Hi,

I'd like to hear some opinions on Aerosoft ASK21 with CumulusX, ASN and Prepar3D.

 

I would love to hear opinions of everyone who owns it, and would be great if there would be some real glider pilots between you. I am not the one myself, but I own PPL, so I know something about flying.

 

From the videos I've seen, virtual cockpit looks amazing, sounds are great and it feels VERY immersive. It looks like lots of fun too. I am curious about the flight dynamics and if they are very close to real. 

 

What I would like to know is this:

 

1. How close is it to real gliding?

2. How close to reality are flight dynamics?

3. Is it possible to use together Cumulus X and Active Sky Next under Prepar3D without problems?

 

And for the people, who are not familar with this addon, here is a nice video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=123&v=a5ltx9uDJHA

 

Thank you for any thoughts.

I'm a glider pilot ( since 1980 ) and a long time simmer, with some good experience in the K21

 

Honestly, forget about gliders in FSX / P3D, their flight dynamics, and ANY weather enhancements, including CumulusX

 

Yes they can offer you something more than default weather and gliders, but.... still very far from what simulators like SilentWings or Condorsoaring can offer.

 

After trying it again, and as a owner of the Aerosoft Discux X and ASK21 ... and many tested gliders from gliders.de, I returned running to Condorsoaring... That's the closest you can get...

Second that. Xplane is a little bit better imho, but thermal simulation only "feels" close to real in condor / silent wings. Gliding is really difficult to reproduce on a computer.

 

In a glider you fly a great deal more by the "seat of the pants", very much so in thermals. I guess "seat of the pants" is difficult to reproduce on a computer

 

The only good thing about a sim glider is that you don't have to wear the silly hat

From what I know, the only aircraft that fly correctly with proper spin and stall behaviour all use an external flight model like A2A do.

I have yet to fly a glider in prepar3d that behaves properly and I own pretty much all of them.

 

The ask21 is well modelled but is still lacking these flight dynamics although the k21 doesn't spin in its standard form anyway. I found its side slip performance poor - you cannot hold a sustained side slip and the air brakes were not as effective as they should be. It seems to float too much on rounding out even with full brakes. These comments hold true for all gliders I have tried to some extent or another though so I don't regret buying it.

I really hope one day somebody will make one with an external flight model. A2A?

I think gliding is too niche to warrant the development costs is an A2A style glider though.

 

Using winchX, cumulusX and asn along with accufeel allows fairly accurate winch launches and improved behavior and I can hill soar reasonably well and experience lift and sink around the hill where there should be some. I have a modified full size force feedback stick so I can trim properly and even use my oculus rift from time to time. Overall it is a fun experience and with all these add ons give a reasonable approximation of gliding. No it is not up to condor but it is more accessible with more scenery freedom and better visuals.

 

Obviously this is just my opinion and others may have different experiences.

 

Chris

Hello,

     I purchased the Aerosoft ASK21 about three weeks ago and am very pleased with it aside from a couple of glitches.  There are some things the model will not do on P3D but I use FSX so it doesn't matter much.

 

 

 

Hello,

     I purchased the Aerosoft ASK21 about three weeks ago and am very pleased with it aside from a couple of glitches.  There are some things the model will not do on P3D but I use FSX so it doesn't matter much.

 

 

 

Ok, I hit the wrong button and my comment on the Aerosoft ASK 21 went out prematurely.

 

===============

   I'm a member of the Eagleville (Tennessee) soaring club and hold an FAA Single Engine Land license.  I have about 260 hours in powered aircraft and at the moment am working my way to "solo" in a real-world ASk21 so that I might add a rating to my PPL.

   I was reluctant to purchase the Aerosoft ASK21 but finally gave in and downloaded it.  I have about 10 hours in the AsK21, nothing to brag about, but I'm finding the Aerosoft ASK21 flies just like the real ASK21 I'm training in.  I also use Cumulus X but my main focus using the Aerosoft glider is take-off and landing.  

