| Just Flight - Tiger Moth |
| Thursday, 04 January 2007 | |
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Page 2 of 2
So once she is up in the air, how does she handle? Beautifully! Once you have got to grips with the pulling force of the propeller, and found the flying position that suits you best i.e. From the rear or front, you will quickly begin to realise that this is one of the most enjoyable aircraft to fly in FS2004 (I have no doubt that this is the same, or even better, in FSX, but I don't have a copy yet to try her in). If you like the slow way of life, you will be ideally suited to the Moth. Climb rates are slow compared to commercial airliners and she cruises at a steady 65-70kts, which will give you about two and a half hours flying time on a full tank, which is great for some VFR flights at low altitude. Those 2 ½ hours fly by, and if you're not careful you will soon be looking for somewhere to make an emergency landing. Once you have gained sufficient altitude, and have some clear airspace to practice, why not have a go at some aerobatics? The manual has a page with some reference speeds for the manoeuvre's. Again, I would've liked to have seen this section a little more thorough as it doesn't give any help on how to actually fly the manoeuvre, so unless you already know how to do it, it's a waste of time reading this section of the manual, as in my case. But I did have some fun throwing the plane around to see what she could do.
The hardest part of flight, for me, was landing. This was due to the restricted view from the aircraft, even more so when flying slow on approach. After a lot of practice, I found that landing using the VC, seated at the rear, and approaching high then diving down to the runway gave the best results, although this sometimes left me approaching a little too fast and rolling off the end of the runway! So this is one of those elements of flight that you will have to work out for yourself the best way to fly it. No matter how good you become at landing her, the challenge will always be there as you can practice from different cockpit positions and try different approaches to your final approach in varying weather conditions. And when you are feeling really confident, why not fold over the hood for the rear pilot and try to land totally IFR? This was one challenge that I still can't get right, but in time I guess it will happen. This was one part of the package that I really liked. For an aircraft that is relatively simple to operate, Aeroplane Heaven have added in some elements to make it just that bit more challenging for us desktop pilots, and all these little additions add up to a great package that is proving to be very popular amongst the flight sim public.
As I said at the beginning of this review, the Moth is one of the very few add-ons that I have changed my opinion about as I have been using it. When I first loaded her up, I have to be honest, I wasn't bowled over by it, especially considering the £24.99 price tag. But the more and more I got to grips with it, the more enjoyment it has given me, and the price is spot on for this aircraft. It's not too cheap to give an indication that corners have been cut by the developers, and it isn't so high that you will dismiss the package because of the price. From my point of view, it's not an aircraft I would fly every time I load up FS, but it's one that will always be there in my mind when I want to go for a quick flight around the block. It doesn't take forever to get her fired up and ready to go, more like a matter of seconds and you'll be rolling down the taxiway getting ready to take to the skies. Well done Aeroplane Heaven and Just Flight on a wonderful add-on!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all the FSStation.com readers. PAY8156 Minimum System Specs:
http://www.justflight.com/product.asp?pid=198 |
