Accu-Sim is the world's most realistic line of add-ons that model real-world aircraft and their functions beyond the capabilities of anything else on the market. A2A Simulations has created a product line, currently of five aircraft, that have been setting the standard for their class of add-on, as each new product has been released. Although they don't product big airliners like Captain Sim or PMDG, nor do they produce the popular General Aviation aircraft of Carenado, all being ever popular, their warbirds are setting the standard of utmost quality above anyone else's. Their products include two lines. First, there is the Wings of Silver, which includes the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and Piper J-3 Cub. The next line, in the same family is the Wings of Power of which there are two levels, Wings of Power II and Wings of Power III which have an Accu-Sim pack; these include the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (razorback version), and Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I and Mk.II (with an MkV coming soon).
Each aircraft brings their own special features, which accentuate the flying characteristics, engine behavior, aerodynamic qualities, sound, and many more features. Their piston engines are remarkable, their sound engine models hundreds of sound bites to create a specific sound shape for the airplane in its orientation and settings. However, I'll talk more about this as the review unfolds.
Each of the five current Accusimmed aircraft (new adjective for adding Accusim to a product) has their own base pack, which include a well-modeled product that serves as the far basic 3D model and FSX files. Then, for an extra price, the Accusim pack, specific to that airplane is purchased and installed; transforms the plane into a new dimension. It changes all the textures; making them, high quality and they conform to the surface of the plane. Next, it installs an all-new engine, yes, it is the same R-2800 being modeled in both P-47s for looks, but on the inside, everything has changed, and it simulates a real, living engine. It also changes the aircraft's behavior, to simulate the airplane's performance to the highest degree, and its takes these basic details, and intertwines them into the base model, making it truly, an all-new product, and a completely immersive and exciting add-on.
The purpose of this article is indeed to explain what Accusim is, but this is the part where I tell you how it works, from the viewpoint as an objective reviewer, and consumer of the product. Now, Accusim's inner workings are highly complex, and they take months of research, testing, programming, and certification from real, experienced sources. To put it into detail, Accusim is designed to model the airplane to a standard that equals the aircraft better than any other developer does. Many developers will say their product is realistic if it achieves the maximum performance numbers that are specified by the manufacturer of the real aircraft. Higher-end developers will make their product exceed this by designing it to conform to a wide spectrum of operation based on many more benchmark positions to achieve actual real-world accuracy.
The need and inspiration to create Accu-Sim was born during the development of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, which added an extra 6 months of development. The P-47 Thunderbolt followed next with a full-featured sound engine. This sound engine allowed the team to reproduce every switch, dial inside the P-47, along with dynamic wind, and prop sounds you could hear when you opened the canopy in flight. The Piper J-3 Cub moved Accu-Sim deeper into flight dynamics and physics, with ground bumps, water waves, and wind-over-the-body physics. While on the ground, you can actually hold your brakes, advance the throttle, and balance on your wheels using with the wind forces from the propeller going over your tail. The J-3's new Accusim physics allows for highly realistic and fluid flight dynamics whether you were in a stall, spin, or even dropping out of the sky flying backwards. Additionally, the J-3 introduces a new passenger the community came to know as "Heidi." She responds to many situations differently based on her different moods and personalities. She even spots and calls out traffic. Next came the B-17 Flying Fortress with a historic and naturally animated crew that performs their historical duties in their stations. The radio man scans the skies and can dial into historic radio stations that were aired during the 1940's, the bombardier can open Bombay doors and drop bombs, the in-flight engineer watches and reports on the systems, and the Co-Pilot can manage your engines. The B-17 also includes an expanded maintenance hangar, which allows you to look deeply into Accu-Sim wear and tear. Most recently, the Supermarine Spitfire was released, this time as an independent module to FSX. This allows Accusim to be developed and managed in its very own space. This brought forth a brand new propeller simulator along dynamic internal engine sounds.
