theres not even a pilot in the cockpit , it should be the minimum , makes screenshots in flight look stupid
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Again, itâs all subjective. To those of us who fly strictly in the cockpit and donât really do screenshots in-flight (other than for review purposes), this kind of thing is really not an issue.
7 Likes
A pilot model wouldâve been nice but a lack of one doesnât really bother me. Bought it because I canât stop slowly being driven into debt by all these vintage place releases lol. Itâs only 13 quid though, now to have a little trundle around Verdun.
4 Likes
I never fly with a pilot in the pit. I used to for muh immersion , but it got to be too much a pain when key switches were obscured by the pilot model. I fly vr only, and ive come to prefer no pilot body at all
Heh, loaded up and the plane looked like this in the initial view lol
When I actually hit ready to fly it behaved itself and was in the right position
Bit of a tight fit though!
Careful turning it. She doesnât have a tight radius.
This is interesting. I was looking this thing up on Wiki and there seems to be a⊠MAJOR difference in the size of the aircraft depending on when/where it was. There were several production models, but take a look at this picture. The one where MANY men are able to fit side by side along the wingspan doesnât even look like the same aircraft thatâs pictured in the other one (or the one in the sim).
1 Like
Hmm, bit of a mixed bag I feel.
The 3D model is quite good for the most part but the ailerons look a bit clunky when moving. The engine is modelled as well, you can see it through the side grills and can move the drone cam in for a look and its quite nice. Sounds are decent, the low revving engine grumbles and farts along quite pleasingly and the cockpit switches have sounds which is always nice to hear.
Flight model is alright. Obviously Iâve never flown any real WW1 birds but comparing it to similar planes in Rise of Flight or Over Flanders Fields like the BrĂ©guet 14 it is quite stable (I remember the larger recon/bombers in RoF being quite prone to having their nose wander around the skies for example) so maybe a bit too stable but still it has a nice and weighty and ponderous feel to it and feels unique. Dunno if I should be able to pull off a loop like I did though lol!
Not a big fan of the cockpit, instruments are too modern for my liking and if I were a frenchman Iâd spit out my wine at everything being shown in feet, knots and farenheit! But as a cocky Brit I donât mind it that much. Cockpit labels are not great. A couple of them are in French but the rest English and not a fan of some of the fonts used. It has a unique looking turn indicator though that I liked. The GPS panel does look quite out of place as well, Iâm not a fan and would like an option to remove it.
Thereâs exhaust heat haze coming out of the big exhaust tubes, I think it might be a bit overdone but itâs not bad and adds to the feel.
Now the textures⊠well the external textures, the fabric covering the fuselage and wings are really quite off. I first checked out the blue livery and it looked like the plane was clad in denim! Tried out the WW1 French livery and then everything looked like it was covered in corduroy. These old WW1 planes were clad in fabric cloth that were stretched over the frames and ribs with layers of nitrocellulose dope to give them a nice smooth finish, very flammable but it made the surfaces nice and smooth for good airflow. This plane looks nothing like that and I found it really off-putting. Tyres looked bad as well. So thatâs a lot of imaginary points deducted! . Other textures were fine I guess, the wood and metal bits looked decent enough.
So overall Iâd say itâs a mixed bag. If the wing/fuselage textures actually looked like something from WW1 and if the cockpit design was better Iâd be a lot more happy with it. But on the plus side it is something unique, the underlying 3d model is good, sounds great and the flight handling is not great but still pretty decent.
Itâs fairly unique though and it only cost me 13 quid so I guess if you really want a unique WW1 bird you might wanna give it a go otherwise Iâd pass. If you want a biplane and are not fixed on WW1 then Iâd recommend the Stearman over this which does have some issues of its own but Iâd rate a lot higher than this. If you want something weird and uniquely French and donât mind a monoplane then thereâs the Caudron C430 Rafale which I quite enjoy.
Oh yeah the turning radius is a bit wide, nothing wrong with that but that spot I spawned at in the screenshot in my above post was a pain! Ended up slewing myself around lol. Thatâs on me though not on the plane.
6 Likes
they usually relied on a dolly under under the tail skid and a handler to maneuver them around on the ground. Best to spawn at the end of the runway than down some long taxiway or on the apron.
This model from the images looks astounding.
WWI aircraft would handle a bit differently even by individual aircraft of the same type because of the variety of materials, methods and manpower from one day to the next or one factory to the next.
The price is nice too on this kit.
on a closer look the covering material is oddâŠmaybe they got a bit carried away with the textures - gonna have to see what prototype this model is based on.
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Can it be flown out of either cockpit or does the invisible pilot only occupy the back, or front?
A pilot in period appropriate aviation gear would add to the external view, IMHO.
TG
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I was thinking the same thing⊠what did they skin it with denim?
To answer my own query after purchasing & flying the Dorand - you fly it from the front cockpit as the rear cockpit is for the machine gunner.
I am not sure if this is a âRestoModâ in Hot Rod parlance, meaning its a restored aircraft but modernized.
I would be happier with it if it had a warts & all original cockpit & be devoid of the iPad.
It flies nicely, quite docile. Sound is interesting, reminds me of a slow 4 stroke lawn mower exhaust being filtered through a water filled fish tank, with something gulping away in there.
The wing & fuselage coverings could be described as unique.
TG
3 Likes
Thatâs the best description of that sound EVER.
the only better description ive heard for a sound -any sound- is by Daniel Durchholz describing Tom Waitsâ voice as sounding as though âit was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a carâ
4 Likes
Someone on another forum had the idea that this was the work of a 3D artist showcasing his talent. Not a plane builder per se, but a texture and 3D modeling expert âstruttingâ a bit - with actual struts lol
It might explain the denim and corduroy covering the airplane among other extravagances
Well⊠except I think it flies REALLY well, so⊠in this case this person is more of a plane-builder than the Embraer Ipanema developer - cause that one looks pretty good, but flies pretty awful.
Well thatâs a bonus then cause I was going to buy it just to do the walkarounds lol
I bought it immediately as I think that rare planes should be supported. As various already said, a mixed bag. The most offputting thing is the cloth texture, it is worse than denim, Iâd say more of a potato sack canvas!. The wing surfaces should be stretched revealing the ribs and quite smooth due to the several coats of dope.
Also the control cables do not move and the control surfaces dig into the cables when moving. A pilot figure would also be nice for those screenshots.
I would like to offer constructive comments to the devs but I can not find any contact details.
1 Like
The sim market page has this contact email: realphysics@freemail.hu
Are animated control cables even a thing in msfs? Not sure if Iâve seen any in other planes so might be an sdk limitation. Even the Asobo made Top Rudder 103 doesnât have the cables hooked up tot he rudder actually movingâŠ
Just got an email about an update to this:
v1.0.3 - revisited and increased internal engine sound