Introduction If ever we want an add-on passenger jet, we are spoiled for choice. Not so if we want a passenger turbo-prop. Aerosoft included an ATR in their Eurowings Professional package, and PSS have their Dash 8. However both of these were originally developed for FS2002, and do not have the FS2004 features that we expect as standard these days, such as fully active virtual cockpits. It is an area that Microsoft has also steered clear of, although they have some smaller turbo-props in their default line-up, and there are well-documented issues with their turbo-prop model that can cause problems for creators of add-ons. Yet this type of aircraft has a strong and loyal following within the hobby, because it enables us to simulate passenger operations at an altitude where we can still see buildings on the ground, and get into those smaller airports with their more interesting surroundings and approaches.
Any company that decides to build a passenger turbo-prop to current FS2004 standards is certainly taking on an ambitious project. These aircraft have all the complexity of passenger jet systems, with the added complication of engines where turbines are connected to drive shafts that are connected to propellors, all going at different speeds. I was therefore very interested to see what Flight 1 had achieved with their simulation of the ATR 72-500. From their dedicated ATR website I was able to see how closely they had worked with the Avions de Transport Regional organisation, and how ambitious they had been in their design objectives. How far had they translated this ambition into real achievement? Installation & Documentation You can either order the CD, or alternatively, download all 149 Mb from the Flight 1 website. If you have download difficulties, they do provide a "download helper application". Download customers then unlock their package with a key supplied as part of the Flight 1 Wrapper system. The installation process is automatic and straightforward. My only complaint is that when selecting the plane from the FS2004 "Select Aircraft" "Aircraft Manufacturer" list, you don't find it under "ATR", you find it instead under "Flight 1 Software". Confusing. Use "Flight 1 ATR" if you insist on advertising your name, but otherwise please don't hide it where I may not be able to find it. The plane as supplied comes with a basic number of liveries. However there are currently about 20 freeware ones available on their site, installed with the Text-o-matic installer, and seem to include all the major ATR 72 operators. Documentation consists of a 10-page guide to the Configuration Manager, and an Orientation Manual that runs to 481 pages. Yes, that's 481 pages. In my copy of the Bible that equates to Genesis, Exodus, ...all the way down to II Samuel. In "War and Peace", it's about where Napoleon decides that invading Russia was a Bad Idea and heads back to a nice warm bed in Paris. Having said that, it's not as forbidding as it sounds, you don't need a 2-week vacation to read it. One of the good things about this aeroplane is that it caters for both the die-hard turbo-prop ATP, and for the "kick the tyres and light the fires" casual pilot. Certain parts are essential reading, for example the basic setup (always load on top of a default aircraft) and how to navigate one's way around the various panels and out into the passenger cabin. (One of the nice little innovations here is the use of the "grabby hand". You know, the one that your cursor turns into sometimes when reading an Adobe document. You can actually use your "grabby hand" to "grab" certain levers and move them backwards and forwards. Very neat.) However, other parts of the manual are less essential. There is a very full coverage of all the aircraft systems, and one can learn a great deal from reading this. On the other hand, it's possible to skim and just note how to operate the various controls for these systems, without necessarily knowing what's happening behind the scenes. Similarly there are many pages of "numbers", for example engine settings at different altitudes, that are excellent information for the enthusiast but aren't otherwise vital. At the end of this manual there are two flight tutorials which are highly recommended for getting to grips with this complex aircraft in as short a time as possible. There are some typos and awkward uses of English within the manual, but overall it is very readable. The plane comes complete with a Configuration Manager, which has its own small manual. This allows you to do things like choose the texture quality in the VC, instrument refresh rates, cabin style, panel type. You can customise the placard with your own name near the entrance door. Very importantly, it also contains the Load Manager for you to load virtual passengers and their luggage.
