As you all are probably aware, I love the vintage aircraft more than the latest jets. Today oliXsim (never heard of them before today) released their Lockheed Lodestar. A few clicks of the mouse later and it was in my vitual hangar.
I have only had a quick flight around the pattern at Austin but it seems nice enough to fly. Definitely an airplane that I would be happy to fly on a vintage trek, and a nice alternative to the DC3.
I know it makes no sense…but I just can’t fly Robinson helicopters. I know they are hugely popular…but…just…so…ugly. I know, I know…this from the guy that flew the Embraer 110 for 6000 miles in one of our Christmas challenges.
The Schweizer S300CBi is just such a more civilized looking machine.
I’d not say “civilized” so much as “honest” looking. The S300 is classic first gen helo “you see what you get”; all the ‘stuff’ is exposed more or less. It’s 100% function, 0% form.
Robison makes helos more or less in the same league; ie small lawn-mowery enginged buzz birds, but tries to dress them up like you’re in an AW109 or something. It’s like putting a ferrari body kit on a pontiac Fiero.
Edit: And yes, this even applies to the Turbine R44. For a case study in how to make a small-turbine helicopter look sexy, please direct your attention to the Aérospatiale Gazelle.
Note the turbine is covered by as small a shroud as possible; the G-string of engine cowls, as it were. Heck, even the tail-rotor drive shaft is mostly exposed.
All that said, I do actually like the Robison trade mark rotor mast, which I presume is measured in stories, not inches. Even then though, they cover it in a dorkey fin. It’s like, “Whoa, slow down there Airwolf, where do you think you’re going so fast in your robinson?”
I agree. I hate the R66 (although I do think VSKYLABS have done a decent job with it). It’s slow and unresponsive. I flew an R22 when I was a kid and loved it–very light and easy. Dreamfoil’s S300CBi is damn near perfect. There is a flight school a few hours away that teaches with one. I am hoping to get together with them once COVID settles down.
Been to a few airshows at Riverside airport. Most surreal moment was the year the Collings Foundation F-4 Phantom was there performing. I was standing on the tarmac near the control tower along with several dozen other spectators and after a slow speed pass the F-4 went vertical and lit the burners. It seemed like it did it right above where I was standing and the only thing other than that was darn cool I thought at the time was if those engines fail I will have nowhere to go since I was backed up next to a fence.
In a time long ago in a far away place I wrote a long article about the A300 - it was the Simulation Software Workshop version for FSX…probably one of the better planes at that time for FSX…
And its a big one! 2021 delivery but should be worth the wait. With the A300 just released, if we can get rotate to release the MD-11 in between we are in business.
And with Ini working on the A380, this should round out the Airbus lineup,