Aerosoft Twin Otter Extended Released! just released, will have to look and see if I can find the money!!!!! Yes I will find the money.

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/413235-aer ... -released/

Will be looking at getting it soon.

Cheers Rod

Well, bought the two otter today. First attempt at starting the bird I burnt the port engine out, actually burned it. Turned the fuel on too soon. Quite the learning curve for a basic aircraft but good check-list system with the bird. Tomorrow I hope to get it into the air for the first time.

Will update as soon as I fly the bird, looking forward to it.

Cheers Rod

Started the two otter today by following the built-in check list which works very well, you click on each item as you go along, it opens a view of where the switches/controls are so you can see if you have them set properly. I have flown in the two otter in the right hand seat and the guages work like I remember them to or very close. Very realistic look and feel to the start and engine run, its a PT-6 engine for sure. Not something that FSX alone does but requires special coding to allow for the free running second turbine which powers the propeller.

Flight qualities are good, more flight time before I can say great. Flap operation is good, the actual aircraft has a mechanical link between elevators and flaps so that there are no major pitch changes caused by flaps. Felt good while flying. Take off, climb, cruise, descent is good, landing is very easy like it is in the actual aircraft. Roll stability may be a bit twitchy but more flying is required to come to a good conclusion.

Setting up the throttle quadrant took some thought, what I ended up doing is setting one throttle per engine, one control for both props (only have three controls) and using switches to control the fuel cocks. May have to find another throttle quadrant to have one control for each function on each engine. Will make it so much more real if you do. Will have to mark locations on the throttle controls as idle is not at the bottom but part way up, gets very confusing when you are setting power during cruise and descent. Easy to overcome, though.

I like the aircraft and look forward to learning it better and flying it more.

Cheers Rod

Good review, Rod. I'm going to have a look at it also. Having some problems with my vision lately. Actualy my problems are pretty major, at present. At the moment I'm blind in my left eye. Hopefully it is fixable. I was wondering if you are able to enlarge the main instuments on the panel? Sure would make it a lot easier for me.

Cheers Bill

Ok, first actual flight in the two otter. Quick to learn most things on the bird, some things are different than I was used to but soon figured things out.

1. Radio/VOR/NDB/GPS you use your mouse wheel to set frequencies etc,, not mouse buttons. Should have read the instructions first, LOL, but figured it out.

2. Using the checklists when you begin is important as you can get lost in getting things set properly. My throttle quadrant set up worked well, two left handles for throttles, third handle for propellor, and set up buttons to do fuel cock on/off, push up side to turn fuel on, down side to turn fuel off. If you don't have separate controls you will never have as successful engine start as if you turn the cocks on too soon the engine overheats and won't start and if you do it too late you will miss the start and have to start over. So being able to see the engine instruments is important.

3. Flight dynamics are excellent, I thought maybe the roll was too sensitive but it was just my yoke was out of whack, lost the null zone. Pitch control, roll control, yaw control are all great.

4. Take-off is fast and as far as I remember accurate. This airplane wants to fly in real life and it does in the sim as well.

5. Climb, cruise and descent are oreat, no real problems both on autopilot and hand flying. I hand flew from Halifax to Saint John for practice and even with the bit of turbulence it was an easy flight, altitude control is good, stayed within +- 100 feet at all times. Have to watch your engine settings, easy to have torque set differently between engines. I am lucky as I have multiple computers and two screens on the main one. Can have the engine instruments and radios on the second and only the main flight instruments on the main one. I don't worry about the external view on the main computer, it is set up on the second computer. That way I am not always moving around the cockpit to see different guages, stops the problems during hand flying and altitude/attitude control.

6. Did two landings, one ILS hand flown and the second a left hand visual circuit. I was amazed at how well both worked out, once you have your speed set small throttle movements control your rate of descent better than any other aircraft I have flown in FSX, you do have to monitor your speed during flap changes, just like the real aircraft. Small throttle movements only though. Once you have practiced once our twice you should be flying great approaches/landings.

