Greetings -
noted the absence so far of a thread of the recently released Ettore Bugatti 100P by Red Wings in MSFS Marketplace, I thought interesting to share with the community some information, images and first-hand experience in flying this very special aircraft.
Ettore Bugatti started work in 1938 to design a racer to compete in the Deutsch de la Meurthe Cup Race and U.S. Thompson trophy, using engines sold in his automotive line for co-marketing. Bugatti’s chief engineer was Louis de Monge, with whom Bugatti had worked before.
Bugatti was also approached by the government of France to use the technology of the racing
aircraft to develop a fighter variant for mass production.
The aircraft was the source of several patents, notably the position of in-line V8 engines and their drive chain to the propellers, the v-tail mixer controls and the automatic flap system connected with the landing gear.
The only 100P built is preserved in the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, WI:
The exterior and interior of the aircraft are very well modeled, the unique and complex shape of the surfaces is faithfully reproduced.
In addition to the prototype versions with several race-ready liveries, a military version is included as well (planned at the time of 100P construction but not realized).
The visibility from inside the cockpit resembles very much that of a modern high performance glider (look at that fuselage shape, a perfect stremlined fuse), hence somehow obstructed ahead while excellent on the sides and above.
The aircraft systems are faithfully reproduced:
- two counter-rotating propellers with fixed pitch
– Normal and emergency pneumatic circuits (aircraft used pneumatic instead of hydraulic systems)
– Civilian version ADF VHF and/or gmeter
– tank or canopy jettison
– all automatic systems (landing gear retraction on takeoff and deployment when flaps are lowered to landing position)
It is an interesting aircraft to fly, feeling quite different from modern, conventional high-speed light aircraft
Hands must be kept on controls with light touch,
Due to the small empennages (a design choice that sacrified stability at lower speeds to increase the maximum speed), I expected the 100P to be marginally stable and directionally and indeed it is.
Care must be used not to apply excessive control input on ailerons and rudder not to overshoot the intended trajectory, and a little of adverse control often helps to mitigate directional oscillations.
Kudos to the designer of the flight model, I think it is very very plausible.
Beware that the spool-up and spool-down time of the engines in response to throttle movements rather slow if compared to other piston engines that have variable pitch / constant speed propellers, this due to the fact that the 100P used a fixed pitch propeller typically set to coarse to achieve maximum speed.
During approach and final is necessary to stay ‘ahead’ of the aircraft, anticipating the throttle corrections to maintain the desired airspeed, attention is required with the automatic flaps and landing gear (true to the prototype) reducing the workload for the pilot.
A mention to the attached documentation, exhaustive without being overwhelming, complete with true-to-the-era technical drawings, highlights and annedocts, definitely a well-researched aircraft.
The developer is very active and supportive on Red Wings Discord channel, working on few observations made by the community: a ‘looping’ sound from the engines (that honestly I barely noted) and the texture quality on some details of the model.
Is the price asked in the Marketplace fair? I would say so, considering the aircraft unique appearance and systems, its peculiar handling qualities and the thorough research the developer has put into it.
Happy (and f-a-s-t) flight on the EB 100P !
