "Skis" are available, and so are neat wheel "fairings" Tyres can be changes from "Regular" size, to the larger "Tundra" style. The larger tundra tyres work with the skis, but not with the fairing option. On the rear you can have "Mud Flaps", again they work with either regular or tundra tyre options. Yoke options include; "Classic" or the more upright "Modern"... I prefer the later upright yoke to the flatter earlier version. Door windows can be "Flat" or "Bubble" You can also swap around the pilots, in Male/Female, or Female/Male in the drivers seat. A nice touch is the change of clothing style with the change of seat position. "DynaFeel" on the right lower 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. v1.1... The Float/Amphibian MISC Menu is different. You still have the earlier Window options (Flat/Bubble), Pilot options and the DynaFeel. New options include a Cockpit V brace, and a Ventral Fin under the tail... ... You can Retract or Extend the rudders from the menu, also select either the "Float" or "Amphibian" variant. The "Slew Mode" only works on water, but it is excellent to move around or or to align the aircraft with a jetty. Links to both the excellent Support forum for the C172M by Thranda, and to download with the newly updated Skunkcrafts v3.0 Updater are also provided. __________________ Summary The "Skyhawk" Cessna 172M is the most popular aircraft ever built with 44,000 units constructed, and the airframe is still going strong. The reason is that simply the Skyhawk is the best ever or the most perfectly positioned aircraft for training and instructional purposes, mainly also for it’s reliable flight characteristics. 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 here... exceptional. In every area and detail, modeling, fine details, glass and the interior materials. Feature list is very high (clever) with adaptable weight and balance graph cabin seating and baggage options; Skis, Tundra Tyres, Mud Flaps, Wheel Fairings, Checklists, two Yoke options and Flat or Bubble windows. 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, pitot covers, removable engine cover (with detailed Lycoming O-320-E2D Engine) and tie-downs. 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. A new feature here is a standard "Molded Plastic Cover" panel, it sets the instruments in a solid form (so DGS can't be used), but it is more uniform in design... personally I like it a lot. X-Plane 12 dynamics are simply sensational here and a level above in feel and handling with those important C172 characteristics well founded, but also notable is the excellent sound package, in being very rattly lower and loopy in higher revolutions. Note that the Thranda C172 is X-Plane 12 only, there will be no X-Plane 11 version. Now updated to v1.1... the update includes both Float and Amphibian variants, fixed Alt Static Air knob's Dataref, and enabled WAAS in GPS units. Update is at no extra cost, and included in the package. Negatives? more slight inconveniences. Incessantly dark, inside and with the heavy shadows, makes the C172 hard work in the dark cockpit, not excessively bright in the simulator as well with heavy shadows. No saving of current liveries and custom options, means that every time you want to fly, it can take awhile to reset everything back to your previous (custom) choices. loading custom liveries can be tricky as well. Having the classic Cessna 172 in your virtual hanger is always a bonus, and a brilliant aircraft from Thranda Design is always a triple bonus. Hugely engineered to a high quality and all round exception detail, they are some of the best General Aviation aircraft in the X-Plane 12 Simulator... so basically here you have the best of all worlds. Deep down though is the exceptional performance and dynamics of the aircraft that are on display here, so take advantage of those skills and use the Cessna 172M to it's most profound devices.... Highly Recommended. _______________________________ Yes! the Cessna 172M Skyhawk DGS Series v1,1 by Thranda Design is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Cessna 172M Skyhawk DGS Series Price is US$39.95 (Currently on a pre-sale of US$29.95)... you can save:$10.00(25%)) Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 3 GB Current version 1.1 (September 15th 2023) Special features: Extremely high res textures (1700 pixels per meter). 8K textures. Includes Land, Float and Amphibian Float Versions FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel. Fully VR Compatible Interchangeable yoke styles: old fashioned and modern Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP 650 and GTN750) Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! Optional plastic molded cover for instruments Comes with 4 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface. Optional 3D light posts per instrument. Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically move along with the instruments, as you configure the panel. 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 337, the Islander, 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 9 traditionally painted liveries, all visible in a convenient pre-selection preview window. Ability to swap pilot/co-pilot figures Uses SkunkCrafts Updater (Now also available as a standalone app). Option to participate in Beta program, via checkbox in SkunkCrafts Updater. Excellent hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision. Fully modelled Lycoming O-320-E2D engine. 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, window reflections, instrument reflections, etc. 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. 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. Option to equip instruments with light posts Option to fit entire instrument panel with molded plastic cover with holes for the instruments Option to swap pilot and co-pilot Option to select different yoke styles DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you wish for the controls to react as a function of speed. Flight dynamics and systems: Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance with the help of multiple real-world active 172 pilots. This not only gives this aircraft the proper "feel", but also 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) Different sounds for front of plane than for back of plane 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 front and rear prop. At a distance, you hear overtones caused by turbulent air feeding into the rear prop. 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_C172M. is 3Gb and the aircraft is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Download can also be by the Skunkcrafts Updater (file supplied) Full Installation is 5.74Gb Documents supplied are: C172M Performance Charts.pdf Thranda C172M Manual.pdf Thranda Graphics Settings XP11.pdf Thranda Joystick Settings.pdf X-Plane G430 Manual.pdf X-Plane G530 Manual.pdf There are a huge amount of Documentation provided here, not only for the Thranda C172M including performance charts, reference guides, but also X-Plane/hardware settings and custom and default avionics. All updates are via the new Skunkcrafts 3.0 Updater Support forum for the C172M by Thranda _____________________ Updated Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 19th September 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 12.05r1 (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 Scenery or Aircraft -EILY - Kerry Ireland by Boundless -EINN - Shannon Airport by Boundless (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

Aircraft Review : Cessna 337F Skymaster by Thranda Design Thoughout the history of aviation there have been many different concepts... fuselage shapes, wing designs, power sources. But in the one area of multiple engines, there is the Twin Engine mounted wing configuration, or commonly known as "Twins". Several twins however use a very different concept, one was the wartime Do 335, another and another was far more famous aircraft the Cessna 337 Skymaster. The concept is called push-pull configuration in that has a combination of forward-mounted tractor (pull) propeller, and backward-mounted (pusher) propeller. In the Cessna 377's case it was two Continental IO-360-C air-cooled flat-six piston engines, 210 hp (160 kW) each, producing a combined 420hp, plus the unique "Twin-Boom" tail arrangement to accommodate the rear (pusher) engine/propeller. Basically the 337 was a standard Cessna forward fuselage, but with a totally different concept at the rear. The first Skymaster, Model 336 Skymaster, had fixed landing gear and initially flew on February 28, 1961. It went into production in May 1963 with 195 being produced through mid-1964. In February 1965, Cessna introduced the Model 337 Super Skymaster. The new model was larger, and had more powerful engines, retractable landing gear, and a dorsal air scoop for the rear engine. (The "Super" prefix was subsequently dropped from the name.) In 1966, the turbocharged T337 was introduced, and in 1973, the pressurised P337G entered production. Cessna built altogether 2993 Skymasters of all variants, including 513 military O-2 versions. Thranda Design are on a roll. Last year in 2022 they released two Cessna's, Cessna 208 Grand Caravan, then later a Cessna U206G Stationair. Now another Cessna joins the fleet in a Cessna 337F, the push/puller icon. This C337 is not the first 337 in X-Plane, that distinction goes to Carenado's Cessna C337H Skymaster v2 HD Series, back in 2013, an iconic and much loved aircraft (by me anyway)... I loved the thing, and you can see on how good it was even a decade ago in the review above. Thranda Design also had a lot of input into that aircraft, as they also managed back then the Carenado fleet for the X-Plane Simulator, so they already know the aircraft intimately. No matter how many aircraft you review, you are still amazed at the quality and detail you get today in simulation. Once you flew models (or modeled aircraft), but today they are realistically miniature aircraft in almost every perfect detail. Every panel, appendage, rivet, screw and the overall shaping is perfect, or perfection, inlets show a mock Continental IO-360-C, but the engine is not accessible (Unlike the U206G). Glass is perfect, a green tint (more visible internally) with wear speckles embedded, it looks and feels nicely authentic. The twin VHF roof mounted aerials are distinctive on the C337, as is the large cooling inlet for the buried rear engine. Note the top oil filler cap, nice detail. The support strut for the tail booms is interesting. It is plastic or early form of glass-fibre to save weight, behind the strut in the boom structure is a sump tank. Flaps are divided on to each side of the boom, so in essence there are four sections. Detail again is excellent, note the boom fairings around the flaps detail... there are three flap degrees. There is the beautiful cambered detailing of the wing tips, that defines the chord. And you have the choice between "Icing Boots", or a blank leading edge. The rear twin booms, with the large central horizontal stabiliser is huge, with built in elevator and trim tab. Each boom has each internal left and right rudder cables and the right hand boom carries the trim cable, the left boom the elevator cable... ... tailstrikes are common, rare that any C337 has no tail damage, both the upper and lower assemblies here are excellent detail. You can't just swap around a Continental IO-360-C engine either... the rear has a very different load bearing (push) to the front's (Pull) bearing (again made tougher to absorb the higher loads). Note the rear engine cooling flaps (open). The landing gear is basic in a complicated way.... the wheel assemblies quite basic, hub and arms, but complicated in that they have to fold up into the fuselage, the nose gear rotates sideways on retraction, the rear spindly legs also have to contort to fit in the rear bays. A lot of owners take the rear gear doors off, as maintenance wise they are a pain (an option here?). Early 337 models used a manual hydraulic floor pump to raise and lower the gear from 65 to 73, then it was converted to two ECSs in the model, each with a 5.5-volt BEC. The front BEC powers a receiver in the fuselage (behind the front engine ) that operates the retracts, doors, nose wheel steering, right aileron and right elevator. The second receiver is in the wing and is powered from the rear ESC. The wing receiver operates the left aileron, left elevator half, both rudders and both flaps. As noted the gear in detail is very well done by Thranda, all assemblies and tyres are first rate, even good enough to spend time and admire the work. Because of the type of undercarriage on this aircraft, there won't be any of the usual Thranda addon