For more screenshots regarding the PC-6 check out my post in the Xmas flight thread (PC-6 starts halfway through).
Initial impressions, it does what it says on the tin. I have never flown a turboprop, and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve flown on one (3 of the four being C-130’s). So I can’t speak at all to the veracity of the engine modeling etc. The system modeling isn’t A2A/PMDG by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems a hair more in depth than stock.
The in cockpit tablet lets you set up the aircraft with external tanks, cargo, etc, but you can’t adjust fuel (at least that I have found). Visually the model is decent, with the main issue being some labels and panel text is low res.
Flight performance is what I expected, but please note I am not trying to emulate anything out of the POH. STOL performance is good, and matches what I had expected. Now on to the Beta range descent…
Works as advertised, they helpfully link a YouTube video in the manual to a real-world video of a pilot using it in Papua New Guinea which clarified what it does, how it does it, and how to do it. I took the PC-6 up to 10k feet on a simulate skydiving type profile (up fast, down faster to get the next paying bunch), over flew the airfield drop zone, and then immediately went into a Beta range descent. About 20 degree’s nose down pitch, 85 KIAS, and a ~3500 fpm descent. I dropped the nose even further and had an almost 5000 fpm descent at around 95 KIAS (flaps were up), and maybe 30 degree nose down. Once I got near pattern altitude, pulled the nose back to level, left it in Beta to slow down to approach speed, added a bit of throttle to get the prop out of Beta, flaps down full, and touched down. Full reverse and brakes, stops on a half dollar. Total time was probably 3 mins from the start of descent. It’s a pretty wild concept and a lot of fun to do.
I was not able to torch the engine with a wide variety of different destructive behaviors, so I’m assuming that’s not modeled.
WARNING: If you have the Workingtitle NXI mod installed (even through the app store) or other G1000 mod, the glass deck is wonky. The AP is pretty much non-functional, and the GPS is mostly haywire. They mention this in the manual. From the website: “This extends to any avionics mods or community fixes. Regarding the NXi specifically, as it matures and becomes more integrated into the simulator as per the NXi development roadmap, rest assured that we will work to ensure that it can be used seamlessly in the Porter.” Also make sure to turn of airframe damage if you want to be able to open the doors in flight. This is also mentioned in the manual. If you do not MSFS will assume you broke the plane and end your flight.
TL/DR: Overall it’s a fun plane, and with the planned expansions to the base model should be a really solid addition to anyone’s hanger that is looking for a utility plane. At the current price of $29.99 I’d recommend it if you have any interest.