Air Hauler 2 for X-Plane discussion thread

Pulled the trigger on WA, SD. See what happens in a couple of days. At least I still have MudSpike :relieved:

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Sorry…I couldn’t resist… :wink:

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That hurt.

Orbx somehow has been able to boost my d/l rate? I’m seeing a whopping 512 kbs! That’s the highest number I can recall! The string between the two cans is humming!

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Is there a reason why Mudspike FSEconomy thread died 3 years ago? And why haven’t we all started it back up until AH2 comes?

I never did FSEconomy…so I don’t know a whole lot about it.

https://forums.mudspike.com/t/fseconomy-in-action/4614

I’ve never done airhauler, but it looks pretty similar. Would be perfect for a mudspike company.

Where is @EightBall ?

“Corner pocket; off the bank.” :wink:

Oh come on! You were all thinking of it.

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I made a quick $10k flying around FSEconomy today, if anyone wants to group up in the spirit of Air Hauler, I’m game. Like Vatsim, you can use which ever Flight Sim you wish.

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I’m game. Researching FSEconomy now…

How does it handle crashes - the software kind?

XP is crashing a bit more than usual right now. Still investigating.

I’m almost hoping that AH2 is a little bit delayed…I’ve just spent NZ$100 in sims over the weekend (ORBX Washington and DCS F-16) and I feel like the old credit card is still sizzling a bit :rofl:

Nah, as soon as AH2 comes out I’ll buy it to get on to the MAC bandwagon, but I think until the release I’ll be in Caucasus, hauling freight with my Mighty Eight (poetry!). FSEconomy looks interesting, but I’ll wait until AH2 :slight_smile:

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If you had bought the F16 when it first came out this would not have been an issue :wink: .

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This is true! :laughing:

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Just dinking around with the Quest Kodiak tonight out of curiosity. I won’t be able to afford it right off the bat, but what a beast of a hauler.

Had two hours of gas and about 2,250 lbs. of cargo (+230 lbs. of pilot)…

With 20 degrees of flap - taking off from the Heron’s Nest we were actually airborne by the crest of the uphill…probably only 800’ or so. Fun because with REP you have to make sure you don’t over-torque it…I like having to be mindful of stuff like that…

Came back around and at MTOW landed and came to a stop in about the same…800’ or so. It will be a phenomenal bush plane in Air Hauler 2…

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Wow, that thing is a beast! I sort of thought about it as a souped up GA small plane but clearly it’s a different category!

Yeah…to my surprise though, I just loaded up the Grand Caravan, and wow…that thing can haul even more. I suppose I should have known that because just in terms of ramp presence the Caravan is quite a bit larger than the Kodiak…

Now I don’t know if it has a max cargo limit (like a floor weight…I’m sure it does)…but just putting a pilot in it, two hours of fuel, I was showing the ability to haul around 3,100 lbs. of stuff. That is insane. That will make a lot of money in Air Hauler (of course, you’ll have to pay for the lease or ownership of the plane…but hey…)…

It’s a Carenado bird…so I don’t know how great the flight dynamics are. It doesn’t fly nearly as well as the Kodiak though…it definitely seems to wallow a bit. I tried a takeoff at 10 degrees of flaps and maybe I rotated to soon, but I only just barely staggered off the end of the runway (through the barriers)…

Resetting the situation, I made sure to go to max torque/ITT limits, used 20 degrees of flaps, and found I was airborne a bit over the hump…maybe 1,200-1,300’. That is pretty good. It will get you into most of those bush strips and that is with a third more cargo than the Kodiak…

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Great article on the Kodiak vs. Caravan - I find the article interesting because it does seem like our simulated planes are pretty in line with their expected performance. Balanced field length in a single engine plane is…well…by necessity accelerate/stop. So it yeah…that looks about right for what I was seeing with regards to takeoff data and if I were to lose the engine at the rotation speed and use full brakes, reverse…

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Then of course - if you want to spend some real money…it is hard to beat the Twin Otter. I’m not convinced it is worth the extra payload for the cost of two engines…but it is a real performer.

Looks like about 3,800 lbs. of cargo with two hours of fuel and a pilot…

My assumption is that with the PT-6 modeling that Austin loves so much, you might get fairly good engine modeling out of those aircraft equipped with them. I don’t know how much tweaking the add-on plane developers have to do to get it just right…but the Otter feels pretty good to me.

I did not appear to be able to over torque or over temp it even at max throttle throw though. I used Flaps 20…just a WAG - Flaps 10 might be more appropriate. She screamed up the hill though and was light on the mains by the crest…easily powered away, but that wider wingspan can get you into trouble in narrow strips…

Feels a bit pitch sensitive at MTOW…but is very responsive to power and you can pin it near the bottom of the white arc…which is nearly collocated with Vmca red line. With full flaps the Twin Otter wheelbarrows gloriously…allowing you take a steep angle at the runway and have a great view of everything. Compared to something like the Cessna 206/207 the visibility is unparalleled.

That great sight picture gives you the confidence to pick your touchdown spot just beyond the obstacle. A gentle pull and those soft tundra tires kiss, full reverse (don’t FOD your engine!) and some braking and this thing took about 700’ to stop at MTOW. Awesome machine.

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The Twin Otter wingspan is 20’ wider than a Kodiak FYI…65’ vs. 45’…(Caravan is 52’)…

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