features like; Tundra Tyres, Ice-Skis and Float/Amphibian versions. There are a few 337 float conversions out there, but they are very rare. If you want to call it the "Arse End" or "Rear Belly" of the aircraft, the lower rear fuselage is really well detailed with great well designed vortex generators, to create a smoother rear (breakaway) airflow from the aircraft with the powered propeller above. From on-wards with the 337G Super Skymaster version, there was a split airstair entry door, like on the Carenado 337H, great for leaving the upper window open in flight. Here though on the "F" model with Thranda, it is the earlier single entry door, the only other opening door is the smaller cubby door for baggage rear lower right side. Interior Only a single door entry to a six-seater aircraft, so it is tight in there with this seating configuration. Usually you would only use the seats, and so where do you put the baggage? usually on your lap, so the six-seater configuration doesn't work. In a real 337 your on top of each other, so it's small, really small. Note the excellent seating, the lower base and legs are really well designed... nice to look at as well. Unlike most Cessna's, the rear of the cabin doesn't taper away, so it is really inside a tall box. The rear engine which is set just behind the rear bulkhead is close to the rearmost passengers, it is known to be noisy as well. Cabin is tailored in a mixture of creams and browns, again reflecting it's pre-70's age... the headlining has a zip to the rear, again nicely done, with the front high set Fuel tank opposite selectors, for the front and rear engines. Cockpit Forward and the instrument panel is dominated by the huge pedestal, with six levers (THROTTLE, PROP and MIXTURE) for the two engines... ... front side windows are huge and past the front line of the wing leading edge... and reason why most C377's are used for observation, e.g. the Cessna O-2 Skymaster (nicknamed "Oscar Deuce"), fire and maritime observation patrols. Front side window (sometimes known as the paperwork window) opens as does the ash tray (it was the 70's). The Pilot's window is fixed, but the door window can be opened. There are two choices of yokes, "Slim" or "Beefy", the beefy version is the same large centred yoke from the Thranda U206G, but it works in here. Looking at the instrument panel, there is one glaring omission between the Carenado 337H and this version... that lovely green buttoned Autopilot panel... disappointed, as it was a huge feature on the earlier aircraft. Otherwise they are very much alike. As this aircraft has the "Dynamic Panel" system from Thranda, there are no set instrument arrangements, as we shall see that aspect later. Two areas on the instrument panel are standard... the excellent twin engine gauges with Manifold Pressure and RPM. A Fuel Flow (FF) and EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature). The highlight on this side is the engine dials that show (top row) fuel gauges (two tanks, 46 GAL each), OIL pressure. (lower row) CYL head temp, and OIL temperatures. Other dials cover SUCTION, Air Temperature and Volts (amperes). Left lower panel has the VOLTS/BATtery (alternators), IGNITION/STARTERS , Instrument lighting (Flood/Post), Cowl Flaps (Front/Rear) and main electrical switchgear; MASTER, AUX PUMPS, ANTI-ICE, AVIONICS, (External) Lighting. The (hydraulic) gear selector is by the excellent large and handy (pitch) trim wheel. Park brake is a simple push/pull knob lower. The six lever; THROTTLE, PROP and MIXTURE pedestal is large and excellent, with a yaw (Rudder) trim wheel set below. Lower is a ADF Receiver panel. Left side panel is a fully active "Circuit Breaker" (Fuses) panel. In the opening glove box are the happy faces of the "Thranda Team". Menu Thranda's Menus are very feature rich and highly detailed. There is a popout TAB under the arrow lower left, 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) 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, Cargo Pod on/off, Chocks and Brakes. 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 cover, "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 Ground Power Unit, Engine Inlet covers, Pitot covers and Tie-Downs Cargo pod is nicely detailed and comes with a single opening door, you can also add in the amount of baggage according to weight. The excellent "Checklist", can also be found on this tab. Which is the same as the Thranda U206G system... in the red, or the checked green choices you used on the other Thranda aircraft, and not the single white text on the Caravan. On some pages it notes performance and flying tips. You can have checklist pop-up or in a window mode and thankfully you can move it, and scale it even from the very small to the very large size. 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. And to reset, it is done at the end by switching all the green completed checklist back to red. Menu - Liveries Second Menu option is "Liveries", there are two options here with the first being "PAINTED LIVERIES". There are altogether 8 liveries or two blank (or DynamicLiveryResources/ZZTemplate) and six designs, and all are of extremely high quality and creative flare with the package. Thranda house is default. Dynamic Liveries Not happy with any of those designs, then why not create your own livery! With their earlier releases of their Caravan and U206G. 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 (Arrowed). 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, 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, but the results are excellent and in your own design... There are already 30 preselected selections in their various designs, all which 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 taste is optional... Here I changed the aircraft registration to an Australian Rego (VH-337), because I didn't like the Australian default aircraft... cool. Menu - Weight/Bal The C337F also has a great Weight and Balance menu. Lbs and Kgs which can be selected and changed via the toggle Lbs/Kgs (arrowed). Fuel can be added, and the amounts are then shown and are also adjustable as well in the menu (above). Pilot, passengers and cargo can all be set for individual weights and all selected via a scrollwheel... and then all of the CofG (Centre of Gravity) parameters are shown on a graph. Go too far or too heavy and the CofG goes red (arrowed). When done you can Save the Configuration and then later re-load it, or press Load to add in the set weights. Overall it would be nice to have set of loading formats of different configurations, it is slow work setting them individually. Once you go over a certain weight, you will then get two pilot's in the front seats, but no rear passengers. Pilots (Female/Male) are switchable. Note if you turn the aircraft power off, the pilots will again disappear. More cabin options allows you to hide each of the four rear seats, via the small x tickboxes, if the weights for each seat is still set in place (or adjusted) then the area is replace by baggage. This makes for a very versatile cabin. The Cargo Pod can be added or removed on the MISC Tab. This then adds in the Cargo Pod weight options on the right. 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 (light) passengers (with maybe a bag thrown in) then can you have your full tanks and the range and not go into the red. You can also really pile a lot into the rear cabin two sections, and all the baggage is of very high quality. 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 with most of these internal viewpoints. 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 (not really coming to the 337), but for use on the Caravan, Thranda Beaver and PC-6). Menu - PANEL The sixth "PANEL" Tab option allows you to adjust or change the instruments and dials. 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. Panel features include; Bendix King KFC-225, and the noted Aspen EFD 1000, KR 87 ADF Radio, Garmin GMA 340, Garmin GTX325 Mode C Transponder, BendixKing IN-182A Weather Radar, S-Tec Fifty Five X Autopilot and the usual GNS 430/530 PS/Nav/Comm units. A EDM 780 Digital EGT (shown lower) is also available. And there is a special 3d bezels for the insertion of RealityXp GTN 750/430 units if you own those two addons (arrowed above). Here is featured the EDM 780 EGT display, a replacement for the twin EGT gauges, the instrument pops-out as well. The Aspen EFD 1000 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 S-TEC Fifty Five X Autopilot. 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 53 individual instruments and avionic units... There are 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 that altitude meter just a bit more to the left", then here you can simply adjust that instrument, or even swap the instruments around the panel to your liking. You can even adjust the brightness of the instrument. Optional is to select the type of GPS unit you want GNS 530/430 via the "INSTRUMENT" selection. When done you can "ADD" (or Duplicate) 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" choice (colour) is not available on the 337F, like it was on some other Thranda DGS systems. Menu - MISC The Misc (Miscellaneous) page has four panels that cover Yoke Type (Chunky or Slim) ,De-Ice (wing) Boots, Cargo Pod (Normal or Cargo), Pilots (Option 1 Female, Option Two Male) and DynaFeel. "DynaFeel" on the 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 Cessna 337F Skymaster The 377F is an odd aircraft because of it's push/pull configuration. The front is standard, the rear installation is everything but. In the cockpit it is bit like wearing a very heavy backpack, you know it's there but you can't see it. And that heavily enclosed rear installation causes problems as well.... mostly the heating. So the aircraft is expensive to run, maintenance costs are notably high and so are the insurance premiums. This puts of a lot off buyers, which is a shame as the unique configuration is a very good flying machine. You have to start the front engine first, to push cooling air into the upper vent to keep the rear engine cool... ... even when you have started the rear IO-360-C air-cooled flat-six piston engine, you have to move forward quickly. More air is required by movement via the twin open cowls on the rear, the nose engine has the same cowls under the aircraft, but it also has the forward nose inlet. Sit there for a period of time and it could get very expensive... quickly. And yet you need the "Temps" to come up before moving, my trick is once the needles are showing rear temps, then go... the taxi to the runway will do the rest. And this highlights the biggest point in flying the C337, your eyes are never (ever) far from those Temp gauges, you can't see or feel that rear engine, so the gauges are your eyes and ears to what is happening back there. Sounds when running are obviously different. Although both IO-360-C engines are the same, however they sound very different because of their different locations and installations. So you get Individual sounds for the front and back engines, with different sonic characteristics. Combine that with 3D 360º audio effects, including "blade slapping" sound when view is perpendicular to prop, and you can even hear the turbulent air feeding into the rear prop. Also the "beats' are all there with the precise beat frequency for each section, to minimise "muddy" transition sounds, in other words the running "ticker, ticker", sounds at idle, the same as any Continental piston engine, but sonically coming at you from both ways... it's all very good. It is up to you if you want to taxi on one engine, or both... personally you don't need the rear engine to taxi, as the front IO-360-C has more than enough power... ... with no stress yet on the rear engine it helps in keeping it a bit cool(er). I use a Yaw setting on my Joystick to steer, but rudder inputs, in mostly the right rudder will fine tune the taxi line, even slight turns like this with the rudder input are easily available... on the ground the 337 is excellent, nice power inputs, that slack off when you reduce the power, so all it's lovely on the ground. Cockpit in detail in X-Plane 12 is realistic as it gets, Simulation 2023... the silhouette is the iconic C337. Because of the unique engine arrangement and rear fuselage configuration, the rear engine creates instant aerodynamic flow over the huge horizontal stabiliser and elevator, so the pitch feel is there from the word go... so you have to be aware in the way you use the pitch earlier than usual. On the real 337, the pitch trim is motorised automatically to compensate for the extra elevator pressure loadings, and will work (trim) from the moment you leave the runway. The rear propeller is highly exposed as well... thrown