Aircraft
From the outside, the ATR looks good. It doesn't have the minute detail in all areas that some aircraft do, but it has enough where it counts, as you can see in the propellor, landing gear and passenger door detail pictured below. Flight 1 have achieved a good balance between extra-fine detail and performance, and it's certainly very convincing in Spot View or on a walk-round. Once we go through the passenger door and into the body of the plane, the standard is still as high. If you don't have ActiveCamera (reviewed in AVSIM in October 2004), then Flight 1 very kindly provide their F1 View Utility which allows you to use your mouse to walk around the cabin. And what a walk-around it is! Never mind flying, just switch the autopilot on and go for a stroll, clicking with your mouse as you go. It reminded me of one of those "dungeon" types of game where you click on things just to see what happens. First of all, in your pilot's seat, click on your armrest to lift it out of the way. Then find the "Cockpit Door" switch at the rear of the centre pedestal, and switch it to the "Open" position. Now turn around and click on the cockpit door catch to open it. You can now walk through to the forward baggage compartment. Another door. Click on that, and the main passenger cabin is revealed. Walk through to the rear, and another click lowers the jump-seat. However, if you're looking for another sort of seat, the lavatory door is just to your right. One click to get in, another to lift the lid, a final one to flush! Gimmicks? I don't believe they are. If they were novelties in an otherwise mediocre plane, then I would say so. But the rest of the package is of such an outstanding quality that Flight 1 are entitled to enjoy themselves with these very nice finishing touches. Certainly I enjoyed a number of jaunts to the back of the plane during my flight testing, relieving the monotony of longish flights.
The Panel The ATR comes with essentially 3 different panels, that should suit the flying styles and preferences of most simmers. In addition to the VC, there are 2 separate 2D panels, that can be selected in the Configuration Utility. The default "Expanded View Panel" provides a choice of pilot or co-pilot seat, and a large number of panel views for accessing all the instruments. The "Condensed View Panel" contains a much smaller range of panel views. Views can be changed by means of "clickable areas" within the main panels, and in the Panel Window Controller a small set of icons similar to the standard FS2004 ones allow access to sub-panels. Within the 2D panel, it is possible to swivel and move around the cockpit, and even into the passenger cabin, by mouse-clicking on the many "clickable areas". Although it's not as natural as moving around a VC, it does give an unprecedented degree of mobility to those who still prefer the look of a 2D panel. The following two illustrations from the manual show just how powerful this "mouse-click" system is.
As for the look of the panels themselves - well, when I first saw them, they took my breath away. They perfectly capture the appearance of the real thing, with some very subtle shading and lighting effects. Cockpit window reflections are also an option that add to the ambience of a real cockpit. Flight 1 have also succeeded, within the limitations of current screen technology, of creating a VC that is almost as clear and distinct as the 2D panels. As I am personally someone who much prefers to fly the VC, this is very important, I don't feel as though I've left my eyeglasses at home. In terms of usability, these panels should appeal to both 2D and VC aficionados. The real cockpit itself is of course extremely complex; it has all the sophistication of a modern passenger transport with the added complications of turboprop powerplants. Flight 1 have clearly put a lot of thought into the design of the 2D panels, and getting around them quickly and efficiently has been made simple by the wide use of "clickable areas". My only criticism here is that the Panel Window Controller, with its access to sub-panels, is only accessible from the left-hand seat. However there are other ways to get at the relevant gauges and controls, so this is a minor point. The VC is particularly easy to use, although I would recommend ActiveCamera so that you can easily get to the parts that your neck could not otherwise reach. A very good point is that the click spots in the VC are a reasonable size; so when you're bouncing round in ActiveCamera-induced turbulence, you can still switch the switches and turn the dials. The panels have all the functionality of the real plane, with a great deal of automation. To anyone who has flown other complex passenger aircraft like the PSS and PMDG series, there is nothing too difficult to learn. However you still need to Read The Manual, because you'll probably find differences with the FMC and TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System). For example, the FMC allows you to enter wind forecasts for waypoints. The TCAS actually gives voice Resolution Advisories like "Climb, Climb, Climb", which I guarantee will have you twitching in your seat when you first hear them!
As you will be coming to expect by now, there is more to these panels than meets the eye. You may have noticed in the pictures above that it's raining hard (as always!) at Cork Airport. Want a better view out of the screen? Go to the overhead panels and set the wipers to either "slow" or "fast". Not only do they work, they leave a very realistic "smear" as they move across. On the other hand if it's one of those winter days where the late sun is bothering you, click down the sun visor and give your eyes a rest!
