The IndiaFoxTecho MB 339 is a treat!

[Bosco19 198]

The IndiaFoxTecho MB 339, available in the Marketplace, is a project worthy of support. If you would like to fly a jet, but don't fancy yourself in the complex button-pushing world of the tube liners, the MB 339 might be right up your alley. It gives you the options of high altitude, high speed, and a range of almost 1000 miles. It will introduce you to jet operations and procedures while retaining a feel closer to the maneuverable piston flyers. While it's still a work in progress, there are lots of things to keep you busy in the office. Part of the charm is the fact there are no glass panels. Its all 70's era steam gauges. If you haven't had the R/W experience of hand flying an aircraft - having to maintain speed, heading, and altitude manually - especially in turbulent air - you will gain respect for what real pilots are sometimes required to do. You can create Vnav flight plans in the sim and just follow the line on the map if you want. There is a "flight director" that can help guide you, but it's not an autopilot. It just provides moving lines on the HSI to help keep you on course. I have been able to partially use the AP functions programmed into my joystick for use with the Garmins. So far I have only played with altitude and airspeed holding. But it does seem to work. Realistically this is old-world stuff - flying either VFR, or with VORs and TACANS, and the learning curve can be daunting if you have no knowledge of this stuff, but it can be very rewarding to reach a level where you can actually navigate, as pilots once did (current airline pilots must still demonstrate VOR proficiency). The immersion factor is very high in this little bird. Scooting along above the clouds at airliner flight levels is very impressive. The fact that it's a trainer makes things a lot easier in many ways, It's challenging, but not overwhelming. I really feel like i'm in a jet, and it's quickly becoming a favorite. I'm still exploring the cockpit functions, and one thing that seems to be eluding me so far is that I can't seem to find a way to switch from one of the two com channels to the other. Perhaps this is not emulated yet. The flight model seems to be standard MSFS stuff. One annoyance is the bobbing behavior that shows up at the edge of a stall - as exhibited in most of the stock AC. I'm looking forward to further improvements by this dev. If you are tired of just VFR sightseeing, or of the uncertainties of the current Garmin models, you might be pleasantly surprised at this modestly priced add-on. Highly recommended!

Edited March 17, 2021 by Bosco19
Grammar

[ryanbatc 12,833]

I enjoy it too.  Dino definitely made some good flight model adjustments and this latest update is a good one.  A tip, though. probably not too realistic:  You can bind a key to windshield de-ice if you don't want the ice all over the canopy.  It's a nice plane to fly in and out of clouds with the good visibility.  You have basic VOR (I believe there's dme) and or TCN.  I'd like something a bit faster but it is very nice overall.  I'd call it a lite-medium complexity addon.

[Bosco19 198]

LOL! Yeah - that’s an experience I had on my very first flight! Get up above about 8000’ and you’re flying Blind!. As I mentioned - it’s still a work-in-progress. I was very frustrated about that for awhile. Then I realized you can use the default keyboard de-icing key. I assume Dino will eventually make more of the cockpit items functional. I’m going to play around with default com channel functions a bit next, and see if it’s possible to define and select between channels in cockpit using the keyboard for now. I don’t have any issues with speed. I don’t fly fast military AC, so, legally, at low levels we are supposed to limit speeds to 250 kts., and even airliners don’t generally operate above the 500’s. I think the 339 is rated to do that. Another thing I enjoy is the startup from dark. You get to activate quite a few things, but it’s not overwhelming like the big birds.  His recent mod to get the engine sound to change intensity when the canopy is closed is a welcome change too. This is the only add-on I have purchased so far. Don’t want to invite trouble while the sim is still at this stage.  This purchase hasn’t introduced any issues for me yet. 

[Stoopy 1,571]

I'm on the fence about getting this or the T-45 Goshawk, since they're from the same publisher is one particularly better than the other?  Prefer the Goshawk for looks and the potential to play with (psuedo) carrier ops.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Stoopy

[Bosco19 198]

You can find Tube reviews on both. The Goshawk was reviewed well (both are outstanding visually), but was criticized for having much heavier handling. I went for the lighter handling, plus the 339 has an outstanding view from the cockpit. 

[Bosco19 198]

Well I explored the com and nav functions in the cockpit. It took a lot of searching and trial-and-error to understand what does what. operations involve control interactions on both side consoles. Everything seems to function but the complexity is mind boggling. Much practice will be required before any real familiarity can be gained. Unfortunately, the POH shows control locations, but doesn't provide procedural instructions.

[amsfsx02501 22]

I agree-very much enjoying the MB 339!

[Bosco19 198]

Without getting into too much detail - if you haven't discovered how to deal with coms yet - VHF/UHF frequencies are dialed in on the left side panel. Hover your cursor to discover functional items. Setting is cumbersome, as many turns via the scroll wheel are required to dial things in. Selection of the active/standby channels is handled by a switch/knob group at the very top of the right side panel. The left of two small readout windows up on the front panel show coms (right side shows navs). You have to look closely - after the active com frequency is, I think, a colon symbol. Flipping buttons in that right/top panel group changes the active/standby selections. You can see the small colon addendum jump from one frequency to the other if you look closely. Once you experience how complex and cumbersome this is to implement with a mouse, you realize that you need to get the AC into a stable hold while you're heads-down in the cockpit doing all this. With the wonky MSFS trim function, that could prove difficult-to-impossible!

[spacedyemeerkat 421]

Bought the MB 339 yesterday having read this thread. Thank you for the recommendation: it's great fun!

[bvdboomen 256]

Yes, the MB339 is a real treat. I enjoy flying it and doing some aerobatics and low level tree topping. 🙂
The T-45 will be in my hangar soon too. It's quiet different and has a glass cockpit which brings a nice variety.
I believe it's more powerful than the MB339 but first Dino needs to get the engine sounds right. I'll wait for the upcoming update.

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by bvdboomen

[spacedyemeerkat 421]

58 minutes ago, bvdboomen said:

Yes, the MB339 is a real treat. I enjoy flying it and doing some aerobatics and low level tree topping. 🙂

Yes! I usually potter along at a couple of thousand feet in a single prop so it's been great to skip the land at a relatively low level. Can really see the undulating hills in the UK. They barely even look like they're there from 2,000 feet.

[bobcat999 8,470]

1 hour ago, bvdboomen said:

Yes, the MB339 is a real treat. I enjoy flying it and doing some aerobatics and low level tree topping. 🙂
The T-45 will be in my hangar soon too. It's quiet different and has a glass cockpit which brings a nice variety.
I believe it's more powerful than the MB339 but first Dino needs to get the engine sounds right. I'll wait for the upcoming update.

Yes, I already have the MB339 and like it, and I was going to get the T-45, but I am not sure about the engine sounds either. 
Outside the aircraft there seems to be a bad sound loop for the engine as well that is a bit annoying. 
I picked this up off various YouTube videos, and they didn't mention it in the review although it was obvious to me, although that quality of the reviews and reviewers can be a bit mixed as we know!  

Edited March 20, 2021 by bobcat999

[Bosco19 198]

After flying the 339 I should add this heads-up: I am finding that with just about any significant wind aloft, the 339 becomes almost impossible to control! I don't know if this is based in the MSFS model or whether it is a tweak in the flight model by IndiaFoxTecho. The departure from controllability is so jerky and severe that I first thought it was some bug in the software. It certainly doesn't replicate R.L. flight in any way I have experienced. I left live weather and flew in calm preset conditions and the wild gyrations were gone. This is the only "fault" I have found so far. I would be interested in hearing if others have had the same experience. This would not prevent me from enjoying this model, but it would certainly preclude me from flying in even modest winds aloft.