3 minutes ago, Reader said:

I have a friend who obtained a PPL in the UK, who to this day has no idea how an internal combustion engine works.
 

Think about how many people drive a car without clue about about combustion engines and yet able to safely operate them? Here in US, written exam question bank consist of vast variety of questions, and a small part of them has to do with engine basics. My point is: when people get discouraged by "complexities" of airplane operation, I always say it's not really that complicated to learn basics or fly in this respect. Piper Comanche was build for an average joe not for airline pro. Stick, rudder, and cool head all that it takes.

3 hours ago, spilok said:

I do love A2A products and I've had several over the years.  However, I would like to purchase the Commanche 250 and I've been watching various video reviews and other forum threads regarding this beautiful, carbureted airplane.  HOWEVER, I do not want to fly this plane as a "study level" plane.  My question is this:  Can you just Ctrl E this plane and fly it?  Are there any options or choices in the setup so that you can have the myriad of controls and switches appropriately set so that you can just enjoy the plane?  I don't want to come off as lazy or unwilling to learn the intricacies of piloting this plane, but that's simply a question that I wish to ask.

Yea. it has an autostart switch on the tablet provided in the airplane.  And its really not that hard at all, promise.  It's not like setting up an airliner for a flight at all.  

3 hours ago, pmb said:

Thanks guys, that sounds promising. I rarely use the AP (if there's one available at all) in the GA planes I fly, so I could deal with this later.

BTW, I can (and usually do) start the H145 using the tablet as well, so this should be similar.

I might give it a start over the weekend.

Kinds regards, Michael

In a nutshell, the AP maintains a heading or follow a line (GPS or VOR or ILS) but doesn't recognize turning points. It maintains an altitude but cannot initiate or manage a descent. It alleviates your routine work load but you are in charge of the strategic horizontal or vertical direction changes. It is awkward beast to handle but a nice help. 

Edited July 27, 20232 yr by Dominique_K

I've taken a break away from MSFS for a couple months, but going to grab this one and try it out. A2A was one of the kings of realism, if not the absolute best even. I have way too many planes I never use, but in this case, there is enough of a chance I will use it that I have to buy it 🙂

Just now finally took a look at the new Flightsim.TO page, wow what a disaster, really awkward design.

 

Edited July 27, 20232 yr by Alpine Scenery

@spilok and @pmb

Take the plunge - it’s wonderful! You won’t regret it.

I am myself a very casual simmer and the JF Arrow has always had a special place in my heart. Now the Comanche has arrived and I understand what all the A2A fuss is about.

Before buying it I was thinking it might be to complex and complicated since I most often also ‘just want to go flying’. Reality is that A2A have made a GA plane where you can decide more or less exactly how much detail and realism you want to deal with. It is quite remarkable really.

There are a few minor things you need to learn like removing chocks and tiedowns if spawning at parking and also a historically correct but unusual gear lever which you need to remember to cycle back to the central "off" position once the gear is fully up or down (some people complain it does not work with things like Logitech switch panels but if you remember to return it to the central "off" position with the mouse after the gear has been raised or lowered the external gear levers work fine for the actual raising and lowering) .   Other than that it is pretty much like any other light GA single in terms of flying, just way more immersive.  

Well worth getting, you can even pay it off over 4 installments with Paypal if you wish 😄

47 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

There are a few minor things you need to learn like removing chocks and tiedowns if spawning at parking and also a historically correct but unusual gear lever which you need to remember to cycle back to the central "off" position once the gear is fully up or down (some people complain it does not work with things like Logitech switch panels but if you remember to return it to the central "off" position with the mouse after the gear has been raised or lowered the external gear levers work fine for the actual raising and lowering) .   Other than that it is pretty much like any other light GA single in terms of flying, just way more immersive.  

And to be fair, you don't even have to remember that if you choose not to. There's a setting in the configuration section of the tablet that lets you switch the landing gear switch to a tradition 2 position switch. Makes it more compatible with my Honeycomb Bravo so I give up the extra realism in favour of ease of use.

Easy. As you probably already know there is an option to simply start the plane and abide by the tablet for any other settings.

This reminds me the DC-6 but nowhere near the level of requirements to start with one person. But it has a "helper" built it to help when needed.

This is an awesome and fun plane to fly. Still love my JF Arrow series (with the mods) and the rest of my single and twin-engine planes but this is definitely on the top list of single engine planes (that are not turbo props). 

But really, if you wanted such an in-depth plane and only use it for a "quick-start" feature there are plenty of planes that fit the bill.

11 minutes ago, Sonosusto said:

This is an awesome and fun plane to fly. Still love my JF Arrow series (with the mods) and the rest of my single and twin-engine planes but this is definitely on the top list of single engine planes (that are not turbo props).

Yeah my piston single go-to list is has now become:

1. STOL and bush basher - Got Friends Wilga (was the Zeneth)
2. Low and slow/biplane - Ants Tiger Moth  (was the Stearman)
3. Fast Touring SIngle - Black Square A36TC (was the JF Turbo Arrow III/IV)
   and last but by no means least ...
4. General low/mid range touring single - A2A Comanche 250 (was the JF Warrior)

31 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

Yeah my piston single go-to list is has now become:

1. STOL and bush basher - Got Friends Wilga (was the Zeneth)
2. Low and slow/biplane - Ants Tiger Moth  (was the Stearman)
3. Fast Touring SIngle - Black Square A36TC (was the JF Turbo Arrow III/IV)
   and last but by no means least ...
4. General low/mid range touring single - A2A Comanche 250 (was the JF Warrior)

I get ya. I also like to fly a variety of planes and often. They all have their perks and small issues.

Do I have time to fly a study-level older jet out of London to Paris? Boom. Bae 146. Etc. There are many to choose from and I really like all of them except for a select few.

The A2A is certainly taking the place of many of my single engine planes but still.....I fly plenty of others after its release.

 

@spilok and @pmb, curious about where you landed on this one?
(pun intended 😁)

I didn't find time but I'm determined to buy and try it the next days.

Anyway, there were a lot of helpful comments in this thread, thank you, guys.

Kind regards, Michael

Bought it but haven't yet have the time to taste it's many features, the natural feel of handflying and aircraft of the type, the extremelly detailed systems simulation and all of the operational details that have always chractetized A2A aircraft.

I was going to pass, because I only use MFS for airliners, but I was really missing the many good times I had on A2A addons since good old fs9 and till fsx. I'm glad I changed my mind, well greatly influenced by the feedback from some if the fellow simmers here até AVSIM, a few youtubes, and my friend Alexis who was amazed to the point of promptly returning to MFS after a longo hiatus...

I plan to make use of it just as I believe I would if I was lucky to own one IRL. This means operating it as by the book as possible, using the different "persistence" options and on a realístic schedule...

Tasting an aircraft addon like this Comanche deserves to be tasted is part of the thrill.

Bought her and took her to a short maiden flight from KSFO to KSJC. All easy settings, just took off from 28R with running engine, but I was able to bring her sefely to KSJC and land her without falling down like a stone or exploding inbetween. Very nice to have a simple configuration for a start, I can learn all (or some of) the bells and whistles over time.

As others mentioned, what I felt immediately was the feeling of weight and inertia, setting her apart from the other GA planes I know from MSFS. Not that I dare to judge, but it definitely feels different.

Once more thanks for all the help in this thread.

Kind regards, Michael

 

43 minutes ago, pmb said:

Once more thanks for all the help in this thread.

Kind regards, Michael

 

You are welcome 😁… and remember to turn up the volume as well because the sounds on this one are spectacular, and the built-in headphone feature is awesome.