Hangar 23 is the developer author of a very fine vintage aircraft the Bellanca Aircruiser or Airbus. I actually bought this from the store when it was payware. Updates (few really required) via Skunkcraft. This week Hangar 23 removed it from the Org store and released it to the sim community as freeware reading between the lines - not much interest and overheads of the store and skunkcraft probably ate up any profit. Like its original had limited appeal and did not go out the door in any numbers. I would recommend any of you interested in vintage planes, a high quality model to get it. There will be no more updates. Hangar 23 is now working on other stuff (what I do not know). Not upset at all that I bought it and it is now free. A very generous thing to do actually. The reasons well communicated and published - tops for honesty and integrity. You want the code to do more with it that can be made available too! 

This actually was a very very high quality development. I regard some of the painting and texture work as second to none. the overall model is faithful to its original design. I got it because I had seen references to this big Bellanca over the years but as they only made two dozen it basically disappeared from aviation. Bellanca of course struggled on until the 1970s(?), I was very surprised and delighted to see it turn up at this quality level as a first and as a sim model in XPlane 12. 

For those who nothing of the Bellanca , this particular Bellanca had a very limited production run of only 23 aircraft - there are two still extant in museums in North America. They called it the Airbus then Aircruiser. So it is the first Airbus. It was capable of lifting 15 pax or some 4000 lbs of freight on a flat floor (more than its EW) all with a single PW Wasp engine. The aircraft had a very unusual two lifting surface design a normal flat planform high mounted wing and inverted V gull wings at the bottom that served as both wing struts, undercarriage attachment points or floats this gave it a very wide wheel track and it was a very big aeroplane. Additional triple fin tale lots of stabiliser surfaces. Big round port hole passenger windows. Canvas benches were the go for seats! History was it was that it was designed for the American airline market but the regs were changed just after completion and single engine transports were no longer permitted. Bellanca only had the bush and wilderness fliers of Canada and Alaska to fall back on - the Depression did the rest of the damage. Though I also have read that Bellanca himself was an obstinate character, designer and engineer and loathe to change things or listen to customer preferences - steel tube and fabric aeroplanes is what he built till the end. 

The real thing:

 

Edited June 27, 2025Jun 27 by coastaldriver
additional informaton

Love those designs !

Thanks for sharing @coastaldriver 🙏

The Bellanca Airbus or Aircruiser deserves its own thread - well what I mean to say is as a simulated model of an old design it really gives you a lesson in how good this XPlane is as a simulator. The visuals are another thing and superb and in the current light conditions excellent.

Now this is a peculiar looking aeroplane, it challenges the eye on lots of levels. You notice that it has a nice big wing with an interesting curve (Bellanca's own airfoil design) basically small inboard flaps and wide span ailerons. Very wide undercarriage, simple trailing shock absorpbtion. The lower wing is a V Shape - normal to the bend then sharply tapering to a point like a big winglet to a wing support point. That would have dealt with the drag spill issue as well, clever! All bracing is inboard of the angle change. You look at the fuselage and you will note that the wings stop at the fuselage join and there is a gap - the fuselage gives a very good appearance of a long box but is cleverly shaped to a curved top surface all the way from the nose to the empennage and flat underneath - it looks like an aerofoil. The engine is out on a long nose section. Entry and exit to the cabin cockpit can be achieved either side and from rear or cockpit doors. So this aeroplane generates a lot of lift - it flies exceptionally well, not pitchy bit stiff in the roll and frisky in the yaw plane. It is a challenge to get used to this design and the sim makes this aspect shine - in other words the fidelity is good enough for you to really get to understand some aerodynamics if your able to think about these things or ponder them not just get in and go driving. 

You can see it was a great load carrier with no vices and so it is in the sim. main problem folks will have is the fact that it is a taildragger and a big one and the PW Wasp engine limits for boost and RPM. Give it power and it wants to fly as soon as it gets to about 50 mph when the tail comes off and it will lift off and away it goes. Cruise is ok not sedate but not speedy. Slow down is tricky but if you apply the standard technique for this era design you treat it them all as power off deadstick landings, flap not until below 500ft and little power if required in other words it is a glide approach. So slow it down earlier remember this is a lift machine and its drag is not noticeable in a clean configuration. Power is to carry stuff or lift loads not go fast and there is heaps for its size it is remarkable carrying over 4000 lbs. 

You have to work using rudder to balance all the time but there is an autorudder function for those who are lazy. All up you have to fly this constantly it is not hard but lots of good surprises. 

Again really one to see the really good level of simulation that XPlane can provide. 

Edited June 28, 2025Jun 28 by coastaldriver

Thanks for the alert, downloading (1.4GB ?!) as I type. Following your technical / historical summary an aircraft which previously I hadn't given a second thought about has now become fascinating. In modern parlance "my bad". Stick and rudder that needs to be flown. Sounds good to me.

Cheers Tim 

Even if those who get it do not fly it - after all round engined vintage taildraggers is not everyone's cup of tea - they should look at this one for a benchmark of excellence in simulation modelling. The texture work is second to none the manipulation of PBR etc is a master class in painting, light and textures. The construction is true to the real one down to rivets and clamps. Flight characteristics appear correct and trim use is mandatory. Reviews of it I have seen say the same thing - outstanding model and yet such an outlier in terms of aircraft choice and popularity. And yes they also did the float version - that is a very interesting and big floatplane. stable as a big catamaran with those long wide spaced floats. Would have been quick on the water too.