The Boeing Stratocruiser was a feat of aviation technology, in 1946 after WWII; Boeing set out to create an all-new propliner that could fly higher, faster and longer than any plane before it. Boeing powered it with four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 'Wasp Major[s]' with 3,500 horsepower each, it was a definitely a status statement. However, when Boeing CEO William M. Allen ordered 50 of these aircraft to be built, he was climbing out on a limb, but luckily Pan Am purchased 20 Stratocruisers, with Northwest Orient, United, BOAC, and American Overseas purchasing the other 35 aircraft, production stopped at 55, with the 56th later entering service after done with prototype testing. It helped gain ground in the aviation world, but was a marketing failure. Being outsold by Lockheed's Constellation and Douglas's DC-6 by 24-fold, it was an aircraft, though advanced, unwanted by most airlines. They had 13 hull losses, many due to faulty Hamilton-Standard propellers and Curtiss-Electric Propellers, as well as the large cowl flaps on the engines, when opened; diminishing lift on the wings, causing the Northwest Orient Flight 2 disaster in the Puget Sound. By chance, my father had a partnership in a Mooney with Captain Richard 'Dick' Ogg, who famously ditched Pan Am Flight 9 'Clipper Sovereign of the Skies' (also known as Pan Am flight 943) in the Pacific Ocean on October 16, 1956. He landed the 377 by U.S Coast Guard's Ocean Station November cutter, making his truly the first successful ditching of an aircraft, beating famed Captain Sullenberger's feat by 53 years. See this awesome coast guard footage on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvagZxur7sU&feature=feedlik
Now back to the model. A2A's Boeing Stratocruiser was a feat in itself, allowing new features now called Accusim to come into play. By dynamically modeling the true behavior of the 377, from flight characteristics to engine performance, they were able to create the most accurate representation of any post-war era Propliner. The huge, humbling flight engineer's panel is truly a feat of Accusim, bringing to life the true engine behavior, allowing the user to control all systems accurately, and have an effect on the airplane itself, with each adjustment making the engines behave differently, truly making the art of a flight engineer useful in the flight simulator (for propliners). When Service Pack 1 (SP1) came out, it improved the model even that much more. The textures improved to look more and more like the true metal surfaces, and made to conform to the surface. In addition, added dings, rivet indents and dents in places you'd expect to find them.
Of course, flying dynamics were one of the main pushes towards Accusim's introduction, allowing the Stratocruiser to conform to many details of flight, including open cowl flaps adding a noticeable diminished lift over wings and weights greatly affecting the airplane's performance and handling. Most of all, the Stratocruiser embodies a fully realistic and awesome airplane which flies well to all demands and has engine that are able to produce behavior and performance as expected in such an aircraft.
The Republic P-47 'Thunderbolt' commonly nicknamed 'The Jug' was one of the toughest, most powerful fighters of the war. Powered by a single 2,535 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800 it was one of the most powerful, and air shaking planes of all time. This model made by A2A Simulations is the earlier variant with a 'razorback' canopy as opposed to a bubble canopy. The P-47 was arguably the finest dive-bomber of the allies during WWII (in the European Theatre) with its heavy, overbuilt design, it was able to dive, and sustain speed faster than most any other propeller driven airplane.
With A2A's Accusimmed P-47, they were able to introduce an all-new sound engine that models the sounds of the air, engine, and other variables around the airplane. In the Stratocruiser, taxing with the window open doesn't change much, but here in the P-47, with your canopy open, you can hear the engine louder, and the gentle breeze flowing into the cockpit. Now when you takeoff you can hear the unmistakable roar of the R-2800 tearing through the air and accelerating this plane better than almost any single engine fighter. You can hear the wind quickly rushing faster by the cockpit and while in flight, you hear the amazing sound of air rushing past; when you close the canopy, the sound is muffled, with just engine noise, some creaking and light breeze. If you select headphones in the mini controls, you will hear the much quieter sound as would be expected. Now, in this plane, you can put on an oxygen mask, and for the first time, hear the oxygen flowing into the pilot's mask.
