Attention all Bush Flyers!
Every once in a while, something comes along that is
a breakthrough in design. I was in the MSN Gaming zone one morning when a
fellow zoner asked if I had seen the new Cessna 120 available for download
by Bill Lyons. Of course I had to go and check it out.
This particular zoner doesn't make a fuss over an aircraft unless its a pearl. I
wasn't to be disappointed. After visiting the homepage, I
proceeded to download the plane and the accompanying scenery set by Tom Constantine to see for myself. Quicker than my computer could handle it, I had installed the aircraft and scenery, and was up and flying in no time at all. Only after a few minutes, I knew this was a
plane that had to be reviewed on AVSIM.
Cessna 120 History
Production on the 120 was
started in 1946. With WWII having just finished, this was the first of the
Cessna tail dragger family aircraft to have a a "high-wing". The
120 was manufactured with a metal fuselage, and fabric wings. At the
same time the more refined version of the 120, the Cessna 140
was in full production. The original 120 was equipped with an 85hp
engine, and a 90hp engine (which was preferred by pilots). It is reported
by many pilots to be a fun to fly, even if a little docile at times!
Final production numbers reached 2,172 before the cessation in 1950.
The aircraft depicted in this download was owned by a chap called Joe
Carlile. Bill Lyons heard about this Cessna 120 which is registered
NC41686, and decided to use this as a template. Joe used the plane for his
free-lance photography business. He kept the plane throughout his
career, Using it with the ski configuration in Alaska, and switching to
the float option later on in his career.
Installation and Documentation
Once the file is downloaded, it couldn't be more easier to install. Firstly you are presented with a readme file. (I strongly suggest reading this) and a couple of
.gif pictures. The installation of the aircraft was quick and
painless. Bill has taken into consideration the "less experienced"
flight simmer here, and included all the relative paths. The
readme file has a great deal of information about the Cessna 120 it is based
on, and some history of the aircraft and its owner. It describes the
various key presses that are associated with the 120 and the
new features that have been incorporated.
The Aircraft
Having started Flight Simulator, and knowing there was a float plane, I
set my airport to Fairbanks Airfield in Alaska, and slewed to the central waterway (to test before going to Luckey's Landing). I loaded the plane and was greeted with a splashing sound and a
bobbing aircraft. My initial view was non spectacular to say the
least! I pressed the "S" key to switch views, and I
could very quickly see why my buddy had made such a fuss over it! You
are greeted with a panel the likes I doubt you have ever seen before in
Flight Simulator. The first thing I suggest to do is use the
pan and look around the cockpit. Experiment a little here, as
it will no doubt be a totally new experience for you! (It was for
me.) There are many surprises that await you!
Meanwhile back at Fairbanks I was bobbing around quite happily on the water. First
thing that I noticed with the new panel, you can't use the mouse to
operate any of the buttons/switches. This didn't cause too much of a
problem. Being such a basic design of aircraft, there are not all that
many to operate anyway!! If you remember back to the history section, I
mentioned about the "real" owner. Being a photographer, and he
liked to fly with the side windows open? Well yet another surprise for
you! Press the </> key and keep a sharp eye on the windows.
As I have already mentioned, this aircraft comes in three versions: Wheeled, Ski and Float. For this review, most of my flying was done using the float version. As I am sure you will all agree, landing on water is far more exciting than land! When you have the 120 float version sitting on the water, and ready for take off you will be in for another pleasant surprise. As you advance the throttle you will see out of the side windows a water spray appear. Now is that cool or what? The sound files that are also included are great. When you initially start the 120 up, you get that lovely spluttering and gurgling sound before the engine fires. As you advance the throttle the speed increases and you start to lift off the water; the wake effect will stop. Bill has worked this to become active at 10mph and stop again at 55mph. You can hit the F8 key; this will stop the water from appearing when you slow below 55mph whilst airborne. The propeller effects are magnificent. With engines off you can see a lovely wooden prop, and whilst "turning and burning" you get a nice stroboscopic effect.
F5
will reactivate the wake when you are coming back to down to land. One
thing you might ask yourself when you fly this is where are the flaps? No
flaps on this baby! (One less thing to have to worry about!) Once
airborne, you will quickly discover that it is a very forgiving
airplane. She trims out very well, almost to the point where you can fly
"hands off". As with the key presses to turn the water wake on and
off, the panel controls are all activated via key presses. Being
an all new panel design, Bill has not yet incorporated mouse
clicks for the panel. Thought the surprises were over? Wrong
again! Press the L key, and the gauges will spring to life!
