Aside from the support or lack of support from FSD, how are the flight dynamics of the Navajo in Fs2004... I would really like to know from someone who has some REAL time on a Navajo who can vouch for it. Like I've said I am redoing my Navajo PPC in a few weeks, and looking for a good training aid, and what better way than to stick with the aircraft you know.Things I am interested in:1) Stall speeds2) Approach speeds3) Takeoff speeds and how the aircraft reacts on rotating with no flap or roughly 10 degrees of flap4) Stability in a 45 degree bank turn5) Are the main instruments "zoomable" as the PMDG 737 and Flight1 421?6) How the aircraft performs with different weight distributions (the Navajo sits naturally nose heavy)Thanks,ChrisPMs are gladly welcomed as I do now want to see another war starting over FSD :)

Hi Chris, a quick review on the Navajo.I won't be able to tell you about the "feel" of the Navajo because I fly with a joystick and without rudder pedals, I support my statements in my knowledge in aviation and in tests I've done following the checklists.The patch fixed a few flaws that FSD said were not there, go figure, but the airplane itself IMO still lacks of a few things that makes a payware airplane unique, I can't help to compare other airplanes with the Navajo and if you are like me, who likes realistic simulation (not only a pretty model) and have tried either the Flight 1 Meridian, or PMDG 737, or Frolov's Dash 8, you will find the Navajo to be.....uh..simple?, not detailed enough (simulation wise), like an airplane in which they didn't put too much effort on. Once again, this is my personal opinion.After the patch I think they disable the damaging model, they say that now the model will accumulate the stress and after certain amount of stress the engines will fail. I really don't think this is the way is working now, I have flown the aircraft FULL throttle in 3 different flights of more than an hour each and the engines are still there running like new. This is a feature that really had me excited, it opens a new dimension in FS but unfortunately I believe is not there anymore making the airplane even more common.Now the test. PA-31 Navajo PantherGross Weight: 6640 (Empty: 4250 + Payload: 927 + Fuel: 1463)Airport: Winnipeg Intl. CYWGStandard Atmospheric conditions-----My Computer-----Pentium Celeron 1.7 GhzWindows XP Home SP1768 RAMNVIDIA GeForce 2 MX 400-----FS2004-----Simple CloudsNo AutogenNo AI trafficTexture MassiveUsing FSAutostartFPS varies from 17 to 20 (locked at 20)Things you're interested in.1) 78 Kts clean, 70 Kts landing configuration. (Checklist says Vs 83 Vso 74)2) 115 Kts following the checklist. Nice -400 fpm descent.3) Slowly rotating at 80 Kts makes the airplane smoothly liftoff at around 85 Kts and 5* nose up. On the take-off roll, the airplane accelerates slowly to 60 Kts and the speed settles there for about a second or two, then it continues to accelerate VERY rapidly to 85 Kts at the point where the airplane leaves the ground. First phase of the climb with full power gives you 2200 FPM @ 110 Kts up to 1000' AGL, then with climb power (according to checklist 38" MP - 2500 RPM) gives you 1300'-1500' fpm @ 110 Kts. Around 4000' and cruise climb power and speed gives you 1200'-1400' fpm @ 130 Kts (in this phase the fuel consumption is +- 20 gph).4) I reduced the aileron effectiveness in the aircraft.cfg file to 0.5 from 1, it "feels" a little less responsive that way. At 45* bank the airplane "feels" stable, it stays in the turn if you don't move the controls and if you have the airplane properly trimmed. I did a coordinated turn at 45* bank angle and it took me 1 minute to make a 360.5) Yes they are, actually you have 2 choices, you can zoom the gauges (with the main panel still in the back) or you can select the IFR panel (while flying, no need to choose it before the flight). For instrument flying the gauges are not smooth enough (the same in every airplane with analog gauges in FS unfortunately), only the VSI and Altimeter are smooth.6) The view outside the main window is great for VFR flying, on the ground it sits completely parallel to the ground the same as in the air during cruise. I can't notice a nose down attitude either in the air or in the ground.It's a beautiful model but it could be hard on the FPS depending on your system I guess, switching views can take a few seconds, the solution is to download a different set of DXT3 textures but you may still need to change a few other "small" textures by yourself that they didn't changed to DXT3.My conclusion, if you are looking for an aircraft to simulate real world procedures (within the limits of FS), and you're used to complex/realistic airplanes, I think the Navajo won't fill your expectations. I'll give it a 3 out of 5.Carlos.PS: I wish FSD can take this as a lesson, my "assumptions" caused me to be banned from FSD. Mr. Small banned me for saying this same thing even in a more respectful manner and in a private e-mail to him, this was before the patch and I was told that my "assumptions" were wrong, now some of my "assumptions" has been fixed. If they get offended by this post, I really couldn't care less.There is no worse blind person that the one who doesn't want to see.