I’ve really been enjoying the slow and low flying in this ultralight in VR. It’s especially good for sightseeing especially since we don’t have helos yet.
However, I have a couple questions / issues. Is there a way to tell from looking at the aircraft somewhere how much fuel is remaining? I know that I can check from the drop down menu but I’m something of a purist and never use that except when it pops up at fuel stations. I would really wondering if there is a indication somewhere similar to what Piper Cubs do.
I’m also a little unclear about the Test1 and Test2 buttons. What do they test and what results are good / bad?
I can’t get the timer to work. I can cycle to what looks like a timer but pushing start doesn’t seem to do anything. I’ve tried holding it down and double clicking but nothing seems to get it running. It’s tricky to do pilotage in VR without a working timer.
On that note, it’s also pretty tricky to do pilotage without a basic compass. I wish there could be one included maybe as an optional livery.
Otherwise, I’m quite pleased with it. I’m certainly getting my money’s worth.
Ultralights are not meant for travelling so I assume compass isn’t necessary (though I don’t know exactly why). These planes can land just about anywhere (better than the best STOL aircraft) without engine power so I guess running out of fuel isn’t as life threatening. But yeah, how hard can it be to add a simple magnetic compass?
There are some extremely good freeware and payware helicopters you should check out. However, the Top Rudder Solo still remains the best sight-seeing craft at low-speed, low-altitude, and ideal weather conditions. It has no obstruction of view when looking down and you can enjoy the views with little attention to aviation as you would a helicopter.
There is no fuel gauge - you have 2hrs endurance, with FS default fuel you have 1. Challenge: Find out if that’s true! I guess that’s really the only purpose of the timer, which seems to be only kind of working - once you stepped through to the timer (confusingly with the “start/stop” buttons) you can click the ‘menu’ button to toggle between the “H1” and “H2” timers and holding that button for a while kind of resets the H1 timer. Asobo does not provide documentation and even the Top Rudder website doesn’t state the make/model of this wonderful compact electronic thingamajig so we’re on our own to figure it out.
The engine has dual electronic ignition and the buttons simply “solo” the corresponding ignition circuit/coil/spark plug, in the same way as checking magneto ignition - to verify that 1. both ignition circuits are working and to deduct spark gap condition from the RPM loss.
You are not supposed to fly in anything “weather” with this license-free aero-moped, a compass would only encourage you to do stupid things with it, like trying to fly from A to B without clear sight of B from A.
I found at least the Asobo model of it may have a few dangerous traits, like under circumstances starting to fly unexpectedly before the control surfaces (particularly the ailerons) start to do anything useful, and both wings are not necessarily starting to fly at the same time. Getting used to it and trying what it does in slow flight may lead to a few restarts equivalent to fixing the bent $15,000 folding chair airframe and mending fractured bones.
I guess that’s really the only purpose of the timer, which seems to be only kind of working - once you stepped through to the timer (confusingly with the “start/stop” buttons) you can click the ‘menu’ button to toggle between the “H1” and “H2” timers and holding that button for a while kind of resets the H1 timer. Asobo does not provide documentation and even the Top Rudder website doesn’t state the make/model of this wonderful compact electronic thingamajig so we’re on our own to figure it out.