Also, a very realistic and dynamic feature, the engine starter, an inertial starter which spins a flywheel off a batter driven motor and is engaged by a clutch to spin the propeller and if everything has been sequenced correctly, engine start. In addition, it introduces the first maintenance hangar (the 377 got one after release) to repair the engine and other broken aircraft systems. It also features the lighter gunsight, which can be switched both on and off, and the fixed backup sight as well. I may also like to mention this is the first Accusim product to feature a propeller strike affect, in which the propeller is wrapped around the engine in the even of strike.
The Piper J-3 Cub was born in 1938, when it performed its first flight. Surprisingly, the Cub is seen as one of the older, more primitive airplanes but in hindsight, the Supermarine Spitfire it two years older. Therefore, the Cub was born out of necessity for training pilots, and an affordable airplane. The only other plane made to compete with it was the Aeronca Champ, an airplane that wasn't so great, but it did solo from the front, having better visibility than a rear-seat Cub, but still an overall great little plane once you're in the air.
Being the third Accusim product, the J-3 Cub introduced new artificial intelligence, which would mature into the whole crew of the B-17. However, this intelligence came in the form of Heidi, a fully animated and active passenger, she sits in the front of the cub, and can be set to nervous, fun, calm or quiet, and makes comments and acts differently for each setting. Heidi responds to maneuvers, such as a spin, if she's in fun mode, she'll love it, if she's nervous, well she'll scream at you. Its includes great features such as hand starting the prop, and with the service pack, you can now use a virtual tug and you can slow yourself down on the water with your tundra tires. It also includes a paddle for the float version.
The Cub is unique with its wooden fixed-pitch propeller (there is one on the Spitfire too) that during prop strike breaks an splinters into a big upsetting fuss. The flight dynamics of this Cub are just phenomenal, with great fluid control action and movement, plus great response similar to a real cub. In addition, it can do a spin perfectly, and the plane will reach speeds as low as a real cub and during a 3-point landing, it behaves just perfectly.
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was first developed after the prototype bomber, the XB-15. The Boeing B-17 was designed as a heavy, medium range bomber and it was Boeing Model 299. Its worth as a bomber was finally realized during the start of WWII as the B-17 proved to be one of the toughest, safest, and most expendable bombers of all time. It had a sister, the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, a four-engine pressurized passenger plane that introduced the flight engineer's position and pressurization in an aircraft. The Boeing B-17 proved pivotal in winning WWII as its ability to withstand so much of a beating helped protect its crew, payload and it was able to withstand fire during daylight raids that other bombers simply couldn't handle.
When A2A began producing their B-17 Flying Fortress, they introduced an all-new expanded technology for flight simulator, designing an all-new dynamic and period correct AI crew for the B-17, with a talking copilot who monitors and can control the cowl flaps, intercoolers and prop rpm, and help notify you when things aren't going so well. The flight engineer advises you to do things such as raise RPM as it's idling to low and much more. The crew also makes comments when you do things, if you make a hard landing, the copilot will groan and moan, he'll tell you if you did a good landing, and if you land hard he says I think you bent something. If you do a full inverted roll then you'll hear clanging and someone will say, "You spilled John's contents all over the place you're cleaning this up!" As well as they notify you when the main gear is down and locked, tail wheel and flaps, they also will call out engine fires, and other problematic things. Another great feature with the new advanced AI is that the crews are fully animated, and the gunners can operate their turrets on your command. Also introduced with the B-17 is an all-new interactive and visual maintenance hangar that allows one to see the labeled problems, and fix them as they wish, rather than fully overhauling to fix small problems.
This product is one of the most fun too, for it helps us remember the days of WWII and the instantly recognizable Boeing B-17 that brought justice to Europe and brought many of our fathers, and grandfather home.