up rocks from the rear wheels can cause grief (in other words expensive repairs), and you have to leave the runway cleanly, or not a too pitched up, in not catching the ground sort of skill... obviously you can't see it at all. But the unique push/pull engine configuration also works for you in not creating any (depending on the power outputs) yaw, as the inline counter-rotating propellers give no directional thrust pull, so there is no asymmetrical thrust or yaw to the power output of the propeller, basically you go straight down the runway with no corrections or slight rudder corrections... and fast you do go! I usually bring the front (puller) up to 90% power, tracking right I then bring up the rear (pusher) to match it... ... remember the rear engine operates in the disturbed air from the forward engine, which may reduce its efficiency to 85% of the forward engine. Basically the 337 is a small aircraft with two engines on it, so it GOES... well "like shit!". At 100knts you break with the ground, slight pull back with the yoke, and once clear then a 10% pitch to climbout... you have ton's of power behind you, so the 337 will climb-out very easily... Rate of climb is 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s), but you can do a 1,000 fpm comfortably... now for the big theatrical production! First the gear doors open, then the nosewheel will twist sideways to fit into the front wheel-well... ... from the rear the fine limbed gear has to then contortion to fit in what is basically four rear bays. The animation work here is difficult and very complex, but Thranda have done an excellent job, in getting it perfectly correct. Then you have a nice clean aircraft. Note... the gear lever will go up, then return to the centre position once the hydraulics have finished the procedure. Once cleaned up, the one thing you realise very quickly, is that the 337F is one amazing aircraft to fly. Maybe it is huge wing arrangement, and twin boom tail, but it is steady as a rock and smooooth, easily trimmed, and can then bank to your will... ohhh it's "so good". You can bank to the extreme, say 80º/90º (See Redbull video), and the 337 will take it all in it's stride, but note the loss of height, if you are doing these sort of very angled manoeuvres. The numbers... Maximum speed: 199 mph (173 kn, 320 km/h) at sea level : Cruise speed: 144 mph (125 knots, 232 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m) (econ cruise) : Range: 965 mi (839 nmi, 1,553 km) : Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,945 m) A lot of operators use internal tanks on the 337 for on-station flying (fishing, fire, maritime patrols etc) so the range is expandable. Lighting Internal lighting is quite basic, but effective. There are only four adjustment knobs; POST (those little lights on the instruments), FLOOD, EL PANEL and ENG RADIO. Between them you get a full lit panel with red highlights... ... a Black&White panel, or a Red panel Last adjustment is for the lower left instrument panel. In the rear you have four spot lights that you can adjust the beams, the roof Fuel Switches are also lit up... but missing is a forward flood cockpit light, and you seriously notice the absence? Externally it is pretty basic as well, Landing/Taxi lights in the wings, navigation and strobe lights on the wingtips, a right tail beacon and white navigation lights on the twin tails. There is also a nice left side Ice-light on the wing. Notable is cooling as already noted. Once airborne you can close the cooling vents forward and rear, this nicely cleans up the aircraft. But there a need to keep all eyes on all the temperature gauges. It becomes a bit of a game on how long (or how far) you can go with the vents closed, once the needles are touching the red zones, you are out of there... switches are lower pilot panel right. Cruising you can easily see the 337F's main outstanding elements, as a stable observational platform. You can understand why the US Army grabbed a load of 337s for this purpose. I wouldn't use the aircraft so much in carrying fare paying passengers, it's too cramped and even too noisy to put into commercial service, but for two (Pilots) and a load of gear, it is perfect. A quick look at the Orbx Brisbane City pack... Brisbane is 70 kms north of here and my local state capital. It comes back to my original argument, create the inner city and the autogen will do the rest, it works fabulously well here, as does the complimenting Orbx YBBN Brisbane international... YBBN Runway 01L is all brand new, just completed only a year or so back... time to check it out. Two things are very apparent on the approach, first the 337F's lift is impressive, those wide wings and horizontal stabiliser (with added thrust on it, mind you) keeps you very steady, almost static in the air, which means manoeuvres can be easily controlled. So the old adage applies here, the Skymaster is a very "Sweet" aircraft to fly. Second is that once you reduce the speed on approach, even at 120 kts, off goes the gear alarm? it feels far to early, not even in the flap white zone, so you have to drop the gear early to just "shut it up". I think the alarm is there and early (still a bit too early though), because it takes the gear a very (very) long time to unfurl and lock down, it feels ages from when you drop the lever to when the green light comes on... notably I opened the cooling vents before landing, and instantly all the temp gauges drop. Flaps are 4 phase 3 degree movements; UP - 1/2 - 2/3 - FULL, get the speed right and there is simply no ballooning, just slight drop of speed, even down to the FULL setting, the Skymaster will stay calm and collected with no fighting of the aircraft... critical on approach. Over the threshold and your in the 70 knts range, perfectly stable... ... 60 knts in the flare. The flare has to be perfect, as you are very aware of that rear propeller hanging down. Slight 5º-6º degrees to keep the nosewheel slightly higher than the rears, then let it down. When the rears touch you bring down the nose carefully, the slow landing speed and excellent lift really helps here to get it right. Then back to taxiing with the rudder pedals. It's a long taxi from YBBN runway 01L/19R to the GA area, and i'm watching those temp gauges like a hawk... but I get there. BNE needs to create a shorter taxi route to 01L/19R from the GA Area, which the area is actually close to? I finally get there... notable with the engines now shutdown is the active variable-pitch on the propellers (PROP levers) in being feathered, it is all very well done here by Thranda, authentic, realism... take your pick but still great. Although a very different configuration from the usual, the 337F is actually a very nice aircraft for a pilot, you never oddly fight it, it is SO stable (that word again), a dream in all the aspects of manoeuvres in the air, trims nice, just "Bloody" feels nice as well. All round this a great aircraft, different in most aspects, but that is also it's attraction for a really special simulation. ___________________ Summary The Cessna 337 is a very unique aircraft in the history of aviation. It is only one of the few created and built in the Push/Pull configuration, or a forward PULL engine and a rear PUSH engine, to accommodate the rear push engine it has a two boom and twin tail arrangement, with a standard Cessna fuselage and forward engine layout. Yes it's totally unique, but it works. Last year in 2022, Thranda Designs released the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan and the U206G Stationair, those aircraft in the series are now joined by the Cessna 337F, after Thranda's earlier more rugged utility aircraft Series. This aircraft is powered by two Continental IO-360-C air-cooled flat-six piston engines, 210 hp (160 kW) each, producing a combined 420hp. 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 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 GPU, chocks, pitot covers, two pilots (Male/Female) and tie-downs. Sounds are excellent with High fidelity, multi-track sounds with smooth, finely tuned transitions, amazing atmospheric effects, different sonic characteristics (with the engine arrangement) and 3D audio effects, including the "blade slapping" sounds and the aerodynamic interaction effects between front and rear prop. Internal sounds are however a bit too low compared to the external. Thranda always comes with a high range of clever and unique features to give the user a lot of personal options. Known as the "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 and GNS 430 units if you own those add ons. Comments include, Tricky to start, Tricky to keep cool, and the unusual undercarriage bans a lot extra features in Tundra Tyres, Ice-Skis and Float/Amphibian variants. Lighting is good, but there is no overhead cockpit flood light, four rear spots are also small, in making it a dull night cabin, instrument pane is however good, but you feel you need more adjustments. Missing also is that valued green buttoned Autopilot panel that was on the Carenado. Notable that the 337 is a unique aircraft to fly. The in-line engine arrangement gives you almost no asymmetrical thrust, but this also a powerful, but brilliantly handing aircraft that has not only a very stable platform feel in the air, but also on departure and approach procedures, you can see why the US Army bought loads of O-2 Skymasters for observation patrols. So it's a Thranda and that is a sale done right there. At a below US$40.00 price it is also exceptional value for what you get, including free updates for the run of the X-Plane 12 version and all that exceptional quality. A total winner in every department... and positively recommended. _______________________________ Yes! the Cessna 337F Skymaster DGS series by Thranda Design is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Cessna 337F Skymaster DGS series Price is US$39.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.4 GB Current version 1.0.3* (February 1st 2023) *Updates via the Skunkcrafts Updater Special features: FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel. Fully VR Compatible Interchangeable yoke styles Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP 650 and GTN750) Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! Comes with 4 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface. Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically move 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, 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 9 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 hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision. Fully modelled Continental IO-320-F front engine. 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. Option to swap pilot and co-pilot Option to select different yoke styles DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you wish for the controls to react as a function of speed. Optional de-ice system Flight dynamics and systems: Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance with the help of multiple real-world active Stationair pilots. This not only gives this aircraft the proper "feel", but also accurate takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance. The C337 is a well-behaved twin airplane, where the engines are in line, with props spinning in opposite directions, cancelling out torque on the airframe A single engine failure doesn't radically affect flight behaviour, as the engines are in line, and don't produce a net yaw force on the plane, as other twins do. 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) Individual sounds for front and back engine, with different sonic characteristics, as a result of their placement. Different sounds for front of plane than for back of plane 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 front and rear prop. At a distance, you hear overtones caused by turbulent air feeding into the rear prop. 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_C337F. is 1.34Gb and the aircraft is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 1.71Gb Documents supplied are: C337F Manual.pdf C337F Performance Charts Changelog Thranda Graphics Settings XP11 Thranda Joystick Settings X-Plane G430 Manual X-Plane G530 Manual There is a huge amount of Documentation provided here, not only for the Thranda C337F, but including performance charts, reference guides, but also X-Plane/hardware settings and custom and default avionics. All updates are via built-in Skunkcrafts Updater Support forum for the C337 Skymaster by Thranda _____________________ 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: 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 2nd February 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.

