SimWorks Studios announced GA8 Airvan

Discussion Hub Aircraft
, , , ,
21

We have a new update about the Airvan.

The plane is ready for sound work, but because of non-FS issues it is behind schedule in that regard. The good news is that we keep cleaning up the code and improving the product. We have implemented visual wear to the aircraft and are experimenting with failures. Currently, you can bend the propeller if you prop strike or blow tires if you land too hard or with your brakes held. We are also working on a progressive wear and tear system that will cause aircraft failures or degradation. We are working on that implementation with the intention of porting it over to our PC-12 and Kodiak. The system will work in conjunction with our tablet, which we are making good progress on and will be able to show you soon.

image
image1920×804 118 KB

image
image1920×804 30.5 KB

image
image1920×804 178 KB

image
image1920×804 161 KB

22

They make these at my local airport (YLTV) Stoked to be able to fly them in MSFS!

23

Not currently they don’t. Stopped when Mahindra pulled out. It’s just a few brave ones left providing support but no current production. I hear they want to start again but it’s a long road back.

24

First Airvan teaser!

Jump in the SWS Airvan for an island hop in FS2020 for this teaser video. And with the weather opening up, Greece is one of the better places to visit!

25

Looking good! Glad we’ll finally have an Airvan in the sim soon.

26

Instant buy

27

Looking good. Looking forward to this.

28

Not really interested. BUT I’m just looking past this plane as it is SWS test plane for efb&failures&tear&wear for kodiak and pilatus. The sooner it will pass the sooner we will get real Deal for flagships.

29

As we’re getting closer to the end, Stormbirds posted an early preview of the Airvan here, while we are enjoying it -ans ironing it out- in MSFS!

30

I bring more news about the Airvan and its failure module.

As it stands now, the last remaining items for the base aircraft are a couple of tablet functions and the AI aircraft sounds, which should be done any day now. We will also release the aircraft paint kit to the RV-8 one-by next weekend, so you can start working on your favorite liveries! But we’ll go over it in more detail over video in the coming days, along with the release date announcement.

Let’s dive a bit into the failure module, which has been in the oven for quite some time. As of today, the aircraft supports more than 70 failures, so let’s get a little into them:

— The simplest form of failure is an electrical circuit that pops a circuit breaker. You can try resetting it, and it may stay in or pop out again. We don’t really know, as the system is agnostic.

— The second form is singular failures, but more complex in nature. The propeller of an aircraft that spends its time at 2500ft during the winter will wear out sooner than a plane that works at 6000ft in the summer. Density, humidity, sand particles, everything works in unison to keep your mechanic in business!

— Lastly, we have cascading failures, where a failed system can affect or fail other dependent ones. Is your oil level below the minimum? Your engine can run hotter and wear down faster. But too low and your governor can also lose pressure and flatten the propeller. If you don’t control it, the engine will overspeed, this can damage it more!

The video below shows an example engine arrhythmia, caused by one of the cylinders failing to achieve combustion.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/929880010892931092/1370843962188890214/Microsoft_Flight_Simulator_2025.05.06_-_10.09.06.03.mp4?ex=6820f96d&is=681fa7ed&hm=bb67bf5cef380b457f36f118d406c5abd9041613d0588ed75c43f0df722407c0&

It is worth mentioning that each cylinder is treated separately in the simulation and while they are about the same, we don’t know if or which will fail first, or why, which has always been the goal.

And that’s what these two short videos below show.


Cylinders fail on both sides of the engine, which causes white smoke to come out of the exhaust on the side where the failure occurred.

Certain elements like the prop wear and oil level can be visually inspected in preflight, while for others you will have to keep your eyes and ears open to diagnose.

imagem_2025-05-10_233123769
imagem_2025-05-10_2331237691920×872 55.7 KB

That’s all for today, testing is ongoing and more information will be shared in the coming days.

31

Can you turn failures off? I hope so.

32

The failures will be an optional expansion pack that will come out same day as thw base plane, so If you don’t want them you don’t buy them or you can turn them off from the tablet.

33

Perfect, thank you.

34

Curious why the Airvan was chosen! Not complaining at all, just genuinely curious why this particular plane was added to the lineup. What’s cool about it? Something about handling qualities, where it’s flown, the SWS folks have time in a real one, or… ???

IE: Why am I excited to fly this boxy high-wing single instead of another one? :slight_smile:

Don’t take this as a negative post, please! I’m genuinely curious why it’s the next SWS release.

35

It really does look like the Zenith and the Kodiak had a baby. I’m looking forward to it.

36

I’m always intrigued by the fixation on circuit breakers as a point of failure in MSFS. While circuit breakers can and do pop as a result of a failure, they are usually not involved. If a radio goes INOP, it usually just starts malfunctioning or stops working all together. We usually use breakers as a troubleshooting tool or a way to isolate systems for maintenance. Breakers popping in flight is usually indicative of wiring or a PDP/relay unit going bad… at least in our fleet. (My job is to keep data and report on reliability in case anyone is wondering where this comment is coming from).

At any rate, I love the sounds of the failure model, in particular the wear and tear that is environment defendant. Is all of this the same across 2020 and 2024 or is some of this 2024 specific? I’m still using 2020 so I’m curious as to how much of this I will get. And of course, I’m looking forward to this making it’s way to the awesome PC-12.

37

Been in an Airvan plenty of times even one of the select few who have also been in the Turbine. It’s got great handling qualities and is super versatile at a fraction of the cost of a Caravan, Kodiak or 206 etc. Its used all over the world for almost every type of utility use there is. pax, skydive, medivac, cargo, surveillance, etc, etc. Theres nothing that comes close to it for capacity vs cost at this scale.

38

Really looking forward to this one. I’m in the market for a very capable small and rugged bush plane that is not the Kodiak. Nothing wrong with the Kodiak but variety is the spice of life and all that jazz. :wink:

39

Circuit breakers increase the failure count a lot and are easy to do, so it is good marketing.

That aside, we are sitting on a nice amount of failures ranging in the mid-70s. 40 of them are electrical-relwted and can trigger breakers if available. Boost pump, taxi light, GPS, NAV radios. The remaining ones are engine, oil and fuel related and are custom, so they don’t depend on 2024 features.

I.e. a clogged oil filter will make oil go through the bypass valve. That opens up the possibility of a metal chip finding its way to the pistons, accessory gearbox or governor. From there, many things can happen.

@Editer it is a versatile plane and at the time seemed like a good fit between the Kodiak and Zenny. Since then, we rebuilt it three times and eventually added failures as it was a simpler testbed than the PC-12 & Kodiak.

40

I can go along with that :grinning_face:

I just get a little bummed when a ‘failure model’ is just RNG based on MTB and it pops a breaker to disable a system. Between what you and @glsc84 have said here though, it sounds like it goes way deeper, including the cascading failures. I’m really looking forward to this one! I appreciate the insight here and the hard work your team has put into the Airvan and the rest of your fleet.