FSX-SE Piper Cheyenne III (PA-42) in Christchurch...

[P_7878 6,587]

Piper's twin-engined (prop) planes are a fascinating breed, passionately admired by the Piper aficionados....the PA-23 Apache (later called Aztec) was the first ever twin-engined aircraft made by Piper, that had started the twin tradition. It was powered by the famous Lycoming IO-540 engines (first run 1957). [Side Note: A quarter century later, in 1983, Continental would go on to produce their famous version of the same "Fuel (I)njected" and "Horizontally (O)pposed" IO-550 (please note, "550" designation, here, being 10 cubic-inch more of displacement/capacity volume than that of Lycoming IO-540; also, Continental IO-550 was developed from their previous IO-520, so, Continental skipped (maybe, with a respectful nod to the Lycoming 540....🙂...), the 540 variant (also the 530), jumping directly from "520" to "550"; their "550" would power many popular GA a/c of the day: Mooney M20, Beech (Baron/Bonanza), Cessna 182, Cirrus SR22, Lancair Legacy etc.)]. In the chain of Piper Twins, appear these (historically significant and plentiful) names (Apache/Aztec -> Comanche -> Navajo -> Seneca -> Cheyenne -> Seminole...etc.). And the "Cheyenne" name is associated with two Piper variants (PA-31T and PA-42); both are turboprops, powered by (the well-known and ever reliable)  P&W PT6A engines. The PA-42 Cheyenne III, subject of this post, is a larger derivative of PA-31T. Its (characteristic) T-Tail was/is the most obvious external difference between the PA-31T and PA-42 (see images below).

Today, I wished to read a bit about the PA-42 Cheyenne, and when I typed "PA-42" to search for this Cheyenne (as opposed to the PA-31T Cheyenne), I was led directly to the Wiki for it, but, curiously and correctly, I also saw the helpful hint, on top of the page, ""PA-42" redirects here. PA-42 may also refer to Pennsylvania Route 42" - which is, apparently, a short 58 miles (north-south oriented) state route in central Pennsylvania. I was not planning to travel on PA-42 today, but, glad, my friend internet is pointing out that "PA-42" has implications other than just the Piper Cheyenne of my interest...🙂...this also reminds me that I must have crossed this state route, a couple of times, though have no memory of "PA-42", on my (past - younger and more adventurous) road travels, eastward, along I-80 (which events, I recall well), towards New York City...btw, for non-locals of this region of the world,...🙂...there are 3 major Interstates, that run east<->west across the country (I-90 being the northernmost, 70/80 are the other two), and, one can guess, the higher (of the three) highway, one travels, more cold/sleet/ice (aka: danger) one expects, on these highways...(one could explore these highways, on MSFS, I presume...)...

Anyway, please excuse the digression above, and, now, back to this Piper Twin: The Cheyenne has always attracted my attention. I used to fly the (original) AS/DA Piper Cheyenne, quite a bit, the -31T (with variants, I/IA/II/IIXL, a nice SIM package, that was, indeed). This Carenado PA-42 Cheyenne (III) has been long on my radar, but, I'd never got to pick it up, until yesterday. The SIM comes with Carenado's GNS530, by default, and, has customization options to replace the default GNS530 with either F1GTN750 or RXPGNS530. I am also aware of an helpful instruction post (elsewhere) by member "fppilot", to replace the default GNS530 in the VC with even the RXPGTN750 (that would be really nice). However, for this post, I've wished to retain the (inbuilt) GNS530 in the VC (being fully aware, any settings, on those knobs, there, are a far cry from the touchscreen convenience of GTN 750, surely, more so, as an eyestrain to this virtual pilot...🙂....though, frankly, I've never got to twiddle those GNS knobs, in the RW, as, many, here, have done, I'm sure...). So, I've also added, here, for personal convenience, a pop-up of my RXP GTN 750 (see a few shots below), for supplementary visual awareness and confirmation of my route progress (especially for the [Dir-To] to the IDUBU FIX, that I've wished to performed, here).

For this test flight, I've lifted off straight along the heading (196 degrees) of Rwy 20, for about 20 nms, to 3,000 ft, and then have activated a [Dir-To] towards the IDUBU FIX, via a sharp left turn, to capture the ILS/DME Rwy 02 Final Approach. So, the plane tracks, from southwest of Rwy 02, directly to IDUBU, located 11.5 nm from Christchurch (CH) VOR (115.3) [12.2 nm from ILS (ICH) Rwy 02 (109.9)]. The next FIX down the Approach path is ALBAD (see RXP GTN750 Pop-Up), 7.5 nm away from (CH) VOR [8.2 (ICH) DME] etc. The Approach is obstacle/mountain free, except for a few high points, within 10 (CH) DME perimeter, off the glidepath, conspicuously displayed on the Airport Approach Chart.