Aircraft Review : Daher Kodiak 100 DGS Series by Thranda Design The Daher Kodiak 100 is the same aircraft as the earlier Quest Aircraft Company, Kodiak. As for the French aircraft manufacturer Daher bought out the designs and also the production of the Kodiak in 2019 from the Japanese firm Setouchi Holdings. During October of that year, the acquisition of Quest Aircraft was finalised, in so expanding Daher's North American footprint and to merger its sales efforts with the former SOCATA's own TBM turbo aircraft series. If the Kodiak looks familiar, then go thinking about a Cessna Caravan 200B, then you certainly would have been on the right track. From a distance and even when you get quite close to the Kodiak it does look like a slightly taller chunkier 200B Caravan, and it is powered by the similar engine in the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 750 hp were as the Caravan uses the PT6A-140 868 hp (647 kW). It's a utility aircraft, a bit noted as a bit more frumpy than the C208, but also well regarded as an all round capable aircraft. Design of the Kodiak began in 1999, it made its maiden flight on October 16, 2004, and was certified on 31 May 2007 before the first delivery in January 2008. By 2021, 300 Kodiaks have been delivered and production is still ongoing. The Kodiak is special to Thranda Design as well. It was their first aircraft released as a solo developer since moving on from Carenado in 2016. Created by Dan Klaue, the Canadian is very proficient in developing aircraft for X-Plane (Carenado had a fleet of 55 aircraft at the end) and was known mostly for his Embraer ERJ 140 Regional Jet now a decade ago. You don't have to acclaim the work of Daniel Klaue, as his talent is spread all over the X-Plane Simulator for ideas and forward looking features. Thranda Design pushes that aspect to the limit as with on the early Kodiak, it came first with the "Dynamic Generation Series" DGS, which takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications to a currently loaded plane. That DGS and other outstanding features will be seen below. This is an all new aircraft for X-Plane 12. Notable the Quest moniker will stay on the earlier X-Plane 11 aircraft, and this new aircraft will be branded the "Daher" Kodiak, and the Daher aircraft will only be available for X-Plane 12 as the with the latest features, 8K textures are also not transferable. As noted, The Kodiak 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 Kodiak 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. As for all this release year's aircraft. X-Plane 12 creates a very different feel and look in the Simulator, a 3d look, or another level of realism. The Quest Kodiak was already very good in detail, but here it just jumps out at you in it's superb quality. Obviously more detailed and now better processed with those massive 8k textures, you feel just this aircraft, and it is very much alive on your screen. Don't call me "frumpy", it does look a bit that way with the cargo pod attached, more Caravan without it... just with a more fuller heavier tail section. There are also two other variants as part of the package.... a Cargo version, and an Amphibian seaplane (the Amphibian can also be set in both passenger and cargo configurations), but there is no "Float" variant, only the landwheels. Although it looks the same outwardly, the X-Plane 12 version is actually quite different in it's design, there is a new 3D mesh throughout, based on actual CAD model of the real plane for modeling perfection, with high quality textures with over over 1000 pix/m detail. And it shows... Not only do you get the panels and rivets, but the indentations of the rivets as well in the metal, even skin ripples in the aluminium, everything shows off the absolute realism presented here. Door (external) hinges, vents and fairings are all as on the real aircraft, and their are the vortex generators all over the aircraft, main wings and even on the horizontal stabiliser. Obviously it's all hard to fault anything as it is all so good, certainly a large step up from the X-Plane 11 modeling and quality. The original aircraft was quite glossy, but here we are X-Plane 12 glossy, glossy, as that has become the normal. As previously noted, there the discontinuous leading edge (also known as a leading edge cuff) on the outboard parts of the wing, it is there to improve the stall and spin characteristics of the aircraft. It is that at high angles of attack the cuff discontinuity generates a vortex that acts as a fence, preventing the separated flow from progressing outboard. The lift slope has a flatter top and the stall angle is delayed to a higher angle. To reach high angles of attack, the outboard airfoil has to be drooped, some experiments investigating "exaggerated" drooped leading edges. The physical reason for the cuff effect is not actually clearly explained. Here that effect is extremely well done... Wingtip light fittings (Landing) and navigation/strobe are perfectly done in detail. Flap tracks are well modeled with internal springs highly visible, Flaps are 0º-10º-20º-35º, notable that the Kodiak is a STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) aircraft, for rough runways. Window reflections come with realistic scratches and imperfections, but it's not over done, or could be noted as "just a few, here and there", There is however a very nice green tint on all the windows (there is the option to hide, or lighten the window reflections), but the tinting gives the aircraft a nice quality look. Standout detail is the fully modeled Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34, under the front engine bay cowlings, click to open and admire the overwhelming detail of the powerplant and it's ancillary components. Overall the detail and detailing is of course totally superb... It's a Thranda of course. Notable is what you pay for. If you pay more you get in that extra detail, the minute intricate detailing, but the Thranda Kodiak is priced only around sub-$35, so the payoff here is that you get all this extreme detailing and modeling, and at a value price. Internally you have a load of options. First there are two different cabin layouts with "Timberline" and "Executive" decors. Executive is a bright white/cream environment with grey chairs in a Club + 2 seating layout, in the club arena there are also two folding out (animated) work tables. Timberline is a darker more browny sort of interior fit-out. Here you have eight seats two per row. Seats are now a brown/tan matching a beige wall lining, both interiors feel very, very different in style and taste. But the seating detail is excellent and has great quality materials. Cargo is an empty rear space, unless to add up a cargo load by the weight, then it get quite full in here... Cargo uses the Timberline decor interior and is 49 inches (1.2 meters) in height and width. Instrument Panel At first it feels and looks like the same instrument panel as in the Quest XP11. But it's not, in the closer detail it is different, the layout is almost exactly the same however... as it is a Garmin G1000 Avionics suite in a three screen PFD-MFD-PFD display layout. Twin Yokes are sublime... they were nice and chunky on the Quest, but here you can almost small the leather and admire the stitching. Electric Trim and PTT are on the left pilot's yoke (PTT on the right yoke), and either or both Yokes can be hidden. "Kodiak" also replaces the earlier "Quest" logo on the front plate is a nice attention to detail. The panel itself has a very nice mottled effect, that gives it a realism in the metal, ditto the really lovely huge glareshield, also authentic and very feelable. Under the panel and it is highly detailed, not only with the "Kodiak" branded rudder pedals, but also the rear detail. Note the toe-brake effect. Central tall tower throttle quadrant, is also very Caravan in design and even look, only difference is the (working/active) Circuit breakers (fuses) in the front. Coloured Throttle, Propeller and (Fuel) Conditioner levers, are a tight formation, with left an "Emergency Power" lever to get more boost and out also of trouble. Far left is the nice Trim Wheel, far right is the Flap selector. Aileron Trim buttons are set above, and the rudder trim is top left console. The Kodiak unlike the other Thranda instrument panel layouts, only uses the three display G100 setup, ... so there is no build your own DGS panel option here, there is only this one, so the analog dials are out... Power off and it is still a black hole of and Instrument Panel, just like in the earlier Quest XP11, so switch on the power and only the both PFD (Primary Flight Displays) turn on, turn on the Avionics power and the central MFD (Multi-Functional Display )also then switches on. All three PFD/MFD pop-out on windows, panels are also moveable and scalable for home builders. Turning on the third power switch "AUX BUS",(arrowed) will turn on the AC (Airconditioning) Systems panel, that has a pop-up window. There are also two other selectable features on the G1000 system that are in the Menu. First is the switch between having the S-TEC Fifty Five X Autopilot on the facia, or to use the G1000 Bezel autopilot controls. The S-Tec also pops-out for ease of use. The second feature is the selectable standard blue/brown Artificial Horizon, or the "Synthetic Vision" mode. Honestly I'm not overly impressed by the current Synthetic vision screen, so will keep to the standard Horizon format, Lower panel left is the power (rocker) and starter switches, lighting switches and Ice protection. Two Hobbs meters covers flight and engine running times. Oxygen capacity indicator is clever and to the right panel there is a small AC display that covers Cabin Temp, and fan controls that all work and if you increase the fan speed you should be able to hear the fan noise in the background... Left vertical are the three analog backup instruments, Airspeed, Artificial Horizon and Altitude. The great original feature of moving eye air vents on the panel and on the roof, are still the same in here, as you can not only can you move the direction of the vent, but the internal airflow cover as well. There are four vents on the panel and the two vents overhead. Garmin G1000 Avionics is the standard Laminar Research G1000 PFD (Primary Flight Display), and MFD (Multi-Functional Display) with the radio controls set between the displays, nothing to learn here if you have used the default avionics before. The installation though is very nice and feels high quality. Original Quest Kodiak had a Carenado adaption G1000 back in 2016, but it's now all or only the updated Laminar version. PFD (Primary Flight Display) is very good with the large Artificial Horizon dominating the screen with the Speed and Altitude (with built in Vertical Speed) tapes either side, Rate of turn and FD (Flight Director) are all present. Lower is the Heading rose with built in Heading, Wind (3 options), CRS (Course) DME, NAV 1, NAV 2 and OBS. There is the option to put a small map on the PFD but I never do (it makes the display too crowded). All Radio, Autopilot (AP) settings and data are across the top banner of the panel. Note the inbuilt warnings panel centre right. The secondary display is MFD or MAP/Navigation panel which covers also all the (EIS) engine outputs which are in two versions with one visual and one in data. The colourful engine readouts covered are on page one; Top three segments cover both pages, with; TRQ (Torque), ITT, NP RPM, NG Readouts... Fuel Flow (Gallons Per Hour), RPM, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp, Amps, Volts, Fuel quantity for both tanks (320 gal). Lower are the Flaps and both Trims (positions). "System" switch (data) covers the same TRQ, ITT and NP, NG top, "Fuel" page (data) covers Fuel Calculations in FFLOW GPH (Gallons Per Hour), Fuel Pressure PSI, Fuel quantity (L/R)... Fuel Totalizer LB REM (Remain), LB USED... (Electrical) Volts and Amps, Gen A, Alt A, Bus 1v and Bus 2v. Lower screen (menu) are DEC Fuel, INC Fuel and RST Fuel options. Overhead on the roof are the two master Fuel valves, one for each wing tank, and an overhead lighting panel, and nice animated moveable shades. _________________ Lighting The lighting system on the Kodiak is really in two areas... one for the panel and two for the spot overhead lighting. The panel has two knobs with three adjustments. Outer right knob is the Switches panel (highlights) itself, but there is a mostly hidden inner knob that lights the LED lights under the glareshield and this is the one you use the most. The second left knob is the Instrument lights (inner) and glareshield LED lights (outer). The downcasting LED's feel far more dim than I remember, they were quite a lot brighter on the Quest XP11 version? There are two spots overhead and they are fully adjustable to put the spots right where you want them. There are eight spot lights in the rear for each seat that are again fully adjustable, and two overhead lights from a double way switch on the lighting panel... all interior lighting can be turned on or off via one switch in the General menu, you can switch off/on the external lighting the same way. Externally each outer wing has a taxi and landing light, a beacon strobe on the roof, navigation lights and strobes on the wingtips. However the beacon and the rear white navigation light also feels a bit weak. _________________ 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 and MISC (Miscellaneous). Basically it is the Thranda default menu, but here without the "Panel" Tab. Menu - General The menu "General" sections covers quite a lot of options, the layout is highly detailed and very comprehensive. General menu selections cover; MODE: Realistic or Simplified, Electric Tug, Window and Instrument Panel Reflections on/off, Startup Running on/off (sets aircraft to full running mode), GPU on/off, Chocks and Brakes on/off. Cargo Pod, when selected then shows the bin door option. Toggles between "Realistic" and "Simplified", and mainly pertains to the engine. In "Realistic" mode, you're much more likely to over-torque or otherwise damage the engine, if you're not flying the plane in such a way as to keep within limits outlined in the POH. If you DO over- torque the engine, the shaft will snap with a horrific sound, and the remaining turbine components will audibly grind against the housing. The engine will catch fire, and the various annunciator lights will go on, and the cabin will fill with smoke? 