   With Cumulus X I am able to choose "Smart Tow" which allows a more realistic towing experience than default FSX.  I have to anticipate the tow plane just as I would flying the actual ASK21.  Landing in the default DG808 always lacked something.  With the Aerosoft aircraft I'm able to focus on the FTSTALL prelanding checklist with close attention to the "s" for air-speed.  I've experimented with the Aerosoft glider doing the broken rope exercise from 200 and 100 feet  I've also "Landed Out" on my Orbx scenery.

   I've noticed from the Aerosoft forum that there is a P3D glitch that prevents the ASK21 from taking off if there is no simulator wind.  Aerosoft says it's a problem with P3D and they're working on it.  I fly FSX so it's a moot point with me.

   The only reason I'm voicing my opinion (and that's all it is, opinion) is the responses I've seen so far do not include the phrase, "I've tried the Aerosoft ASK21 and found it lacking"or "I fly the Aerosoft ASK21 and ..............."  The opinions I've seen so far are correct inasmuch as they pertain to gliders and FSX, but do not include a mention of actual experience with the add-on.  Aerosoft has added modules to get passed the shortcomings of FSX and it seems to work quite well, at least for me.

   Ten hours doesn't make me an expert but I am actively training in the real world now and all I can say is I have experience with both the real glider and the simulated glider and I am not disappointed.  In glider training, especially for pilots licensed but not rated like me, 3 flights count as an hour.  When doing pattern work the most common entry in my log book is point 1 (1 tenth hour or 6 minutes). That's due to the necessity of towing to altitude, releasing and going through the approach and landing.  I've had about 15 excellent landings and take-offs so far and am about to solo.  Then I'll fly my butt off.

  I do have one issue with the Aerosoft ASK21.  The manual on Page 8 says it's easy to change the instruments from metric to US standard measurement but fails to tell how to do it.  I've had the altimeter change from US standard to metric all by itself.  I've posted a question in the Aerosoft forums but find that platform confusing and so far I have not received a reply that actually pertains to my question.

 

 

John Hettish

[email protected]

I suggest you re-read the posts above then! Two of us have posted comments on how it flies.

As far as changing easily between metric and imperial, no I couldn't see the easy way mentioned in the manual either.

 

Chris

I have it in P3D.. WinchX works great.. you need to configure the exe.dll yourself manually to get it working without EMT active... i use ASN for thermals in manual mode , haven't tried Cumulus X in P3D as yet. The glider is great fun although i`m not a soarer IRL i have no idea on how realistic the glider is.... Support is fantastic from the developer...

 

Rick

Thank you all for very helpful comments.

 

I am still struggling with the decision, but probably I will buy it when I have more spare cash. I am tempted to try out a full cross country, VFR flight in it. It will be something different for me, and could bring something new to my flight sim experience.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

I have it in P3D.. WinchX works great.. you need to configure the exe.dll yourself manually to get it working without EMT active...

 

Just curious why EMT is involved when the ASK21 is P3D native?

 

gb.

Just curious why EMT is involved when the ASK21 is P3D native?

 

gb.

yes the glider is fully P3d native with the installer, but because the winch will not work in P3d, everytime you run P3d it asks you for the FSX path, create a false FSX folder with EMT and make the exe.dll entry for the winch thats it.. everything else is good

yes the glider is fully P3d native with the installer, but because the winch will not work in P3d, everytime you run P3d it asks you for the FSX path, create a false FSX folder with EMT and make the exe.dll entry for the winch thats it.. everything else is good

 

Ok., thanks.

 

gb.

Everything, Glider/soaring wise, works in P3D you just have to take time and have patience to get it working!! Training wise Gliding in P3D is much better by a mile than Condor or Silentwings.

As for this ASK21 it's stall speed is nowhere near the real ASK21's stall speed. Therefore no matter how good the detail is I won't use it. There are other minor issues too. I pointed this out to the developers but they weren't interested

Soaring simulation, only four options ( actually two presently available and of those only Condorsoaring still with a huge active community and online servers ):

 

- SFS v4 (  http://www.sfspc.de/index_e.htm )

- SOTS ( Saillor of the Sky: http://secure.simmarket.com/sailors-of-the-sky.phtml )

- Silent Wings ( www.slientwings.no )

- Condorsoaring ( www.consorsoaring.com )

 

The rest is music...