Choosing between three GA aircraft

[Benjamin J 751]

Hello guys,

 

Short and simple, there are three GA aiercraft that interest me, and I'm not suer which one to go for:

 

- Ants Airplanes Ealget - Really sort of cute and little plane, with neat light and rain effects and beautiful visuals

- Aerosoft Wilga - Interesting, old plane that could be a really nice change from the usual Western-built aircraft

- A2A Piper Cub - Pricey but very realistic, with some very neat effects.

 

I will add that price is currently a major opbstacle, which makes the Piper Cub a bit of a difficult purchase. Depending on your reactions, it might come in as a good secondpurchase when I have more money, though.

[Chock 17,769]

Hmm, that's a tricky choice.

 

Well, everyone knows how good Ant's stuff is, great prices too, and in the case of the Tecnam P92 Eaglet, since there is a demo available of it, you can make your own decision there. Although one thing I will say is that it is interesting to have something with a Rotax 912 simulated rather than the typical Lycoming, and in the case of the Eaglet, it does have some cool prop simulation effects on it which do affect how you fly it. It's the fastest of the three as well, though not by much.

 

The PZL-104 Wilga is more or less the same price as the Eaglet, and as you know it is, like most 'agricultural' aircraft, built like a tank. Being Polish, in all probability it does have some tank parts on it somewhere LOL, since it does get used by the military a fair bit for stuff like spotting and liaison, so too does the Eaglet come to think of it, and of course the Cub pretty much pioneered that role even though it doesn't really do it these days.

 

Joking aside, I really like Polish aircraft, I've got craploads of hours in SZD and PZL gliders, and in spite of their somewhat utilitarian finish in comparison to say, German-built gliders such as Grob, I prefer them. PZL make the SZD-51 and a knock off of the Jantar as well, and they're great to fly. The reason I'm mentioning that, is that the Wilga is quite a common aerotow aeroplane in Europe, and so it is faster than it looks for an aircraft with STOL capabilities. They can do about 110 knots, even when towing a glider, which is a little less than the Eaglet, but not bad for something which can take off from a postage stamp. It's a good one for low and slow exploration, if that floats your boat, so probably an ideal choice for Orbx type scenic joyriding.

 

The Piper J-3 Cub is of course, well, it's the Cub, a total classic, and by A2A as well, which is a major plus point. But, what you should bear in mind is that you don't actually have to buy it with the AccuSim add-on, you can buy it with or without, and if you don't buy that AccuSim add-on, then it isn't really that much more than the other contenders. Since the AccuSim add-ons are in large part about the simulation of maintenance and wear and tear, if you are not bothered about that aspect of simulation, then you could eschew that bit, but also always have the option of adding it at a later date, and although that would mean missing out on the slight discount you get when buying the aircraft and the AccuSim add-on bundled at the same time, it is only 5 bucks that you save, so that is an option to consider. Another thing to consider of course is that, if like everyone else with any sense, you've got A2A's AccuFeel add-on, then pretty much all three of em are somewhat AccuSimmed anyway, at least in terms of some enhanced feel and stuff.

 

As far as the Cub is concerned, it is the slowest aircraft - well under 100 knots cruise - and the one with the shortest range too - just over 200 miles as opposed to the approximately 500 miles range for the Eaglet and the Wilga. But, with all those aircraft, you are talking about flying for a bloody long time to go 500 miles, so ultimately, the difference in range might be somewhat academic. The Cub has what might be called 'the most basic cockpit' of the three, not because it is badly done, quite the reverse, it is spot on, but because that is so, it replicates the very simple avionics of the real thing, since it was designed to be an inexpensive trainer, whereas the other two have slightly more expansive ambitions. The Eaglet would be the best one for some IFR and certainly is the only one with what could be called modern avionics, the Wilga is more like a slightly better endowed version of the Cub as far as avionics go, not much more capable than it, but perhaps a tiny bit.

 

If you fly for real, you might want to go for the Cub, since it is probably the one you'd most likely get to have a go in for real because Cubs are all over the place, although personally, if I could only have one, I'd go for the Wilga, since it is hugely different, in fact I have got the Wilga, and personally I really like it, it has an interesting cockpit and certainly offers the best panorama when flying.

 

Like I say, that's a really tricky choice though, and I probably haven't helped to make it any easier either LOL.

 

Al

[ryanbatc 13,035]

I'd get the Eaglet... I tested the beta and the release demo. Exceptional plane for the money... If it weren't a bit faster it would be in my hangar. I presume you've tried the demo available on his site?

 

I've got the Cub frankly it's just too slow to enjoy.

[N1G 88]

The Eaglet is a nice aircraft. You will not be disappointed.

Have you considered the Baytower RV?

 

Bob

[ZachLW 37]

The "Accu-Simmed" Cub brings some neat features to the table that I think makes it a winner. Off the top of my head: The J-3 on Floats that can be paddled. The tundra tires and their obvious feel of greater mass and drag when landing (great effect). Hand propping. A continuous engine state that wears and tears over time. Great user repaints (though Lock Haven Yellow is beautiful).

 

As a regular real life Cub flyer (three/four times weekly during these beautiful summers), I'm a bit partial. Hence my av. picture... That being said, there's nothing like cruising over my home town with the window and door wide open and the wind on my arms and legs. The A2A Cub gives me that feeling.

 

Ground handling seems a bit off to me. Namely the ease of getting the tail off of the ground during takeoff seems exaggerated and turning radius could be tightened.

