Everyone, if you have even a passing interest in flying what is probably the most realistic flight model ever created for FS - RUN and buy this plane. I was so blown away by the way it feels that I forgot to lower the gear as I landed it for the first time... [;)] Seriously, this is right up there with the Dreamfleet planes and PIC for that totally immersive feeling of actual flight. The rudder authority in this plane eclipses anything I've ever seen before in FS - you can do snap rolls, fully straighten out a crosswind landing, do real sideslipping etc.. And yes, the spins do work very well!I know this looks like an ad for the plane or something, but I just seriously wanted to let everyone know that all the hype over this plane is fully justified IMO.Ryan

Ryan,I agree!I bought it as soon as it was released and I doubt that it will be bettered until FS2004 comes out! It really does push back the limits of what can be done in FS2002 in terms of realism.Iain Spowart,Scotland.Webmaster and photographer,Scottish Claymores 2002Cheerleaders Fan Sitehttp://avsim.iainspowart.com/2002-s.jpghttp://www.claymorescheerleaders.comhttp://www.iainspowart.com

Same perception here.There's something about this plane that gives me the impression I'm actually learning something. Like I wrote elsewhere, working with the SF 260 seems to make you significantly more proficient with other models as well, which suggests that there is some kind of general learning that's taking place.Try this: do about 45' of pattern with the SF 260 and switch to any other GA a/c. You should see an improvement in your manoeuvres.I also noticed that this plane's taxiing behavior on a windy day seems to vary with the elevator's position, as it should.

Hi Ryan,Thanks for your kind comments. We certainly haven't set out to "hype" our aircraft, and in any case hype never works - it's the user feedback that promotes any aircraft all by itself. Best Regards,Rob YoungRealAir Simulations

If anyone remembers just how unique the FSD Pilatus Porter was, flight dynamics wise for FS2K, then this SF260 is the most unique flight model for FS2002. It's not only........ excellent flight dynamics outside the normal low and slow flight envelope, but does much more than FS2002 was capable in the past. It's the most fun I've had in "sim land" period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!L.Adamson

You should see the virtual cockpit in steroscopic 3D!!!It is unbelievably realistic on a 19" display, I can only dream what it would look like on a 22" that would do 120hz refresh rate.Here is a link to a picture in 3D if you have the stero viewer. Of course if you have the viewer you have already seen the cokpit, so I am preaching to the choir. Perhaps someone hasen't gotten the SM260 yet, (I can't imagine who or why not), and they can look at it. Besides it is just pure fun to post these links. LOL :Dhttp://members.cox.net/wb5okj/sm260final.jpsSave the above picture to your harddrive with a jps extension and double click it. If you don't have the stero viewer you can save it as a jpg image, then look at it crosseyed until it comes into focus as a 3D image. No I am not kidding, it will work if you try it. Have to work at it for awhile until you can see it properly. :)LOL

My word, Don...what do you have yours set at, 100% separation? My eyes nearly popped out of my head trying to cross them and see the image! :) If you get around to reading this, I wanted to let you know that I got the glasses to work (thankfully), but Im having driver issues with the new 30.82's, and after a few times of running the sim, 3D images wont show up in the sim. When in the aircraft selection page, I can see everything but the picture of the aircraft Im selecting at the bottom, and when I load back into the sim itself, I see nothing at all, but my mouse still brings up the boxes of what Im pointing at (Airspeed indicator, HSI, etc.). So Ive uninstalled both the basic nvidia 30.82 and the 30.82 stereo driver...I will try and sort it out this weekend. Its amazing what we simmers will go through to get our equipment to work properly! :)Craig

HI Donald,This is a nice surprise, as we had no idea whether the SF260 would work well with stereo vision. Could you please give more details about your view system, how much it cost, and how easy to set up it was, and whether it works on a modest (1.4 gig) computer running Win98se?Thanks for the kind feedback.Regards,Rob YoungRealAir Simulations

Hi Ryan. Want to increase the feeling of reality even more?Try sideslipping into Emma Field in this baby. Both the aircraft and the scenery are state of the art and, combined, make a wonderful team.I know it costs but it's worth it.Cliff

Can anyone please post a link as I can't seem to be able to find their websiteThanksRonCVA1701

Ron,http://www.realairsimulations.com:-)Iain Spowart,Scotland.

>Hi Ryan. >>Want to increase the feeling of reality even more? >>Try sideslipping into Emma Field in this baby. >>Both the aircraft and the scenery are state of the art and, >combined, make a wonderful team. >>I know it costs but it's worth it. >>Cliff Already on the list for mext month... ;)

Hello Rob,First Kudos for your SM260 a masterpeice if its field if ever there was one.I have a P4 1.4 gig HP machine which runs very well with any and all of Microsofts Flight Simulators for starters. When I started using steroscopic 3D I had for a video card a GeForce 2 64 Pro card which I ordered for this machine. At the time that card was the fastest on the planet which was why I ordered it. We all know that would last abut 2 weeks after buying it. LOL, But I digress. Using the Gforce2 card the nVidia Stero drivers would not work well, but after downloading the version 5.02 beta drivers from E-D they worked well. The GF4 card will not use these drivers, I must use the 30.82 nVidia Stero Drivers along with the regular 20.82 drivers. (Please note you must use two sets of drivers here, the regular drivers currently 30.82 that the card uses, and then also the 30.82 Stero Video drivers.These drivers work extrememly well with the G4 Ti4600 card. The monitor needs a fast refresh rate, the faster the better. Myl Hp 19" monitor only has a 85 refresh rate at 1280x960 resolution but I get very little flickering with this refresh rate. Again the faster the better, they recommend 100 but 85 does fairly well.It is money well spent in my opinion. 3D is at least to me is amazing and it helps my real world flying too. This is strictly my opinion however.Allow me to apoligize for errors or typos as I do not have time to proof read this. mail me if you need info.http://www.edimensional.com/index.html again E-D linkThe actual 3D e1uipment is from E Dimensions http://www.edimensional.com/index.htmlI have the wireless glasses which are 9$99.95 US, (the wired kind are $69.95 US). The wired and the wireless work the same, I just like the freedom of not having wires hanging around my head.

Thanks very much for the info and links. Very useful. I might try this myself!Best Regards,Rob Young

It's kinda off sub-topic, but since we're sitting at the same table...I think I remember someone mentioning the IR tracking thingy with the SF 260, and how nice it was. What part of your body do you move to generate the panning on the screen..?