Yep... Virtual panel and working gauges! Using the pan controls to view
around the cockpit of the aircraft, you can see the dedication and skill
that has gone into creating this masterpiece. Both the yoke and pedals are
animated for extra realism. Bill has even adorned the cockpit with a
"body" that moves in conjunction with the yoke and rudder.
With this being based on a Joe Carlile's airplane, he as even included
the addition of a camera and magazine between the two seats. As you
explore the three different versions of the C120, the magazine changes
too! With the subject of magazine that is beside the pilot in the
float configuration, this only spurs your imagination as to the subject he is off
to photograph!
Test
System
Custom AMD
T-Bird 800 MHz Flying Time:
Again I
am not in the position to comment first hand on the flight dynamics, but
with the detail put into the aircraft so far, I would find it hard to
imagine the flight dynamics taking a back seat. Landing on water is not the easiest of disciplines to master; it can give you a false sense of height, so good judgment
and handling is imperative. As you come to a stand still, the floats
"sink" into the water simulating the weight of the aircraft. Taxing is another skill that takes a little practice. You need to apply a fair amount of throttle to
get the aircraft moving, and making turns don't happen on a
sixpence! The tail rudder is connected to small paddles that are
attached to the floats, that Bill has also made animated for our enjoyment.
A selection of pre-configured flights is ncluded within the package. One of these starts you on a glacier in the
"ski" model C120. Again like the water, landing on a glacier
is something that takes practice. With the terrain of a glacier being uneven,
it's easy to misjudge and go head first into a ridge of ice! Now in the same
breath, these ridges can be to your advantage! How, I hear you
say? Stopping! If you land on a downward slope, then you are going to
end up at the bottom! Careful judgment is required here. Pick a
good spot and you'll be ok. Pick a bad one, and your auditioning for
the next winter Olympic ice skating competition!
The wheeled version that Bill has added is just as much a joy to fly as the
ski and float versions. Again it comes with a test flight that you can
choose. This places you at the Detroit Lakes Airport. After the
initial "shake-down" flights in the Cessna 120, it was time
to head to Luckey's Landing and see what that has to offer.
Scenery
Designed by Tom
Constantine, the Luckey's Landing scenery is on the initial download page for the 120 (and is included in the Avsim library download). It is situated near Bangor, Maine in the US,
and incorporates many features. Installation is straight
forward as well. There is good documentation included in the zip that explains
how to get this set working. For those of you who are new to adding scenery, there is a change that has to be made in order for this to work correctly. It is called a "flatten"
command, and is again well documented on the procedures to get the correct
effects. If you don't add this, you will find yourself high and
dry whilst sitting next to the docking platform! You will also have
to get the Airport
Textures and VOD 3.0 textures. Make sure you get the update for the scenery as well. If you already have
the "Luckey's Landing" scenery, the update will take away the tree
lines, and replace them with individual trees. It will also help with frame rates.
There is an abundance of aircraft and buildings at the landing. The area is quite
large in size; there is plenty of room for the wheeled version to take off and
land. The detail of the buildings is great, as you can see from the
hanger in the picture below. As the sun begins to set, the lights on
the cabin illuminate—yet another touch to the realism. One really neat
feature Tom has added is the animated aircraft that flies around the
area. At first I was taken by surprise, and couldn't quite work out what
exactly it was. Eventually it came in to land and stopped by the docking
platform. Now isn't that a nice touch! As you can see from the
"real" picture of Luckey's Landing, it bears a great resemblance to
Tom's creation.
Real Luckey's Landing photos from Airnav and Tom Constantine
Conclusion
Flying this aircraft was a total delight. No complicated displays and dials to watch, just the vital ones to manage the aircraft. After spending 20 hours
flying the Cessna 120 both around the Luckey's Landing area, and up in Alaska, I
found it to be one of the nicest aircraft that I have flown in a long
time. Bush flying being one of my favorite disciplines, I have found Bill's
Cessna 120 a valuable addition to my fleet. The innovations that he
has incorporated into it are superb, and like lots of other designers these
days, is striving to make a break-thorough in Flight
Simulator 2000. I would hate to imagine the time and effort that Bill has
put into this aircraft, but the effects and innovations are fantastic.
The scenery is of equally high quality too. As you can
see from the real photograph and the screenshots, it bears all
the detail associated with the real world location. I have given this
review 4½ Stars purely for the fact that while the aircraft is innovative, there are still some areas that could be perfected. From what I have seen so far, perfection will only be a matter of time. If this is what Bill and Tom have for us now, what will they produce for us in the
future? I for one cant wait to find out!!
You can download the Cessna 120 and Scenery from the AVSIM Library here.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Links:
Bill Lyons |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
