I was very excited to get a new light weight plane in my rotation. Before the Arrow I mostly flew the stock C172S and Bonanza G36 since I’m on the Xbox Series X. I became more interested in steam gauges and the Arrow looked like it would fill the gap of being more powerful than the C172 and less glassy from the Bonanza. After a not-so-normal purchase process my initial thoughts of the plane were dismal. I was very disappointed and couldn’t get a refund. Eventually I gave it another go and learned that my expectations were wrong. Now I’ve learned to appreciate the PA28R for what it is.
Immediately after installing the plane I loaded in a familiar airport in order to taxi, takeoff, fly a left pattern, then land. I noticed a few things I thought were off:
- the plane pivoted too quickly while taxing.
- the HSI is hard to read.
- the plane is difficult to trim, especially during takeoff.
- hard to tell if autopilot is engaged and its configuration.
- the preset camera views in the cockpit are very limiting (only three).
- the pilots aren’t the same models from the game.
When taxing the rate to which the plane pivots when pressing the rudder pedals makes me feel like I’m playing an arcade game. I’m on a 75" television and I’m still having a hard time reading the HSI and some of the other instruments. I have to change the view preset to get a better idea of what direction I’m headed. I didn’t have any trouble reading the instruments of the C172S.
Because of the limited camera presets I can’t see the radio section very well so I don’t know what the status of the autopilot is nor the radio frequencies. I have to change my camera to free mode to interact with most of the instruments.
For the life of my I can’t get the trim to behave itself. During takeoff I am literally fighting with it the entire time until I get to 2000 ASL. Lastly, I’d like to see the pilot model I chose in the game. I don’t like flying as a white male. It really takes away from the immersion as I pretend to be a pilot.
After that session I put the game down and didn’t know if I’d fly again. Apparently I put too much hope in the Arrow being my default plane and my impression was tarnished.
So when did things turn around for me? As I gave the plane a second and third chance I realized that it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought, it was just different. One positive is there are a lot more things to do (manage) while flying this plane, which is great. The manifold pressure is a really cool thing that I’m learning about. The HSI and airspeed are still hard to read, but I’ll just have to get used to it. There’s a bug with the landing lights so it will keep me from flying this at night. I’m now skimming over the POH and looking up videos of better pilots handling this plane. It’s working for them so I just need to get my skills on par. This will be my go-to plane and I’m looking forward to updates and bug fixes.
Here’s a great example of how to fly the plane properly. MSFS: Flying the Carenado Piper Arrow - YouTube
