Just seen that SWS have announced they are working on an Airvan due for release this year. There is not much information out yet so based on numbers made I’m guessing it’s the Airvan 8 and not the Airvan 10. You may know it as the GA8 by GippsAero or Gippsland Aeronautics. Designed and built in Australia. These are aircraft I know well so I am looking forward to see how they turn out.
It seems it will be a steam gauge cockpit but many of the later models had Aspen EFD1000 and Garmin G500 in combination with GTN750/650. As seems to be the trend now It would be good to see these as Avionic options.
Hopefully we will get to see some previews soon.
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Looking forward to the Airvan. There was an early render in the sim attached to the announcement.
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Oh thanks I missed that. I see they have the pod included.
that’ll be good…a highly successful a/c if that’s the one
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It’s a mix between the CH701 and the Kodiak.
Not going to lie, I love it. A utility single-engine piston is what we need in MSFS and what we do not have yet. I was hoping someone would make a Cessna 206 or 207 by now, but the Airvan is even better.
Edit: I forgot to add that this coming from SWS makes me really happy (A happy owner of the Kodiak).
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An update from SWS. Can’t wait.
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Next is the Airvan. The aircraft’s 3D model is being improved and after a long review session we think we are close to a model that will be presentable soon. As it stands today, the aircraft’s systems are operating correctly, and we will have an alpha in early January. The plane “glides” very well and the engine performs good, although we need to increase the thrust a bit. Full flight testing of the aircraft will commence in January, along with sound work. If all goes to plan, the Airvan will release in Q1/2023, most likely February.
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Not heard anything about this since they announced it was on hold for a while. I see recent announcements about the Kodiak 900 and some TBM models bug still no mention of where it’s at with this one. Please SWS some news on this would be nice.
Any news of the Airvan? Long since last heard of this new product.
Was wondering the same myself. It’s gone very quiet from SWS since they said they had a model issue with it quite some time back. @SiRRiPPERORiG should be able to give us an update.
We’ve restarted the airvan for the third time just recently. The 3D model wasn’t up to snuff. Flight model and systems are in place already and for the most part in good working order.
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Thanks for the update. Look forward to the release.
A long awaited update about the GA8. Seems its getting much closer.
From the SWS Discord for those non Discord users.
1. It’s been a long time since we talked about the Airvan so here it is, rebuilt from scratch! The exterior is now complete and work on the cockpit -not shown here-is well underway. The GA-8 will come equipped with the non-turbocharged version of the IO-540 and will be offered in commuter and cargo versions, with the usual assortment of features. The good news about the project is that we expect it to be done fairly quickly, as the code, flight model and engine for the plane have been sitting in a near-finished state for about 2 years, waiting for the model. Sound recordings have already been completed, so once the PC-12 is concluded, the GA-8 will be put together fairly quickly and is next in line after the RV-8.
I notice another dev update on the GA8 has recently come. Seems as though it’s getting closer to a release now.
However can’t say I’m impressed by a lack of autopilot. The Airvan Autopilot is a KFC 225 which is quite close to the default KAP 140 so that would have been expected really. Especially for a sim variant.
The suggestion about putting a G3X in it though is quite silly. It’s not at all appropriate for the aircraft. An Airvan has never had a G3X install simply because it’s not certified for this airframe. An Aspen or a G500 would be the more realistic choice.
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Truth be told I never noticed an autopilot in it and was surprised. It seems some planes have it, others don’t, something to consider for sure.
One thing you’ll notice if you study the Airvan is the mix of equipment across many different aircraft. Not all had the autopilot. Just think in a sim aircraft it’s expected and something simmers will want.
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The POH mentions the autopilot as optional, so I’m thinking whether it would be something that would be actually useful in MSFS.
The autopilot among many other things are optional depending on customers requirements. For sim use I certainly think it’s something that’s needed. Let me know if you need any insight on the aircraft. I know a lot about it, particularly systems.
I’ll take you up on this a bit later.
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Good to see the autopilot now appearing in the latest round of screenshots. Looking nice.
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