Great video. Thanks for sharing.
I had to try this as I think itâs cool that there is actually a company making this replica today and I always loved the JU52. I knew what I was getting and am very pleased with the modeling and features but as with the JU52 my only disappointment is the flight model. Of course I have no idea what the flight model should be like irl but the thing just floats off the runway with the slightest bit of throttle and landing as well. I wonder if this is an intentional decision to make it âeasyâ to fly (compared to, for example, the spitfire) but regardless aside from the flight model this in my top 3 legends along with JU52 and S.55.
Great video with lots of info on how this airplane handles. It confirms that a 3-pointer landing is a way to go, and that the plane loves to glide âquite a bitâ when landing.
- The early Tail-Skid Models have Skids as 3D Model but behave as if they had Tailwheels. Itâs really awkward. Same as with all the Local Legends
- The Horizontal Stabilizer Trim is not modelled, same as on the Ju-52 and Fokker F.VII. Instead there is absolutely no Trim Animation at all.
The Piper Cubs all get it right, why not the Local Legends? In Conclusion: Unflyable until SU10 makes Marketplace Planes moddable.
Unplayable? Most/all taildraggers in MSFS have terrible ground handling.
SU10 will only open the cfgs for premium and deluxe planes, not marketplace planes.
The Repro F13 has an W33/34 Type Tail which had an inflight adjustable Stabilizer Trim. Originally it should be trimmed by filling a Ballast Tank in the rear. Junkers F 13 Walkaround Oshkosh 2022 - YouTube
As I will try the new planes we got with the 40th aniversery/SU11 update I´ll thought I share my experience of the 16 short flights I did with the Junkers F13. I guess many things were already mentioned by others, but as I don´t want to check all the posts about it I just wright what I experienced and lerned and how I handle the aircraft.
Please note that I am not a real life pilot (apart from a few years flyling gliders almost 30 years ago) and I especially never did fly a F13, so almost everything I write is based on flightsim experience.
And I only flew the 1920s version. I liked the âfly easyâ experience (no lights, no radio, just fly weherever you like). I guess nowadays it would be illegal to fly without lights and a radio?
- Starting the engine & engine handling: For my taste a little to easy, but most simmers don´t like complex engine handling, I think, so that is acceptable. I would have liked to see the hand pump correctly modelled (I guess the gas level behind the window would have been pumped with it to the correct level). And the checklist doesn´t mention that the ignition has to be set to âFrĂźhâ as soon as the engine has started (I just guess that this engine in handled exactly like that of the Ju52 where that is mentioned in the original 1939 manual). And I´m not sure if the cowl flaps are modelled. Most of the time I couldn´t read the engine temperature (vertical dial at the front of the hood), but when I could it always read 90°C.
- Take off: I personally trim a little upwards, but I´m not sure what would be correct. As I learned from the Ju52 I push the yoke forward to rise the tail as soon as possible. I then hold the plane on the ground until I reach 100 km/h and then lift it up by gently and slowly pulling the yoke back. From my experience 10 kt of crosswind is already more than this bird can handle. I guess in reality I wouldn´t try to take off with that much crosswind. I personally reduced the throttle a little after take off and initial climb as the RMP is way above the RPM on full throttle and it felt to me that would maybe overstress the engine in real life.
- Cruise: I cruised (or tried to cruise) most of the time around 1500 RPM. As the speed is not great and I wanted to do some sightseeing I usually targeted ~1000 m, but also flew at ~2000 m one time. I only got about 130 km/h with 1500 RPM, so a lot less then the stated 170 km/h. But as I didn´t had to cover a long distance and planned accoringly I didn´t care. What was a little stressing (or confusing) in the beginning was that this bird seems not to be versy stable. At the mentioned 130 km/h the height always oscillated a little bit, as much as I tried to trim it. In the end I didn´t care and let it oscillate. But even with the oscillation I couldn´t get it most of the time to do it around a certain height. It was always rising or sinking slowly. So the easies way was to let it rise slowly at 1000 m, because it would rise up to a certain height where i finally oscillated aorund one height wihtout rising further. I did one flight where I wanted to cover the distance a little faster. I think about 140-150 km/h. As far as I can remember it was more stable (but still not easy to trim) on that flight. And writing of that: I trim with a dial on my throttle, and man had I be carefull touching that. If I trim the bird a little too much nose down it sinks and speeds up without gaining lift counteracting this. Another thing that I experienced and that seemed to be a little better with perfect balanced loading was a constant slight rolling to the left. But in the end I loved all the things I described above as it feels like a quirky old plane and definetly completely different to all modern counterparts in the sim.
