A Tale Of Two Tomahawks

By Ron Salt (2 August 2005)

Introduction

ear with me. The story of Piper's little basic trainer, from conception, through its halcyon years and down to the present day, is worth a paragraph or two before buckling down to the serious business of reviewing its most recent avatar from JustFlight at http://www.justflight.com.

Real World History

The Piper PA38 was designed and built in the '70s to compete in the private flying schools market, dominated at that time by Cessna's ubiquitous 150 and 152. 10,000 flight instructors were polled: the side-by-side cabin and low-wing layout, with elevators mounted high on the fin, were Piper's response to the preferences revealed by its market research. Deliveries began in 1978. Over 1000 orders were filled in the first production year. Unpredictable stall performance and some stall-and-spin accidents necessitated modifications and led to introduction of the Tomahawk II in 1981. Flow strips were added to the parallel-chord wings and the nose wheel was re-designed, but despite better sound-proofing, windshield defrosting and improved production quality control (read 'not so many lousy drafts, leaks and rattles'), the Tommy's initial popularity was not regained. Production ceased in 1983.

Microsoft Flight Simulator History

Dates in the first column are the first recorded uploads of a PA38 for successive versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator et al to the FlightSim.Com archive. Repaints, regauging, panel upgrades, etc. raise the total number of uploads to more than forty.

More than two decades after the last Tomahawk II came down the 'pike, aspiring pilots are still qualifying on the models. Their recollections are peppered with hints of classic love/hate relationships, but then, first loves are commonly remembered through a rose-tinted haze – especially when they progress through such a gratifying consumation to regret-free parting. All of the five FS PA38s that preceded JustFlight's were created by people with time on the prototype, who obviously feel both gratitude and affection in retrospect.

"Hmm, Rochester's survived OK..." Charles Watson's RCHCW31.ZIP

Tomahawks Compared

Carenado's lovely freeware CC-PAL survived two Microsoft sabotage attempts, the second a really sneaky attack through Windows XP itself. Little wonder, therefore, if battle fatigue forced Marcelo Cánovas and his talented Chilean compañeros to draw the line under their past achievements when Redmond swung the wrecking ball yet again, in the shape of FS2004. My fumbling DIY attempts at resuscitation with the FS2004 Aircraft Editor came tantalizingly close to success. The utility even tried to construct a VC of sorts, but the dismembered pilot figure made the view to port too gruesome to contemplate, and CC-PAL was regretfully banished to AI aircraft limbo.

So, when JustFlight released their PA38 demo at the end of May 2005, you may be sure I, for one, downloaded and installed it faster than a ferret up a trouser-leg.

Its advent coincided fortuitously with a long-overdue rationalization of my UK scenery and airfield files, a collection now growing exponentially as the VFR Add-on Project gathers momentum at http://vfraddons.co.uk. The next 30 days were frenetically divided between amalgamating adjacent scenery areas, identifying and deleting duplications and redundancies – and curing the inevitable rash of dismal error messages this kind of activity throws up when Flight Simulator restarts. In the lulls between brown-outs, I used the Tomahawk to check results, being determined (like all true tight-fisted Yorkshire tykes) to make the most of JustFlight's freeby. On the very day the dreaded “Come in number 14, your time's up!” message brought the rain down on my parade, Nels Anderson invited me to review JustFlight's bird. At last I know just how Little Jack Horner felt ...

The JustFlight Piper PA38-112 Tomahawk downloads to a 15,713 kb self-installing exe. I'm not a fan of the things, much preferring zips that let me decide what goes where, but realize that others may find them reassuring. This one compounded my misery by insisting on knowing my unlocking code before it would show me a window wherein I might enter it, if you follow; I certainly didn't, but we slugged it out toe to toe and I seem to have won by a technical knockout in the second round.

