Perfectly explained. 
That why I initially wrote, sloppy modelling. This shouldn’t happen with a payware airplane IMO.
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Thanks for this @JayDee6281 . Working fine here with this - as advertised can be a bit touchy, but slow and smooth solves it for me. MUCH easier to taxi now!
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I still don’t get what you’re both arguing about. You can clearly see it in game as well as in real life in both pictures below, either i’m blind or will be confused now:
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Whats more confusing to me is how to properly set the heading right which is very hard, the autopilot and that the tanks seem to empty on a different speed, shouldnt it be roughly the same if every engine uses one tank?
Ok, it’s there, although it’s too less pronounced on the model, hence easy to miss 
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Yep i’m confused about the fuel system, manual says each tank provides one engine with fuel which would make sense to me, why is it using different amounts of fuel and shutting all engines off when the left tank is empty.
My first impressions with this plane:
- The exterior model is very nice.
- Interior model is not so nice, very hard to swallow this was done by the same devs as the Kodiak because it looks amateurish.
- Flight model is probably ok, but I have never flown a real Dash7, having said that I think it behaves as expected.
- Sound: This is a major disaster, I get different sound for different engines, when starting #3 little or no sound difference then #2 produces a starting sound, pushing the throttles for takeoff almost doesn’t change sound. The main batt switch has a nice sound but all the other switches seem to be default. There is no sound change in the cockpit when turning on the bleeds for the AC.
- Systems: I think there are no systems in this plane, I think they are all dummy. You can turn on external power in flight. The Voltimeter measures current even if you turn off the generators. Pressurization seems to be not done, etc.
- Engines: also seem to be dummy, the readings are not very logical, they get stuck in max torque sometimes, and there is no sound difference reducing power probable the worst engine simulation I’ve seen in a while.
- AP: Works barely, some annunciators do not lit up, hard to imagine how this was tested.
- No PMS 750 GTN on release, what can I say…
- Documentation: I can write better documentation in 15 minutes if I care so clearly the devs here didn’t even care to write a few paragraphs. We don’t have takeoff or landing speeds or procedures, no description of systems, no description of AP, no description of what can be special about the Dash7, etc.
Conclusion: This is a cheap add-on and it is clearly done in a very cheap way with little or no care about the users. It is very very hard to understand how this started with SWS and after a long time we reached this state. A complete failure by PILOT’s of what could have been a very nice plane for MSFS.
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Thanks for your very honest first impressions.
Unfortunately I can’t say that I am surprised by your comments though after watching a few video streams
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As much as I really hate people who condemn the product before its released… I can’t really argue with Luis now that he’s flown it.
The basic version has a transponder at least. Why the GNS530 doesn’t is bizarre.
It is REALLY hard to tell what the switches for the default radios are doing, and how the VOR is working. It’s not as intuitive as other intruments I’ve seen. That might well be true to the original.
It feels… seriously underpowered. I could barely take off from CYEG in cold air at full fuel and payload. With 443 ft/lb torque, props on 900 rpm, burning 500 lb/hr of fuel, cruising at 12000 I can barely get it past 165 kts TAS. From the little information I could find a speed of around 210 kts TAS would be what I expect.
My fuel guages are all reading significantly different amounts, despite all engines running at the same levels for the same length of time.
I just don’t ‘trust’ this plane as is. There’s a lot that needs to be finished or adjusted to make me really want to fly it the way I do the 146 or the F28, or even the ATR.
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That seems rather low. After checking with Wikipedia, nominal takeoff rpm should be about 1200rpm
Your Power at takeoff is off. Either a bug or the Power or Condition Levers were not at max. Maybe Gustlock?
That’s on cruise. Takeoff was at max throttle and condition full forward. I can see how my writing was confusing there… the stats are for the cruise I’m currently in.
900 is the cruise RPM for the -8, for the -7 it was 1070 IIRC.
@JayDee6281, the gust lock only restricts power lever movement.
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Alex from SWS mentioned on Discord that the project was started in c. 2016 for P3D and then laid to rest for a long time and finished quickly from where it left off. Makes sense to see it as a P3D work.
Just finished my flight, YEG-YZF in the VOR only variant. At least my flight was consistent with the numbers Simbrief gave me, using the profile provided above. Wheels down about 30 minutes later than the calculated time, so the cruise speed wasn’t crazy off from the profile.
I also figured out how to use VS mode! click the button, it won’t illuminate, but if you go down to the bottom of the center console you use the wheel beside the AP/YD switches to set your climb or descent rate.
This really, really, REALLY needs a proper manual. Even a quick start guide that takes you through all phases of flight would be an improvement. With the idiosyncracies of this plane the lack of good documentation is shocking.
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Such mixed feelings and reviews about this aircraft…not sure. I am not expecting a lot for the price, however What airlines still fly Dash 7. So wanted the Dash 8 varient more.
I own the SWS Kodiak, which is one of my top 10. So many people are disappointed, not getting the WOW factor with the Dash 7, however this is why it is cheap.
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Well it did work
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PILOT’S signed an agreement with SWS in 2019, after the FlightSimExpo in Orlando, to develop a Dash 7 for P3D. This was put on ice shortly thereafter as more news on the upcoming MSFS began to appear.
The Dash 7 was never finished quickly, that is inaccurate and simply untrue.
The “Makes sense to see it as a P3D work” seems a bizarre and odd statement to make, since aircraft like this are typically developed in 3ds Max, whether it is for P3D or MSFS, it makes no difference.
All texture work for the Dash 7 was also done by SimWorks Studios after the project was a MSFS-only development, and as far I’m aware, by the exact same texture artists that have done work for the Kodiak and other SWS aircraft.
If anyone wishes to address points concerning the textures etc., I would welcome such statements being backed up by factual information along with screenshots that illustrate this.
Jerome
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I just completed one flight and I think that it flies pretty well. I don’t find anything wrong with the textures myself - I think they look good both inside and out. (I am flying in VR.)
However, the autopilot needs some work. (But see edit below) It does work and I was able to fly a route in nav mode and even an RNAV approach. VS mode works fine. Etc. But the annunciator lights on the AP panel are not working so you never know what mode you are in. Also, pressing the ALT hold button doesn’t hold the current altitude and even zeros out the selected altitude. Would be interested if you could comment on that and whether you have any plans for an update to ver 1.1?
John.
EDIT:
On my second flight, the autopilot worked much better than the first flight. I must have been doing something wrong. I am now much happier with the autopilot. The beta range seems very small or non-existent. I am either taxiing too fast or going in reverse, Sounds are not quite right. Engine sounds don’t change much when throttles moved to max for takeoff. Anyway, I am beginning to think that is a very good plane for the $20 price. It has lots of potential.
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