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 split doors. All EXT - External Lights can be switched on and off as can the ALL INT - Internal lights. The GPU cart (Ground Power Unit) is massive for an aircraft this size, but it is well done. 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, Tail stand and various 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 red graphic, with white cross-off line. The Checklist can the moved and scaled anywhere on the screen, but the list can't be reset back again to just the red restart list? and there are 18 separate pages of the list to uncheck? 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. Note... Only two liveries are delivered in the download package in DYNAMIC LIVERIES and the House Thranda. To access the rest you have to run the supplied "Skunkcrafts" updater, then all the liveries below are loaded into your aircraft liveries folder. Any livery can be used with both the passenger and cargo variants, but some suit more than others... 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 three RGB colours for that certain area, and the selected colour (here white) is shown in the square. When done you can "SAVE" or ADD the livery and then "APPLY" it to the aircraft. The conversion takes a few minutes with some weird screen changes, but the results are excellent and now 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 Kodiak 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,in both Timberline and Executive Selections. Missing is the usual Thranda seat removable X option, here you can only select the layout of the cabin and the seat weight. Fuel can be added 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 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. Selecting the Cargo Pod option gives you an extra set of weight zones, add in the weight and you get bags in the pod, same with the rear cargo area, increase the weight and you get bags and boxes. 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 as shown on the graph. For eight 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. Set the weight in the front seats (pilot and co-pilot), then you get fully 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 used mostly only really with the Amphibian/Floats option in docking the aircraft to say a pier or marina. Menu - MISC The Misc (Miscellaneous) page has four panels that cover (Exterior) Fairings, Ski's,Tyres/Tundra, Mud Flaps and Cargo Pod, (Interior) Timberline or Executive layouts, Pilots (swap)... the noted Synthetic Vision and Autopilot S-Tec/G1000 Bezel and Anti-Ice Equipped. The usual DynaFeel feature usually on this tab has been removed. Shown here are; Fairings and Ski's... Mud Flaps centre, then lower Regular and Tundra tires. You can also swap around the pilots, in Male/Female, or Female/Male in the drivers seat. Last option here on the MISC tab is that you can make the Anti-Ice Panel active. The only menu option change on the Amphibian, is that you can choose the option of having the rear horizonal stabliser winglets visible or not via it's menu selection. _________________ Flying the Daher Kodiak 100 You sit up high and forward in the Kodiak, almost on a pedestal. The 208B feels almost sportscar like compared to this machine, but the Kodiak is what it is, in being a workhorse, getting people or cargo in and out of remote airstrips. It's a medium sized aircraft, not say big and truck like, or even a small GA or bush plane like, it's sort of in the middle of say a big Utility (say a RAM or Ford F160) purposeful, move stuff! Roof Fuel valves on... then set the Conditioner lever (far right blue one), to LOW IDLE. Flaps 10º. Trim is done via the large Trim wheel and the TO (take Off) setting is on the lower left of the MFD in the Trims. Ignition switch ON, then hit the STARTER Switch up... and then the familiar turbine Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 start whine comes from the front of the aircraft. Love this big and powerful monster of an engine... So open the small window for the full effects of the engine sounds which are simply excellent. And if you are of keen hearing then you should note also the friction sounds on the yoke and throttle lever as you move them, as well as independent sounds for brakes, oxygen hissing and electrical inverter buzzing sounds. The P&W soon settles down to a slight roar, and your ready to go... I found in the earlier Quest that I couldn't get a lower thrust for taxiing, a leftover issue from Carenado's as they always had a high thrust RPM on the ground that drove me nuts... here if you keep the COND LOW IDLE setting, in then that earlier over thrust issue goes away, yes being in low idle does mean far more throttle to move the Kodiak off the line, but more importantly you now have a much larger and lower thrust range to find the right taxi speed, so yes I really like it. I adjust the eye air vents to blow fresh air into my face, A small fan on top of the computer screen can give you the same effect! In X-Plane 12 I found that I have far more rudder pedal movement steering while taxiing, its very good here in keeping the Kodiak centred on the line, I only have to revert to the YAW/Tiller movements to the tight 90º turns. Ready enter KRSW Runway 06... My weight is set quite heavy at 3028Kgs... so the Kodiak is going to be a little ponderous not only in the takeoff, but the handling in the air. Entering 06, I put the COND to the HIGH setting, and then you get Upmph as the engine revs upwards... tons more power!. I go almost to the end of the (flap) white line or 105knts before pulling back on the Yoke and then set a positive climb of around 800 fpm, Rate of climb is around 1,371 ft/min (6.96 m/s), quite high, but everything always depends on your weight. Bank to the left and the Kodiak feels really, really good, and far better than I remembered earlier? Okay, time for a confession... I wasn't really dazzled by the earlier Quest Kodiak, maybe because I was so in love with the Caravan. It was nice aircraft but didn't really leave a flying impression on my personality, I flew it I remember only once or twice. But this X-Plane 12 version is a very different sort of aircraft than I remember... far more responsive, flows in the turn (banks) better, and even climbs smoother... "My God!" I'm really liking this aircraft a lot this time around. The better sounds really help... Now there are high-fidelity, multi-track FMOD2 sounds, simulating multiple layers of engine and prop sounds, depending on camera angle, distance, atmospheric conditions, but it is the superb "woo, wooo... roar" as the aircraft climbs hard under the weight. Upping the Flaps to zero, it does give you a little descent bump, but then the speed quickly rises as you power faster forward. You can still use the Emergency (EMER PWR) lever for more power if you need even more of it, but use it sparingly as it can blow your motor to kingdom come... .... as a precaution there is a "Overspeed" governor on the left of the panel to regulate the power. The Laminar G1000 Avionics feel far better than the original Carenado fitout. Back then it was the other way around with the very basic Laminar system. So that just shows how much change of the Avionics in X-Plane over the last four years, both screens are now excellent as LAL (116.00) comes on line, as I reach my 5,000 ft cruise height. I noted in the earlier (Quest) review "The Kodiak is quite sensitive to higher speeds. This is not an aircraft to set the Autopilot and the throttle and then just have a nap, because you will find if it goes a little too fast it will start to pitch and even if the autopilot trim is trying (hard) to compensate for this unseen barrier. So it is the awareness of this speed sensitive area in that it is you that has to find that sweet spot between the best cruise speed and the start of the boundary of the aircraft's aerodynamics." Humm... not finding that aspect here, I'm cruising nicely at 155 kts and she's all calm and collected, basically in X-Plane 12 it just keeps on smoothly cruising along... with the those very comforting, turn up the sound at the "woo, wooo... roar" in that it gets very memorizing as you sync in with the sound, but lets not get the wrong impression that these sounds are repetitive, because they are absolutely not. Kodiak's cruise speed is 211 mph (339 km/h, 183 kn) at a light weight of course, and a range of 1,303 mi (2,096 km, 1,132 nmi). The service ceiling is exactly the same as the Caravan at 25,000 ft (7,600 m). You notice the haze off the exhausts at full power, it sits lower left in the screen, but comforting in the effects mean the engine is running smoothly. Press the RED button between the PFD and the MFD and the G1000 system goes into safety mode, or "Get Home" mode as the two screens combine both flying instruments and engine performance. I'm covering 258 nm, almost the length of Florida, USA from KRSW (South West Florida) to Jacksonville JAX, at GATORS I turn 035º to head finally to KJAX, now only 55nm ahead. 28nm out from JAX and I start my descent to 1,500 ft, adjust the power back a little as I go down to keep the speed high, and use a decent of 800 fpm to adjust my flight level, once at a lower height, then up the power a little to compensate and keep the speed current. Now Jacksonville International is directly ahead, but I am going to circuit to the east, to land on Rwy 26. I now make my turn to the east and parallel fly to Runway 08/26 in the landing circuit. While cruising past JAX, my thoughts go to in what makes a very good simulation? Importantly first is the totally realistic handing of the aircraft, the way it flies, and the way it feels in your control movements, secondary is that the simulation is clean... meaning that from go (startup) to stop (shutdown) the simulation is perfectly non-distracting from the flying, no bugs and certainly no CTD (Crash to Desktop) freezes. Being a reviewer then the Replay is extremely important to me, the first two here are excellent from Thranda, but with the Kodiak I have had a few replay crashes, but thankfully any replays saved always worked, bugs a couple, but overall I found the Kodiak an extremely solid simulation. Jacksonville flows past below, then a 90º turn to DALTN in the beams of IPEK (110.3) ILS, I'm not using the ILS to land, but using the beams to line up my approach to RWY 26. Now in the approach phase and down to a 1,000 ft... ... Flap movements are very clunky, slight lift with every new degree of flap setting used, so you have to get the speed to flap change right, tricky is the aircraft weight pulls you down, creating the opposite in lift, it would be an interesting experiment at a lighter weight on the different effects of the aircraft in this critical approach and landing phase. You sort of settle down at 81-82 knts, full flap with about a 250 fpm descent rate, the Kodiak feels solid, really nice handling, but you feel the weight under the controls... 75 knts over the threshold Slight flare and the Kodiak floats? I'm trying to find the best descent window, and not hit the ground hard(ish), but I have found lately that X-Plane has closed this ground effect window to a very tight one, that is being felt in various aircraft, time for this X-Plane area to be refined? You can set the "Toggle thrust reverse" to give you a "Beta", detent setting that switches on the reverse prop, and the "howl" of the PT6A engine makes as it turns the air in the opposite direction, then in slowing down the aircraft... Back to the taxiing and into the LOW IDLE (COND) to control the thrust, really liking the change here in the better ground conditions... First time into FS Designs KJAX since my review... honestly it looks far better than I remember, loving it, like really liking this far more better Daher (ex Quest) Kodiak as well, its that everything is better here, but still really brilliant value at only $1 more in price than it's X-Plane 11 release four years ago, but you still get tons more in quality and detail, and even better flying dynamics. Remember also the price covers updates and services for the full X-Plane 12 run.... so what is not to like. ___________________________ Summary The Quest Kodiak was the first release from Thranda Design back in 2016. It was their first aircraft released as a solo developer since moving on from Carenado in 2016. Created by Dan Klaue, the Canadian is one of the most proficient developers of X-Plane aircraft, not only in design, but for their excellent features and unique ideas like their acclaimed "Dynamic Generation Series" DGS. Since the release of the original Kodiak, the Quest Aircraft Company was bought by the the French aircraft manufacturer Daher, including the designs and also the production in 2019 from the Japanese firm Setouchi Holdings. So this is an all new aircraft for X-Plane 12. Notable the Quest moniker will stay on the earlier X-Plane 11 aircraft, and this new aircraft will be branded the "Daher" Kodiak, and the Daher aircraft will only be available for X-Plane 12 as the latest features, 8K textures are not transferable. Three versions are included in the Kodiak package, Passenger, Cargo and separate Amphibian, with three interior designs of "Executive" and "Timberline" decors, plus the empty Cargo arrangement (all can be used on the Amphibian variant), animated pilots can also swap front seats. 