This product is one of the most fun too, for it helps us remember the days of WWII and the instantly recognizable Boeing B-17 that brought justice to Europe and brought many of our fathers, and grandfathers home.
The Supermarine Spitfire flew for the first time on March 5, 1936 for an eight-minute flight, in which they tested what was soon to be one of the most iconic fighters of all time. Captain Joseph 'Mutt' Summers was at the controls for those eight minutes, and after landing, he said "Don't Touch Anything!" to show that this plane was just magnificent. The first Spitfire utilized a two-bladed fixed pitch propeller designed for optimum speed, but badly performed in most other fields, and is modeled well in this product.
The Wings of Power III: Spitfire is the most up to date and most advanced Accusim product and one of if the most realistic add-ons for FSX currently for sale. It, for the first time has modularity in its designs, meaning that now, the Accusim portion of the Spitfire functions entirely outside of the host (FSX) and is completely independent, which allows the great realism and features of Accusim to be broadened and accentuated in every way. This means that all complex systems such as the engine, propeller, and aircraft systems are run entirely outside FSX, and are merged with Simconnect to run the most realistic and dynamic experience ever created. Now that the full modularity of the systems of Accusim have been achieved, A2A was able to do what they've dreamed, to effortlessly take and engine, such as the Spitfire's Rolls-Royce Merlin, and place it into any airplane they choose, such as the P-51 Mustang. Thereby, they can have an interchangeable engine or engines, to help expand the product line, because they are no longer limited to programming all the traits of an airplane's systems, to one model, and starting over in a new one. For example, an engine won't actually care about what's powering a starter, , whether it be a direct-drive electric motor, a spinning inertia wheel, or an explosive charge. All three of these systems are modeled at a lower level, which in their own way, applies power to the crankshaft. Another thing that's amazing is the modularity show up in multiplayer, if you're not flying a Spitfire, say in you're in a B-17, (you must naturally have a Spit installed to see them without substitution), and you'll look out the window, and see that the Spitfire's prop isn't moving. Why is this? Well because of the modularity, someone else's Spitfire is flying, but you only see the model of the plane, since Accusim isn't activated 9for the Spitfire) it can't run all the complex systems of Accusim; so if you are in a Spitfire, other Spitfire's props have the same configuration as you do. If you're engine is out, theirs appears the same way. The Spitfire marks the utmost extensive development of the Accusim line, with full modularity involved, Accusim will now be able to expand to new models in many new ways.
How did I get to know each plane? To learn each plane's personality and characteristics and tendencies I had to do something special for each. For the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser I flew nonstop (there's no other way) from San Francisco to Maui, to put some hours on the engines, and break her in, learning how she operates at altitudes from sea level to my max cruise (what I chose) at 29,000ft MSL. She behaved beautifully, and navigation wasn't the most fun, but after a long flight, you finally see the islands and know you're safe. Even in a simulator, you're still a bit nervous being that far out, especially out of radio range with no modern navigation systems, makes you really feel alone.
For the J-3 Cub I used it in my reviews of Orbx's FTX; Pacific Northwest and Pacific Fjords packs, as well as flying around, exploring the mountains, rivers, and lakes in Alaska. I have to know the B-17 exceptionally well as I purchased it in December for my own personal enjoyment, and flew my heart out, and it is still one of my favorites. The P-47 is the least familiar to me, I've flown it for some reviews of scenery and for this review, and explored Geneva, Switzerland in it, but I never went cross-country, something I'm bound to do someday.
Finally, the Spitfire was my first published review, and I flew it so much for two weeks to get to know the plane for the review, and came to love that plane, its realism, and looks. It is definitely one of the finest planes in my FSX hangar. All their products are plain awesome and I'd never not like to fly one. In addition, a lesson learned the hard way, while flying the Spitfire; I accidentally drifted above 13,00ft and stayed there too long without putting on my oxygen mask, as I always did. Then the screen view started slowly moving back and forth, I thought my screen was broken, then a panting sound, and the view grayed to black and I fell asleep. Yes people, they even modeled oxygen hypoxia!
