Three Payware Aircraft I Would Love to Have

[Milton Shupe]

The C-130 by CaptainSim

The PBY Catalina by Aerosoft

The DHC4 Caribou by Virtavia

The only payware aircraft I ever bought was from Bill Lyons. Just too busy designing to fly. I think after 8 years, I should treat myself.

Can anyone help with links and maybe my wife will be good to me. :)

[robert41]

Here is the PBY. http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/us/iboshop.cgi?showd490!0,5518879640,10542

[Vitus]

Hi Milton,

the Catalina was done by Aerosoft. Personally I don't like it a lot. I think they completely messed up the engine handling, but it's a good looking aircraft with lots of details.
The C130 by Captainsim is pretty good, although it - as most (all?) other CS products - doesn't perform very well. The systems for this bird are really complex, you can read the manuals in advance to get the picture.
I am not aware of any DHC4 for FSX although I'd love to fly that aircraft, too!

Something else you should consider are the airplanes made by A2A. The Stratocruiser is fun to fly :jump:

Cheers,
Vitus

[Roger]

Hey Milton,
Captainsim are having a sale from the 23rd to the 24th December UTC (GMT). The Herc may well be included in the sale.

"Greetings,
We are pleased to announce that exclusively at Captain Sim online store, from 15:00 23DEC2010 to 14:59 24DEC2010(UTC) everything except two titles is Euro 9.99! Visit us at: http://www.captainsim.com (mhtml:{11CCCA25-8261-4624-833F-143B9F575BE3}mid://00000008/!x-usc:http://www.captainsim.com/) Important:
24 hours only. At 14:59:59 24DEC2010(UTC) all prices are back to regular. All sales made during the sale event are equal to regular sales. If traffic exceeds our expectations some of our servers slowdown/outage is possible during the sale event.

Stay tuned,
Captain Sim News"

[Milton Shupe]

Here is the PBY. http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/us/iboshop.cgi?showd490!0,5518879640,10542

Thank you Robert. It just looks awesome, and I can deal with whatever anomalies she may have. :)


Hey Milton,
Captainsim are having a sale from the 23rd to the 24th December UTC (GMT). The Herc may well be included in the sale.

"Greetings,
We are pleased to announce that exclusively at Captain Sim online store, from 15:00 23DEC2010 to 14:59 24DEC2010(UTC) everything except two titles is Euro 9.99! Visit us at: http://www.captainsim.com (mhtml:{11CCCA25-8261-4624-833F-143B9F575BE3}mid://00000008/!x-usc:http://www.captainsim.com/) Important:
24 hours only. At 14:59:59 24DEC2010(UTC) all prices are back to regular. All sales made during the sale event are equal to regular sales. If traffic exceeds our expectations some of our servers slowdown/outage is possible during the sale event.

Stay tuned,
Captain Sim News"

Thank you Roger; A very realistic looking aircraft that I have always loved since flying in them in Vietnam.

I know someone did a Caribou and I want it for FS9 or FSX... otherwise I will build one. :)

[Roger]

Alphasim (now Virtavia) did a Caribou for Fs9 with an FsX compatible update...but not FsX native.

Did I miss something...you have FsX installed?

[pilottj]

I think the Cat would suit you Milton. Just don't plan on getting anywhere in a hurry LOL. I haven't noticed anything wrong with the engines here other than if you set them to 'realistic' you must adhere to the start proceedure and keep a good eye on your engine temps. A very fiine plane for exploring. A 'simpler' alternative is GAS's recent fantastic Douglas Dolphin which I believe is on sale over at PC Aviator.

[Bone]

I'm not really sure what Vitus meant about the CS C-130 not performing well, but I think it's a pretty darn good build. Also, I can do the standard three-ship in trail formation like the real C-130's do, and the fps is just fine...at least on my rig. You'll enjoy it, and there is a SEA camo paint scheme in the package.

[HenryW]

Hi Milton,

the Catalina was done by Aerosoft. Personally I don't like it a lot. I think they completely messed up the engine handling, but it's a good looking aircraft with lots of details.


