Quick toughts: AirfoilLab Bristell 23

[SAS443 1,723]

Disclaimer: the following judgment was based on the product that was available to the public as of 17JUN22.

Installation: flawless via Marketplace.

Startup:

Directly I am reminded about the limitations of the default Garmin G3X we have in this package. Forget any real preflight procedures, they simply can not be done (checking parameters such as electrical page/Amps/Volts + adjustment of fuel levels.) I could not get those sub-menues to show. This also means the master Warning light will not yield a proper EFIS warning. That's huge minus.

The radiostack in the middle is half baked. They have for some reason included the "Monitor" function, but not the COM/NAV swap feature (which is far more useful). I prefer that unit in lieu of the touchscreens actually.

Taxi out: Very sensitive to weather vaning, nosewheel steering animation is off (looks like its skidding when turning) 

Before take-off checklist.
Missing crucial items such as removing the safety sprint on the AEPS (rescue chute). The handle is not even clickable. Simbols Sting S4 has it right! Also missing is the emergency hammer which has to be verified onboard.

Power lever curve is way off, max RPM is achieved at 60% throttle(!!) travel on my linear axis...

Landing lights have the Wig-wag and fully illuminated positions reversed. That is if you have the switch on "Landing lights" the exterior model is showing wig wag (blinking) lights. Sloppy!

Airborne: Yes stalls are way overdone in the sense you end up in violent spins all the time.

Approach: Engine management totally wrong. I will explain why (the first cue was during engine run-up)
The B23 has a constant speed prop which at 500ft AGL you move the prop lever to fine pitch. But the RPM typically will not be fixed at the maximum 5.800RPM (this is shaft rpm, not prop btw) which the AFL B23 exhibits.

On a standard approach I aim for 18MP, this will usually yield an RPM of 5100.  If I fly the AFL B23 like the real world, it results in straight and level flight with 5.800RPMs, totally unable to descend at all.

And If I manually reduce prop RPM to 5100, the plane will start to pick up speed and gently climb away...

Verdict: Sorry to say. But this aircraft is nothing like its real counterpart (at this stage). Exteriors are nice. But some textures inside the cockpit are not good (the buttons on the AP panel for example) I think it's a very questionable purchase for simmers who wants a realistic experience. I can't recommend this product since it has big flaws at the moment.
Buy the Sting from Simbol instead if you want a small rotax powered airplane.

Airfollabs, the creators of the masterpiece C172NG DIGITAL for X-plane. What on earth happened here!?

Edited June 17, 2022 by SAS443

[ryanbatc 12,857]

Thanks for your insight.  I was going to skip this one anyway (too slow lol) but mostly because it's more of a VFR type of aircraft.  I did see the real manufacturer makes a Turbo variant with the 915is - however I doubt that would go any better.

Maybe they created this to get a feel for MSFS - I'm sure they will address some of the items with an update.

Edited June 17, 2022 by ryanbatc

[SAS443 1,723]

1 hour ago, ryanbatc said:

Thanks for your insight.  I was going to skip this one anyway (too slow lol) but mostly because it's more of a VFR type of aircraft

Thanks Ryan

And you are Correct. My main gripe with the real B23 is that it is simply too heavy for a rotax 912 engine which powers airplanes 150-200KG lighter than the B23. Yes constant speed prop mitigates the problem ever so slightly during cruise (expect TAS around 105 at 65% power). But the sleek siluette of the airframe is deceiving. It is significantly slower than it looks.

And you will not find many IFR certified B23, it needs an additional navigation unit (think GTN650) to complement the internal GPS of the G3X. (The CDI label has a VFR anotation just to remind you during GPS navigation operations)

Edited June 17, 2022 by SAS443

[JYW 2,983]

On 6/17/2022 at 6:32 PM, SAS443 said:

Disclaimer: the following judgment was based on the product that was available to the public as of 17JUN22.

[Snipped]

Airfollabs, the creators of the masterpiece C172NG DIGITAL for X-plane. What on earth happened here!?

Brilliant write-up, by someone who clearly knows what they're talking about, and flies these types of planes (as I do).

I completely agree, considering how staggeringly detailed the C172NG by AirFoilLabs is in XP11, it's beyond comprehension that they made such a botched up, unrealistic set of flying textures for MSFS.  

Grabbing a quick buck I guess.

[Matchstick 1,886]

2 hours ago, JYW said:

Brilliant write-up, by someone who clearly knows what they're talking about, and flies these types of planes (as I do).

I completely agree, considering how staggeringly detailed the C172NG by AirFoilLabs is in XP11, it's beyond comprehension that they made such a botched up, unrealistic set of flying textures for MSFS.  

Grabbing a quick buck I gues

I suspect it had far more to do with a company just not knowing how to make MSFS work properly yet than anything else.

In an ideal world this is a learning experience for them and they will be looking to fix and update the plane at their experience with the platform grows. However unless that happens I can't see them making much of an impact on the MSFS scene.

[SAS443 1,723]

1 minute ago, Matchstick said:

I suspect it had far more to do with a company just not knowing how to make MSFS work properly yet than anything else.

That might explain why they (AFL) were quite low-key regarding the release. I mean their official product page still had the product as "WIP" when, at the same time, you could purchase it on the marketplace 2 days ago.

Let's hope they keep updating it. 🙂