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 right from the start, and so it is here again in being... 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 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, ski's, Mud flaps tie-downs and excellent detailed Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 engine. Settings include pilot/passenger weights, baggage weight and visually placed bags, cargo in the rear of the aircraft and in the large rear baggage area. A large Cargo Pod with bags by weight is also offered. Notable is that the usual Thranda "Panel" analog DGS option is not used here, but the full Laminar Research Garmin G1000 three display Avionics suite, it's very good and now highly detailed. Lighting is very good, but I would like a bit more under glaresheil brightness to match the earlier XP11 Quest lighting, otherwise excellent. Sounds are far, far better than the Quest version, really love those powerful PT6A sounds, when climbing and in cruise... Doppler High fidelity, multi-track FMOD2 sounds, simulating multiple layers of engine and prop sounds, depending on camera angle, distance, atmospheric conditions, yes a really big advancement from the earlier acoustics. Minuses are minimal... lighting externally (taxi/landing) is not good in the daylight (Laminar issue?), aircraft can be dark in overcast conditions, and selecting the replay can cause a nasty CTD (but not in a saved Replay) Note... 8K textures are now used, but have no effect on framerate. Obviously with a Thranda Aircraft I just can't list every feature, but they are some of of the very best utility aircraft in the X-Plane Simulator today. Being honest I didn't really gel with the earlier Quest XP11 Kodiak, it was very good, make no mistake, but there was something that I didn't quite tune into. But four years can make a difference, more so with the revision in X-Plane 12. In every area, flying dynamics, sound and always in the quality of the aircraft, it has been lifted far, far higher than I remember, so this is a brilliant change for the aircraft, you can say it has refined it up to the same high quality standard as the other X-Plane 12 releases from Thranda Design, that is a big ask from the original, but that overall upgraded feel is in there and well worthy of the upgrade price offered at only a $1 more than the original. Any Thranda Design aircraft is a worthy addition to your virtual hangar, and the Daher Kodiak 100, is certainly one of the best in value and features... So all you can finally say is that the aircraft comes... Highly Recommended! ___________________________ The Daher Kodiak 100 - DGS Series XP12 by Thranda Design is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Daher Kodiak 100 - DGS Series XP12 Price at time of writing US$34.95 Requirements: X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version 1.0 (July 20th 2023) This aircraft is a full upgrade to X-Plane 12 only, so there are no upgrade deals for the aircraft from the developer. Installation and documents: download for the Daher Kodiak is 1.57Gb (not including liveries) and the aircraft is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 3.86Gb (including downloaded liveries) Documents supplied is: Changelog.txt Thranda Daher Kodiak for XP12 Manual.pdf Thranda Joystick Settings.pdf Thranda Kodiak Quick Reference Guide v2.pdf X-Plane G1000 Manual.pdf There is a huge amount of Documentation provided here, not only for the Thranda Kodiak 100, 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 Designed by Thranda Design Support forum for the Daher Kodiak 100 ___________________________ 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 Scenery or Aircraft - KRSW - Southwest Florida International Airport by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$24.99 - KJAX - Jacksonville International Airport by FSDesigns (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.99 - Full X-PlaneReviews JAX review is here; Scenery Review - KJAX -Jacksonville International Airport by FS Designs ___________________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 25th July 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

NEWS! - Aircraft Release : Daher Kodiak 100 - DGS Series XP12 by Thranda Design Wasn't that the Quest Kodiak? yes same aircraft, but now produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Daher since 2019. So this is the X-Plane 12 version of the Quest/Daher Kodiak 100. The Quest version stays the same for X-Plane 11 from Thranda, for X-Plane 12 it is basically now a different name, but also only available only for X-Plane 12 because of mostly the different dynamic features and the larger size 8K textures required. Feature list is of course HUGE! X-Plane 12 exclusive New Daher Kodiak 100 simulation Part of the Dynamic Generation Series Ground Proximity Warning System Option to swap autopilot between G1000 bezel and S-TEC55 New 8k highly detailed textures Updated and improved 3D model Upgraded plugin to SASL 3.16, with full support for new Apple processors Uses X-Plane 12's new windshield rain and ice effects SkunkCrafts Auto updater Includes landplane and amphibian seaplane variants Two different interiors and seat configurations: Timberline or Executive Superb material realism - inside and outside, using full PBR features Dynamic Livery Editor - create your new livery while in the sim! Two presets: classic Quest livery, and newer Daher livery Comprehensive menu system with per-passenger Weight and Balance Manager, audio controls, custom slew controls, livery selection, aircraft configuration etc. Swappable pilot and copilot figures Many options, including wheel fairings, tundra tires, skis, mud flaps Aircraft visuals Amazingly deep 3D mesh throughout, based on actual CAD model of the real plane High resolution 8k textures and detailed PBR materials Dynamic Livery generator - generate dozens of livery varieties within minutes, live, while in-sim High quality textures (over 1000 pix/m!) PBR dynamic interior window reflections with realistic scratches and imperfections Window and instrument reflections that emulate sense of depth Numerous covers, tie-downs, chocks, caps - all accessible via menu Modelled and functional GPU Custom lighting throughout (custom strobe flash pattern, custom halos, custom lighting logic) Pulsing landing light option Gimballed internal 3D lights throughout, which cast light on the surfaces they point to (HDR mode) Lifelike, realistically animated Pilot and Co-pilot figures (Co-pilot figure appears/disappears depending on weight) Features a Cargo mode, which covers windows and rearranges the passenger compartment for cargo operations. Cargo that appears and disappears, depending on weight set (in Cargo mode) Detailed engine model under cowlings that can be opened All chrome and reflective materials look realistic in X-Plane, thanks to PBR Extremely detailed and realistic panel, G1000 glass, and steam gauge glass, which is also night-lighting responsive, and features Fresnel effect. Slick 2D pop-up (actually, 'fly-out') window, giving you quick access to all the plane's extra features. Animated air conditioning gimbals throughout. Custom and X-plane default camera presets Hideable cargo pod with doors that can be opened, revealing cargo inside that changes depending on the weight that is set in the pod Open cargo pod doors respond to prop wash or weather wind by oscillating back and forth. Electric tug, to tow the plane (based on a real-life tug model controlled via smartphone.) Flight dynamics and systems Laminar's built-in G1000, which features procedures and synthetic vision Extremely accurate flight dynamics, arrived at with the help of in-house real-time visual tools (Fully updated to X-Plane 12, including water model) Smoke in the cockpit can be brought under control by pulling the 'Firewall Air' via knob on panel. Cargo pod and wheel pants affect aerodynamics realistically Adding cargo pod enables use of weight and balance manager to determine load. Docking Hold Mode for amphibian, which holds the plane in place as if it were tied to the dock, but allows it to rock around with the waves Interface and usability Fly-out pop-up menu featuring six menus: - General (mode, tug, cargo pod, reflections, lights, etc. options) - Livery selector for pre-painted liveries (X-Plane standard system, with animated previews that look great) or switch to dynamic liveries, where you can edit and create your own liveries quickly with the provided tools - Improved dynamic real-time weight-and-balance manager with full scroll support, metric/imperial switching, cargo pod option, ability to load a saved configuration - Camera: select camera snap points visually, or use X-Plane's internal camera preset system, with an added visual interface. - Audio: Mix 6 aspects of audio in the plane, via scrollable volume faders, to get the mix just right for your taste - Slew mode allows you to place your plane in real time in 3D, temporarily bypassing X-plane's aerodynamics. - Misc menu allows access to skis, bush tires, mud flaps, cargo version, executive version, synthetic vision in G1000, autopilot choice (G1000 bezel or S-TEC55), and anti-ice option Advanced sound system Doppler effects are sensitive to how the camera is behaving in relation to the plane. (No more screeching when dollying camera towards the plane.) High fidelity, multi-track fmod sounds, simulating multiple layers of engine and prop sounds, depending on camera angle, distance, atmospheric conditions etc. Different for front of plane vs. back of plane. Panning around the plane yields stunning 3D audio effects Audio positioning is clearly discernible; move around the engine compartment and the sound origin clearly shifts depending on where the camera is pointing. Individual buttons and switches in the cockpit each have their own sound origin, which is mapped across the stereo spectrum. Gimballed AC vents Ambient sounds Realistic electrical sounds, based on bus load and other factors. (Sounds actually give you clues as to what's happening under the hood.) Yoke, throttle quadrant, brake handle etc. make friction sounds that are proportional to their movements, both in pitch and in volume. Combustion roar sound typical for turboprop engines - recorded from real PT6 engine 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) Thranda's "Dynamic Generation Series" is part of the feature list. More about the DGS Series The main feature of the new Kodiak is, 8k textures throughout, with a pixel density of over 1000 pixels per meter. Other things have been updated and brought into full XP12 compatibility, and the dynamic livery editor has been greatly enhanced, to include dirt/scratches layers and a modern/classic livery set. This is a paid upgrade of US$34.95. Designed by Thranda Design Support forum for the Daher Kodiak 100 ___________________________ The Daher Kodiak 100 - DGS Series XP12 by Thranda Design is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Daher Kodiak 100 - DGS Series XP12 Price at time of writing US$34.95 Requirements: X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version 1.0 (July 20th 2023) ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 20th July 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

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.

NEWS! - Thranda Design releases BN-2A Islander for X-Plane 12! This "NEWS!" post has been changed from "Coming" to "Released", to reflect the status of the aircraft. The aircraft is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore. Note this aircraft is available for X-Plane 12 ONLY. 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. 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 cabin can be rapidly reconfigured, allowing for a single aircraft to undertake a diverse range of tasks within a minimal period of time. Often referring to the type as "The world's most versatile aircraft" Britten-Norman promotes the Islander's low direct operating costs, minimal maintenance, and its stability in flight as major attributes of the aircraft. The BN2A Islander is part of Thranda "Dynamic Generation Series". More about the DGS Series 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 Images are courtesy of Thranda Design The Thranda Design BN-2A Islander is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore for X-Plane 12 only. _________________ Yes! the Britten Norman BN-2A Islander XP12 by Thranda Design is NOW! available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : BN-2A Islander XP12 Price is US$34.95 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) ________________ News by Stephen Dutton 1st 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) All Right Reserved.

