Bill Lyons is no secret to those of us that appreciate those aircraft more atune to the Golden Era of aviation and what better talent to have providing such extraordinary aircraft during the 100th anniversary of First Flight. One of the true icons of the 1930s was the Stinson Reliant, with the original having been designed by Eddie Stinson, Lynn & Bill Lyons have come up with their own FS version of this classic high-wing aircraft. Though known for years for their outstanding freeware aircraft, Bill and Lynn decided to go into the payware arena last year, as a way of sustaining the website they use to show thier wares (Golden Eagle Squadron), but considering that they have a tendency to over stock each of their releases with an abundance of features, the selling price of $12.50 is barely an amount that will break even those with the most meager of incomes. As the number says, this is release number 6 of the series of classic FS aircraft packages from Lynn & Bill Lyons, and I would presume, like they did before, that this aircraft will become freeware within a year or two, but I wouldn't recommend waiting, as you'll miss out on all the fun.

Bill was one of the very first FS designers to include a dynamic VC panel (as far back as FS98) and all of the aircraft included with Classic VI (Stinson Reliant, Pietenpol AirCamper, and a Pietenpol Experimental Glider with rocket boosted launching) continue with this being the primary mode of flight operations in FS2004.

Documentation & Installation

First, all you have to do is visit the Golden Eagle Squadron website and after sending an email, through PayPal, with your $12.50 included, Bill or Lynn will provide you with your download site. Classic VI is a sizable zipped file (15.2MB), but installation is a snap, just follow the directions in the readme file, after unzipping, and then go flying after that.

The documentation provided is generally pretty slim, being limited to the basic readme file, but in the readme file, Bill does provide some historical background on the Stinson Reliant, which is not as extensive as what LAGO provided with their Roaring Thirties release, though its quite sufficient none the less.

Test System AMD 1.2Ghz processor 512MB SDRAM 48 Megs RAM ATI 9700 Pro 128MB video card 44GB Harddrive 19" ViewSonic monitor Windows98SE Altec-Lansing Surround-Sound 5 Speaker system Saitek 3D Cyborg "Gold" joystick w/throttle Flying Time: 8 hours Classic VI's Stinson comes in 2 different model types (wheeled and float) in 3 different liveries. In addition to the classic icon of the Stinson, you are also given your own private hanger to house it in. The 1930s era scenery of the town of Hillcrest and the many custom buildings are all apart of this package. Besides the 3 wheeled versions, you also get 2 of the liveries as a float model. The maroon (red) and cream colored float Stinson is more my favorite as any of choices and its handling ability on the water is very good. In this closeup of the Reliant, you can clearly see the authentic appearing corrosion lines and rust on the floats. Also you can see from this angle how the Stinson Reliant got its nickname of "Gullwing" by the shape and taper of its wings. The airfile allows you to slideslip in a very realistic fashion and recovery is as easy as with the real thing. In this comparison of the Classic VI Stinson and a real-world Stinson (in-flight) you can see that Lynn & Bill's Stinson is very close to the real thing. In an additonal comparison to a real-world Stinson, you can see that in particular the wings are very nearly perfect with the Classic VI FS Stinson "Gullwing" addon.

Visual Aircraft

There are a total of 3 different aircraft liveries or paints, with all 3 being rendered on wheels and 2 of them on floats. Not extensive in available paints, but the 3 that are included are of very high quality in their general appearance. Being fully reflective and also having that dynamic shine texturing, each of the Stinsons in the Classic VI is excellently rendered as is the added little Pietenpol AirCamper, which has a very realistic appearance considering the time period it was available. Each of the two aircraft (Stinson and Pietenpol) do have a pilot and passenger that you can have appear by pressing your "/" spoiler key. The AirCamper lacks any doors, so there is nothing to open, but by depressing "shift" + "E" on the Stinson, you will find its doors opening revealing the fully finished interior.

The float equipped versions of the Stinson each have noticable corrosion on the fitted joints of the floats themselves and they do appear very much to be made of lightweight metal.

