Preview: Just Flight Schweizer 300
By Sergio Costa (28 October 2006)
ince I'm a big fan of
light helicopters, the Schweizer 300 has always been one of my
favourites - as, I am sure, it is for a lot of rotor heads out there
- and I have logged quite a few hours on
Jordan Moore's version.Well, Just Flight has started out their version of this fun helicopter and now, only a couple of weeks away from its release, they gave me the honor to take a sneak peek at it and let you all know my thoughts on it.
Please note: this is not an exhaustive preview. I will merely scratch the surface and fill you in on the looks, sounds and a couple of cool things I may have encountered while I was trying it out. So, don't expect an extensive text talking about the flight capabilities and all the nuts and bolts. I'm just trying to give you the perception or how cool this little helicopter is. We will have an exhaustive review on Rotorwash Magazine for the next issue (which will be out by January). So I'll leave the nasty details for our experts in the reviewing team.
Inside: 2D Panel and Virtual Cockpit
The interiors of the 300cbi are quite amazing. Both the 2D and VC are very sharp and the panels cover basically everything you need. The textures are of very high quality and the lighting is more than enough for some night-flying.
Outside: Visuals and Sounds
The outside model is top-notch. It's one of the best I've seen so far. You can actually see the engine running and the transmission rolling.
Flight Characteristics Handling
Like I said before, I'm not going into much detail. The 300cbi is quite responsive and fun to fly. Something I noticed a couple of times was that if I descended a bit too fast with too low forward speed I was caught in the rotor downwash, stalled and started to fall. I managed to get some forward speed and left the downwash, continuing my flight. This is real helicopter behaviour and one quite well modelled on the 300. Kudos to the developers!
Other Considerations and Final Thoughts
Just Flight's Schweizer 300cbi will be released with their configuration software which allows you to chose between 1 or 2 fuel tank models and having or not a passenger with you (to be honest I haven't tried this yet). So you can alter your helicopter characteristics and pretend you're taking that hot girl for some nice flying.In the end, all I can say is that Just Flight did a great job with the 300. In my opinion it will be a must-grabber for all the rotor heads out there.
Keep hovering.
Learn more about the Just Flight 300cbi here
Sergio Costa
Rotorwash Magazine Editor
www.rotorwash-magazine.com