NEWS! - Just Flight updates PA-28-181 ARCHER III, PA-28-181 Archer TX/LX XP and Duchess Model 76 to X-Plane 12 On the 1st April 2023, Just Flight in collaboration with Thranda Design updated their first three aircraft series to X-Plane 12, in the Robin DR400, C152 and the B-10 Tobago & TB-20 Trinidad duo. Here is the second batch of X-Plane 12 releases from Just Flight, with this time the PA-28-181 ARCHER III, PA-28-181 Archer TX/LX XP and the Duchess Model 76 all having the X-Plane 12 attention. This is noted as an "Update", not an upgrade, so the changes are available for "FREE" for all existing X-Plane Just Flight users, in moving the aircraft to X-Plane 12. PA-28-181 ARCHER III The PA-28-181 Archer III is a four-seater, piston-engine aircraft equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear, 180hp four-cylinder engine and fixed-pitch propeller. Certified in the mid-1990s, the Archer III is one of the most recent PA28 variants to be built, reflected in its streamlined cowling and cockpit overhead panel controls. Capable of cruising at 118 knots and with a range of nearly 500 miles, it is an ideal aircraft for touring and flight training. The PA-28-181 Archer III for X-Plane 11 features PBR materials with real-time environment reflections for superb quality and realism, HD textures for the highest possible texture clarity and numerous animations including a multi-animation passenger door that, when open, responds to G-forces and air resistance. Updates include; Version 1.9.1 (May 12th 2023) -Added X-Plane v12 .acf for better v12 compatibility. -Updated SASL to 3.16 -Fixed spelling of tool tip and nudged GNS530 screen a bit to fit better. -Added rain effect on windshield and night lighting textures. -Fixed “C” knob -Adjusted wheel contact points for XP12 version -Reduced pitot amperage to 5 amps -Fixed shock absorbers and brake cables. PA-28-181 Archer TX/LX XP The PA-28-181 Archer TX/LX is a four-seater, piston-engine aircraft equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear, 180hp four-cylinder engine and fixed-pitch propeller. Certified in the mid-1990s, the Archer III was one of the most recent PA28 variants to be built, reflected in its streamlined cowling and cockpit overhead panel controls. The TX/LX is a modernized version of the Archer III, equipped with G1000 and EFD 1000 avionics, and other improvements to both the exterior and interior of the aircraft to compete with the latest generation of GA aircraft. The TX is aimed at the training market and the LX at the private market. The TX/LX is capable of cruising at 118 knots and with a range of nearly 500 miles, it is an ideal aircraft for touring and flight training. Version 1.9.1 (May 12th 2023) -Added X-Plane v12 .acf or better v12 compatibility. -Updated SASL to 3.16 -Fixed spelling of tool tip and nudged GNS530 screen a bit to fit better. -Added rain effect on windshield and night lighting textures. -Fixed “C” knob -Adjusted wheel contact points for XP12 version -Reduced pitot amperage to 5 amps -Fixed shock absorbers and brake cables Duchess Model 76 The Duchess is a four-seater, twin-engine T-tail aircraft equipped with a retractable tricycle landing gear, and two 180hp four-cylinder engines fitted with constant-speed propellers. Its IFR-capable avionics suite, excellent handling characteristics and counter-rotating propellers make it an ideal aircraft for multi-engine flight training, and the perfect step up from single-engine aircraft such as the PA28. A cruise speed of 155 knots, a range of 780 nautical miles and a service ceiling of 20,000ft also make it a very capable touring aircraft. Version 1.9.1 (May12th 2023) -XP12 Compatible -Updated SASL to 3.16 -Added Save/Load buttons to Weight And Balance popup. Click Save to save the current weights/fuel configuration to disk. When the plane is next opened it loads with default values, but click Load Configuration to load the weights you previously saved. -Fixed show/hide of flap manipulator. -Improved behavior of popup menus in VR. -Reduced excessive gear drag. As all these three aircraft don't have any new features, but are only noted for their compatibility to X-Plane 12, so this is an update to X-Plane 12, not an upgrade (or FREE). You can update all three aircraft, either by going to the Just Flight site (If you have an account) or by your account at the X-Plane.OrgStore. Images are courtesy of Just Flight _____________________________________ Yes! - Updates or Purchase for Just Flight Aircraft to X-Plane 12 are NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PA-28-181 ARCHER III Price is US$44.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 or 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 760Mb Current version: 1.9.1 (May 12th 2023) PA-28-181 Archer TX/LX XP Price is US$44.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 or 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 760Mb Current version: 1.9.1 (May 12th 2023) Duchess Model 76 Price is US$44.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 Gb VRAM Minimum - 8 Gb+ VRAM Recommended Download size: 805 MB Current version : 1.9.1 (May 12th 2023) ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 15th May 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

NEWS! - Aircraft Update : Cessna 206 updated to v1.2: Full v11 and v12 compatibility by Thranda Design With X-Plane 12 going final in December 2022. Now developers are working hard to make their aircraft X-Plane 12 compliant. Here is the Thranda U206G update to version v1.2, for both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11. Notable is that on a restart you have to pick which X-Plane version you want to use, once selected, you can't go back, unless you reload the aircraft. Developers notes include; XP12 updates we´ve been waiting for have been implemented (such as: support for wheel fairing and cargo pod drag, night lighting compatibility, and being able to gradually apply dirt/scratches layer), we now finally have an update to the C206 to provide full compatibility with XP12. V1.2 February 13, 2023 -Full XP12 compatibility. -Added new glass texture -Fixed pop-up window for instrument 53 -Fixed position of circuit breakers -Night Lighting improvements for XP12 -Corrected wrong text in panel -Added DefrostWindshield module to hook up defroster knob to windshield de-icing -AP Sounds button restoration -Fixed FMO related errors in log -Fixed some internal sounds -Fixed up dirt and scratches layers to work in XP12. -Added the ability to swap pilot/copilot figures. -Updated lights for XP12. -Updated SASL3 -Addressed some spelling errors on the engine instruments -Went through tool tips on click spots, and added where they were missing. X-PlaneReviews Update v1.1 review is here; Aircraft Update : Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series v1.1 by Thranda Design The Thranda Design U206G update is now available at the X-Plane.OrgStore. Just go to your account and get the free update... or use the featured Skunkcraft's Updater. Images are courtesy of Thranda Design Support forum for the U206 Stationair by Thranda _______________________________ Yes! the Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series v1.2 by Thranda Design is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series Price is US$39.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2 GB Current version 1.2 (February 13th 2023) ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 16th February 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

NEWS! - 337F Skymaster by Thranda Design released! Thranda Design has released the Cessa 337F Skymaster on January 27th 2023, which is today American EST time. Certainly one of my favorite aircraft, the push, puller Cessna 337F Skymaster is one of the greatest General Aviation aircraft. After the 208 Caravan, then the excellent U206G Stationair, here is another Cessna classic from Thranda Design, or a Carenado classic. Once the bastion of General Aviation aircraft in Simulation, then what has happened with the famous developer, missing now from X-Plane for a number of years. And how far will Thranda Design go in replacing classic aircraft with the same. The Cessna Skymaster is an American twin-engine civil utility aircraft built in a push-pull configuration. Its engines are mounted in the nose and rear of its pod-style fuselage. Twin booms extend aft of the wings to the vertical stabilizers, with the rear engine between them. The horizontal stabilizer is aft of the pusher propeller, mounted between and connecting the two booms. The combined tractor and pusher engines produce centerline thrust and a unique sound. The Cessna O-2 Skymaster is a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster. The aircraft includes all the features of the Dynamic Generation Series. Special features: FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel. Interchangeable yoke styles Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP 650 and GTN750) Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! Comes with 4 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface. Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically move 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, 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 9 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 hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision. Fully modelled Continental IO-320-F front engine. 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. Option to swap pilot and co-pilot Option to select different yoke styles DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you wish for the controls to react as a function of speed. Optional de-ice system Flight dynamics and systems: Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance with the help of multiple real-world active Stationair pilots. This not only gives this aircraft the proper "feel", but also accurate takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance. The C337 is a well-behaved twin airplane, where the engines are in line, with props spinning in opposite directions, cancelling out torque on the airframe A single engine failure doesn't radically affect flight behaviour, as the engines are in line, and don't produce a net yaw force on the plane, as other twins do. 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) Individual sounds for front and back engine, with different sonic characteristics, as a result of their placement. Different sounds for front of plane than for back of plane 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 front and rear prop. At a distance, you hear overtones caused by turbulent air feeding into the rear prop. 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 The Cessna C337 Skymaster DGS series is priced at US$39.95... Requirements are: X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Images are courtesy of Thranda Design Support forum for the C337 Skymaster by Thranda ________________ The Cessna C337F DGS series by Thranda Design is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore!... Here: Cessna C337 DGS series Price is US$39.95 ___________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 27th 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) All Right Reserved.

