I have no idea. I am hoping that the King Air and Kodiak will work. There must be some mechanism to add aircraft to it’s database. Just have to wait and see 
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I believe you just import the aircraft…
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If I recall you just import your planes and it will do the rest.
Most likely they have a generic database of all the planes in the world and then just match what you imported.
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If it works like previous versions of Air Hauler - yes, you can import airplanes that you’ve bought or downloaded and they are priced according to some formula in Air Hauler (probably MTOW and cargo weight or something). You set what types of missions you want to fly in the setup options when you start your company (and you can probably change this while you play too) so missions will be generated to distances that you would prefer, and airfield sizes that you prefer…
This is all based on previous versions…so this may or may not hold true for AH2XP…
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AH2XP Aircraft Evaluation #01 - Cessna 172RG
- Cessna 172RG (Carenado)
- MTOW - 2,650 lbs.
- Cruise - 140 kts.
- 2 hour fuel burn - 9 gph x 2 hr = 18 gal = 108 lbs.
MTOW = 2,650 lbs.
EMPTY = 1,624 lbs.
230 lbs. pilot
108 lbs. fuel (2 hours)
688 cargo
It’s never too early to start doing some fun research. In anticipation of reopening Mudspike Air Cargo in X-Plane 11, I’ve decided to start wringing out some possible initial aircraft purchases upon launch.
The Cessna 172RG holds a special place in my heart since it was my first actual cargo hauling plane I flew back in my early days. Bathed in that warm red cockpit at night, droning along in solid IFR conditions, I felt cozy and relatively safe in my 172RG. Unfortunately, I don’t have an anticipated Air Hauler 2 purchase price yet (we will see when it is released) - but I did want to give it a whirl under real world (well, real Air Hauler) conditions.
Using the freeware Heron’s Nest scenery off the coast of Maine - this little island retreat offers a nice bush pilot test base. A rough field, a runway with a good bit of slope all the way up to mid field, trees, and an overall short runway.
My made up test conditions:
- 75F
- Static power runup and brake release
- Calm winds
- Standard pressure (29.92")
- Two hours of fuel
- Maximum takeoff weight with 230 lbs. pilot (me - ugh…gotta go on a diet)
- Cargo to reach MTOW (688 lbs.)
Obviously, the MTOW, cargo capacity, and fuel weight to approximate two hours of cruise fuel will vary by aircraft. I’m not too interested in range or speed since I’ll be tailoring AH2XP for relatively short bush flying. I’m most interested in - how much runway at MTOW will I use, how well will the aircraft climb, and how much runway will I use on landing on a less than ideal surface. Heron’s Nest features a fairly steep climb to the center of the island, then a slight downhill. To provide a worst case scenario, I’m taking off up the steepest part, flying out to teardrop around, and come back and land slightly downhill.
A look at Outer Heron Island, Maine on Google maps on the left and the iBlueYonder version on the right. Obviously the airstrip is fictional. I wanted a rough measurement of the runway length, so used the Google comparison and ruler to determine a rough estimate of about 1,660’.
Alright - all loaded up. Going to use 10° flap, but 20° may be more appropriate (I don’t have a POH handy).
Beautiful old school panel. No GPS, VOR navigation only, and an ADF receiver. Back in the day you’d be lucky to have digital flip-flop radios like this. That brown plastic panel sure brings back some memories though (and smells…)…
A struggle up the hill at MTOW…
Liftoff at about 1,200’ based on me holding up a ruler to my screen and adjusting the image to 1cm = 100’…
Good thing too…we were running out of room fast…!
Coming back around for the landing. Firm touchdown, lifting flaps, and heavy braking. Initial rollout is uphill, so that is a plus…
Roughly 1,050’ of landing distance total. I didn’t plant it right over the obstacle, so you could probably shave some off of that…
So a nice little ~ 700 lbs. cargo hauler. Not very fast, probably not the most rugged landing gear…but very familiar and will probably not be very expensive to buy.
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140 KTAS? Really?
It’s what the POH says…I honestly can’t remember what I used to get out of the one I flew…but 140 does sound a bit high. I vaguely remember more like 125… Of course, the one I flew burned more oil than gas…so there’s that…
It is interesting that my takeoff and landing numbers are fairly close to those book values…
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Another little gem in that POH - I performed the short-field takeoff with flaps 20…it looks like 0 is actually the proper configuration!
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Wouldn’t that be cool if in the real world you could actually make a living hauling cargo in a C-180 or equivalent? (talking lower 48 here).
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Sure would. Back in the day I was paid something like $54 a day to haul cargo in Cessna 172RGs, Bonanzas, and Lances. And I was thrilled to death to actually be getting paid to fly. I remember my first overnight in Charlotte and thinking I had really hit the big time. The next morning…taxied from the GA ramp over to the Airborne Express ramp and pulled up next to that massive DC-8. I was very smitten with myself… 
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If I could make money flying small Cessna’s I’d do it in a heartbeat! Being CFI doesn’t count! 
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I disagree, CFI is better than being on the ground
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As the joystick turns, in getting my XP11 install rolling again, I was in search of the ultimate TrackIR settings. I was jumping in and out of the LR default C172 G1000 (love that panel) this morning when XP dropped my on a very short field in the middle of Sandy Springs, GA. I thought, well this is a Cessna and the C152 likes a notch of flaps (10), with rotation at 50 kts and a 54 kt climb. That actually seemed to work well in the Skyhawk. But your POH version no doubt has a better outcome in really tight spots.
Has anyone heard if AH1 databases will be importable to AH2? Most likely doubtful, but felt compelled to ask and avoid laying off the few good employees that I’ve manged to hire.
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On the list of useful aircraft, especially at the beginning, would be the Cessna 310 and Piper Navajo. There are two decent payware 310’s and Carenado has the Navajo.
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It will depend on your starting budget what you will be able to fly right off the bat. I suspect the Navajo and 310 might be too expensive, and you might not be able to get a lease or loan for them if your reputation level or whatever it is called is too low.
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True enough. In AH1 I would have to make several runs before I could upgrade. My progression was usually the 172 to the 207 and then after that the Navajo. The big thing though is that I was using the XP11 hack/mod to get AH1 working, which meant the aircraft prices were probably way out of whack. I’m very much looking forward to having a fully functional version of Air Hauler. I just hope that this late in the XP11 life cycle, that it will transfer to XP12 with fewer problems (and the dev supports it better this time).
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Yeah…I was using those directions provided by @chipwich to get it working…and at least in my version, things like the stock market, fuel price variations, and some other items that it would normally draw from the internet weren’t functioning. It would also be interesting to see how more advanced aircraft or REP aircraft work with AH2XP. AH uses things like sink rate and bank angle to rate damage and stuff to your cargo…so certainly you would think having a failure caused by REP (caused by aircraft system mismanagement) would have an implication in your Air Hauler grading (whether by design or just because).
Actually that sounds pretty cool. Now, who wants that contract to take all these eggs up to Bella Coola? It’s either going to be profitable or messy.
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