Big changes to my list this time.
Some time ago I started to fly chronologically through aviation history, from the Wright Brothers forward. My first 3 aircraft reflect this.
Bleriot Xl : (wing 42). Once flown it’s one you don’t forget. I recreated the famous channel crossing and the perhaps more famous Alps crossing. The aircraft is visceral, if that’s the appropriate word, it’s a part of you as you fly it, and you have to fly it, no letting go of the stick, tiring after a 40 minute flight. No ailerons, no flaps, no trim, no brakes, no throttle (the engine is either on to ascend or off to descend) - you have to ‘blip’ the engine to loose altitude, too long off and down it comes.
Tiger Moth (Ants Airplanes) : Beautiful plane to fly, very simple, almost flies itself. The aircraft just responds to control input exactly as you’d expect. Plenty of depth to the aircraft, hard level requires monitoring the oil carefully (I fly easy).
My only grumble is the awful positioning of the compass which makes it pretty useless to navigate from.
Junkers JU52 (Asobo): This is the only ‘big bird’ I’ve flown so far. Plenty of switches and buttons to start it up, all 3 engines independent of each other. I fly in the early variant so I have to memorise the dials…altitude has 2 dials, one in 100’s of metres and one in 1000’s of metres, so I have to convert mentally to feet.
I like the flight model. I like the complexity. It may get replaced as I fly myself further into history.
The next 5 aircraft are aircraft I return to over and over again for a variety of reasons.
Spitfire (Flyingiron) - wind noise and everything, like a wild animal on take off, flying is sublime though. The regular updates are pleasing as the developer pushes the aircraft closer and closer to the real deal I imagine.
Grumman Goose (Big Radials) - one of few amphibious aircraft I have. It’s a ‘lumbering beast’ of an aircraft, real slow, and soooo much fun. Drop it down in the water, take off land, very very versatile.
Cessna 152 - (JPL mod) : can’t believe this is free. I learned how to fly in the sim in this, put a lot of hours in, so I feel very very comfortable in this aircraft. Very much my go-to aircraft when I’m feeling lazy and just want to float around in an aircraft which is now second nature to fly.
Aermacchi MB - 339 -( Indiafoxtecho) : first jet I bought. Another hands down winner, very nimble, nice and fast, and easy to fly. Great on the Mach Loop. Basically flies itself, plug and play, if you wish to with this. When I have a need for speed, I hop in this, no need for user manual, take off brake, throttle forward and away you go. This will compete for its spot against the Hawk, when I get a chance.
Top Rudder 103 (Asobo) : very much a specialist aircraft in that it is a low and slow sightseeing ultra light. Really nice visibility, cruises at 45 knots, turns on a sixpence, STOL characteristics. Currently flying it over the ‘Okavango Delta’ (Orbx) in search of ‘Heffalumps’. No user manual that I can find, but then you don’t really need one.
(Okavango Delta is extremely good in my opinion).
That’s it, 8.
As I fly through history I’ll add more no doubt.
