Air Hauler 2 for X-Plane discussion thread

[BeachAV8R]

AH2XP Aircraft Evaluation #06 - Piper PA-28-140

• Piper PA-28-140 (Glass Panel - VFlyteAir)
• MTOW - 2,150 lbs.
• Cruise - 110 knots
• 2 hour fuel burn - 8 gph x 2 hr = 16 gal = 96 lbs.

MTOW = 2,150 lbs.
EMPTY = 1,365 lbs.

230 lbs. pilot
96 lbs. fuel (2 hours)
459 lbs. cargo

So I knew this was a bad idea. Low wing Pipers are not traditionally a great choice for bush flying. And 140HP at MTOW is an even worse idea. But if you were just flying to paved strips with a couple thousand feet - you can squeeze a nice bit of cargo into the diminutive little Warrior. And the vFltyeAir Warriors are really nice.

Articles

One thing is for certain - that owner of the house at The Heron’s Nest will be very happy when all these trials are over…the dust is everywhere!

Full throttle, two notches of flaps per the POH…and we start up the hill. Is my parking brake on? Did I let loose the tiedown straps? Is my pitot tube cover still on…because I don’t see much acceleration going on here. We…well…amble up to the top of the crest and start down the other side. This isn’t looking good fellas. The speed finally starts to build…but…well…I just don’t think the old 140 has the chops to be a bush plane.

No further testing needed.

[Bearhedge]

Bugger…that’s one option down from my hangar!

Have you got the JF Turbo Arrow by chance? That’s got 201HP…

[BeachAV8R]

@Bearhedge

Have you got the JF Turbo Arrow by chance?

I have the JF Arrow III, but not the turbo…that will be the next report. I’ve already completed my evaluation…

[jross]

The first image looks real. Like really real. Seemed to have my issued worked out; landed? there a couple of times this evening. Left a mark.

Here’s a nice lil hole-n-the-wall place I found:

https://propstrikestudio.com/products/fisheries

Little fixer-upper in the Canadian Rockies. Not nearly as challenging to TO/Land but nice scenery. At the price is Right!

[BeachAV8R]

@jross

Left a mark.

That upslope when you are trying to judge the flare can really bang up some gear…! LOL

[BeachAV8R]

@jross

Here’s a nice lil hole-n-the-wall place I found:

Our own @smokinhole wrote a nice story about that place!

Machmell, A Short Story

Machmell Fisheries is a small piece of free scenery created by Propstrike Studio for X-Plane. They offered it for free to promote their new website and to create a little buzz for their upcoming Quatam River Airport . They also sell another small scenery called Allan/Burrows Island. Elsewhere on the forum I sang my praises for both Allan/Burrows and Machmell. What do you say about scenery? That It’s pretty? That the creators obviously worked hard? (Or you can really get in the weeds like I d…

[BeachAV8R]

…but it can be done I suppose…

[BeachAV8R]

AH2XP Aircraft Evaluation #07 - Piper PA-28R Arrow

• Piper PA-28R Arrow (Just Flight)
• MTOW - 2,750 lbs.
• Cruise - 130 knots
• 2 hour fuel burn - 10 gph x 2 hr = 20 gal = 120 lbs.

MTOW = 2,750 lbs.
EMPTY = 1,612 lbs.

230 lbs. pilot
120 lbs. fuel (2 hours)
788 lbs. cargo

Well now, those are some numbers! One pilot, nearly 800 pounds of cargo, and a couple hours of gas. Of course - it still isn’t a bush plane…and perhaps is even worse than the Cherokee 140 given the mechanical frailty that comes with retractable gear.

Just Flight does know how to build a great sim module though. This thing is decked out with options, has the nicest looking panel graphics and lighting, and is just full of great utility. The weight, balance, and load pop-up is a perfect example. Here we are loaded up with cargo in our seats, at max gross and near the rear CG limit…

Good looking airplane…!

Did you vacuum yet? Oops…

The panel is legit. Reminds me of my Cherokee Six and Lance days flying freight - but we landed on pavement all the time. The inclusion of compatibility with the GTN 750 is a very nice feature…

Putting the power in - the airplane accelerates up the hill rapidly, even at max takeoff weight. The rough surface of the Heron’s Nest dirt strip causes all kinds of racket and protests from the Arrow’s landing gear though. I really thought we were going to break something. Near the top of the crest we got light on the wheels and broke ground at around 700’…very good performance for so much load hauling…!

Bringing it around - full flaps and staying a bit high gives a nice view over the nose if you raise up a bit in the seat…

Touchdown is firm, but the rollout feels like the plane is coming apart. The suspension just isn’t built for this…but we do only burn up about 700’ of landing distance!

It is a top notch VR experience. You’d be hard pressed to find a better looking cockpit with so much depth to the modeling.