Totaly disagree. The Aerosoft Catalina is one of the nicest aircraft ever made for FSX... Beautiful exterior, interior, sounds, paints...Its a gem!:jump:

[Milton Shupe]

Totaly disagree. The Aerosoft Catalina is one of the nicest aircraft ever made for FSX... Beautiful exterior, interior, sounds, paints...Its a gem!:jump:

That's was my impression just drooling over the pics and marketing. I have flown and loved this aircraft since FS98 and I would really like to have this one. :) Thanks :jump:

[jdhaenens]

Ahhh.. then you'll only have to learn one number: 90. Take off at 90. Cruise at 90. Land at 90.:jump:
She is a gorgeous bird.

Jim

[pilottj]

LOL get all 3 :D Get the PBY and Caribou now, then pick up the C-130 during the CS sale :)

[modelr]

The Virtavia (Alphasim) C-7 Caribou is on a 40% sale right now at the PC Aviator store. That makes it $13.77

http://www.pcaviator.com/store/home.php?cat=661

[gigabyte]

Milton, I do not have a large number of payware planes, as you and others have saind there are so many exceptional freeware planes out there it is hard to justify the $$$ at times. I will vouch for the CS C-130, it was the first payware plane I purchased and one of my fav's, I also really enjoy Lionheart's Epic Victory it is just total fun no better way I can describe it.

I have a hard time saying which I like better to be honest, I have had the Herc longer so I have more stick time in it, but the past year I find I spend slightly more time in the Victory.

If you can catch the CS Sale the C130 is more than worth the cost and Lionhearts planes IMHO are worth every penny as well - I seem to recall they are also on sale for Xmas if I am not mistaken.

[scottmm73]

You know I have Cat fever...and the only perscription?

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[glennc]

I think I read or heard somewhere that in the Catalina, absolutely everything is done at 120 knots.

Glenn

[Brett_Henderson]

The UIVER DC-2 is a really neat model ...

The A2A Stratocruiser is a standard setting model...

The PBY is a must have...

The CS C-130 is a visually beautiful model.. but the system-modeling buggy..

For light GA.. all the Carenado products are very good..

[Brett_Henderson]

I think I read or heard somewhere that in the Catalina, absolutely everything is done at 120 knots.

Glenn


Yeah.. the Ford Tri-motor is the infamous 90, 90, 90 airplane...

[Vitus]

Well... Aerosoft certainly built a beautiful looking aircraft and the sound is also really nice. BUT the engine doesn't make any sense - I am speaking of the realistic mode of course.

Carburetor Icing is a weird thing. Please take off in such conditions and tell me if what you are experiencing fells realistic! What I experience is the following: I can HEAR the engine dying, but none of the instruments is showing any problems. The MAP and RPM is showing exactly the same values as before, while you can hear and feel that the engine is loosing power. It is just shortly before the engine dies that you can see the RPM drop on the instruments, however the MAP is still the same.

Have you tried to dump fuel? Noticed anything? Right - it just dumps the fuel of the left tank.

Read the original operating procedures for the Catalina and compare the engine startup procedure with the procedure you have to follow in order to get AS Catalina running.

Also, the engines seem to fail occasionally. My engines often catch during descent or even while taxiing to the pier. Why? I don't know.

Well as I said: it's a nice looking airplane but I don't think AS did a good job on the aircraft's systems. :wiggle:

[Milton Shupe]

Thanks everyone for all the help. :wavey: Two out of three in process. :wiggle: Now, where's that C-130 ... and when is it on sale. LOL

I will release the F7F-3S WIP model Thursday night if the testing does not uncover any more faults. And, hopefully we will release the AT-11 next week late (at the earliest). Then, fly these babies. :)

[Tako_Kichi]

Now, where's that C-130 ... and when is it on sale. LOL
It's here....

http://www.captainsim.com/products/c131/

...and the sale runs from 15:00 UTC on Dec 23 until 14:59 UTC on Dec 24.

I am looking to pick up the 'Extra Pack 1' as I really fancy that C-130 on FLOATS! :isadizzy:

[gigabyte]

I am looking to pick up the 'Extra Pack 1' as I really fancy that C-130 on FLOATS! :isadizzy:

Larry, if the sale is like previous years I would recommend grabbing the full C130 Xperience package, the base model and all of the expansion packs will be the same prices as just pack 1 - that was the deal I bought. I can't say for sure but it might make the install simpler if you are installing one complete package as opposed to doing an add-on, but that is just a guess.