One of the very small things I noticed was that the dihedral on the wings of the Stinson seemed to be a bit low as to the amount of dihedral that exists on the LAGO version of the Reliant, but neither are absolutely correct or incorrect as the original was generally a custom built aircraft (on a individual basis). I found several photographs of the originals that support both FS models in their appearance, both on wing shape and as to the length of the landing gear. On Bill & Lynn's version, they stayed with the general idea following the majority of civilian designs, rather than include any of the military versions.

As you strike the "/" key (spoiler), your pilot and passenger will appear in the little Pietenpol and your passenger alway gives a friendly wave before settling down in her seat.

Not particularly fast, it is very nostagic and frankly a lot of fun to fly the Bill Lyons designed Pietenpol AirCamper, though if you're in a hurry to get somewhere, you may want to consider the Stinson instead

Panel/s

Neither the Stinson nor the AirCamper have anything even remotely related to what most would consider sophisticated avionics, but they do have the addition of the default Garmin GPS available for your use. One of the items I do like with the Lyons' Stinson & AirCamper are that the gauges generally have period faceplates, in accordance to their era. One of my former criticisms of the LAGO Roaring Thirties' Stinson was that the gauges were all of a modern type, in their appearance, but Bill generally likes to develop a certain ambiance about his designs, so the panel and cockpits of these aircraft are in line with creating the feel of the 1930s.

In this closeup of the virtual panel (Stinson) you can see the custom spec plate with your name engraved on same.

The 2D panel is well detailed, but it is a bit high, though Bill's designs have always been best flown from the virtual cockpit anyway.

For those that are unfamiliar with Bill's work from the past, which I would be surprised someone hasn't heard of Bill Lyons before, you should be aware that Bill was probably the first FS aircraft designer to incorporate dynamic 3D virtual panel-cockpits, even back in FS98. The little Cessna 120 he developed for FS2000 is still one of my personal all time favorite FS aircraft, mostly for its very realistic feel and authenticity in the appearance of its 3D dynamic virtual panel.

From the virtual cockpit, you easily place your seat height for an excellent forward view, while keeping all the dynamic gauges in clear view. Notice also the period style gauges that display reflectivity if the sun is coming in from the side or rear.

With the sun light coming in from the side, notice the light reflecting off of the glass of the gauges and even the wood rim of the yoke-wheel is reflected off the gauges directly in front of the yoke.

As is the norm for FS2004, the panel for the Stinson in Lynn and Bill Lyons's Classic VI is clickable from the 3D mode and a cross-country flight can be accomplished by dead-reckoning, to maintain a certain nostalgic sense to your trips, or with the benefit of the default Garmin 295 GPS, you can rely on modern technology to complete your trips, the choice is yours.

There is one thing I must add, concerning Bill's virtual cockpits, and that is he had long ago learned how to capture the feel combined with appearance which adds an almost unexplainable reality to flying in this mode. When I say unexplainable, its more a matter of you having to test this for yourself, because I've rarely found an addon aircraft for Flight Simulator that truly gives you that general feel or sense, through sights and sounds, of actual flight, but Bill's designs generally do this better than the vast majority of FS aircraft out there and his latest, the Stinson Reliant, once again impressed me for its authenticity when flying in the VC mode. It is about as close to flying the real thing as you'll ever get on a PC monitor.

In the virtual cockpit mode, the full interior is rendering faithfully and even the trim handle (on the ceiling) rotates as you adjust the settings.

The one break from tradition is the inclusion of the default Garmin 295 GPS, but thats okay, as it makes navigation that much easier.

Also in a popup window is the default communications radio, so that you can contact air traffic control for takeoff and landing instructions.

You also have the option of using the original radio (analog) by way of a popup window.

Airfile/s

The airfiles for either the Classic VI Stinson Reliant or the Ford powered Pietenpol Aircamper are far more than acceptable and in the case of the Stinson, I found that performing forward or sideslips to be easy and very authentic in how this FS aircraft reacts, particularly on recovery over the threshold.