Flight As I said earlier, this is a plane that caters for both the purist who wants to run through the checklist from top to bottom, and those with only 30 minutes to spare for a quick flight. The Configuration Manager allows you to choose, when you start up, whether to have
The choice, therefore, is yours. However, I would recommend "cold and dark" for the first few times, because it will give you a full idea of the complexity and detail in this wonderful aircraft, and introduce you to the arcane world of "Hotel mode". What's that? Well, it's the equivalent of the jet aircraft's APU. The turbine part of the right engine is running, but a brake prevents the propellor from turning. This is where you get your power supply from. Later, when your ready to go, you release the brake and have a normal turbo-prop engine. The procedure takes a bit of practice but is worth the effort. There are two excellent tutorial flights that take you from start to finish. I particularly like the way their checklists make you scan through the panels in a nice linear fashion, so that you can see where everything is. No more "Now turn on the left upper twiddle valve" while you scratch your head for half an hour trying to find the offending control. Turboprops are of course more difficult and complex than jets, with their power levers, condition levers, gust locks and idle gates, but the tutorial takes you gently by the hand so that you quickly develop the necessary confidence. You'll soon be using your "grabby hand" to move those levers, just like a professional. Once you're under way, Flight 1's ATR is as pleasant to handle as the real thing is reputed to be. It's common practice to start the left engine during the taxi; fortunately the levers are sufficiently easy to use that you can do this without taxying into the grass. Taxi speed is reasonably sedate, so you don't need to use excessive brakes to keep the speed down; however if you do, an annunciator light may warn you about overheating brakes. Once you're heading down the runway on the take-off run, your co-pilot calls out the various speeds in a good clear voice. When in the climb and cruise, the aircraft has that combination of responsiveness and stability that you would expect to find in an aircraft of this size. It's a fun plane to hand-fly, but when you want a rest the autopilot is very capable. The engine sounds are as I remember from the passenger cabin of the ATR; the Active Noise Reduction results in a refined hum just to remind you that the props are still spinning. And without testing with all height and power combinations, it does appear to perform closely to the very comprehensive set of performance data in the manual. In the approach, the autopilot makes a very good job of locking onto the localiser, snapping onto it neatly with none of that snaking you sometimes see. Even with an ILS coupled approach, there's some pilot skill needed in order to maintain airspeed, because there is no autothrottle as such. However, the co-pilot does help by calling out altitudes as you descend. When you switch off the autopilot, it hands control back to you smoothly, so that you can make your usual flawless landing! Taxying back to the gate is straightforward, as long as you remember to engage the gust lock to avoid excessive throttle in the taxi.
Performance and Quality As you would expect with an airplane of this complexity, there is some impact on framerates. However it is not as great as one might expect. The version of the ATR that I installed was the one with all the bells and whistles, including the full virtual cabin. Using the default King Air as my benchmark, there was a 30% reduction in framerates in the 2D panel, and a 50% reduction in the VC. When I talk about quality, what I'm referring to is a combination of 3 factors:
It's an important consideration, as our hobby grows and develops. Add-on products are less and less about painting an attractive livery and adding it to a panel put together with standard components. Starting with the PSS 777 and PIC 767, the ground-breaking airplane add-ons have been increasingly complex systems. And as anybody involved in software development knows, complex systems require sophisticated design techniques and rigorous testing programs. Beta testing should be so demanding that very few, if any, bugs are seen by the customer. However when they do appear, there needs to be a very responsive support organisation that can identify them and fix them quickly with a minimum of fuss. By these criteria, Flight 1 comes across as a thoroughly accomplished software organisation. The ATR is an extremely complex and sophisticated piece of engineering, yet I have to say that in the current version, in the hours I have spent, I have found not one single bug. There were FMC problems with the first release, yet these were identified and fixed quickly. The version that is now available, in my experience, is absolutely rock-solid and robust, and is a testament to the quality of Flight 1's testing processes. A visit to the support forum can confirm this. If you get this plane, you certainly won't be irritated by faults that never seem to get fixed. Summary When I first began work on this review, I noted how ambitious Flight 1 had been in tackling this plane, and wondered how how successful they would be. Well, the answer is that they were totally successful. Not only have they achieved a 100% simulation of a very complex airplane, they have gone above and beyond, with some excellent and enjoyable "extras" (and I'm not even sure that I've found them all!) It's a plane that can be used alike by casual pilot and expert, because in many ways virtual pilots can choose their own entry level. However it's most rewarding to use the full documentaton and go through the full procedures. It's very satisfying to do this, and because the panels are so well-designed, and because it's so robust, there's nothing to get in the way of a rewarding learning experience. I only had one regret when flying the ATR. It doesn't have a version of Bryan York's FS2Crew. Fs2Crew would suit it very well, because of the complexity of its full procedures, and having a virtual copilot would take some of the stress out of periods of heavy workload. This is a (not so subtle) hint for you, Bryan! High AVSIM ratings are, rightly, very difficult to achieve, and are only justified by outstanding innovation coupled with outstanding execution. Flight 1 has moved PC flight simulation forward in style and they are to be congratulated on their success. (Ireland airports and scenery by Irish Flight Sim Design) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