[Tako_Kichi]

Thanks for the tip Mike.

[Milton Shupe]

Assuming that it is on sale, I will pick up the All-in-One Thursday afternoon. Otherwise, I will get what is on sale. :wiggle:

[Bomber_12th]

The Catalina is most definitely at least one aircraft that was attributed with take off at 90, cruise at 90, land at 90. I've heard this stated by some various old-timers (vets and aviation historians) throughout my life, and also it can be quite easily backed up through use of the internet now-of-days of course. These speeds are of course equating to KTS, not MPH, and they aren't exactly 'specific', but were a common reference to a combat-loaded Cat...I think you'd have to be in a bit of a dive to achieve 120 KTS (138 MPH!) in a Catalina.

As far as the Aerosoft Catalina goes, I find that with the engine management turned off (easily done - you can manage the engines just as correctly, if not better, with it turned off), it is just superb, and flies and sounds just how it should - gobs of lift, next to no speed, and surprisingly quiet engines at cruise. Growing up, I lived just about 3-4 miles from a locally operated Catalina, and was treated to the sight of it flying over every now and then. If it was ever high enough up, say 2-3,000 ft, it would simply spend forever in the air, as it slowly passed over, and if you didn't see it, you would never know it was over you.

[Cag40Navy]

The all-in-one will be on sale for 9.99 euros. I picked it up last sale.

[jankees]

I agree with John/Bomber, I normally fly the Cat in 'simple' engine mode, and I love it. You will too!
Best bird among the ones you propose.
As for the speed of the Cat, I remember the guys from PH-PBY once remarking on a question about flaps on the Catalina: "flaps? we don't need flaps! Everything is so slow that our only worries are bird strikes....from the rear!"

[paulb]

Hi Milton

I have the boxed CS C-130 (ie all packs) released by Justflight. Purchased in a sale from flightstore.co.uk. I think that it is a worthwhile purchase. Plenty to learn when used in realistic mode.

I ordered the Catalina last week from Amazon (£15.99). Not delivered yet as we have a lot of snow here and the post has generally been delayed. Looking forward to it arriving! You can now download the full manuals from the Aerosoft site in advance of purchase.

My next purchase will probably be the Aerosoft Beaver. FWIW (although very different) their F-16 is very good, if a little heavy on frame rates.

Looking back at 2010, just in terms of aircraft, my favourite purchase is probably the RealAir Spitfire 2008 package - it includes both the IX and the XIV. I also bought their SF260 - a bit old now, but I have used it since FS2002, so I had to get the FSX version!

In terms of scenery, I only made four purchases - the OrbX PNW, UTX Europe, GEX Europe and FEX. All have been excellent purchases and have really improved my FSX experience.

Cheers

Paul

[expat]

Milton,

You will like the Aerosoft PBY - I only got it recently and it exceeded expectations. I have been caught out with engine failure in realistic mode more than once - but recovered after a mild panic - all of which was interesting and if anything adds some realism in the form of drama! Like you, I enjoy radials and have had some practice earlier managing the engines on Manfred Jahn & Co (CalClassics) Connies so you get to know the stress points. Think you need to have "automixture" checked off (or is it on??) for the Cat engines to behave in realistic mode.

Also grabbed the full package CS Herc on sale two years ago. Very well done but I, like others, found the systems - which are impressive - a bit buggy and have had many inconsistent experiences trying to get it to do a full cold and dark start.

Great work on the F7F - she flies like a dream in FSX - and looking forward to the final product.

Happy Holidays

expat

[jeansy]

having all 3 i say

+1 cat
+1 herc

-1 bou

the bou is quite rough, im a bit upset i paid full price, but honestly even $13 is still a bit steep for that quality but since there is no other around free or pay, its up to you, i think with all the sales around you could get another model of better quality...

the other 2 hell yes you wont be dissapointed

[Kowalski65]

I have the Cat & love it, and Jankees has done a load of great paints for it too,I think I have all I can find! Going to get the Herc later.

