Milviz MU-2 WIP

[MenendezDiego]

Hey guys, thought I'd share some WIP shots of the Milviz MU-2.











Regards, Diego

[krazycolin]

Don't worry... she will get a bath before release!

[CG_1976]

Eh I like them Dirty at Delivery. Especially when I put them to work in the Arctic.

[krazycolin]

Some of the dirt will not wash off of course...

[yankeeromeo]

a little too much dirt for my taste but i prefer than too much clean...excellent pics, thanks for sharing and impatient flying her.
:ernae:

[ColoKent]

....Awesome...a MUST buy

Kent

[pilottj]

Yeah I think this one moved from my 'would be nice' to the 'must get' list. Does the MU have a similar start proceedure to other TPE331 powered craft such as OV-10 and J-41 involving the start locks and such? I hope you guys can simulate all that stuff if it does. Looking foward to this one.:salute:

Cheers
TJ

[butchm]

FINALLY someone is doing the MU2... great choice.

[skyhawka4m]

[Ian Warren]

Now there ever was a small commuter i was to buy , its this one<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><input jscode="leoInternalChangeDone()" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();} else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

[pilottj]

I have heard the MU has some nasty habits, but once mastered it is quite a hot ship. Looking at the location of the fuel tanks, short fuselage...that is not a plane I would want to be in a spin

[Ian Warren]

I have heard the MU has some nasty habits, but once mastered it is quite a hot ship. Looking at the location of the fuel tanks, short fuselage...that is not a plane I would want to be in a spin

MORE THE REASON I LIKE IT you cant kill ya self in Flightsim


<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><input jscode="leoInternalChangeDone()" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();} else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

[yankeeromeo]

I have heard the MU has some nasty habits, but once mastered it is quite a hot ship. Looking at the location of the fuel tanks, short fuselage...that is not a plane I would want to be in a spin

Hello FOlks,
in a spin, certainly not, as well as any other non aerobatic plane.
nasty habits, certainly not, unless you're not trained on this particular aircraft.
The MU-2 use spoilers not ailerons and that make a difference you have to use small yoke movements, never use full deflection, especially on final and don't forget your P.R.O.P.S

[bstolle]

nasty habits, certainly not, unless you're not trained on this particular aircraft.
The MU-2 use spoilers not ailerons and that make a difference you have to use small yoke movements, never use full deflection, especially on final

Unfortunately anything less than a BIG rollspoiler input on the yoke doesn't produce any noticable roll and on the other hand you shouldn't use full deflection on final.....not much leeway
There are quite a few unpleasant things about flying the Mu-2 (especially at the edge of the evelope).
As quite a few sim pilots were already overstrained with the Milviz C310, this one will certainly be no plane for the low time average GA sim pilot.

[butchm]

Unfortunately anything less than a BIG rollspoiler input on the yoke doesn't produce any noticable roll and on the other hand you shouldn't use full deflection on final.....not much leeway
There are quite a few unpleasant things about flying the Mu-2 (especially at the edge of the evelope).
As quite a few sim pilots were already overstrained with the Milviz C310, this one will certainly be no plane for the low time average GA sim pilot.

Even better...

Seriously though, its a bit like the story of the Marauder right? If Irecall correctly, the MU2 did initially have a poor safety history then they embarked on a pilot education program and safety figures inproved significantly. The moral I guess is you need to do taht 'pilot thing' and keep the machine within the envelop or it will bite.

Cheers

[Cirrus N210MS]

looking amazing!!

[capceo]

Even better...

Seriously though, its a bit like the story of the Marauder right? If Irecall correctly, the MU2 did initially have a poor safety history then they embarked on a pilot education program and safety figures inproved significantly. The moral I guess is you need to do taht 'pilot thing' and keep the machine within the envelop or it will bite.

Cheers

Hi everyone,

Some of you may remember me from the days when the Premier Aircraft Design MU-2 was rolled out.

I'm the technical adviser and tester for this project, and as the rest of the gang at Milviz know, I know and love this airplane dearly.


Butchm, that's exactly right. I'm not going to start an argument here about the actual handling characteristics of the airplane, but as Bernt will acknowledge, despite his extensive flying experience, his comments on the flying characteristics are either heresy, or design interpretation. They are not derived from him flying the airplane, which he has not.

The MU-2 had the same exact safety related issues as the early Learjets, Piper Aerostar, and Piper Malibu. They were very high performance airplanes that (with the exception of the learjet) any pilot could jump right into without type specific training. The Lear is definately not a Citation, the Aerostar is not a Baron, and the Malibu is not a Cessna 182. The MU-2 is no King Air. It was built for speed and that's exactly what it delivers. It's handling characteristics are *slightly* different from the norm. But any reasonably seasoned multi-engine pilot, with the proper training, has no difficulty transitioning to and operating the aircraft safely.

