Opinions on Aerosoft Bronco?

[ryanbatc]

It's on the deal of the day for $20

[CoolP]

Short version. Fast, very fast VFR plane, top notch graphics, good framerates, engine wear and failure model, very responsive FDE, great views thanks to the pilot's positioning, detailed electrics, nice 'wobble' effect on the gauge needles. The sounds may not be everybody's favourite but you may already know how those geared turbines sound from the J41. Means their nature. Yes, you can blow up the engines with just starting them.

 

We had that thread on the release, perhaps catch some impressions. They are still valid of course. That one gives you very high speeds and the ability to pull some Gs if you need it. http://forum.avsim.n...co-has-arrived/

[pmanhart]

Fast or slow, IFR and VFR, STOL or not, and worth every penny.

 

I would definitely pick it up, I love the ugly little thing!

[ZachLW]

I purchased it. Despite the popular opinion of this bird, I wasn't impressed. Honestly, that's partly because the aircraft doesn't interest me. I also found engine management and sound to be rather buggy. That's a loaded comment, but I don't have time to go into much depth at this moment.

[Chock]

I like it. It has a great VC, although I would have liked to see the rear cockpit also modeled, since it is in fact a dual cockpit on the real thing. Nice details such as the gunsight pipper lighting up and stuff like that make it fun, especially if you have CS Weapon for FSX, and the vast majority of stuff in the cockpit actually does something when you click it, although it does not model absolutely all that one can see, for example, the many radios the real Bronco has, since there would be little point in doing so with FSX. The real thing has more communication equipment in there than a branch of Radio Shack LOL.

 

The flight model is pretty good, like the real thing it is actually very aerobatic, which makes it enjoyable to fling around. In fact the real Bronco is probably one of the best aerobatic aeroplanes in the world because of its power to weight ratio and broad wing area, since it was designed to carry both guns and rockets and two paratroopers in the rear compartment for covert ops. Again like the real thing, it has quite a long range because it was designed for long loiter times over the battlefield as a COIN aircraft, but that comes at the expense of it being slow for a military aircraft, although much faster than the Bird Dogs and Cubs that it replaced in that role.

 

It is also capable of rough field performance and a fairly short take off roll, being much better at that than the other USAF FAC twin of the 'Nam era - the Cessna O-2 Skymaster - so of the two, the OV-10 Bronco is the better choice for things such as bush flying in FSX. This is especially the case where cockpit visibility is concerned - a plus if you like to explore terrain at low level - because short of a Bell H-13 Sioux chopper, you'd be hard pressed to find something with better downward and sideward visibility from the cockpit, which does tend to make you admire the people who had the balls to troll for ground fire in Vietnam in those things with nothing but half an inch of plexiglass between them and a crapload of 57mm ZSU fire. Roll it inverted and you can see everything below you.

 

As with pretty much all turboprop aircraft in FSX, this is probably the one area where it is not so good, although this is more of a failing on FSX's part than the add-on itself. Engines such as the Bronco's Garrett TPE331 gas turbine have never been really well modeled in FSX. You do get a reasonably realistic start up sequence, and the characteristic turbine lag is there, but the subtleties of how gas turbines operate in regards to prop effects and the gear reduction are not there, which as noted, is largely because FSX is not really capable of modeling that kind of thing very well. That said, unless you actually fly an OV-10 Bronco or anything else with that Garrett engine, you almost certainly would not notice, and so it remains a fun thing to have, because it is really no worse than any other turbine add-on you can get for FSX.

 

I got it in the recent Aerosoft sale for a reduced price, largely beause I'm a bit of a Vietnam War history buff, but I was pleased with it as a general exploration flyer anyway, for that money especially, so for 20 bucks on FSDOD it's a no-brainer. There's little to fault it if you ask me. It's a warbird that even GA flyers will find a use for.

 

Al

[CoolP]

I think the short post from Zach points out the main downside. You gotta like it to like it, so to speak. Means that if those rather high pitched engine sounds annoy you and you don't get much from the fact that this thing can go low and sometimes really zooms to the next location (due to the speed), you may not find it very attractive.

 

On the technical side, optics, switch sounds and so on, this one is very current and beautiful to look at and the engine failure model adds something which most GA releases leave out. If it had some VC rain, I'd call it perfect.

[ryanbatc]

Thanks for the reports!

[vc10man]

branch of Radio Shack

Aa..ah, Al, that brings up memories when you could find them in every High Street in virtually every town. Alas.........like a lot of Hight Street names that have bit the dust.

[Dougal]

Where is this being sold for $20 ?? I can only see it on their site at 29.99EU

[vc10man]

Where is this being sold for $20 ?? I can only see it on their site at 29.99EU

At www.pcaviator.com. Phil for $20.97 until 22/6/12 or 6/22/12 for our US cousins

[ZachLW]

Aa..ah, Al, that brings up memories when you could find them in every High Street in virtually every town. Alas.........like a lot of Hight Street names that have bit the dust.

 

We have a Radio Shack in town. Nice new store, but the grumpy old fart that manages it finally ticked me off for the last time (so has been my experience with Radio Shack forever).

 

For 20 bucks, I can't see passing this add-on up if you're a Vietnam War buff or have a passing interest in this particular aircraft. Simulating recon runs could be quite interesting if you're into that sort of thing (get a nice Vietnam mesh like I did). Otherwise, I guess you'll be simulating flights of a museum flying showpiece (yawn)...

[Chock]

Actually, I used it as a cargo aeroplane in Air Hauler, it's pretty good for that, carries 5,500lbs of cargo with full fuel (a lot more if you don't fill the tanks with unecessary fuel) and comes in at 2.7 million to buy or 152 grand a month with a 342 grand deposit, which is great for getting reputation up since you can do craploads of small cargo jobs in one run to very small airfields with grass strips. Got my rep up loads of points in about two days doing that!

 

With regard to showing it off as an historical aircraft, even that can be fun too if you do it in the rather fab add-on, Airshow Pilot, where it is in fact a great aerobatic aircraft that is particularly good with Track IR, since it has that massive canopy, which means you can line up your aeros really well.

 

Al

[ryanbatc]

It looks really solid but I'll probably pass... I've got the RA T Duke and Lancair for quick runs!

[Chock]

Yeah, but they don't have quad MGs, rockets and an ejection seat LOL

 

Al

[vc10man]

get a nice Vietnam mesh

Pointers, please, Zach, as I'm pulling the trigger on this add-on.

 

You are lucky that you have a Radio Shack store. Over here across the Pond, they have all but disappeared. Last time I saw that brand name was on the back of the US TdF cycle team.