Introduction I have got to tell you that Alphasim has quickly become a one stop shop for me when it comes to getting military type aircraft. They offer a wide range of aircraft everything ranging from WW1 to modern day fighters and bombers and they never seem to disappoint me as with each new plane they just seem to get better and better. With that in mind, we climb aboard a TU-160 Blackjack; the Tu160 was Russia’s answer to the American B1-B Lancer and from what I have seen it does impress. Installation and Documentation As with all Alphasim aircraft, the purchase process is done through the Alphasim website and installation is as easy as copying the necessary folders to whatever version of MSFS you are using. Once you purchase the aircraft you will have the option to download both versions of the TU-160 and each version weighs in at about 28 MB. The directions are impressive as they cover all of the pertinent functions in the cockpit as well as the history and operation of this magnificent plane. Another nice feature is that the directions are accessible through the kneepad in FS, rather than residing outside of MSFS. This was very helpful in trying to figure out what was what; in fact I didn’t know the plane had the three other secondary panels until I found the directions by accident on the kneepad. The Real Tu160 The Tu-160 Blackjack from Alphasim is a monster and one can’t help but draw comparisons to that of the B-1B Lancer, in fact, if you put the two aircraft side by side their resemblance is almost uncanny. Even though the two aircraft have striking resemblances, the TU-160 is considerably faster than the B1. There was even some speculation about its stealth capabilities in and around the 1990’s, but in reality, the plane's design merely aids in its ability to not be detected. On an interesting note, I found that on April 25, 2006 a Russian Pilot claimed that TU-160’s had penetrated NATO airspace without being detected, this was not substantiated but did launch an investigation by NATO and does bring up some interesting aspects on the TU160 itself. With a max speed of mach 2.05 and a cruising altitude of more than 49,000 feet and a primary role as a military bomber, this plane makes for one deadly high flying adversary. Its sheer size can only be imagined when looking at the Flight Sim version, though the real plane has a wingspan of just less than 190 feet with its wings spread and an overall length of 177 feet, the plane stands at 43 feet high! What a monster! The TU160 is powered by 4 Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines which create a dry thrust of about 30,900 lbs each and about 55,100 lbs thrust each with the afterburners engaged. The sheer power is noticeable in the Alphasim plane, especially with the Prototype model. The TU-160 holds 44 different speed records and was considerably faster than that of the American B-1B. Armament is straight and to the point. The actual aircraft is built to hold in its two bays about 88,000 pounds of ordnance carrying either six KH-55 Cruise missiles on a rotary launcher or 12 KH-15 short range nuclear cruise missiles on the same type of launcher. 44,000 pounds of freefall ordnance can also be stored in each of the bays. Delivery of said ordnance is done through an electro-optical bombsight and it is important to note that there are no defensive weapons aboard, but the aircraft does incorporate an array of ECM equipment.
In 2003, it was announced that the existing fleet of TU-160’s would be upgraded with modern cockpits and a more sophisticated flying system thus replacing the aged cockpits seen in this add-on. There is no HUD or modern CRT’s and for a military aircraft of this day and age that is almost a necessity. In total, from the time the plane was in concept phase in the early 70’s to present, there have only been a total of 35 TU160’s built. Initially Russia had ordered 100 but due to lack of money and resources only 35 were built and that does include the three prototypes that were built first, one of which was lost on a test flight. The Tu160 From Alphasim When you get into the plane in either FSX or FS9, you will be a pleasantly surprised at the attention to detail that the developers chose to adhere to when creating this plane. From the engines to the cockpit there is so much to see and the detail is very evident. Once installed you will find three different planes added to your virtual hanger, one being the prototype, another being a real life Russian military paint and the third being a fictional paint that is all in black. I almost have to compare it to the old Firefox plane from the movie with Clint Eastwood. I did find that I was most impressed with the prototype edition out of all three simply because it shows the exterior of the plane in so much more detail than that of the other two.
The graphics department on the exterior of the plane is where this add-on truly shines. Don’t get me wrong, you got a great VC and a fantastic set of 2D panels but the exterior really represents what this plane is all about it. You really can’t understand what I am talking about until you take a look at my screenshots.
