How realistic is the Aerosoft Twin Otter Extended?

[Nemo 1,305]

16 hours ago, MarkDH said:

No doubt, since from Milviz's description they actually model the PT-6 themselves. As far as I know Aerosoft's is built on the standard P3D turboprop model.

I had some performance problems wit AS Twinotter at certain situations (e.g. Nanaimo SPB). On approach (P3D4.4, FTX PNW + FTX CAC8) I had serious stutters with the AS Twinotter. With Milviz Turbo TO the same approach was very smooth. This was reproducable at various daytime and weather conditions. The only disadvantage of the Milviz Twinotter is the lack of available liveries.

[gregmorin 199]

21 hours ago, AviatorMan said:

How about the Milviz Turbo Otter. I realize it is not a twin, but wondering if its turbine engine modelling superior to that of the Aerosoft Twin Otter?

I beta tested the Milviz Turbo Otter and I have the Aerosoft Twin Otter. The turbine simulation in the Milviz Turbo Otter is vastly superior to Aerosoft Twin Otter which uses the default turboprop simulation. You can easily control the power settings in the Milviz Turbo Otter.

Greg

 

[ckyliu 1,749]

20 hours ago, Benjamin J said:

because the ATR seems to be the plane aorund the Caribbean these days, in favor of the Dash 8, as jon b also commented. Anybody any idea how come? Is this related to the French origin of the ATR, and the fact that many Caribbean islands are French or ex-French (in other words: political reasons)?

Politics could play a part but there's a much more obvious reason - there are no alternatives in production. The smaller Dash 8 Q200 & Q300 models were discontinued in 2008; the 50 seat ATR42 is the only Western aircraft produced at that size for over a decade. Used Fokker 50 and Saab 2000 are also very rare. Xian MA60 is not certified in the West. So ATR42 wins by default.

At the 70-80 seat size you have the Q400 against the ATR72-600. The Q400 is lot faster and more comfortable but on short island hoping you don't gain much benefit from that, so it's not worth the extra purchase price, fuel consumption and higher maintenance costs. So ATR72 wins unless you want an Illyuishin Il-114 or a 20+ year old BAe ATP/J61 (and I think most of those are with West Air Sweden as freighters now).

The smaller Q200 is a sub-40 seater and again, there's nothing in production in the West at that size. You've just got used Do328, Saab 340, EMB-120 and J41 which will all be at least 20 years old now. So operators buy second hand the easiest to maintain they can find, or they size up to an ATR42.

 

Edited March 7, 2019 by ckyliu

[eslader 1,783]

I like the Twotter, but then I spent a lot of time flying it when it came out, back in the FSX days when really stellar payware was hard to find. I got used to its quirks. I think Aerosoft may have gone downhill since they made it - I found the L1011 (both standard and pro variants) to be exceedingly underwhelming, so I might be looking at the Twotter with rose-tinted glasses. But I still fly it some today and enjoy it when I do.

The Dash 8 is good, but it doesn't scratch quite the same itch. You won't be doing bush flying with a Q400, whereas the Twotter is quite good at it.

Edited March 7, 2019 by eslader

[Benjamin J 751]

3 hours ago, ckyliu said:

Politics could play a part but there's a much more obvious reason - there are no alternatives in production. The smaller Dash 8 Q200 & Q300 models were discontinued in 2008; the 50 seat ATR42 is the only Western aircraft produced at that size for over a decade. Used Fokker 50 and Saab 2000 are also very rare. Xian MA60 is not certified in the West. So ATR42 wins by default.

At the 70-80 seat size you have the Q400 against the ATR72-600. The Q400 is lot faster and more comfortable but on short island hoping you don't gain much benefit from that, so it's not worth the extra purchase price, fuel consumption and higher maintenance costs. So ATR72 wins unless you want an Illyuishin Il-114 or a 20+ year old BAe ATP/J61 (and I think most of those are with West Air Sweden as freighters now).

The smaller Q200 is a sub-40 seater and again, there's nothing in production in the West at that size. You've just got used Do328, Saab 340, EMB-120 and J41 which will all be at least 20 years old now. So operators buy second hand the easiest to maintain they can find, or they size up to an ATR42.

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

Also, I should confess to something rather embarrassing. I was on the way to check out in the Aerosoft store, when I noticed the 'upgrade service' button. I had purchases the original Twotter many years ago, so I decided I might look to see if the upgrade would be cheaper than the sale that was going on. As I went to find my old key... it turns out I already bought the Extended version many, many years ago! I guess when you've been buying addons for a decade or so, you start to forget what you have... With the release of 64bit P3Dv4, I assumed none of my purchased aircraft addons would work, but as it turns out, some of those purchases were upgraded to work, and the Twotter was one of them. In the meantime, i forgot I ever bought it. Glad I looked!

[jon b 2,047]

I rember   jump seating on the flight deck of a LIAT dash 8 a few years ago when they were about to renew the fleet. The guys told me the pilots were keen on getting the Q400 but management wanted the ATR, presumably due to the cost.

[Holdit 551]

21 hours ago, eslader said:

The Dash 8 is good, but it doesn't scratch quite the same itch. You won't be doing bush flying with a Q400, whereas the Twotter is quite good at it.

Agreed. I don't get the responses saying the Q400 (of which I'm a big fan) is suitable alternative for the Twin Otter (of which I'm also a big fan), just because it's a twin-engined turboprop. If you're flying into small and/or rough strips, the Q400 isn't going to cut it as a replacement.  Similarly If someone is recreating short regional airline flights then the Twin Otter probably isn't the best aircraft to be looking at in the first place. They're different horse for very different courses. 

For bush flying and small strips the alternative I'd be looking a would be a King Air or B1900. Or an An-2 or BN-2, but they have piston engines and are sloooow....

 

 

[eslader 1,783]

I've been doing some bush flying in that freeware Osprey on Rikoooo, but I think that's kinda cheating. 😉