7. The Flight Planning tool for the aircraft is great to have (comes with the aircraft). No guessing on fuel requirements and easy to set load levels, both passengers and freight. Once you have set what you wish to have on the aircraft just hit the load to aircraft button and you are set.

A comment on the settings for radios and GPS units, the mouse wheel makes settings much faster than mouse clicks. I really enjoyed setting them that way.

Look forward to actually flying on line with this aircraft, I give it 9 out of 10 and highly recommend it. It loses the one point for the manuals, not as good as I was hoping.

And Bill, no you can't get an exploded view of the flight instruments, only using multiple monitors like I do.

Cheers Rod

Have you tried it on floats? My biggest peeve on the first Aerosoft Twotter was that it was all but unusable on the water...

Does starting an engine on the water launch you up the beach and into the woods?

Hey Keith,
I copied this from the Fairchild page at the Lionheart Creations site and it's a bit confusing because he copied it from his "Pacer" model page but it applies to any airplane in FSX, try it, trust me it works! I've had that exact problem in a few of the planes in my fleet but when I read and tried this I got everything up and running smoothly!



The "save" he is referring to is right on the FSX "free flight" dialog (the first screen you see when you start FSX)it's the middle button right above the preview but you have to access it from the actual flight. You can do this by clicking the "flights" tab in the simulator itself and choosing "save" But remember! you have to have your plane started (running). If you can't start it choose a default plane from fsx (in this case the dehavilland beaver should work fine) have it running in a *waterway* and choose "Aircraft" from the menu in FSX and then "select aircraft" then choose the plane that is giving you difficulty (in your case the original twotter on floats) once you have it on the water and running shut it down the way you normally would so she is cold and dark then hit the "flights>save" option and save the flight.
THIS APPLIES NOT ONLY FOR STARTING BUT ALSO FOR PLANES THAT RUN AMUCK OF EXPECTED BEHAVIOR!
You will never run aground again

HTH
Gary

Have not started on the water as of yet. Will do tomorrow. The checklist has a special water start prop setting. Hope it works as it says.

As far as setting this aircraft, you can set the aircraft to cold and dark on load using it's setup software. Never have a problem with this aircraft not setting up correctly even when the PMDG NGX aircraft is the default flight.

Cheers Rod

Ah, hell... I've spent more money on waaaayyyy less constructive activities...

Downloading now!

Flew her from Halifax to Moncton this morning, snowing and clouds galore on the flight and the icing on this aircraft is something to behold. My windshield iced up, turned on windshield wipers and they scrape on the ice, windshield heat cleared her up. Then started losing power and turned on intake anti-ice and power slowly came back up but speed still was going down and angle of attack increasing much more than expected. Turned on the wing anti-ice system and voila, speed back up and flight back to near normal.

Actually have to fly this bird, don't just start up and turn on auto-pilot and go. If you don't pay attention you will run into problems, have had engine failures because I missed something, today icing like you should expect and flying in turbulence is hard work. Landing in Moncton was difficult, missed approach first time (winds 160 15 gusting to 20+) and low cloud. Didn't even find the runway first time, better the second but still plopped her down too hard. Was a fun flight!

Cheers Rod

Yep she's handful, and I would of never bought it but I seen a video on Froogle trying it out. Make sure you keep an eye on the ice gauge cause it changes with the weather and I blew up a few engines - you have to keep your torque out of the blue bar. If you find you have all the icing switches on and icing is still there (the rectangular box where the ice gauge is)check your bleed switches I forgot to turn mine on and couldn't figure why icing was not coming off. The throttles are a Microsoft issue with turbine engines. I have precision flight controls for throttles and fighting with throttle set up on turbines have been a problem for me till I said no more turbines for this guy and here I just bought an other one. If you find your having a hard time setting them with one always ahead of the other like I had till a guy from Tampa Florida came on Skype with me and showed me what to do . Go in FCUIPC to HOT KEYS then look on the left you'll see MULTIPLE throttle synchronization program a key you don't use in there - I have ~ this one that I use right above the TAB key . So if you trying to taxi and and it's almost impossible cause the throttles aren't even just tap that key to even them out .Louis