Having thus vanquished Scylla and skirted Charybdis, one is invited to start Flight Simulator and returned to the Desktop, wherein yet another blessed Icon is discovered, labeled AeroSelect. It opens a small window showing a list of one aircraft (guess!) with three buttons, one of which is AeroLoad. This in turn opens a graphic aircraft configuration file editor which writes your choices to the named aircraft.cfg file when AeroSelect closes, after which one must start FS2004 in the usual way, create or select a flight and nominate the 'plane you wish to fly.

Being not only an incorrigible meddler but also a lifelong disciple of wily old William of Occam, I promptly opened the PA38s aircraft.cfg and edited ui_manufacturer=JF Flying Club to ui_manufacturer=Piper, in obedience to his advice to eschew unnecessary instances of things, whereupon the Tomahawk now appears in its rightful station in my Piper hangar.

"Ooo, nice flesh tones..."; G-BYMD ready at Richard Maxted's Fishburn RD (MXFISH40.ZIP)

The JustFlight sim opens in 2D panel mode, which is all Carenado's Tomahawk has to offer but it's none the worse for that, the Carenado panel being a very comely example of its kind. Switching to the VC, zooming out to 0.75 and panning reveals Lantern-jawed Larry in the right-hand seat. He's rather dishy and a considerable improvement on some of the designer-stubbled knuckle-draggers foisted on us in pursuit of realismus, but Active Camera shows he's actually John Malkovitch – move your viewpoint across and you'll find yourself looking at the world through his Aviators, which is disconcerting because they are opaque. So that's how flight instructors keep their cool!

From AeroLoad, I found that Larry plus full tanks and maximum baggage exceeds recommended takeoff weight. A 15 lb chart case and 62% fuel is your lot with him aboard. What's more, to get back in the green you must quit, restart Flight Simulator and create a fresh flight after re-setting loadings – this is FS2004, old stick.

JustFlight have dressed up their sim with opening cabin doors and hatches. Hot-spots bring down the glare shields and open the cat-flaps in the doors. I often wonder how much development time and bandwith is absorbed by these flourishes which, I'm fairly sure, most of us punters look at once, think “Fancy that!” and never bother with again. Between the JustFlight and Carenado visual models there's nothing to choose; both capture its chubby-cheeked happy Hamster look to perfection. It's a measure of the Tomahawk's endearing attributes that three re-paints and an 'unofficial' blank texture download have already been posted to the FlightSim.Com archive.

Heavenly twins, downwind on R24 at Netherthorpe (author) in FS2002 ...

...and crosswind in FS2004/VFR. G-BYMD's a little crisper, CC-PAL's more riveting, if you see what I mean.

The major difference between JustFlight's Tommy and Carenado's CC-PAL doesn't show up until the latter becomes airborne. G-BYMD climbs steadily: CC-PALs nose begins a wild St. Vitus' dance around the horizon that will continue until it returns to earth, which unseemly gyrations are faithfully reflected by the turn coordinator. Why did Raul Acevedo build this weird behaviour into the flight dynamics? I don't know, but looking at that slender fuselage and what's perched on the end of it, the words 'flutter' and 'tail' do spring naturally to mind, not so?

G-BYMD on Fishburn final...

... and CC-PAL at Netherthorpe - but look at that crazy TAB!

If you can steel yourself to ignore CC-PALs nervous ticks, both Tomahawks react similarly to control input. CC-PAL is noticeably easier to trim in the circuit; G-BYMD needs a very firm hand to maintain target altitude until one hits just the right combination of power and elevator trim, so one tends to circulate, white-knuckled and damp of oxter, alternately shoving and hauling in opposition to abruptly-changing control surface loads. Even when it's trimmed out, CC-PAL can never be trusted to remain in hands-off straight and level flight for more than a few seconds. G-BYMD is less demanding.

