Any thoughts?

https://secure.simmarket.com/cera-simaircraft-cera-sim-mi17-v5-msfs.phtml

Bought it, quite like it but feels like a bit of a b*gger to fly. But then I'm a well known non-button pusher kind of guy. I just jumped in and managed a flight from (and down through) the Grand Canyon to KLAS. A bit wobbly in the air, quite difficult for me to hold it steady and level but took off and landed without damage and that's not bad for a first attempt.

Looks nice, bit overpriced, and someone who's a better pilot than me can probably comment more rationally on its behaviour. But I don't regret buying it, and am looking forward to getting more comfortable with it.

Well, flipping through the extensive number of screenshots on the simmarket page it certainly looks incredible to me, particularly the cockpit (which is like the 100th screenshot in or seems like it).  And for $30 which seems to be about the going rate for detailed helos these days, the price looks fair too -  Taog's Hangar Lama being an exceptional bargain.  Would be interested to see how the flight model stacks up to any other heavy lift rotorcraft - oh wait I don't think we really have any except this one now?

Edited November 26, 20232 yr by Stoopy

just posted some pix here - https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/639853-cera-sim-mil-mi-17-and-1g4-grand-canyon/

 

4 hours ago, andy1252 said:

Bought it, quite like it but feels like a bit of a b*gger to fly. But then I'm a well known non-button pusher kind of guy. I just jumped in and managed a flight from (and down through) the Grand Canyon to KLAS. A bit wobbly in the air, quite difficult for me to hold it steady and level but took off and landed without damage and that's not bad for a first attempt.

Looks nice, bit overpriced, and someone who's a better pilot than me can probably comment more rationally on its behaviour. But I don't regret buying it, and am looking forward to getting more comfortable with it.

Thanks for review ! On YouTube the was a video where someone  showing cockpit and I noticed autopilot buttons . Do they work?

7 hours ago, sd_flyer said:

Thanks for review ! On YouTube the was a video where someone  showing cockpit and I noticed autopilot buttons . Do they work?

Ooooh! that sounds interesting. No idea but I shall investigate. That would be a big help if they do. I've just tried one flight, start hot on the runway and use my pedals/stick/throttle as usual. Only glanced at the documentation briefly and didn't spot anything other than page after page of pictures of dials and buttons, which is the point at which my mind just shuts down. I guess one of those pictures might actually be useful!

From what I've seen on the screenshots, it looks like the VC panel has a lower texture resolution then the gauges mounted on it. Next to that, I miss some ambient oclussion around the gauges which make them look like floating above the panel. Can anyone confirm this?

 

 

 

The Cera team just responded on the official MSFS forums, stating that they are noting and acknowledging all of the issues posted there (and emailed privately) and will endeavor to provide multiple updates. They are also battling Asobo/MS heli flight model limitations, as twin engine helicopters don't truly exist in MSFS...they are really single engine behind the scenes. (Sounds like how things were in the FS2004 era). They also acknowledged a texture issue in the cockpit where a few critical textures were overly compressed.

First update is coming soon, following by more in the coming weeks/months. They are taking a two week period to gather more user feedback and then working on problems. 

All in all they seem very responsive and are acting like they care about making a good product. 

14 hours ago, sd_flyer said:

autopilot buttons . Do they work?

Just scanning the manual now. This panel is marked "(Temporarily Inoperable)" in the manual so maybe they'll get it working on an update.

33 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

Just scanning the manual now. This panel is marked "(Temporarily Inoperable)" in the manual so maybe they'll get it working on an update.

Thanks! Almost all developer rely on Asobo SAS implemented which is not out yet, The only exception is HYPE they do their own custom SAS