Golden Eagle is a winner!

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

I know that this has been said before on this forum.. but let me add my voice to those who love the new C421.Somehow, the cockpit reminds me of the best of Propilot and Fly!The landing view with cowling is my favorite, especially once the yoke has been added (with shift-6)..The 45 degree views forward are great with the propellors milling around.. very well done!The GPS is amazing and the pop-up instruments are great since the panel covers a lot of real estate, and the instruments are true to life (small) a la Fly panels!I cannot stop taking this baby for a spin. Once the new MSFS scenery for Toronto is completed, I may just remove Fly altogether..If you like GA aircraft, you'll love this plane!Thanks to all who contributed to its creation!

[Guest]

Hi Bert,Thanks I hope you enjoy it!Regards,Jim RhoadsFlight1

[Steve Cannell 4]

It's hard to know what payware aircraft to buy nowdays. Can't go by any of the reviews as they seem to be always favourable. I have found the usefullness of far too many of these FS addons is short lived and the price way too high. The Golden Eagle does look great but the price in Canadian dollars is more than I'm willing to pay. :-(I don't know much about how the sales of these addons is setup but there seems to be alot of middlemen or publishing companies taking a big share of profits ?I have for months been working on a major Intl airport for FS. I always planned on it being offered as freeware but it's becoming unrealistic for me to consider anything else but payware. :-(Either that or I need to learn aircraft and panel design.I hardly ever get to fly any more. Sad I know. is there ever and end ?SteveCYYZ

[Guest Moghdad]

A few reactions. Not bad, but definitely not as refined as the Archer II. Specifically:-- gauges are difficult to read. You can maximize the critical ones, but then they overlay other instruments.-- NAV and COM radio frequencies are difficult to set. It's frustrating to miss a navigation point on a difficult approach because your cursor can't find exactly the right pixel to click. Also, the "right click, left click" system on the Archer II has set the new standard. Why go back?-- impossible to read DME unless the GPS screen is maximized-- unlike the Archer II, the landing view 2D panel defaults back to the full screen panel as soon as you change to a different view. So for example, you cannot take a quick peek out the side window without having to reset the landing view again. This is very annoying, especially when you are on short final and your hands are full. Also, when you switch from 2D landing view to 3D, the VC disappears.-- it might just be me, but it seems difficult to trim in a speed on approach. I find myself constantly fiddling with the throttle, and trim controls. Small power adjustments on final seem to affect speed more than glideslope, which is counter-intuitive. This is made worse by the difficulty of reading the speed gauge and a tendency for the gauge needle to jump around.-- am I missing something? Where are the instructions for the GPS unit?-- Does the HSI have a glideslope indicator?

[Guest Moghdad]

Has anyone figured out where the glide slope indicator for NAV 1 is located? Is there one? Has anyone successfully capture a glide slope using the Approach mode on the autopilot?Has anyone figured out how to use the GPS unit? Most functions don't seem to work at all.Does anyone know of plans to improve the functionality of the panel? Specifically the legibility and clickability of instruments, gauges and buttons?I bought this bird on the strength of Flight 1's association with the Arrow II but am very disappointed so far.

[LAdamson 240]

I'm running the C421 with a 22" monitor & 1600*1200*32 resolution. I did the virtual panel cfg.file "trick" where you change to resolution numbers from 5xx (?) to 1024,1024. This makes nearly all instruments as clear as the best. I say nearly, because there is an instrument or two that isn't set up to work in the 2D panel either. While the Archer has set some new standards, so does this one. An example is the arrow on the right side of the 2D panel. Click on it & the top row gauges on the co-pilots side appear.Once use to this panel & setup, it's without doubt one of my favorite aircraft for FS2002. And BTW--- a few items you mentioned regarding switching views are a bit on the irratating side, but at least I have no problems with trim on approach.............. if that helps!As to the GPS unit, I do believe it was the seperate download manual that I got the info------ as I remember..Other recent "payware" aircraft I've purchased for comparisonDreamfleet Archer, FSD Cheyenne, PSS Airbus, Flight1 P-51 MustangL.AdamsonAthlon 1900XPGeforce3Ti500

[LAdamson 240]

Did I mention how much I like this plane! :)

[Guest Moghdad]

Yes, she is very pretty (not the bimbo in the right seat)."While the Archer has set some new standards, so does this one. An example is the arrow on the right side of the 2D panel. Click on it & the top row gauges on the co-pilots side appear."Definitely a cool innovation!

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

I too, own the Archer and like it a lot.Each of these planes has a lot to offer.. for flying around and sightseeing, the Archer is great! For instrument flying, using the GPS, the Eagle is my favorite. The GPS instructions are part of the Eagle manual, which you have to download separately.My understanding is that the glideslope indicator is being increased in size to make it easier to see.I do like the magnified instruments, but tastes differ..

[Guest]

Bert,I agree with you entirely! I just love this plane. I didn't think the DF Archer could be beat in terms of its realistic feel in flight but I was wrong. The Baron used to be my old faithful but I went back to it last night and it felt like a toy (it bounces around on the ground like my old Chrysler did for one!). I've been building a home cockpit based on the Baron but now I'm altering it to a 421C. I like the GPS but I'd rather see a more faithful rendition of the Garmin 530 or 430. I wish it had restricted airspace depicted on it like the Reality XP unit or had some of the features of FlightMax, but it's a huge leap over most units. The best part of this plane is that I have almost all the windows open and scattered across three monitors and it is one of the smoothest models I have in terms of frame rates and stutters. My one complaint (I can always come up with something ;-))? The lack of an ADF makes it really hard to fly some approaches or missed approaches. For some reason the NDB for our local field isn't in the database (IT - Varna), ILS 32 app KITH. Backlit gauges in the VC would be nice too. Best money I've spent on FS in awhile! Thanks!David

[Guest Moghdad]

Yeah, I see the GPS instructions now. It is at the very bottom of the manual's main page. Unless you have the manual screen totally maximized, you will miss it as I did. How silly of me!