Coordinated rate turns in pattern are surprisingly easy using only the yoke, although it's hard to believe on the evidence of CC-PALs panel when its turn and bank gauge is dancing like one of those old farmhouse bracket clocks they call wag-at-walls. On base, one can see why so many flight instructors favoured a low wing position. Runway thresholds remain in clear view throughout the crucial turn on to final, making it so much easier to put the 'plane precisely on the centerline at the top of the glide-slope and coast home like a pro without touching the throttle.

Last, but by no means least, both Tommys' ground handling is viceless. Mike (the 'mike) Hambley's G-BYMD sound files are a masterpiece of subltle overtones – sometimes I could almost swear there's a wasp in the ... Aaagh!

Decision Time

And so we come to the sixty-four dollar question (well, eighteen dollars and fourteen cents if you're a picky person): would I buy the JustFlight Tommy? Affirmative. Why? Because it feels so alive in FS2004 that I often forget it's just a clever sensory illusion – but how would I know, who has never flown anything with a wingspan of more than three feet, a 1cc Frog diesel on the other side of the firewall and both my daisies on terra firma – and that nigh on sixty years ago? Well, I know a man who does, so let him have the last word.

Moments With Maxted

15 January 2004

Hi Ron

The Tomahawk is certainly more twitchy than the PA28 that I have also flown occasionally but to be honest I rather like it (to the extent that I would buy one if I had the money) as the twitchy feel also makes it pretty fast, for a trainer, at 100k +, and it turns very well.  Rather like the sim one it's stable in the yaw, only needing gentleness, but a real b****r to trim well esp. in the circuit.  Best thing is the fuel management – which is easy – and the fact it's got manual flaps.

26 June 2004

Real flying is going well. Now I have my ticket, it still all seems a bit unreal.  I was up on Sunday doing low and slow and xwinds for an hour.  I have been doing a lot of fly outs and thought that a bit of bumps and goes was needed to get my landings better.

EGNF is a bit of a problem in a Tommy.  My instructor suggests I leave it till I have a bit more short grass field experience.  It's not the landing so much as the takeoff.  PA38s need 470m according to the POH on tarmac, so it's getting close at Netherthorpe which has a TORA of 488m / LDA of 370m grass! (boggle eyed scared look!)

"I put my hand upon her thigh, mark well what I do say! I put my hand upon her thigh, she said "Young man, you're rather high..."' [Air Chanty, Trad.]

"Get DOWN!"

27 June 2005

"Hit 'em!"

Things've been quiet on the flightsim front for ages.  I have a pile of things to do but have had a major problem settling down to do it now that I have my own aeroplane! Photo attached of G-ATHV. FSing is prob going to be more of a winter hobby now.  I have got 135 hrs P1 now and have landed at Netherthorpe twice.  As it's a C150 [! - RS] this is interesting but not too challenging.  Having landed there I am sure that it must be a very close run thing in a Tomahawk on a summer day.

Some more interesting facts.  Tomahawks are blistering on a hot day as the bubble allows the cockpit to get red hot.  The flaps are much nicer than the C150 ones to get used to, being manual as opposed to electric but are pretty ineffective for short field operations.  A well flown Tomahawk (like not by me) would make an OK steed for grass fields and strips to about the 500m mark.  Don't fancy one on a hot day on a shorter strip than that though.  The C150 is much better at short-field operations and although not STOL, with 40 degrees of flaps gets pretty close.

Landing a Tomahawk is undoubtedly harder than a C150.  They float a little more and have a higher approach speed.  Compared to a C150 they are more unforgiving.  They are however bags more roomy.  The fully opening cowl is better than the stupid oil hole for a Cessna.  You get to see the whole engine for pre-flight which I prefer.  Getting into them is also easier.

However, for sheer fun per miles I am sorry to say I really prefer the C150.  It enables me to land just about anywhere, it costs less to run (15 lph rather than 22) and it's frankly just cuter!

Off flying again tomorrow...  We'll have to meet up at Netherthorpe some time

Keep well and best of luck with the review.

Learn more here