That's good to hear, cheers.  I don't suppose you fancy recording a YouTube video for it? :smile:

 

Can you confirm whether there are any sounds on the switchgear, etc?  I seem to remember the C42 having rather loud, stiff metallic mag switches.  Just wondering if they've modelled any interior / immersive sounds, or whether it's just standard SDK sounds (engines, flaps, etc)?

Hi Bill,

 

Youtube production is not my things sadly but I can confirm the sounds are great. The fuel pump sounds like the real Ikarus fuel pump, not the default FSX one. The flap gate sound is spot on as well. The switches sound right to me but given that no two Ikarus cockpit layouts and fittings are the same, the switches fitted sound just right and not the default FSX sound. The Engine start and stop is again spot on and in sync with the prop, which as you know stops on a dime when turned off. MAG drop on the RMP gauge is spot on as well. All in all, I really have to give this a 9/10. Would give it 10 if it had a pilot but they say that's coming in an update soon. My advice is GET IT. You will not be disappointed Bill if you want a very good C42 that really flys like a C42. As a pilot of the C42, I am very impressed and for once, the hype  and propaganda they have put out is all true.

Ok,

 

Here's just some very brief feedback from a super fast circuit.  I took my new C42 to Skiathos :wink:

 

 

 

1). It is a staggeringly simple add-on, with no gauges added to the DLL, no configuration options at all, only 2 liveries, and a file size of 53Mb uncompressed (not that file size is a measure of anything).  It is pure default FSX SDK content, with features comparable to the FSX AirCreation 582 Ultralight. (Actually, doesn't the FSX ultralight come with a handheld GPS?).

 

2). There is only one pop-up panel, in-sim;  the radio. 

 

2). There is no GPS on board.  I appreciate a C42 won't have a GTN750 fitted, but a handheld GPS (such as that which Ants Aircrafts provides) would have been nice.   I will add the default GPS295.

 

3). There are no switchgear or other sounds whatsoever.  Just the engine, fuel pump (which I can confirm does sound authentic), and flap sounds.  The canopy door sound is, I believe, the default FSX "small_door_open" sound.

 

4). The FDE feels about right - it's light and fun, as you'd expect.

 

5). The manual is one of those that models itself on the real aircraft, rather than features in sim - probably because there are no features provided other than the basic aircraft function as you'd get with a default FSX aircraft.  

 

6). The manual refers to other version, such as one with a constant speed propeller - but don't be led to believe that these other versions and features are included - they're not.

 

Summary

 

It is actually pretty nice, and I'd be quite happy with it, had I paid £9.99 for it, which is what I honestly would deem it to be worth.   Seriously, it is staggeringly over-priced at £24.99+VAT, for what is provided (or rather, not provided).

 

The feature set (with no configuration options, 2 liveries, no custom sounds aside from the engine/fuel pump/flaps, no handheld GPS, etc, etc) is comparable with a decent freeware offering.   The textures are certainly well above typical freeware standards, but not to the standard of, for example, an Alabeo model.

 

Would I recommend this? ......... Well, unless you are fanatical and obsessed with the C42; not in a million years. I honestly feel utterly ripped off at the price point I have paid.   So little is offered for the money, compared to what we're typically used to.

 

If they offer a sale and you can get it for £9.99 - it'd be worth that.  Honestly, in my opinion, not a penny more.

....further feedback, from more use.

 

• There is no clickspot on the door handle. The only way to open the door is with CTRL+E, and both doors open together (you cannot open just the left door for instance).

 

• Some of the animations have huge delays; eg. press the magneto switches, the 'action' occurs immediately, the animation of the switches moving happens around 1 second later.   Same issue with the flaps lever.

 

• The trim is painfully sensitive; one click on my trim button results in a 4 degree pitch change (around 500FPM change!!). I "fixed" this by changing the [Elevator_trim_range] to 19.5, in the Aircraft.cfg.

 

• The starter sound barely plays at all - on hitting the start button, the engine just immediately runs - a CFG timing error in the sound.cfg.

 

• FDE: The engine seems over-powered to me, noticeable especially on climbout. Also, the roll stability seems artificially too high - it flies likes it's on rails, even in higher winds, in terms of roll.  This could be adjusted in the [Roll_Stability] section of the [Flight Tuning] section of the aircraft.cfg.   But I would not be keen to make settings here, on a model apparantly certified by Comco-Ikarus.  Happy to accept this one as highly subjective, although I don't remember the C42 feeling that 'nailed' from my time in a real one (8 flights; around 6 hours).

 

• It is quite good fun to fly - visibility is excellent - it's a really good platform for (very) low and (very) slow flying over Orbx regions.

 

 

If they fix the glaring bugs and ommissions, it could be great fun.  At present, considering the price, it's one to avoid IMHO.

I wonder if the threadstarter and some of the responders who are so enthusiastic about this addon are astrotufers... I know it's not nice to suspect this but both posters who have been gushing in their promotion of the Icarus have only very few posts under their belt and most of them in this thread. What is the tack record of the company releasing this ?

 

Here's just some very brief feedback from a super fast circuit.  I took my new C42 to Skiathos :wink:

 

Thank you for the mini-review! Sorry to hear that you didn't get your money's worth, but you've just saved me (and probably some others too) 33 Euros. :wink:

I was fairly interested in this airplane, but it seems that it would be a far better idea to get Ant's excellent Eaglet at less than half the price.