The A2A Texan is out!

[molleh 451]

Saw the video and bought the plane.  Would have much preferred a version without the 'Accusim' - strictly a marketing tool but cleverly done.  For those of us with a bit of A&P and/or CFI the word 'superflous' comes to mind.

 

Umm, how is Accu-sim a "marketing tool?" I mean I get where you're probably coming from, as the video is as much marketing as it is passion for the aircraft, but Accu-sim really is a whole different level of simulation detail compared to any other sim out there. They run complete aircraft systems from electrical, hydraulics, cylinder pressure, fuel, pneumatics, etc fully simulated, just to have 1:1 real behavior. There is literally nothing else like it out there.

[jimcarrel 688]

Sorry, but I have to sort of laugh when thinking about Accu-sim being a marketing tool and superfluous to boot.   

[LAdamson 240]

I get what what's being said about accusim. Personally, since I spent years working on real planes, building real planes, maintaining engines, brakes, auto-pilots, radios, etc..................I just don't care to do the same with a simulated aircraft. I just want to get in it (virtually) and fly. Where accusim can really add to the immersion, I just prefer to skip much of it. I'll buy the T-6, but I do not care to maintain it according to the books. I was obsessive about maintenance in real life.  

[Glynn 405]

 

 

I actually think the videos are in P3Dv3 based on the virtual cockpit shadows

 

FSX has very nice virtual cockpit shadows these days.

[Pe11e 812]

I get what what's being said about accusim. Personally, since I spent years working on real planes, building real planes, maintaining engines, brakes, auto-pilots, radios, etc..................I just don't care to do the same with a simulated aircraft. I just want to get in it (virtually) and fly. Where accusim can really add to the immersion, I just prefer to skip much of it. I'll buy the T-6, but I do not care to maintain it according to the books. I was obsessive about maintenance in real life.  

 

Accu-sim is not about maintenance, it's all about managing engine during flight, oil viscosity, fouling plugs, etc. Accu-sim, in short, adds that incredible tiny details that make A2A planes a true breathing machines.

[Mochi 82]

The video and end product is a testament to how awesome A2A is - A small and hugely dedicated group of people that bring out the best in PC simulation. I really hope this product does well for them, enjoyed the video immensely.

 

Am not a warbird flyer , but who could dismiss such a masterpiece!

[CapnOz 110]

Absoultey the BESt plane to date A2A!! Thank YOU!

[LAdamson 240]

Accu-sim is not about maintenance, it's all about managing engine during flight, oil viscosity, fouling plugs, etc. Accu-sim, in short, adds that incredible tiny details that make A2A planes a true breathing machines.

I don't exactly care for all that either. I know there are some who will say "but, **".  Thing is, since I flew out of high altitude airports, I'll always be leaning a simulated airplane (the ones that require it). I expect it.  I just don't care for all the rest. I'm out to enjoy the scenery.  I want the proper reactions of left drift, power to weight, and all that, so the takeoffs & landings will seem realistic. I don't much care for simulated engine & airplane problems due to wear & tear, or not topping off the oil.

 

In fact, if given the option, I always turn "inflight problem scenarios" off.  I always spent more real life hours maintaining, and keeping everything in tip top shape, than actually flying. I never had inflight breakdowns, except for a failed alternator, and one gauge, because of it. At least with the plane I owned. Can't say that for the rentals.  P.S. --- I think I heard that accusim slings out the last qt. of oil with Lycomings, like the real engine does, If you shove the full 7 qts in, instead of six. Not sure though. That was with a 180 HP .

 

Other than that, I'm sure that some people could really enjoy the features of accusim. Perhaps, when I'm older (80 or so), I can slow down, and take the time, to enjoy simming more.  I don't have time for the oil to get to flying temp.....  Just push the throttle & go!

The video and end product is a testament to how awesome A2A is - A small and hugely dedicated group of people that bring out the best in PC simulation. I really hope this product does well for them, enjoyed the video immensely. Am not a warbird flyer , but who could dismiss such a masterpiece!

Excellent video!

[pilottj 198]

I think you have to remember too, is why the real life T-6 was built in the first place.  It is a trainer...a plane designed for educating pilots.  A2A chose that T-6 project for much of the same reason, to educate us virtual pilots.  So for that reason, everything should be as realistic and detailed as possible.  If A2A made cars, the T-6 is like a an old stickshift car that you would teach a rich kid to drive before he gets into a Ferrari or whatever.  I would imagine if A2A's cars were used for teaching purposes, you would want them to be very realistic, especially if your kid wants to drive powerful sports cars afterwards. 

 

If you like planes that are 'get in n go' without checklists, without having to worry about temps and fluid levels, thats great.  There is a wide range of great addons with varying levels of system depth/realism from lots of great developers that fill that boat.

 

Lets face it, the Airliner guys who want full on detail and hardcore simulation have PMDG to choose from.   The airliner guys who don't care about the hardcore details as much, have Aerosoft, Milviz, Capt Sim, CLS...etc...ie varying balances of fun/realism.