- Landing: Oh boy, yes it floats. Expecially landing on short runways is risky with this bird. Although I think landing on gras strips (as mentioned I wanted the 1920 experience so I had only two runways with concrete/tarmac) helps a little bit. My solution also was to come in very slow and shallow. I targeted 100 km/h for landing with engine idle or almost idle and even slipped to get low as possible if necessary. For my feeling it slips quite gently and I didn´t fear to stall soon as it bounced even at 40 km/h on my first landing attempt. My personal landing style was to bring it down quite early (not bleeding of in the air) and pusing the yoke slighty forward to keep it on the ground. I guess that would be a risky stunt in real life, but in the sim it seemed to help reduce the speed faster (as mentioned at least on gras strips). And then you just have to wait that the d*** thing stops on it´s own, driving curves if necessary to avoid hitting something. Unfortunately the push-back mods I normally used don´t work with this plane as I guess most of the ground handling was done by pushing/towing the plane and not driving it by itself.
So, that´s all I can think of at the moment. I really enjoyed the trip so far and it´s quite probable that I continue the trip in the future.
At last a few screenshots (with fittingly effect of course):
Best regards,
Wolfgang
Iâm hoping Oliverâs updates will address issues for both Junkers. Sometimes I feel alone, but I really dig these planes.
I think the F13 was mentioned specifically. The Ju52 has the worst issues though.
We just released an update to the Junkers F13. Please see below for the changelog.
Thanks,
MSFS Team
- AI copilot has better control of the aircraft during the take-off roll.
- Localization updates to the checklist for Iberian Portuguese (PT-PT).
- Aircraft now start at a reduced airspeed when starting in the air.
- The aircraftâs Hangar Description has been localized.
- Itâs now easier to maintain the centerline when taking off with a crosswind from the left.
Man, she is a glider. I canât for the Life of me Land her without a massive Slip. She has no Drag at all.
This is at Idle. I acutally gain Altitude in the Landing Attempt right in the middle of the Runway.
The Airport is Oerlinghausen, the Aircraft has Full Fuel and 6 People+180lbs of Baggage.
It has big wings that creates a lot of lift. This how aircraft was designed in that era.
It also has corrugated Skin, exposed Rivets, a massive fixed landing Gear, a massive Junkers L-5 23.0 Litre Engine (which should only rev to 1500rpm Max, not well over 2000 as ingame) and a massive Fine Pitch Airscrew which, through Engine Braking, should create a ton of Drag both due to displacement and the Propeller Pitch.
Lets not forget a Slab sided Radiator an the open Cockpits which also add drag.
Engine Braking plays a big Role in all of these old Aircraft.
Especially flying behind the L/D Curve at high AoAs she should have enough drag to get at least 1000ft/min.
The Best actual Gliders of this time did not even achieve a 1:15 Glide Ratio, which the F13 currently beats.
There is a drag slider in one of the menus.
In any Case, I will try to calculate itâs Power Off Glide Ratio today. I think she will give the AS K-7 a run for its Money, maybe even the DG-1000.
So, here are my Results: (Clear Skies, somewhere over the Atlantic, no Thermals or Ridge Lift)
F-13, only trimmed, not touching the Stick. Payload as in Picture, Average Rate of Sink about 250ft/min at 55kts.
K-7: Two People at 190lbs each. Same Speed, same Rate of Sink. The K-7 is a streamlined Glider.
So, lets try it as a pure Glider. This is Bezmiechowa Glider Port, unbelievably beautiful Place to fly, with Gravity Start in the South Direction.
Works like an absolute Charm. No need for an Engine anymore.
Should be 1600rpm max not 2000 deffinatly