Hangar Studios 713 has released the American Champion Scout! A cousin to their previous Super Decathlon (and descendant of Lagaffe’s Champ!), the Scout is a really well done bush plane. HS713 keeps upping its game with every release – this one has glass and steam cockpits, saved aircraft states, a float version, and more. Only had time to scratch the surface tonight, but so far I’m really impressed. FS2020 SDK but tested and working great in FS2024.
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A few more shots. Looking forward to diving into the documentation and systems this week. Only had about an hour to test fly so far, but really liking it.
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Will it be sold in other 3rd party shops ?
Direct now, OrbX next week, and Marketplace whenever it gets blessed by the fickle MS machine. 
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Can’t have enough bush planes. The more there are, the greater the variety in group fly ins!
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Looking forward to this as well. Each release gets better and better.
Really want this one. However, I think I’ll wait for the 2024 native version (will there be one?) because of the float version behaviour on water. This is so much better in 2024.
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The roadmap.
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It uses the stock X-Cub engine sounds, but it’s cheap enough. If the flight model is vastly different, it’s not a big deal.
And to be fair, the Scout and the XCub both use the same Lycoming O-360-C1 engine, and Asobo’s Lycoming sounds are top-notch, so a fresh recording would be pretty darn similar.
Obviously there are likely subtle audio differences between the planes, but just clarifying for folks that this isn’t like those situations where a dev uses modern Rotax engine sounds for a 1930’s biplane or something. :-).
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Ah okay. If it’s the same engine, I’m totally fine with reusing sounds.
Will the native 2024 version be a free upgrade ?
Paintkit is out, for the creative types out there.
Good news, then. I was chatting with HS713 over on their discord, and even the initial release supports 2024 water physics. (It’s possible to support 2024 SDK features on 2020 SDK airplanes, there are a few FS2020 planes out there now with '24 enhancements.)
He wanted to support “water gliding” on the bush wheels, so he’s got 2024 features implemented there and for the float (amphibian) version.
A 2024 native version will happen down the road, but specifics are still TBD. I’ve been flying exclusively in 2024 and it works wonderfully.
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You mean amphibian? Or is there a floats version as well?
Good news concerning water physics in 2024!
Yep, amphibian.
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So, I purchased a minute ago and will do my first flight right away.
I love the manual.
I fly the amphibian version in 2024.
How can I retract the anchor?
Nice addon, flies nicely. It has a hidden AP that I can control with my hardware keys. The anchor is also very nice to have (if I could retract it once deployed).
Water physics is not quite up to 2024 native behaviour in my opinion if I compare to the 185F or the CAS Piper (which are both 2024 native). And there is no splash down sound.
Looking forward to the native version, but already now this is my preferred amphibian aircraft in 2024.
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I was able to deploy/retract the anchor from an external switch using Lvar “SCOUT_ANCHOR_STATE” with values 1 and 0.
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Am I reading it right that the Scout will be first to FS24, with the other H713 products following that?
I think I’ll wait until it releases in FS24 as well.
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American Champion Scout – Tentative Release
We’re almost there! The American Champion Scout (8GCBC) is scheduled for tentative release on Thursday, August 28, 2025 on the MSFS Official Marketplace.
Versions & Compatibility
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MSFS 2020 Native – fully supported at launch
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MSFS 2024 Ported Activation – works exactly the same as 2020
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Current release version: 1.0.2 (PC & Xbox)
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Some 2024 bugs have already been fixed ahead of release hence 1.0.2
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Post-Release Update
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A 1.0.3 update will follow the week after release
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Includes bug fixes across all variants (ported & non-ported)
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1.0.3 Submission planned the day after release → ingestion will likely take another week before it’s live
Development Notes
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SU3 dropped unexpectedly(without solid notice), but I had been testing in Beta and was ready
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Some glitches slipped through, but fixes are in place
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With 9 variants, it’s basically like developing 9 separate aircraft—lining up all the ducks takes time!
Looking Ahead to MSFS 2024
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2024 version will be a work in progress, but was built with modularity in mind
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Planned new variants:
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Banner Towing
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Glider Towing (this may wait until SU4 addresses glider tow issues)
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Will also support missions, photo flights, and free flight in 2024
Pricing
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$20 – same price across all platforms
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If you buy early(when released), thank you! Your support goes directly into continued development and improvements.
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