Piper had created this (-42) Cheyenne, in 1979, as a direct competitor to the (esteemed) Beechcraft King Air series, and, a worthy competitor, it was, indeed...! Its younger (more advanced and more powerful) sibling, the PA-42-1000 Cheyenne IV (-400LS), would, later, go on to set multiple aviation records in the hands of Chuck Yeager...

Hope you enjoy these pictures, below, of this famous Piper Cheyenne...(one of my favorites)...in the striking Red color of the operator Redair, a Passenger Charter Airline, in Austria, based in (beautiful, speaking, of course, from my SIM-world experience only...) Innsbruck (Kranebitten) Airport (LOWI)...(btw, folks, you probably already know, all (LOWI) at Orbx, are now at 50% SALE, for MSFS/P3D/XP/AFS2/FSX)...

Thanks for your interest...!

Happy Memorial Day...to the folks in U.S. and, good flying, to all...!! Next, to find out, if there are there any other SALEs worth window-shopping, this weekend...🙂...

[Carenado (PA-42), Orbx (NZ), RXP (GTN750)]

[Alaska738 8,400]

Beautiful shots!

[P_7878 6,587]

Alaska738 (and folks): Thanks...!!

[pmplayer 9,433]

Great shots, Thumbs up !

How does the standalone Garmin work ?

cheers 😉

[P_7878 6,587]

Appreciated the Thumbs Up...🙂..., pmplayer...!!

 

On 6/1/2021 at 2:12 AM, pmplayer said:

How does the standalone Garmin work ?

And, thanks for your inquiry...!

The RXP GTN750 is no doubt an excellent add-on package, and a great learning/practice-tool, especially, for someone like me, who has never touched a (RW) GNS/GTN. It also comes with a (nice) Garmin Trainer (I'd made a post on that). I (finally) got triggered for this GTN by seeing other members' (frequent) use (and recommendation) of it, around, here, in their GA aircraft. Most (newer) GA simulations allow for easy integration of it into the VC. Frankly, I'm barely beginning to make full use of it, unlike the GTN Pros here...🙂...

If you wish, you may look back at one of my earlier posts, "This time, Falcon 50, with RXP GTN 750 (Part II)...", where I had reported my first ever experience and trial with it, derived from a complex (Video based) (RW) RNAV approach. Regarding your specific question about "standalone", if you're asking about the [2D] "Pop-up", in the (Falcon 50) Post I've cited above, you'll notice, I've made use of both the "integrated" and the "pop-up" displays - they get installed together into the a/c. The "integrated" one, of course, feels more realistic and immersive, but, personally, I find the large [2D] pop-up quite convenient (and easy on the eyes), as I've stated in my text, plus, excessive/frequent zooming (in/out), in FSX/SE, into the [VC], as you might know is a recipe for the blue circle of death...🙂...

There is abundant of resources/forums everywhere about these GTN units...that you may wish to look up, if further interested...and, see, if you can get the one for your MSFS...all the best...

[pmplayer 9,433]

Thank you for this Information, i would like it as 2D pop-up on my second monitor.

cheers 😉

[PhotoReal Earth 93]

Very nice plane! 🙂

And perfectly presented! 👍

"Red Arrow" or maybe better "Red Devil" 😈

[skully 1,045]

Very nice shots of a beautiful aircraft!

One of my favorites!

[rightseat 277]

Looks sharp!

[bernd1151 5,849]

Nice story and magnificient detailed pics to go with it !

[Phantom88 3,287]

***Fantastic Expose'*** 

[PhotoReal Earth 93]

On 5/30/2021 at 6:50 PM, P_7878 said:

[...]
And the "Cheyenne" name is associated with two Piper variants (PA-31T and PA-42); both are turboprops, powered by (the well-known and ever reliable)  P&W PT6A engines. The PA-42 Cheyenne III, subject of this post, is a larger derivative of PA-31T. Its (characteristic) T-Tail was/is the most obvious external difference between the PA-31T and PA-42 (see images below).  

So may I add a sreenshot with the Piper Cheyenne I/II (PA-31T) from Digital Aviation?

And I want to repeat my compliments above.
The Cheyenne III, which I call "Red Arrow", was one of my favorite aircrafts in the last months. But astonishingly I don't have any screenshots from this smart plane.
Probably I enjoyed these flights so much that I didn't found time to grab the camera ;-)

 

[P_7878 6,587]

pmplayer, Torsten, skully, rightseat, bernd, Patrick

Appreciated the additional comments and your interest...!!

 

On 6/25/2021 at 7:59 AM, PhotoReal Earth said:

The Cheyenne III, which I call "Red Arrow", was one of my favorite aircraft...

So, the "Red Arrow" dressed, here, as "Red Air"....🙂...sounds good to me...!

 

On 6/9/2021 at 1:51 PM, skully said:

One of my favorites!

Glad for it...(thanks for the note, skully)...!