[Alan_A 1,650]

The Accu-simmed Cub also adds Heidi, the simulated passenger, which is actually a nice part of the overall experience and not just the gimmick you might think.

 

Also worth considering - Ant's Tecnam Sierra. It's a bit older than the Eaglet but it's extremely good in its own right. For some reason I prefer it to the Eaglet. Not sure why - maybe it's a low-wing vs. high-wing thing, or maybe it's just intangibles. But take a look.

 

If it was me, I'd go for one of Ant's planes now and hold off on the Cub until Accu-sim fits the budget.

 

Hope that helps.

 

EDIT: I mistyped - meant to say I prefer the Sierra. Or maybe it was a Freudian typo - they're very close. It's hard to go wrong with either.

[briansommers 74]

yeah.. there ya go.. I like the Sierra a not more then the Eaglet.. being a low wing its' kinda snappy.. but of those three, I would go with the Eaglet.

 

if you really want to have fun get Ants Drifter - love that UL

[Alan_A 1,650]

yeah.. there ya go.. I like the Sierra a not more then the Eaglet.. being a low wing its' kinda snappy.. but of those three, I would go with the Eaglet.

 

if you really want to have fun get Ants Drifter - love that UL

 

Brian - see my edit above - I meant to say I'm more of a Sierra fan. But I think you nailed the reason - I don't like "snappy" (and I'm not much of a roller-coaster fan either). So low-wing for me, if there's a choice. But it's a very tough call.

 

Thanks also for reminding me about the Drifter. I've meant to try it but never have. Sounds like I should. So I will.

 

 

[briansommers 74]

yeah. its slow but really fun.. especially if you have ezdok and set the shaking effects rather high - don't stall it , it has a very mean tip stall going on with it.. take it up several thousands AGL then power off and pull up until it stalls.. see what happens..

[FloG 148]

I got the Cub and I really like it. It's a real cool classic aircraft, and I enjoy flying it, especially in ORBX's PNW area. It's also great to discover new places, because it simply can't go too fast. Also heard a lot of positive things about Ant's Airplanes, considering to buy the Eaglet myself.

 

Never heard anything 'bout the Wilga.

 

Regards

Flo

[Chock 17,769]

Since nobody seems to know the PZL-104 Wilga, I just did a little vid of it for you, so you could see the VC and the external model and hear the Ivchenko engine (which sounds like a diesel locomotive, one of its endearing features), and see what it flies like. I sideslipped it in to show it off a bit, it does that really well. If you like bush flying, you're missing out if you don't have the Wilga. It'll be on youtube in a while, it is currently uploading.

 

Al

[Chock 17,769]

1080 HD vid of the Wilga which I did for you (be sure to stick it on high res). As you can see it's as mad as a box of frogs, but it is a great model and it flies well:

 

 

Al

[Benjamin J 751]

Thanks all! So to recap, most people seem torecommend either the Cub or the Eaglet, although I think the Wilga doesn't get much attention because of its oscurity ratehr than it being a bad aircraft or something like that. And Al, you have been as always remarkably useful with your recommendations and thoughts. Thanks a lot for the video! Although I thinkI might postpone on the Wilga. Something about its exterior just doesn't work for me.

 

For now, the choice is between the Cub and the Eaglet. Rightfully so, the Cub gets praized for it's Accu-Sim component, and I must say that the wear and tear simulation sounds very interesting. The floating effects and all that also seems like a great addition, plus that I really like the design of the plane, but I can't help but wonder whether having Accu-Feel doesn't make AccuSim half redundant, for it alsop adds quite some more realistic physics to aircraft. Can somebody outline what the accusimmed Cub adds over AccuFeel? Further more, I'm a great fan of oldschool steam gauges, but I find the Piper Cub dashboard to be maybe too empty.

 

There are also quite some recommendations for the Eaglet. I find that the Eaglet is endearing in a way other planes are not, plus it's a small, high-wing tricycle, of which I have none. Sure, I have the Carenado C182RG, but with its by now rather outdated visuals and it still being quite a big plane, I just don't fly it very often anymore. The Eaglet seems like a perfect substitute, plus it has some technological things that I highly value: as Al said, the more-than-default engine simulation, but also the rain and landing light effect, to which I have become so attached on other planes (Aerosoft's Airbus being one of the, for example).

 

So, the race is now between Piper Cub and Eaglet. I find it very hard to choose:

- I like the olschool style of the Cub, but I highly value the more extensive instrument set of the Eaglet.

- The Easglet is cheaper than the Cub.

- The Cub has AccuSim.

- The Eaglet has nice rain and light effects.

- I really like tail draggers.

- Both have a very ncie exterior design, and the modeling and texturing seems very good.

- like that the Eaglet has an option for a modern gauge set, although I'd proibably never use it.

 

So yeah, what to, what to do. Anybody any ideas? I will for sure download the Eaglet demo, thanks for mentioning it!

[Kaly 22]

Get the A2A bird!!

 

Or, save some more money and get all three! :Party:

[BartEnder 2]

My story for this would be that:

- A2A Cub - wonderful plane, You will feel it, not only fly it. Top on the list without a doubt

- PZL-104 Wilga - I am personally attached to this plane. This is the first GA I have flown outside the monitor. Despite this, Aerosoft has done pretty good job. A2A Accu-Feel would be nice addition to this bird.

- Ants Airplanes Ealget - I do not know this plane, was never interested in it.

 

If You can afford, go for two of them: Cub and Oriole (Wilga)