And maybe Iris can tempt you-for what is effectively pocket change currently, you can get some great planes(Hog especially) even if they might not be your 1st choice.

[jimjones]

Glad you are treating yourself to two very nice sim planes after having giving so much to our hobby. I have the C-130 and Cat. Love them both and think you will too. The Cat has been given the most flight time and being an amphib provides a wide range of opportunities. The C-130, personally, is mostly eye-candy with all the animations and visuals.

[Milton Shupe]

Thank you all for the interesting comments. Since FS98, I have flown these 3 birds at FS98, FS2000, or FS2002 quality levels. I know I will not be disappointed with these. I really am not into the heavy complexities so a simple jump in and fly for 60 minutes is what I need. That allows me the time to sweat the details on my projects. ;)

[Milton Shupe]

Well I now have all three of the aircraft on my wish list installed, plus Flight Replicas Super Cub. I am one happy camper :applause:

[paulb]

Thank you all for the interesting comments. Since FS98, I have flown these 3 birds at FS98, FS2000, or FS2002 quality levels. I know I will not be disappointed with these. I really am not into the heavy complexities so a simple jump in and fly for 60 minutes is what I need. That allows me the time to sweat the details on my projects. ;)

Dear Milton

I hope that you continue to find time for your projects. I am looking forward to any new releases from you. I know, from experience, that putting a decent aircraft together is a huge task. Even more so today with FSX and everyones (increasingly higher) expectations.

Happy christmas and best wishes

Paul

[pilottj]

Yeah you should have a great time with all those airplanes :D If you get hankering for more later, I recommend the RealAir Scout/Citabria/Decathlon package, a great stablemate for your Cub.

[Milton Shupe]

Dear Milton

I hope that you continue to find time for your projects. I am looking forward to any new releases from you. I know, from experience, that putting a decent aircraft together is a huge task. Even more so today with FSX and everyones (increasingly higher) expectations.

Happy christmas and best wishes

Paul

Thank you Paul. I am retiring from full time employment this coming Summer so I should have more time to dabble with design work. Having just released the F7F-3 WIP as an SOH Team project for the RTW race in February, I am on the AT-11 hoping to release over the holidays. Then the Dash 7 is about 98% complete and awaiting paints, looking at March for that, followed by the XP47J in the VC creation phase.

After the Dash 7, I hope to start the C-1A Trader and E-1B Tracer as an SOH Team project. So, lots of fun things happening. :jump:

[skyhawka4m]

Milton....will the AT-11, C-1A, and E-1 be FSX aircraft?


Thanks for all you do for our hobby.!!!

Merry Christmas!


john binford

[Cag40Navy]

C-1A Trader and E-1B Tracer as an SOH Team project. So, lots of fun things happening. :jump:
I am now a VERY happy camper!

[Milton Shupe]

Milton....will the AT-11, C-1A, and E-1 be FSX aircraft?


Thanks for all you do for our hobby.!!!

Merry Christmas!


john binford

Thank you John. Although I have the FSX SDK and fly FSX as well, I continue to develop on at the FS9 level. I do test our products on both the FSX Accel and FS9 sides. The flight model, gauges, textures, and props will all work on both sides, with reasonable frame rates. So, no to FSX native. We shall see what the new "Flight" calls for with respect to development.

EDIT: BTW John, are they still running tractor and truck pulls in Buck? Used to go there several times a year, truly enjoyed that and your part of the world.

[Timber]

I seen where PC Aviator has the FSX/FS2004 C-7 Caribou on sale for $11.47. Was looking for any reviews and such and came across this thread.
I'm off to buy the Caribou. I have the Cat. It's a wonderful plane. Like one of the guys said; Take off at 90, fly and 90, and land at 90. A demanding plane but a lot of fun to fly. Picked up the CS 130 also. It's sitting in the hangar waiting for me to sit down with a gallon of coffee and work through a check ride.
Milton your Dash 7 is alive and well with Eagle Vally Air. Can't wait to fly the your new version.

[Bjoern]

Speaking of the new version, I'd pick up the project and finish it should the need arise.

Rocky Mountain Airlines, Golden West, London City Airlines, Tyrolean, etc...are a very good reason.