Hard to beat the night lighting too - something we haven’t really looked at in the other planes. This plane oozes atmosphere…

Another nice feature is that retractable gear gives you some speed and range - after dialing in the bezel adjustment we were looking at about 135 knots at 25" and 2400 RPM…

The GTN 750 (if you own it) is superb!

One of the best X-Plane aircraft out there. Unfortunately, I just don’t think it is hearty enough for the bush role…

[Fridge]

@BeachAV8R

Well now, those are some numbers! One pilot, nearly 800 pounds of cargo, and a couple hours of gas.

When I was checking out the weigh and balance on the Turbo above, I didn’t notice that the scroll wheel allowed you to add more weight to those ‘stations’. I thought that they were either on or off until last night

I am very curious to see what these will cost. My current plan (hope) is to go from a Cessna 172 to the Piper/Cessna ST201M and on to the Kodiak. I also have a couple of two engine piston aircraft in my hangar if the cost jump is too much. Hope to move on to the King Air and maybe the Dash 8 sometime in the distant future

I have been considering the Milviz/vFliteAir Turbo Otter as well but I am getting far ahead of myself

DHC-3 Turbo Otter-vFlyteAir-DHC3

[BeachAV8R]

@Fridge

My current plan (hope) is to go from a Cessna 172 to the Piper/Cessna ST201M and on to the Kodiak.

That’s a great plan and some great planes. Though you start with a small airplane, the goal is to build “reputation” since the bank won’t give you a loan for a bigger plane until you’ve proven yourself. Reputation is gained or lost on each flight. I think you are shooting for 40 reputation (if AH2XP is the same as P3D)…

At that point, you can take out a loan and upgrade. The bigger plane can carry more stuff, and make more money. Well, at least if you fly enough. LOL…or you can do what I did and bankrupt a company.

[BeachAV8R]

@Fridge

My current plan (hope) is to go from a Cessna 172 to the Piper/Cessna ST201M and on to the Kodiak.

That’s a great plan and some great planes. Though you start with a small airplane, the goal is to build “reputation” since the bank won’t give you a loan for a bigger plane until you’ve proven yourself. Reputation is gained or lost on each flight. I think you are shooting for 40 reputation (if AH2XP is the same as P3D)…

At that point, you can take out a loan and upgrade. The bigger plane can carry more stuff, and make more money. Well, at least if you fly enough. LOL…or you can do what I did and bankrupt a company.

The ticks down on that graph are instances where I might have dinged an aircraft or not fulfilled a contract in time. Usually because I picked one up that required two hauls on accident and I didn’t have enough time to complete the routes.

[jross]

@BeachAV8R

I didn’t have enough time to complete the routes

This was my only issue with AH (in FSX/P3D); I don’t recall there being a ‘time out’ or ‘pause’ setting when the real world got in the way. I may have overlooked it however. I mean, it’s a neat idea but how practical? Oh wait, you could use your AI pilots to do the heavy lifting during your absence, by building a schedule, right? Been many years since I ran AH1.

[BeachAV8R]

@jross

I don’t recall there being a ‘time out’ or ‘pause’ setting when the real world got in the way.

I think…and I could be wrong (I’ll go check) that there was a “deactivate” command or something maybe that would idle the company. Lemme check…

[BeachAV8R]

Well, I see the option to deactivate a base and it says that will cost $0 dollars. When I hit “reactivate” it says the next rent payment will be due in one month. So I assume you can go idle, deactivate your bases, and then you won’t be paying rent on them. That saves you fixed costs in that respect. I don’t know that there is a way to suspend your lease payments on aircraft loans though.

[jross]

@BeachAV8R

I don’t know that there is a way to suspend your lease payments on aircraft loans though

Now that’s realism!

[BeachAV8R]

@jross

Now that’s realism!

If you owe the bank ten thousand dollars - that’s your problem. If you owe the bank ten million dollars - that’s the bank’s problem. LOL… Love aviation…

[Bearhedge]

It will be really interesting to see how they’ve implemented the “multiplayer” / shared company part in terms of the finances. If the airfield rental is shared, it might be quite handy - not everyone has to fly all the time to stay ahead.

Conversely though, if its a fully shared kitty, we probably best figure out the AI plane routine, so that when ppl go on hiatus, others don’t have to carry the full burden of the fleet’s repayments…

[BeachAV8R]

@Bearhedge

…we probably best figure out the AI plane routine, so that when ppl go on hiatus, others don’t have to carry the full burden of the fleet’s repayments…

Get back to work!!

[jross]

@Bearhedge

others don’t have to carry the full burden

Oh no, not Virtual Responsibility

[BeachAV8R]

I’ve never done the Virtual Airline thing with Air Hauler…so no idea how it works, but looking at my menu for the P3D version it has some cool items. VA Chat is kind of neat.