No, I was just kidding. Haven’t been away, actually. A few minutes ago I was looking at the Aerosoft Dornier Do-27. I just had read the review on Avsim and though David Wilson-Okamura finds it a great aircraft (something I agree with) he mentions that he has “average framerates” with the aircraft. I really love this aircraft (first it looked ugly to me but afterwards I fell in love with it…). The problem is that I hate to have my FPS going lower than 25 (the framerate you need in a combat flight sim). And I’m sure this plane wil let it go down.
I have got several payware packages, but not even one gives complete satisfaction. The Captain Sim C-130 for FSX which I recently reviewed (thanks to David, the FlightSimX.be site admin) is a terrific aircraft. But the frames dropped. The Columbia 400 of Eaglesoft has something strange that causes FSX to crash when switching quickly from exterior view to VC or the 2D panel. And my frames dropped too much…The SkyUnlimited P-38 Lightning is a very, very nice and well-made airplane, but I don’t like the fact they used the stock DC-3 gauges instead of making new ones.
You know what I’m really satisfied with ? Good freeware. On Sim-Outhouse.com (a site I found when I was still a full-CFS3 user) there are some people who are great at developing small, fine, framerate-friendly aircraft. One of the best examples is the Bristol F.2b Fighter of the Australian Robert Bruce, a.k.a. Robby88. A splendid, easy to install package. Payware quality, IMHO. Just look at the Virtual Cockpit! I love (yeah, I really love a lot of aircraft…) it since I flew the original version on CFS3…
Another nice a/c is the Piasecki/Vertol H-21C/V-44, made by Mick Posch. With a nice 2D panel and a even nicer 3D cockpit. There are two things who have to be changed with this helo:
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you have to put the model file from the ‘beach party color’ version in the New York Airways model, because there’s a window that remains there if you open the front door (he accidently forgot to fix it when he released it).
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you need to adjust the .CFG file so the turbocharger will work ( 9450 ft is the service ceiling of the chopper). With this modification you can get to 15 000 ft without problems.
[piston_engine]
power_scalar = 1 //Piston power scalar
cylinder_displacement= 90.0 //Cubic inches per cylinder
compression_ratio= 8.5 //Compression ratio
number_of_cylinders=4 //Number of cylinders
max_rated_rpm= 2700 //Max rated RPM
max_rated_hp= 180 //Max rated HP
fuel_metering_type= 1 //0=Fuel Injected, 1=Gravity Carburetor, 2=Aerobatic Carburetor
cooling_type= 0 //0=Cooling type Air, 1=Cooling type Liquid
normalized_starter_torque= 0.3 //Starter torque factor
turbocharged= 1 //Is it turbocharged? 0=FALSE, 1=TRUE
max_design_mp= 29 //Max design manifold pressure, (inHg)
min_design_mp= 12.0 //Min design manifold pressure, (inHg)
critical_altitude= 9450 //Altitude to which the turbocharger will provide max design manifold pressure (feet)
emergency_boost_type= 0 //0=None, 1=Water Injection, 2=Methanol/Water injection, 3=War Emergency Power
emergency_boost_mp_offset= 0 //Additional manifold pressure supplied by emergency boost
emergency_boost_gain_offset= 0 //Multiplier on manifold pressure due to emergency boost
fuel_air_auto_mixture= 0 //Automixture available? 0=FALSE, 1=TRUE
auto_ignition= 0 //Auto-Ignition available? 0=FALSE, 1=TRUE
max_rpm_mechanical_efficiency_scalar= 0.94 //Scalar on maximum RPM mechanical efficiency
idle_rpm_mechanical_efficiency_scalar= 0.7 //Scalar on idle RPM mechanical efficiency
max_rpm_friction_scalar= 1.0 //Scalar on maximum RPM friction
idle_rpm_friction_scalar= 1.0 //Scalar on idle RPM friction
magneto_order_left_right_both = 1 //sets the order of the magneto switch direction
By the way, is there someone who can explain me why the text I’ve typed under Nick’s comment regarding the Cat is smaller and how to get it back to a normal size ?
Going back to payware now, at the moment I’m looking forward to the Catalina Aerosoft is making. On their forum they showed some beta images of it, made by Nick Churchill. I asked him on the Screenshotartist.co.uk forum or Aerosoft is making some progress with it and he replied:
”As for the Catalina, with all honesty I think it’s on the backburner for the moment. It’s an external developer and I presume they are busy with other projects. If I hear anything else I’ll be singing to the world as it’s a project that I too am eager to see completed. “
Well, I can’t add much to what he said. It’s clear, the great Catalina, one of the rare WWII classics we would be able to use in FSX, is not really under development. ^sigh^. Now, I’ve got some other things to look at. The Flight1 PC-12 is a great plane too, Nick told us. Somebody else on the forum bought it too and remarked:
“I gave up…I bought it. Awesome airplane!”
My current wishlist (all FSX)
Aerosoft Catalina (which hasn’t been released yet…they have been working on it since March 2007 or so…)
Aerosoft Twin Otter
Aerosoft Beaver X
Aerosoft Dornier Do-27
Real Air Scout package 2007
