Fokker F28 Just Flight review.
Dear friends.
First – I need to get this personal stupid thing out of my head. There is no livery of launch customer Braathens. F28 belongs to small airports along the Norwegian rough coast. I am really disappointed. – Well – with this door closed, I can move on.
Initial impression: JustFlight F28 is on par with PMDG DC6 . Both will be true classics.
The real Fokker F28.
Pilots loved it. Often called the Fighter plane. Remember on downwind leg (me on jump seat) the pilot shouted – we have a fighter on our tail! Turned hard on a very short final and landed. Not sure if pax enjoyed it as much as we in cockpit. – Pilots loved it. Mechanics almost hated it, unless thinking of money making with working overtime in weekends. Best evolution in technical aircraft design; when Fokker went bankrupt.
Not sure if -1000 is correct in cockpit. My brother – age 93 – called me (He forgot how to unzip), and we discussed the JF F28. He insist that the gust lock was not installed, and the same with trust system. And I have to agree. (Both of us are retired licensed tech). There is a Braathens -1000 in Bodø museum (Norway). A few pictures could confirm this. – That said – no doubt other versions are perfectly modeled.
JF exterior model is close to perfect (a few details missing). The wing shape is perfect. Note how the high critical design with chord curvature is moved way back. Excellent modeled by JF!
The cockpit speaks for itself. Perfectly wear. Operation is excellent. 99.99% of you will miss details, which are simulated, such as APU shutdown. The shutdown is triggered by overspeed test. You can see instant increase in RPM as APU shut down. Yaw dropping experience.
- A deeper more technical operation is not simulated, and certainly outside the scope of a flight simulation. Example: (on ground) depress hydraulic system, and set alternate gear down, the wheel doors should drop open, set alternate up and start hydr pump, doors will move to close position.
The sound package is very, very immersive and detailed. The rumble on takeoff run. Buffeting at critical speed. But the sound of electric pump could be higher, and in a silent environment, you should hear the APU door moving. APU spark plug crack missing during start. Only thing I really miss is the nod in pitch with park brake set at full TO power, and a gentle shake in instrument panel. (As with all MS aircraft). But overall sound package is close to 100%.
Operating the JF F28.
Push back. We parked F28 so it was easy to taxi out on tarmac, avoiding push back. There is no NWS lock out mechanism to operate. If you have to push – no start up until tow bar is removed. There is a Tow switch and offload switch in front of pedestal. Edit - use the NWS steering switch - correct procedure. Some airliners may used it as a procedure.
An absolute beginner will certainly be frustrated with F28 (allowed to say typical xbox user?). The 250 page manual is a mandatory read. It flies incredibly fast, passing a VOR you must be alert with changing beam, heading and new course. I am getting old and often behind in actions. And remember this is a two pilot aircraft. You certainly need a few hours in a slow Cessna to practice VOR navigation prior jumping into a F28 cockpit.
Is it study level?
No doubt yes – even without working c/bs. You have to study the Ops manual. Understand that Flight Command system is not linked to Autopilot. You have to constantly check the stacks of lights for status of both to be ahead of aircraft. Yellow armed – green engaged.
Speed brake is used more active than similar aircraft. Ref approach procedure. A blow in mechanism balance the deployment at higher speed. Worth mention is slow extension of gear. This is intentional, designed to catch pitch change.
Study level means also hours of practice. Not manual hands on flying, it flies surprisingly well and easy to master. But you need practice to operate and be ahead of what to do next.
If you think it is a bug or badly modeled – I bet you did not operate it correctly.
(I discovered a few bugs, as other did, but it will certainly be fixed in next update)
…………………
Nearly 50 years ago I attended a licensed tech course. The simulator was literary a slide show, with instructor changing slides. Park brake did not work, moving 100 knots at engine run up test with a static view of runway. I could not imagine back then, even as science fiction, a flight simulator with live weather and real traffic. And it is certainly a miracle that most of us can afford it today.
Final verdict:
Dropping down to my knees, kissing JF team feet, and still on my knees moving backward while whispering – thank you…… thank you……… thank you……
(Written in memory of LN-SUX fatal accident Christmas 1975)
Eker.