Aircraft Update : Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series v1.1 by Thranda Design A common theme from Thranda Design is to release an aircraft, then a few months later release another version with more features and mostly adding in the Amphibian/Floats variant. They did it with the Cessna 208 Caravan, all the other releases, and now the same here with the Cessna U206G Stationair. You can update to version v1.1 either by the Skunkcraft's updater, or do a full download from your account from the X-Plane.OrgStrore. Outwardly the U206G Stationair is the same aircraft as in the release, for a full run down of the features including the "Dynamic Generation Series" or DGS, then read X-PlaneReviews: Aircraft Review - Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series by Thranda Design In this v1.1 update you now have an extra aircraft (acf) to choose from, the "U206G" and now the "Amphibian" option. Amphibian The Amphibian uses the wheels to move the aircraft around on hard surfaces, the Float version does not have any, and both options are available here. Here is the Amphibian. We know that all Thranda Utility aircraft come with the Amphibian and Float options, so it is no surprise that the detail and quality of the floats are exceptional, as they are here. The retracting wheel system is also well done, and as is the high detail with all the spars, nuts & bolts, and wire tensioners which are perfect, you won't get better. Rear are the rudders, again the detail is excellent with working springs and attachments, obviously they lift and lower into the water. Float undercarriage (gear) is controlled via a panel on the lower instrument panel, and the rudder actions are controlled by a lever between the fronts seat, the pump detail shows no compromises in quality from Thranda. On the Amphibian variant, the MISC Menu options are different as well... There are four box selections. Top left allows you to install a brace in the windshield, and to switch the side windows from flat to bubble. Lower left box is the options; lower the rudders, to change the Amphibian version to Floats and to install a Ventral Fin on the underside of the tail. Top right Box on the right refers to Slew mode, which 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 and is especially a great feature to use while on the water for docking the aircraft to a jetty. Lower right box is "DynaFeel" which 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. A final option on the "Wheeled" variant of the U206G now has a skis option. Again the ski detail is excellent, with all the support wires and ski skid assembly required. I'll list the v1.1 updates changelist because it is quite comprehensive and detailed. Version 1.1 (November 11th 2022) Add amphibian seaplane version with plain and amphibious floats Update manual to add seaplane information Add skis option to landplane Remove trim "tick" sound, to hopefully help alleviate repetitive noise while autopilot is engaged Add Instrument #53: Tail number placard Update XP12 compatibility to handle multiple .acf (to handle the new amphibian) Improve XP12 compatibility system error handling Remove automatic reload in XP12 compatibility and Panel popup when using XP12, due to it causing XP12 to crash. It will now prompt the user to manually reload the plane. The automatic reload still works when using XP11. Improve clarity of instructions in ReadMe.txt for XP12 ACF Fix interior engine sound when panning the view around Fix cargo door flaps lockout not working. The flaps should now not move when the rear cargo doors are open XP12 ACF: Add WAAS approach capability. XP12 ACF: Slightly decrease fuel flows to better match the performance charts Fix Inst #11 (KPH/MPH airspeed indicator) 2D pop-up needle calibration, fix color arcs Fix floating screws and instruments in cabin Fix baggage area cargo netting intersecting with rear seats Fix beacon light for XP12 Fix tail section not showing metal effects in dynamic liveries Add gear panel to all default panel presets (only visible when using the amphibian floats) Add glass covers to Inst #14 and 15 (engine gauges) Hook up additional circuit breakers Remove duplicate circuit breakers Fix up some livery inconsistencies Corrections to Inst #25 (ELT) ELT now resets to off when starting a new flight Improve calibration of oil temperature 3D needle Improve calibration of turn coordinator Improved landing gear animation logic Fix potential crash when using docking mode in XP12 Fix "Dirt" overlay for dynamic livery preview popup One new feature is particularly interesting... "XP12 ACF: Add WAAS approach capability". The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is an air navigation aid developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS), with the goal of improving its accuracy, integrity, and availability. Essentially, WAAS is intended to enable aircraft to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, including precision approaches to any airport within its coverage area. It may be further enhanced with the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) also known by the preferred ICAO term Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) in critical areas. A primary goal of the WAAS system was to allow aircraft to make a Category I approach without any equipment being installed at the airport. This would allow new GPS-based instrument landing approaches to be developed for any airport, even ones without any ground equipment. A Category I approach requires an accuracy of 16 metres (52 ft) laterally and 4.0 metres (13.1 ft) vertically. Obviously X-Plane 12 now has WAAS availability, an area to watch out for... but I know little of it at this moment. In The Air Takeoff is Tricky.... As you have a lot of weight suspended below you, almost another aircraft weight again. Also you need foot brakes to keep the Amphibian tracking straight, but it doesn't gain speed very fast either, flap 10º is highly recommended for lift. In the air you can see the size of the floats relative to the aircraft, speed with the extra weight is compromised here also. Now we can look at the Float option... The floats are slightly lighter and cleaner through the air, look great as well. Detail is of course excellent, highly realistic. The Floats are colour matched to the fuselage, and in the "Dynamic Liveries" you can colour them to to suit your own design. There are altogether 11 liveries or two blank and nine designs, same as the "Wheeled" version. Internally the cockpit is excellent, I'm flying the gauge layout this time (There is also the excellent Aspen EFD 1000 available), highly, highly realistic. Note the window brace, of which I really like. The Floats weight weighs you down, but also creates a supremely stable feel to the small C206G. Any manoeuvres are weighted, so no you can't throw the Cessna around in the sky, but I like this non-swinging feel as the aircraft is heavier (obviously), and the lower centre of gravity gives you a better placement, outright speed is also cancelled, but you are more inclined to enjoy the movements to your advantage, than the other way around. I'm heading to the Shannon Estuary, Ireland just off Shannon Airport EINN, to test out the amphibian variant. I'm a huge fan of the new X-Plane 12 water, you get a real realism from the air, better still with the custom mud flats in the transparency. Coming from the west, you get a nice throttle (power) action to control your descent. I try to get to Full 20º flap as soon as I can. Speed can be low in the approach of around or slightly below 50 knts, but your perfectly safe here. I love the moment you see the ripples on the water through the window, still flashing past. Your only 200ft up now and you give the aircraft a slight pitch. So stable... ... You feel like you are coming in as a big Swan with huge feet outstretched ready to land, the support is there ready and waiting. Slightly more up pitch, but you can't over do the angle... or it will cause you issues later. The idea is in trying not to dig in the front of the floats on landing, but to touch at the centre angled point, CLEAN, is the word in your head. Your touching now around a low 40 knts as you feel the water. Getting the landing right is not the actual landing itself? It is the bit after when you are riding the top of the water, so as the nose does not dig in and pull you over, controlling the drag and keeping the nose clean (high or straight), while slowing down takes a bit of skill, but delivers the exhilarating bit to get it all right. If you do get it all right then the aircraft will settle without any jerks or nose drops. Saying that... this Thranda U208G is a very nice, even easy aircraft to fly in the amphibian (float) variant, and certainly the X-Plane 12 effects help out here with their more wider and custom physics than X-Plane 11, you not only see it, but feel it as well. That water is exquisite! Rudder steering I found like with the wheels (braking) on takeoff, only works with my foot pedals? but I'm sure they can be fixed to the yaw movement. But they are very effective in the water. For takeoff... Flap to 10º, trim to zero, and here I upped the rudders a bit to early. I found the trick later was to start the takeoff run (half-power)... ... then when you feel the rudder control coming in, then quickly up the dragging rudders, its tricky to do but it gives you far more in straight-line control. Up the power and as the aerodynamics come in and the Cessna will surf and then also accelerate quite quickly, then around 85 knts your airborne. Once clear of the water with a nice small climb rate, then clean up the aircraft (flaps) and trim. So the waterborne additions are excellent with great flight and water capabilities, and oddly enough makes the U206G easier to fly. Summary This is the expected update from Thranda Design, as for all their releases, and usually within two months of the original aircraft release, they then release the Amphibian/Floats variant. Not only do you get the Amphibian/Floats feature, but the Ski option has been added as well to the "wheeled" land-plane version. Quality is of course the usual very highly detailed and quality fitout you expect from Thranda. They are renowned for it, but consistently deliver. 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 here... exceptional. In every area and detail, modeling, fine details, glass and the interior materials. 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 is also part of this package. There is also a full changelog list of bugs and minor issues done in v1.1, including the added feature of Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and it's approach capability. If you want a highly capable Cessna, then it would be seriously hard to go past this U206G Stationair, its also X-Plane 12 (X-Plane 11 is also available) capable as well, so it is a match made in heaven and it all comes with a value price for the incredible detail and features. It's the very best!... not much to add into that statement, and now available not only in the air, but on the water as well, obviously highly recommended. _______________________________ Yes! the Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series v1.1 by Thranda Design is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series Price is US$39.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 (still beta at this stage) or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2 GB Current version 1.1 (November 11th 2022) Special features: FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel. Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP 650 and GTN750) Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! Comes with 6 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface. Enable or disable lighting posts per instrument. Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically move 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, 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 9 traditionally painted liveries, all visible in a convenient pre-selection preview window. Uses SkunkCrafts Updater. Option to participate in Beta program, via checkbox in SkunkCrafts Updater. Excellent hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision. Fully modelled Continental IO-520-F engine. 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. Control individual seat positions, or hide them altogether, 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. Options for landing gear: Tundra tires, mud flaps, wheel pants (fairings) Option to enable bubble windows for pilot and copilot side windows. DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you with for the controls to react as a function of speed. Flight dynamics and systems: Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance with the help of multiple real-world active Stationair pilots. This not only gives this aircraft the proper "feel", but also accurate takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance. The U206 Stationair is a well-behaved airplane and a very stable IFR platform. 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) Different sounds for front of plane than for back of plane Panning around the plane in exterior view yields awesome 3D audio effects, including "blade slapping" sound when view is perpendicular to prop 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 ___________________________________ Installation and documents: download for the Thranda_C206. is 1.97Gb and the aircraft is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 2.34Gb Documents supplied are: Changelog.txt Thranda Graphics Settings XP11.pdf Thranda Joystick Settings.pdf Thranda U206G Manual.pdf U206G Performance Charts.pdf X-Plane G430 Manual.pdf X-Plane G530 Manual.pdf There are a huge amount of Documentation provided here, not only for the Thranda U206G including performance charts, reference guides, but also X-Plane/hardware settings and custom and default avionics. All updates are via built-in Skunkcrafts Updater Support forum for the U206 Stationair by Thranda _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 17th November 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 12.00B13 (This is a beta review). Plugins: raffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : RK Apps XPRealistic v2 - US$34.99 Scenery or Aircraft -EKLY - Kerry, Ireland by Boundless -EINN - Shannon, Ireland by Boundless (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

NEWS! - Thranda Design releases Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series After exactly a month after it's announcement from Thranda Design. The X-Plane design house have released their latest aircraft in the Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series. The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, all known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air service as well as for personal use. The original 1964 model was the U206, powered by a 285 hp (213 kW) Continental IO-520-A. The “U” designation indicated “utility” and this model was equipped with a pilot side door and large clamshell rear door serving the back two rows of seats, allowing easy loading of oversized cargo. This version is the six seater U206G, powered by a Continental IO-520-F of 300 hp (224 kW), with a gross weight of 3,600 lb (1,633 kg) landplane, 3,500 lb (1,588 kg) seaplane and certified on 21 June 1976. With this aircraft being a Thranda design, then you can expect every bang and whistle feature delivered on the aircraft. It also comes with the the famous DGS Series features. Thranda's "Dynamic Generation Series" takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications to the currently loaded plane, changes can be made live to; Customise a livery Move around instruments on the panel for different panel configurations Adjust and save weight and balance more visually, without using the X-Plane's W&B menu Seamlessly move your plane around in slew mode to position it precisely where you want it in real-time Switch between different aircraft configurations on the fly, without reloading the plane? Cargo, executive, tundra, skis, etc Use high fidelity and precision in flight dynamics, making use of X-Plane's very latest physics engine advances Ultra-realistic, multi-layered soundscapes, inside and out Our planes feature a unique Manifest system, which breaks out logic variables for you to edit for SimPit builders Full C206G Feature List; FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel. Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP 650 and GTN750) Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot's panel! Comes with 6 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface. Enable or disable lighting posts per instrument. Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically move 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, 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 9 traditionally painted liveries, all visible in a convenient pre-selection preview window. Uses SkunkCrafts Updater. Option to participate in Beta program, via checkbox in SkunkCrafts Updater. Excellent hi-res PBR realistic materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision. Fully modelled Continental IO-520-F engine. 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. Control individual seat positions, or hide them altogether, 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. Options for landing gear: Tundra tires, mud flaps, wheel pants (fairings) Option to enable bubble windows for pilot and copilot side windows. DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you with for the controls to react as a function of speed. Flight dynamics and systems: Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance with the help of multiple real-world active Stationair pilots. This not only gives this aircraft the proper "feel", but also accurate takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance. The U206 Stationair is a well-behaved airplane and a very stable IFR platform. 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) Different sounds for front of plane than for back of plane Panning around the plane in exterior view yields awesome 3D audio effects, including "blade slapping" sound when view is perpendicular to prop 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 Usually from Thranda an Amphibian variant and plain Float options mostly follow the main release by about six weeks, the extra features are also usually free. Note this Aircraft will fly in X-Plane 12, however it is noted as a "Beta" version and not an X-Plane 12 compatible aircraft. Images are courtesy of Thranda Design Support forum for the U206 Stationair by Thranda ________________ The Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series by Thranda Design is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore!... Here: Cessna U206G Stationair DGS series Price is US$39.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 (still beta at this stage) or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.9 GB Current version 1.0 (September 17th 2022) ________________ News by Stephen Dutton 19th September 2022 Copyright©2022: 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 Right Reserved.