For FS2004 flyers

[Beirut]

Just got this one over the weekend. Gorgeous skins and great detail. This one was $30. Still feels weird paying for add-on planes when so many are free, but none of the free ones approach this level of detail and quality.

This thing is a bear to fly. Very heavy on the stick (MS FFB2), it really fights back, which is good. But landing is not easy at all. It stalls at a speed that would tear the wings off a Cessna. Mind you, it climbs to 50K' like a sprinter doing the 100 yards. Tons of power. Great fun. Been flying over an excellent freeware add-on of Logan Int. I downloaded. The eye candy is pure Haagen-Dazs.

(Captain Sim site pic. Photobucket is still shrinking my pics too much. Have to figure out how to change that.)

[Androo]

Still feels weird paying for add-on planes when so many are free, but none of the free ones approach this level of detail and quality.

Check.

But landing is not easy at all. It stalls at a speed that would tear the wings off a Cessna.

Sounds right for one of, if not the most, demanding aircraft to fly ever built. I believe it was Luftwaffe pilots who gave it the moniker "the widow maker", wasn't it?

Mind you, it climbs to 50K' like a sprinter doing the 100 yards.

Heh, basically a rocket with ailerons....(G forces= ). What is the length of those "wings": six feet, seven feet?

Have you been tempted by the SR 71?- that looks pretty cool too, I think. It would be fun to fly from LA to NY in 90 minutes, or whatever it took it.

Happy landings.

[Beirut]

Heh, basically a rocket with ailerons....(G forces= ). What is the length of those "wings": six feet, seven feet?

About a foot I think.

Have you been tempted by the SR 71?- that looks pretty cool too, I think. It would be fun to fly from LA to NY in 90 minutes, or whatever it took it.

Yep, looks like fun. (And a helluva challenge to land.) Kind a of a restrictive cockpit though. Doesn't look like you would have great visibility and I like to be able to see the ground when flying. Just makes it more fun for me.

Still thinking of getting the 707, not sure. Absolutely getting the JustFlight Lancaster when it comes out. That's a no-brainer.

Happy landings.

Not very often in the F-104 I'm afraid. I still crash 75% of the time. Once you get it to a speed where you can lower the gear and flaps without them being ripped off, the plane handles like a tugboat in heavy seas, wobbling like it's drunk, and you have nearly zero ground visibility with your nose up attitude. You want a really long runway to put this thing down on.

[Androo]

About a foot I think.

Heh, heh... scaaaarey plane...

Doesn't look like you would have great visibility and I like to be able to see the ground when flying. Just makes it more fun for me.

Yes and I guess it needs to be flown at extreme altitudes also to safely achieve its cruising speed.

Not very often in the F-104 I'm afraid. I still crash 75% of the time

Yup sounds like a real hand full- as it should be. Re long runways: can you deploy a drag chute once you're down on that tiny gear?

Edit: Checked the Captain Sim website and answered my own question about the chute. Wow, 67 liveries available for download: that is impressive.

[Beirut]

My Lord, I'm an addict. This is turning into a confession thread.

I just got the Captain Sim 707. (Thanks goodness my woman never sees the credit card bills. Not bad really, $30.)

Very nice plane. Wonderful detail, lots of interactivity, good sound set. Nice & classy, lots of dials and switches, no digital nothing. Takes lots of runway to get up and lots and lots to get down. Tried to land at Andrews AFB without thrust reversers and ended up in the Potomac.

Comes with several models including the standard version, Air Force One, and a NATO AWACS version. Had to DL a good Canadian skin, none came with it. Probably the last model I'll buy from Captain Sim. Don't really want the 757. The all digital cockpit is too much like a microwave. I prefer the classics to the new birds. Gimme gauges and flip switches any day.

Got me a nice stable of Canadian ponies now, though. Lots of fun.