I didn't try any spins, but the stall reaction and recovery is very good (Stinson) and its general overall performance to be in tune to the numbers as I found on the net, visiting the various Stinson owner's website descriptions and-or spec sheets for comparison. The Classic VI Stinson Reliant is a strong performer, with a cruise speed comparable to the default Cessna 182S, but with a better rate of climb. The Classic VI Stinson lacks an autopilot, but in calm weather conditions you can trim the aircraft and it will hold its settings, only requiring an occasional touch on you part.

On the float version, it too was far more than acceptable, and I found it (the float model) to be very pleasing to fly and its controlability in taxi to be very good.

The airfile for the Pietenpol is also quite good, though its hard to get overly excited about an aircraft that is barely capable of cruising much over 70 mph. There are a select few, like myself, that occasionally enjoys just tooling along, viewing the country-side, particularly considering the much improved ground textures in FS2004. Because the Pietenpol is powered by a Ford model "A" engine, the radiator is mounted atop the engine valve cover, blocking your forward view, so flying from the 3D virtual cockpit is mandatory, if you wish to have a chance at looking around the radiator for landing.

The Pietenpol also has a smoke generator so you can also try your hand at sky-writing and Bill has purposely designed the smoke to stay aloft for several minutes so you can complete your sky write job and then have the opportunity to view the completed work.

Sounds

Keeping in the tradition of Bill Lyons' past work, the sound files for all the aircraft included in Classic VI are quite authentic and certainly superior to other similar aircraft (payware) of this type. As a demonstration of how complete Classic VI's sound files are, I noticed while starting the Stinson (from the spot view) that not only does the engine cowling shake and just the right amount of smoke appear, but the engine backfires as it comes to life, very cool indeed. Bill's sound files get a very strong 4.5 stars from me.

Special Features

One of the things I always enjoy with anything released from Lynn & Bill Lyons are all the little detail items, items that normally are not included with other similar or like add-ons, freeware or payware.). I get the feeling that Lynn & Bill Lyons really get a kick out of developing and seeing what new ideas they can incorporate with each release and in the past we've seen things like a 1959 Caddy convertible (driveable) or a classic mahogany power boat, or in one case a working sailboat.

With Classic VI we're presented with the following list of additional items:

• A driveable 1934 Ford roadster
• Two custom add-on sceneries, including a complete town (Hillcrest) with authentic period buildings.
• Custom signage for the purchaser of the Classic VI package, using the buyers name throughout town.
• Custom nameplates on the Stinson and Pietenpol.
• A dynamic US Navy drigible flying over the town of Hillcrest.
• A small bush scenery on a Canadian lake.
• Lighted Christmas tree in front of the City Hall building at Hillcrest (seasonal)
• Dynamic fireworks on the 4th of July.
• A period glider that has rocket boasting for launching.
• Dynamic auto traffic (Hillcrest) where all the vehicles are from the 1930s.
• Several included pre-set flight-adventures to enjoy each of the different features of this add-on.
• Custom hanger (with your name on the front sign) at the small grass airfield just outside of town (Hillcrest).
• I really liked the rotating sign at the Bijou movie theatre in downtown Hillcrest.
• One of the best features is the playable radio (sitting on the backseat of the Stinson) where you can select one of several period radio shows, including: Laurel & Hardy and their famous "Who's On First" comedy routine, the "Lone Ranger" radio show, "The Shadow", plus a few others.

• Excellently designed aircraft
• Outstanding airfiles
• Marvelously presented 3D virtual panel-cockpits
• Custom signage and placards featuring the purchaser's name
• Custom scenery (the small bush scenery and the town of Hillcrest)
• Period AM radio for listening to old-time radio shows (also controls your CD drive if you wish to play your own music)
• Classic glider with rocket launch pack
• Pre-set flights-adventures
• Despite FS aircraft and scenery detail, all are very easy on frame rates
• Low cost
• Great sounds
• Included 1934 Ford roadster for exploring the town of Hillcrest or viewing the fireworks