In fact, since the SFAR implementation requiring factory approved training (which 90% of MU-2 owners were in favor of) the MU-2s safety record has been nearly flawless, and the airplane has earned itself the title of currently being the safest business class turboprop.

Not intending to start an argument, I will say this. Stating that anything less than a large roll input produces little roll is simply not true. The flight spoilers have a maximum deflection angle of 60 degrees. This is a little misleading. They share a small similarity with ailerons here, in the sense that although they have a large deflection, very little deflection is needed to produce a respectable roll rate. Just like ailerons, they move very little while maneuvering, usually extending well under one inch. While the MU-2 does require larger YOKE deflections, the spoilers do not extend to their full deflection.

I would have to disagree with Bernt, as I have in the past, about the MU-2's handling characteristics. Once you understand the way the airplane needs to be flown, it's a joy to fly. But this is true of any airplane. The reason the MU-2 has been scrutinized more than any other airplane in it's class is simply because it's different, and people usually don't like different. Most of it has been blamed on the flight spoilers for roll control, despite the fact that one of the most successful business jets of all time, the Beechjet/Hawker 400, uses the same roll spoilers and totally lacks ailerons. In fact, the Beechjet was actually designed by Mitsubishi.

But don't take my word for it. Talk to anyone who owns an MU-2 and flies it on a regular basis. Many of them have stepped up from cabin class twins and singles, and some have even sold their King Air's for the Mits!


I once asked a former King Air C90 owner to explain to me why he personally chose to transition to the MU-2. He bought a Solitaire, just like the one being produced, which is extremely comparable to his former C90 class wise. He made the switch for the MU-2's speed, which beats the C90 by a full 60-70 KTAS. Typical cruise speeds in the Solitaire are anywhere from 300-310 KTAS. As far as the passengers are concerned, the cabin is about the same size and is equally as comfortable. In addition, the MU-2's shortfield performance far exceeds that of most model King Air's. If you haven't, take a close up look at the Mits's main gear. They're beefy and rugged. They were designed from the ground up for short, unimproved fields. This is also the reason the design choice was made to make the MU-2 a high wing airplane, keeping the propellers and intakes as far away from the ground as possible. He also pointed to the reliability of the TPE-331 engines, which have almost double the TBO time of PT-6A's. Many owners purchase a Garrett powered airplane and never actually fly off the 5,400hrs before needing to overhaul the engines. I know that we have owned our airplane for 13 years and only put about 2,000 hours on it using it for business and pleasure. In addition, he mentioned the airplanes design features and overall craftsmanship. Having owned a King Air, which is often referred to as one of the best built turboprops in existence, he was blown away by the true engineering of the airplane. In his words, "It makes a Beechcraft product seem like it was built by Piper." The airplane is extremely well built, and is the only twin turboprop business class airplane that has ZERO airframe airworthiness directives. This alone speaks for the quality of the airplane. Despite the numerous times it was investigated by the FAA earlier in it's life, not even the Feds could find a single thing wrong with it's design. Out of all the King Air's, Turbo Commander's, Conquests, etc., only the MU-2 can say it is AD free. Finally, the price is what gets a lot of buyer's attention. Because of the airplanes early reputation, the market values of the airplane are far below others in it's class. For the price of a decent early 80's King Air 200, you can buy an MU-2 and have $400,000 left to make her your dream ship.


So now that I'm done with my rant, I'm glad that we're all looking forward to the finest MU-2 (and kinda the only one lol) ever produced for FS.




Joe Zerilli

[Flyboy208]

Well put Joe, I agree with you 100% ... I have some history with the MU-2, both Marquise and Solitaire, and am thrilled this will be modeled so well for FSX ! As long as we don't have to virtually fuel them, now that IS a pain ! Mike

[warchild]

One very important question..
is Berndt doing the flight model?? ( hoping you say yes )

[bstolle]

Yes and she will be a handful :icon_twi:

[warchild]

Yes and she will be a handful :icon_twi:

:::LOL:: Fan******intastic .
Definitely looking forward to it then..

[capceo]

Well put Joe, I agree with you 100% ... I have some history with the MU-2, both Marquise and Solitaire, and am thrilled this will be modeled so well for FSX ! As long as we don't have to virtually fuel them, now that IS a pain ! Mike

Hahahahaha I can see it in the support forums already. "I'm having this problem where for some reason if I decide to fill one tip tank entirely before the other, the airplane ends up on one wingtip."

[pilottj]

Very interesting really looking forward to this bird. I am curious if building time in Aerosoft's OV-10 Bronco would be good preparation for the MU.

Cheers
TJ

[MenendezDiego]

Some WIP of the VC

[Sundog]

Too much gray for my tastes.

That looks fantastic. I can't wait to see it with textures. I've always liked this plane since seeing one zoom over head on it's way to Lansing airport (In Lansing, IL). They also had a Piper Aerostar there that I thought was the cat's meow of piston twins.

Another Milviz aircraft I'm looking forward to flying, though I realize it's still some ways off.