LATEST info today from Carenado - this bodes well for the Citation II S550 future sales -

 

 

NAVIGRAPH UPDATABLE DATABASE FEATURE DEVELOPED

 

After one year of development, many headaches and several pizza slides we have finished the very requested Navigraph updatable data feature for our aircraft.

 

We would like to thank to all the people involved in this project: pilots, navigators, customers, engineers, designers and developers for all the effort put on this work.

 

 

We are very proud of what we have achieved and would like to offer our first product with this feature as a special price of $9.95. This product is an extension pack for our already released S550 Citation II FSX/P3D adding SID, STAR and APP procedures option for flying.

 

This product will be available very soon.

Stay tuned.

 

Carenado

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I'm hoping that A2A do an Accusim'd piston twin at some point.  (but please God, not the Seneca)

 

Rumour has it they're working on a Piper Seminole as their next release.

Really? Piper Seminole. This might be the first and last time you ever hear this from me, but that might just be an automatic buy. I don't go for hype, but an Accusimmed Twin, now that would be something.

 

I like the fact that A2A doesn't just make some plane from the specs, they actually go out and fly it, and test it, and measure it in all ways, and then work that into the model. I can't get excited about a little Cessna instead of a B-17, though I'm sure the Cessna is a tighter simulation. A twin by A2A though starts to bring me back into that realm of anticipation.

If you want accurate flying dynamics as well as eye-candy wait for the P3D version of the RealAir Beech Duke.

 

I wouldn't bother with the A2A Cherokee. Very pretty to look at but way too slow and dubious flight dynamics (in my personal opinion!).

A2A is the only addon maker that I am aware of that models little things like oil viscosity affected by outside temperature....ie you have to know what you are doing when you start an accusim engine...like a real airplane engine...you don't just press a button and the engine 'magically' starts right every time.   

 

 

Cheers

TJ

Rumour has it they're working in a Piper Seminole as their next release.

 

Mmm.  Not my first choice, but interesting nonetheless  I'm sure that ugly duckling might become the next beautiful swan for many, if released.

 

 

A2A is the only addon maker that I am aware of that models little things like oil viscosity affected by outside temperature..

 

Yes that's very nice if you've got the time. If you just want to fly however - check out the RealAir Duke for P3D once it's released!

The Turbine Duke v2 is fantastic, I am flying it around the world in FSX.   The T-Duke's only drawback is that is soley a fast high alt A-B transport, it isn't practical as a low altitude scenery touring plane.   The Civil P-51 is also a fantastic choice for a high speed airplane, it can go fast at high altitude, it can have very long rage at mid altitude, and can also go fast at low altitude, aerobatic capable, and the bubble canopy make it pretty nice for looking at scenery.   

 

Oil Viscosity doesn't add to time, it adds to things you the virtual pilot have to think about.  If you operate a real airplane, you must think about little things like that.  If you want to simulate operating a real airplane and want to learn/use the same methods/thought process taught in real life, accusim is the way to go.

 

Remember A2A is popular with flight schools too, so a Piper Seminole is a logical choice for a twin.  Consider they have to pay to rent actual airplanes to record data and test fly them, a Seminole is cheaper per hour than say a Baron.  A Baron will be a great choice farther down the road.

For a single, not much beats the A2A 182, in my opinion.  Their Cherokee runs a close second, and has perhaps a bit more of an unique feel, but the 182 feels extremely refined in absolutely every aspect. 

 

Outside of A2A, the Lancair Legacy from RealAir also is pretty close to tops on the list.  Has a wonderful sense of immersion, is nice and quick, requires a bit of thought to stay ahead of.

 

I don't fly small twins enough in my sim to give any recommendations there.

 

Outside of GA, the Twin Otter and the Q400 are extremely top notch, although the 'study sim' nature of the Q400 makes it a bit of a handful.

Just to echo everyone else's thoughts, if you're looking for an in-depth GA aircraft, you don't need to go farther than A2A or RealAir.

 

I don't purchase addons that often, but if A2A comes out with a Seminole next (or really any piston twin) I'll buy it day 1, sight unseen. They really are that good.

Twotter is excellent, but I'd recommend trying A2A aircraft first. More specifically, the Cherokee. It's got all the bells and whistles, and "ages" in real-time.

 

Good luck

I purchased the A2A 172 last year.  It was interesting to do the walk around, hangar actions and such but after some time I got over messing with it.  Not sure if you can turn it off.  As far as realism goes nothing you're going to install and download will fly like a real airplane.  I've been in multi-million dollar simulators that fail to emulate the control pressures and sensations that are key to flying a real aircraft, especially a smaller GA plane.  It's neat to have details like oil viscosity as long as it heats up fairly quick.  I've sat on a taxi with an engine running for 25 mins, or in the hangar for 45 preheating before and don't want to do that in a game.