Flying the Alphasim TU-160 is really a treat, though it is important to maintain proper wing schedules and follow the online checklists. I really couldn’t do much to wreck the plane, but it made it a lot more interesting trying to fly it from the information in the documentation rather than just going in blind. The plane seems too forgiving at times, though I did find that it is a bear to get airborne when fully loaded. Having spent some time with the PSS Concorde, I didn’t feel like I was totally lost as I found it almost necessary to fly this plane much like the Concorde, as it is important to remember that you must make very wide turns when you are flying at high rates of speed and planning and proper navigation is a must. The other issue that I found, was that if you don’t plan a flight very well you might find yourself at an airport that isn’t big enough for this plane's massive size. In one instance I went to Russia Siberia Novosibirsk (UNNT), as I found a really nice scenery package on Avsim for it. Well after a long flight, I was taxiing to park and my swept wings, though retracted, struck one of the terminal buildings and ended my flight. The Cockpit Climbing into the cockpit of the Tu-160 is a relative culture shock and requires a general understanding of the Russian language, thank you Microsoft for the tool tips, as everything is in Russian. This is not really a big issue if you know your way around a cockpit and this not being a complex simulation of the real thing helps immensely. I did find that the tool tips don’t work on the secondary panels so that can get a bit confusing, the kneepad documentation does make reference as to what does what on the secondary panels. The main 2D panel and its subsequent secondary panels are where you will spend a great deal of time while flying this plane. Although much of the switches and readouts are merely eye candy, there are still some important functions on all of them. I would have liked to have had click spots on the main panel for each of the secondary panels rather than using the Shift plus whatever key, as it gets kind of tedious trying to remember which one is which. In total, you will find the main panel, Navigators panel, targeting panel and a few others. Most of these panels are there just for looks and I did find some problems with them in FSX and for what little they do, I just recommend staying away from them.
The virtual cockpit is impressive as all of the gauges have been totally reworked and give off a very authentic flare. Though many of the systems are not accessible from the VC, the critical ones are and it is possible to fly from the virtual view. Now, out of the two versions I have to say I thought the cockpit was much better in the FSX version. Why? You ask. Well the panels and even the virtual cockpit seemed to stand out a bit more, the gauges were brighter and seemed to have more detail than that of the FS9 version. This gave the entire plane a whole different feel; take the Targeting screen in FS9, it looks kind of drab to where the FSX version seems to stand out more. I don’t know, it just might be me but it just seemed better in FSX is all.
FSX or FS9 This product comes with both versions for whatever version of Flight Simulator you wish to use and I have to say that I was a little hesitant about the FSX version simply because of the performance issues that go along with FSX. But I have to tell you that my sim of choice for this bird is FSX. Performance wise the plane was great; I experienced decent frame rates and absolutely no blurry textures during my flight in FSX. My first flight with the TU 160 was out of a Russian airbase near Moscow to Murmansk, the flight was with little or no problems and everything functioned as it did in the FS9 version. Though I did find that trying to turn on the forward looking camera/targeting system resulted in a CTD with a memory error, not sure why but luckily it did it when I was still sitting on the ground in Moscow and all I had to do was reboot FSX and start over. In FS9 everything works fine, however with limitations of FS9 and the speed of this aircraft, you tend to notice more scenery blurriness when at the higher speeds and altitudes. I tried adjusting some settings to correct this, but I think this is just a common issue with FS9 and it is something I have never been able to correct with any aircraft that I have experienced this with.
The Sound The sound is incredible and really adds to the look and feel of this massive plane. The only thing I don’t like, is the choices of the flap/wing extend sounds. It’s a very generic sound that does show up on other Alphasim aircraft and unfortunately doesn’t really fit this type of aircraft. I think a clicking noise for the lever would have been more appropriate as I don’t think you would hear anything from inside the cockpit. The overall sounds for the engines are good, although there is no sound for the afterburners and I found that the internal sounds are almost overwhelming and do require the user to turn the engine sounds down in the MSFS menu system. This isn’t really an issue if you are running FSX though, as FSX allows you to pipe the ATC through a separate sound source. So if you have a good pair of headphones, I recommend doing so. In The End In the end I think I really enjoyed this plane as it adds something to FSX for me besides General Aviation aircraft. Being a military junkie, I tend to latch on to whatever I can get and this plane, the TU160, did not disappoint. Derived from an earlier release by Alphasim, this plane has been totally reworked and upgraded to look and perform the part in FSX and even looks better in FS9. Reviewer's Note: Be sure to check out this video, it is a really good video of the TU160 in action. |
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