Some thoughts after a few more flights.

 

The landing wasn't a fluke. I've been setting this thing down gently, and near the center of the runway, every time. These are all wheel landings, not 3 pointers, too. The Goose I can land 3 point no problem, but I get bouncing on a wheel landing. The DC-3 is all wheel landings, and bounces; I've learned how to "stick the mains" in that aircraft. The Cub just kisses the ground in a wheel landing. Note: I haven't tried the tundra tire version yet, but I understand the wheels are so sticky and take so long to spin up when you touch down that you have to land nose high or 3 point on pavement or risk nosing over.

 

It doesn't take much throttle to get the tail off the ground. It's even possible to taxi on the mains with the aircraft level. This improves your view of the taxiway ahead considerably.

 

The A2A site has good videos of the Cub, and you can download the manual for it as well. Youtube has a lot of videos of impossibly short bush landings and takeoffs with the real Cub. I thought these were various high-power modifications, but apparently the stock 65 HP Cub will do about the same thing.

 

Interesting quote from the manual:

 

The Cub is not an instrument type of airplane. Experienced Cub pilots listen to the sound of

the wind and sense the feel of the controls to determine the airspeed, they listen to the hum and note of the engine to determine RPM and how well it is running, and they look down to see how high they are. Cub pilots are Aviators. After a while, it won’t matter if your passenger is totally obscuring the instrument panel; you won’t need to see it very often anyway.

 

By all means, get the Accu-Sim addon if you get this plane. Hand starting the engine by pulling the prop. A working paddle for the float version. Additional physics for the whiskey compass. The ability to move the plane "by hand" on the ground.

 

Spark plugs that foul, causing the engine to run rough and visible vibration. Carb icing even in warm weather if you don't pull carb heat when you lower the throttle (haven't experienced that one yet). The engine sounds a bit different every time you fly. I haven't tried abusing the engine, but I understand it has quite an effect. The passenger will comment on the temperature, so you have to open the window or door, or turn on the cabin heat; there's a control panel that includes the outside and cabin temperature as a 2D gauge, it also includes several other useful features.

 

I don't know what it is about a 75 mph airplane that makes it exciting to fly. I just can't figure it out. It's like there's something about the aircraft that's alive, that it has a soul. It speaks to you. Yeah, that sounds weird, and it did to me too when Richard Bach was writing about his Searey "Puff" on his blog. But now I understand.

 

Hook

but please as above, you MUST get the "Accusim" a2a cub..

Some thoughts after a few more flights.

 

The landing wasn't a fluke. I've been setting this thing down gently, and near the center of the runway, every time. These are all wheel landings, not 3 pointers, too. The Goose I can land 3 point no problem, but I get bouncing on a wheel landing. The DC-3 is all wheel landings, and bounces; I've learned how to "stick the mains" in that aircraft. The Cub just kisses the ground in a wheel landing. Note: I haven't tried the tundra tire version yet, but I understand the wheels are so sticky and take so long to spin up when you touch down that you have to land nose high or 3 point on pavement or risk nosing over.

 

It doesn't take much throttle to get the tail off the ground. It's even possible to taxi on the mains with the aircraft level. This improves your view of the taxiway ahead considerably.

 

The A2A site has good videos of the Cub, and you can download the manual for it as well. Youtube has a lot of videos of impossibly short bush landings and takeoffs with the real Cub. I thought these were various high-power modifications, but apparently the stock 65 HP Cub will do about the same thing.

 

Interesting quote from the manual:

 

 

 

By all means, get the Accu-Sim addon if you get this plane. Hand starting the engine by pulling the prop. A working paddle for the float version. Additional physics for the whiskey compass. The ability to move the plane "by hand" on the ground.

 

Spark plugs that foul, causing the engine to run rough and visible vibration. Carb icing even in warm weather if you don't pull carb heat when you lower the throttle (haven't experienced that one yet). The engine sounds a bit different every time you fly. I haven't tried abusing the engine, but I understand it has quite an effect. The passenger will comment on the temperature, so you have to open the window or door, or turn on the cabin heat; there's a control panel that includes the outside and cabin temperature as a 2D gauge, it also includes several other useful features.

 

I don't know what it is about a 75 mph airplane that makes it exciting to fly. I just can't figure it out. It's like there's something about the aircraft that's alive, that it has a soul. It speaks to you. Yeah, that sounds weird, and it did to me too when Richard Bach was writing about his Searey "Puff" on his blog. But now I understand.