 

I've bought a few other planes but I always seem to come back to the default Carenado A36... some of it is because I really like the real A36.  For twins I like light twins, I have a 2nd throttle quadrant on order and will probably pick up the Milviz B55.  I like the beat up look, retro style and it supports the GTN 650.  In the end I feel like everything flies the same or you can tweak it with FSUIPC how you want so it's really just about what you want to look at while you're doing it.

I purchased the A2A 172 last year.  It was interesting to do the walk around, hangar actions and such but after some time I got over messing with it.  Not sure if you can turn it off.  As far as realism goes nothing you're going to install and download will fly like a real airplane.  I've been in multi-million dollar simulators that fail to emulate the control pressures and sensations that are key to flying a real aircraft, especially a smaller GA plane.  It's neat to have details like oil viscosity as long as it heats up fairly quick.  I've sat on a taxi with an engine running for 25 mins, or in the hangar for 45 preheating before and don't want to do that in a game.

 

I've bought a few other planes but I always seem to come back to the default Carenado A36... some of it is because I really like the real A36.  For twins I like light twins, I have a 2nd throttle quadrant on order and will probably pick up the Milviz B55.  I like the beat up look, retro style and it supports the GTN 650.  In the end I feel like everything flies the same or you can tweak it with FSUIPC how you want so it's really just about what you want to look at while you're doing it.

 

90% of the time in a well maintained reliable airplane like a Skyhawk or Cherokee, you will experience an 'uneventful' flight...ie things not breaking, you could skip checklists, preflight, pretakeoff checks and most of the time you would be fine.  However flight training requires a pilot to be mindful of the 'little things' and do those things anyway.  Your life depends on it in reality.   Good situation awareness is one of the most important instincts for a pilot.  The fact that there is that 10% hanging out there of a systems failure, you would be well advised to be aware of the little things.  Most systems failures give you ample warning.  If you ignore the warnings, it becomes a game of Russian roulette lol.  This isn't a matter of 'time', it is simply a matter of 'awareness'

 

Now go to your 172 and select a beat up worn out airplane...that reliability factor goes down quite a bit, and the excitement really gets going....Take that beat up rental 172 to a place like Telluride, CO in the summer during the thunderstorm season, load it up to MGTOW....have fun.    Its purposely doing unsafe things that really can be fun too, like flying a 70 yr old P-51 over the Rockies at night.

 

Wouldn't your beat up old B55 be lots of fun if the aircraft systems were equally worn out and prone to failure?  Compounded by the fact that the rate of 'wearing out' is directly related to your flying habits.  You will be more aware of what you are doing and why you are doing it.   It adds a whole extra dimension to flight simulation when you have to be 'on your toes.' 

 

Back to the 90% thing, most of the time the oil for that little Lyc O-360 is warm enough to taxi before you finish doing your pre taxi checks, its that 10% of the time it might require a few more minutes.  You are perfectly welcome to taxi and takeoff with cold oil, it doesn't mean you will immediately have an engine failure, it means the engine life is shortened, and the chance for a failure goes up.

 

The beautify of FS you can do whatever kind of flying you want, to whatever level of realism you want.   How many here have started a flight, turned on the autopilot, grabbed a beer and surfed the net, then land?  I have, and I would bet most here have too at some point.   Certainly not advisable in real life but in sim, whatever makes you happy :Big Grin:

 

 

Now go to your 172 and select a beat up worn out airplane...that reliability factor goes down quite a bit, and the excitement really gets going....

 

One of my more exciting flights in the A2A 172 was an elevator failure that I may or may not of missed on the walkaround... got it back on the ground, taxied back to the hanger, found out why the hell I was having troubles with controlling the plane.   Very immersive experience... 

90% of the time in a well maintained reliable airplane like a Skyhawk or Cherokee, you will experience an 'uneventful' flight...ie things not breaking, you could skip checklists, preflight, pretakeoff checks and most of the time you would be fine.  However flight training requires a pilot to be mindful of the 'little things' and do those things anyway.  Your life depends on it in reality.   Good situation awareness is one of the most important instincts for a pilot.  The fact that there is that 10% hanging out there of a systems failure, you would be well advised to be aware of the little things.  Most systems failures give you ample warning.  If you ignore the warnings, it becomes a game of Russian roulette lol.  This isn't a matter of 'time', it is simply a matter of 'awareness'

 

You lost me, are we talking about the game or real life?