 

We, who are fans of GAs and Warbirds can enjoy that same variety.  A2A is our 'PMDG' of GA and Warbirds if you will.  They are here for us who love that super detail and challenge of mastering those beasts or to 'checkride' ourselves.  If you don't care for that kind of simulation, thats great, nothing wrong with that.  The FS hobby is a big place with something for everyone.   

[Christopher Low 5,359]

 

When you watch the videos the cockpit instruments are clear as a bell. In fact everything you look it is beautifully modeled and the clarity

is so apparent. I am assuming these videos are done with FSX but just curious if this clarity is also present in P3dv3?

 

The VCs in my Cherokee and Comanche look very crisp and clear in P3D v3.1.

[Dominique_K 10,150]

Simulation is, for me, not about scenery or flying an airplane. Both are limited in scope and will be for a long time to come. It is about the whole thing. I wouldn't be able anymore to fly a default aircraft above our best sceneries as I wouldn't be able to fly the best of our aircraft over the default scenery.Anything that enriches part of the simulation enriches the whole experience.  

 

Not a real life pilot and never will be. Too late. I appreciate very much to have a simulated aircraft that tells me when I do wrong. And that what Accusim is all about. It goes indeed beyond the maintenance hangar or even mechanical failures. It is about the aircraft giving you feedbacks. An example of such an Accusim feature in the sound department : the AT6 is delicate to land, she easily swerves on the runway I you are not attentive enough. With the Accusim sound you hear/feel the side of the tires biting the runway...

 

To give credit where credit is due, the first to have introduced that concept of feedback was, I guess, Rob Young with the FS9 Spitfire when redlining the engine blew it up. Scott Gentile from A2A has developped that idea tremendously over the years, aircraft after aircraft. 

 

I may add that Accusim runs outside the sim core engine to go beyond the limitations of the  MSFS older coding framework (or whatever the technicla term is). Majestic followed suit more recently. There are good planes crafted with  care  out there but how many developers are innovators ?

 

I was not per se interested by the AT6. But I know A2A so I bought the plane. After 3.2 hours on the Hobbs meter, I can tell you : the Texan is a great addition to our  sim world for a mere 50 bucks. She teaches a lot and  she is fun !

[carlito777 712]

 

 

I don't exactly care for all that either.

 

Then, I guess, you are better off buying a Carenado planes. Those are exactly for the type of simmer you seem to be...

[Christopher Low 5,359]

I don't exactly perform maintenance or conduct pre flight checks "by the book", but I appreciate the level of realism in A2A Simulations planes, and also the Accusim features. This attention to detail is not just cosmetic either. These planes really do feel like they are responding to how well (or not) I look after them, and anything that shouts "real" in a simulation is a plus for me. The Cherokee is the most enjoyable GA plane that I have ever flown in a flight simulator, and I am hoping to get the same feeling from the Comanche.

[Guest tymk]

I think there's a common misconception that Accu-Sim is about maintenance and failures. Of course, these things are simulated, but they are only a 'by-product' of the more in-depth aspects of that technology. If you take care of your plane, the risk of a failure is minimal. BTW, you can turn damage OFF and you won't have to worry about any of these things while still getting lots of improvements over standard add-on planes in terms or properly modeled behavior.

 

The things I like about Accu-Sim are nothing to do with marketing. It overrides many simplified or incorrectly simulated behaviors of the core platform, such as leaning (greatly exaggerated in FSX/P3D), prop governor operation, starter operation and so on, so forth.

 

Naturally, certain things may appear superfluous. I mean, if you lean properly out of habit, you won't get fouled plugs, Accu-Sim or not. Nevertheless, it's nice to have it simulated. But there are many other things which simply aren't possible to simulate in standard, SDK-based models, such as changes in engine behavior as it warms up, priming, starting in cold weather, in-air engine restarts, etc.

 

Also, FSX doesn't simulate air flowing over control surfaces properly, so you get hardly any or just no response to controls even at full power while on the ground. Conversely, with the A2A Piper Cub + Accu-Sim, you can have proper fun doing brake stands with correctly simulated elevator response (with a bit of practice, you can raise the tail and rotate the plane in place with rudder + differential brakes, bush-style :wink:).

 

Another thing is sound, which to me is a very important aspect of flight simming. A2A run their sound engine outside FSX, tied closely to Accu-Sim, and this puts the engine sounds on another level.

 

Just my $0.02 :wink:

 

Tym

[MarkW 1,493]

This looks like a really interesting aircraft (I own the Comanche btw and love it) but I just wonder if this is sort of a gimmicky type of aircraft.  You take it up for a few hours at the beginning but are you really going to fly it in 3 or 6 months?  will you actually take it from one airport to another?  I am just not sure what I would do with it.  At least with the Comanche I am taking some 1 or 2 hour VFR or IFR trips that people would do in the real world.  Am I missing something here?