What's in store for Accusim next? Well, they're working on a Spitfire Mk.V to as a product expansion to the Spitfire Mk.I and Mk.II and will feature an all-new Merlin engine and new systems according to that model. The Spitfire Mk.V is currently in production, along with their newest and long-awaited project, the North American P-51D Mustang. The Mustang will feature state-of-the-art construction for Accusim and all new features to make this plane even more realistic than ever before. As for modularity, it will continue to expand their product line, and will simplify the great task of building such accurate, complex airplanes. Here's what Scott, founder of A2A has to say:
"The modularity of Accu-Sim has been working even better than we hoped for. We can just swap components at will, props, starters, systems, even engines and are doing it right now."
--Scott of A2A Simulations
With their Spitfire Mk.V, North American P-51 Mustang, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, and Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, they are developing many more great airplanes for the market and will be assured, butter than anything they've ever done before, and we're yet to see what they've got in store.
A2A Simulations has created what I think and many in our community of flight simulation, the greatest and most realistic line of products ever. They have been able to achieve what has been sought for so long, as the most realism and have done it to proportions of such high caliber. With their ingenious engineering, outside thinking and great amounts of research, testing, programming, and certification by real-world pilots, they have created an utmost solid and high-performing sim. They have done what is readily taken for granted in the real world, taking an engine and systems, and transferring them to another airplane, this time in FSX. As I watch the further development of A2A Simulations, and the Accusim packs, I now know that what they have created will stand the test of time, and will keep Flight Simulator X alive for many years, long after MS Flight comes out, for the ever expanding universe that has been achieved after a long break from Microsoft's flight sim productions has allowed things like this to unfold. I will forever keep high regard for A2A Simulations, their quality products, great team, helpful customer service, and outstanding fun and friendly (for the most part) community have allowed me to love this product line, and give me the best experience imaginable in FSX. I can now say, with high regard and great honor that A2A Simulations has created the single most complex, thorough and awe-inspiring add-on line for Flight Simulator X and that their products receive an unequaled and greatly deserved Five Stars out of Five and a gold medal of excellence (if there were ever one).
A2A Simulations has begun production on not one, but two post-war jet aircraft, the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Utilizing an Accusimmed General Electric J-79 axial-flow turbojet engine for both unique airplanes, they will expand their horizons more, and create a new universe of Accusim Jets.
I'd like to thank Scott Gentile and Lewis Bloomfield of A2A Simulations for providing me with great help in researching and testing this product line, and a great in-depth understanding of Accusim. I'd also like to thank Scott at A2A for providing me the Boeing 377 Stratocrusier and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt for this review; and the Flightsim Pilot Shop for providing me the Spitfire.
I'd like to take this time to tell you about what you've seen in this review. First off, I used Orbx's FTX: Pacific Northwest a Pacific Fjords, as well as REX 2.0, Aerosoft's Gibraltar X and Mega Airport Barcelona X, and repaints (most) from Nathan Phillips nathansfsxrepaints.co.uk and www.aussiex.org . In addition, some screen shots you see with A2A and Accu-Sim labels were courtesy of A2A Simulations, but most were by me. Also, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions, just click on my email below and I'll be able to answer them or have someone within A2A to get me the info for you. Please visit www.a2asimualtions.com and more details and see their YouTube videos for more in depth and visual information.
Peter Carlson
petersnoopy@sbcglobal.net
Learn More Here
Reviews Of Other A2A Simulations Products:
Wings Of Power III P-47 With Accu-Sim
Wings Of Power III Spitfire
B-17G Flying Fortress With Accu-Sim
Piper J-3 Cub With Accu-Sim
P-47D Razorback