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 Technic Direct HQ-Aircraft Collection 1by Mark Stewart (22 Jun 2001) |
echnic
Direct released their first aircraft collection (Collection 1) in
1996 and a second aircraft collection (Collection 2) followed. We
will take this opportunity to break apart collection #1 and see what
you're getting and how are the aircraft and panels they have
included. The package overall is truly put together for the European
market, but that is not saying North American flightsimmers should
not invest a couple bucks on this release. (Some of the fun is the
spelling in the manual) (i.e.: Clime, contence, occuer, trimm).
First off, the package includes 70 aircraft divided into 16 groups of
individual models (i.e., six 737's or seven 767's). I feel it is
important, so at the bottom of this article I will list those
aircraft including livery & all the panels so you will know exactly
what is included. The aircraft quality is good and all possess a
refined & generally polished look. The manual also states that the
aircraft were all tested by professional pilots, which is a positive.
In my opinion the aircraft are about the same quality as those being
released by top designers such as Dennis Wasnich, Terry Hill and so
on. These designers are always pushing the envelope on detail and
performance.My test protocol was as follows : Taxi Aircraft : Take-off : Climb : Hold Altitude : Turn & Banking : Descent : Approach : Landing. I performed this standard test on all aircraft at one single airport with exact same weather conditions. Having flown every aircraft in the collection, I didn't find any of the aircraft that possessed any bad flaws or poor flight characteristics.
There are a couple of great aircraft in this package (in my opinion)
that I am very happy to add to my collection. The CESSNA CITATION V
in company colors is a great little aircraft. I haven't found a good
Citation on the open market that had both good visuals and proper
flight dynamics. This is a terrific airplane. The CESSNA 185 SKYWAGON
has a very polished look and flies great. The PIPER ARCHER II / PIPER
ARROW IV / PIPER SENECA III are all great editions with their good
looks and accurate modeling. I also felt the SUN EXPRESS - 737 had
good flight characteristics as well and was true to what the real
airplane should feel like. (This applies to all six 737's in the
package) Last but not least, the C-FALKE which is essentially a
glider with a small engine on the front. I enjoyed taking this little
baby up a couple thousand feet and stopping the engine and gliding
for 20 or so minutes.
Overall, there are many good aircraft included in this package, many more than I have highlighted. If you are a flightsimmer flying mostly to and from European cities, then this package will offer you a great collection of European carriers such as Lufthansa, Ju Air, Tyrolean and Lauda. If you fly mostly in North America there are the smaller aircraft I mentioned above and a couple good examples of such carriers as United, UPS, Western Pacific & Canadian. 90% of all aircraft in this collection are European airlines or in Technic Direct company colors.
Here we go...
THE AUTOPILOT
KNOBS, KNOBS & MORE KNOBS
You won't find yourself feeling around, cycling through radio frequencies by clicking on the digits anymore! The new system integrated into this panel works by clicking on the 4 quarters of a circle. Imagine a pie divided into 4 pieces. Lets take a frequency like 113.60 as an example. If you wanted to increase or decrease the first section of the frequency (113), you would click on the top left/right side of the circle. The same applies for the right side of the frequency (60) except you click right & left on the bottom of the circle (knob).
So where do you do all this clicking?
The center console is very well done and lets you clearly see the position and status of the following:
The engine readout is similar to other panels except for the fact that it is very clear and features a combined digital/needle readout which is nice. The fuel management system is far superior to anything I have seen.
There are lots of lights that come on and off on the panel. Here is just a quick list:
The radio stack looks great and is organized with NAV1 & NAV2 radios located nicely side by side on the stop of the stack. Next down the line is the ADF and then the COM1. On the bottom of the stack is the transponder. The TRANSPONDER and the ADF are just about the only component on the panel that used the old method of numeric entry. (Click on the numbers)
THAT'S IT! ONE TERRIFIC PANEL!
Well there you have it, the TECHNIC DIRECT HQ-1 Aircraft and Panel
collection. So what is the bottom line?
#1 If you fly mostly using European scenery then you'll be getting a package that is packed full of good quality carriers, panels and a 737 panel that escorts in a new era in realism.
#2 If you really don't care much about flying a Lauda 767, Storch & really don't need a Junker panel, well buy it anyways. I say this because getting your hand on the 737 panel and a couple good private aircraft is WELL worth the cost of the package (around $20).
The software comes with a built-in install program that makes it very easy to install the aircraft and panels. I (like most) use a panel manager so it easiest to just copy the panels right from the CD to the desired directory on your hard drive. The install program also includes a walk-through point & click tutorial for the new 737 panel and additional panels.
Overall an good oyster that certainly contains a pearl!
5 - Boeing 737's Aircraft 8 - MD82 Aicraft 7 - Boeing 767's Aircraft 3 - Piper Seneca III Aircraft 5 - Canadair Regional Jets Aircraft 2 - Piper Arrow Aircraft 4 - Cessna Citation V Aircraft 3 - Piper Archer II Aircraft 3 - Cessna 185 Skywagon Aircraft 3 - Robin DR400 Aircraft 3 - Dassault Falcon 10 Aircarft 2 - C Falke 7 - Dash 8 Aicraft Aircraft 5 - Fieseler Storch Aicraft 737 Panel / MD80 PANEL 5 - Grunau Baby II Aicraft 2 JUNKER PANEL / CLASSIC PANEL 4 - Junker JU 52 AircraftMark Stewart
Visit Technic Direct's Web site.