 

Hook

 

This is what it means to be part of the air and part of the airplane. Not just a passenger clicking knobs and watching displays. My time in the A2A Cub has always been well spent. Buy a chart or two, learn dead reckoning, go somewhere far away (like 60 or 100 miles). Feel the accomplishment. Never look back.

I got inspired to get this myself. Just purchased it, but the downloads failed and now I have to wait for someone to reenable them again :(

Just purchased it, but the downloads failed and now I have to wait for someone to reenable them again

 

PM Scott at A2A forums... I was just looking at this thread yesterday.

 

http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=32517

437

PM Scott at A2A forums... I was just looking at this thread yesterday.

 

http://a2asimulation...hp?f=94&t=32517

Thanks for the tip, downloading now.

It turns out you can put terrain shadows on the map, same as you can with the GPS, as it uses the same display logic. My only complaint about the Cub so far was that the map, which is otherwise good, has the flat terrain. Where I live, everything is the same color.

 

Look in

 

D:\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\A2A_PiperJ3\panel\a2a_piperj3

 

for the file mapscreen.xml and add the following lines in red:

 

</CustomDrawParam>

<!-- LDH changes below add terrain shadow -->

<CustomDrawParam id="LayerVehicles" Name="LayerVehicles">

<Value>1</Value>

</CustomDrawParam>

<CustomDrawParam id="TerrainShadow" Name="TerrainShadow">

<Value>1</Value>

</CustomDrawParam>

<!-- LDH changes above add terrain shadow -->

</CustomDraw>

</Element>

<Element id="Compass rose">

 

These are the same parameters used in the GPS, but a different syntax.

 

Note: replace "D:\Microsoft Flight Simulator X" with your FSX install folder in the line above.

 

Make a backup first in case something gets messed up. The file can be edited with Notepad by opening a blank notpad and dragging the file to the open notepad window.

 

Hook

Once you have experienced A2A aircraft and Accusim its hard to look at anything else. Apart from QW Avro they are the only ones installed now since i did a re-install. Very enjoyable and interesting.

While installing the map shading is a nice idea, I have to say too, there's plenty of time to see what is ahead (LOL) and you sure don't want to be up there when conditions are such that you can't see up ahead--or beside--or below come to that. :lol:

While installing the map shading is a nice idea, I have to say too, there's plenty of time to see what is ahead (LOL) and you sure don't want to be up there when conditions are such that you can't see up ahead--or beside--or below come to that. :lol:

 

I agree, but you shouldn't be using a chart with few to no terrain details. A VFR chart means you can see things on the chart that you can see out the window. Personally, I'd prefer to have a real chart displayed.

 

I flew through Merrill Pass last night. That's 9AK3 to PASV, with waypoints set up in http://www.skyvector.com to take me through the mountain passes. I didn't use a FSX flight plan, but headings and times from Skyvector, pretty much pure dead reckoning. Real world weather which included 15 knot winds from generally north. Without an accurate chart this would have been a bit of a problem. Terrain shadows just add some accuracy to the chart. A VFR chart contains considerably more terrain information, even without the text overlays. In fact, it's probably near impossible to plan this flight with the default FSX map; the actual pass isn't well defined.

 

Hand starting an engine that has never been run before in -16 C weather was... interesting. First time I'd flown the ski version, so new engine and no fuel in the fuel lines. Oil temperature barely got above the 40 degree minimum, and fuel pressure was just about maxed. The cabin heater only gave about 30 degrees C difference from the outside, which means at -27 C outside at the destination, you'd better dress warmly for the flight.

 

Hook

Personally, I'd prefer to have a real chart displayed.

 

Me too.

 

That is one super little mod Larry! Before I never messed much with that map since it was so "bland". Now I am thinking I could add to all panel folders...

 

Thanks for sharing that!

 

Rob

There's a similar mod for the GPS. I've got both stock GPS's and the Carenado C337 GPS set up with these:

 

<TextDetailLayerIntersections>0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 24 (@g:map_ZoomStep) case</TextDetailLayerIntersections>

<ObjectDetailLayerFlightPlan>0xE 0xF (@c:FlightPlanIsActiveApproach) ?</ObjectDetailLayerFlightPlan>

<TrackUp>(@g:currentPageNAV) @kNAVPageDflt ==</TrackUp>

 

<!-- LDH changes below add terrain shading -->

<LayerVehicles>1</LayerVehicles>

<TerrainShadow>True</TerrainShadow>

<!-- LDH changes above -->

 

</CustomDraw>

 

<Element>

<Position X="0" Y="200"/>

<Visible>(@g:currentPageNAV) @kNAVPageDflt ==</Visible>

 

Hook