Head-2-Head Feature XIV: PAD vs Mike Stone

By Ron Blehm (December 27, 2012)

Welcome to what may be the final installment of "Head-2-Head". The reason to end is only because I've pretty much ran through most of my hangar and I'm not sure I want to download every version of every plane out there simply to compare them. Like most of us, I have a hangar stocked with what I like to fly most.

It was in early October 2012 that I learned of the passing of flightsim icon Barry Blaisdell; an event that I'm sure we all felt with sadness. In two previous Head-2-Head features I tested Premier Aircraft Design products against other sim models and in both cases the PAD-versions failed to meet my expectations for performance. To be honest, I am still loving to fly the AI Aardvark EMB-190/5s; I have tweaked the performance and added panels and sounds to enhance my experience. This fact however shows that for me, my simming experience is far more than exterior looks! In both of the previous reviews, I have liked the PAD visuals but the handling has left a lot to be desired. (I do have one or two other PAD models in my hangar that I do like and haven't bothered to challenge those with anything else.)

Anyway, back to Barry: So there I was flying a Jetstream-31 (Mike Stone's version from years ago) around Southern California when the call about his death reached me; it was indeed a sad day. The Jetstream-31s I have been using are old and they are showing their age with some (glaring) lack of detail but they handle great (image below, left). As I set up to land in Camarillo I got to wondering if Premier Aircraft Designs had a JS-31? I went to their web site and sure enough, there it was. I downloaded and installed it copying the panel and sound over from the KA-350.

I then flew it from Camarillo to Santa Barbara and was not displeased (image above, right) One of the tests I like to do is with the autopilot engaged I pull off the throttle and watch as the trim tabs roll in and the nose pitches up. As my speed slipped below 100 knots I firewalled the throttle and watched the plane climb and then correct itself. Pretty fun stuff and all with visual details the Mike Stone version lacked (image below, left). Part of the problem with challenging a long-standing member of the hangar is the memories a pilot has with his old plane; the past flights and self-done repaints all make parting such sweet sorrow (below, center). None-the-less I took my Flight Club JS-31 over to Santa Barbara as well and for the record, despite the lack of details, it also performed very well on the autopilot/stall challenge (below, right)!

Challenge One: I set in a 172 mile route from Santa Barbara to Palm Springs. Full fuel, max take-off weight, 5000 foot cruise and 250 knots. Here are the highlights:

• The Premier model's numbers match the real-world aircraft almost exactly.
• The speed of both aircraft are within a few seconds for the same route.
• Given our shorter flight with max weight, the PAD model's range is about 860 miles. Again, spot-on for the published numbers. The Mike Stone range would be about 50% of the published numbers. As we've seen before, that's an easy fix, just adjust the fuel flow numbers in the CFG.
• Premier = image below left and middle
• Stone = image below right

The visual details of the two are generations apart (image below, left)!.

Challenge Two: A bit of a longer flight, Palm Springs to Paso Robles, 270 miles this time. Full fuel tanks and only the pilot, 170 pounds. Cruise at 6500 feet but still 250 knots (images above center and right).

• First off I note that the Mike Stone version has about 10 load stations and all of them have 170 pounds; I guess I'm hauling a bunch of clones with no bags!
• Time-wise it's a dead-heat, the same for both aircraft.
• Fuel-wise, the Mike Stone model is still off quite a bit but the PAD-version is still showing a range of 865 miles. It's perfect!
• Previously, when I tested the Do-328 I noted that the PAD model required 140+ knots to maintain a smooth rate of descent on finals - too fast for that aircraft. I had a similar experience with this one in that the Mike Stone version flies in very nicely at 100 knots and touches down just under 90. That seemed reasonable but the Premier version required 120 knots or an extreme nose-up attitude which makes it very tough to see the runway! (Notice the change in attitude in the image below.)

Obviously the visual model is greatly updated over the Mike Stone version and the performance is "by-the-book" so my only "issue" is the handling on final. So this time, I went into the CFG and changed the "lift value" under the flaps settings. (It was at 0.00 so I changed it to 1.00). That didn't change the drag or amount of throttle I'd need but did make things "floatier". This bit of LIFT allowed the nose to come down, allowing me to see! I wonder if that would have worked on the other PAD models we tested and threw out?

I was now quite happy with the PAD model but for two things:

1. No Flight Club liveries.
2. It needed to pass the biggest test of a small(er) aircraft. St Bartholomy!

Returning to the Premier Aircraft Design web site I downloaded and installed about twenty liveries and then re-worked one into something for TooMuchFS. Next, I flew the St Bart's approach. There is no hillside in my scenery but there is a nicely-placed building in the way. You can watch the video here:

I was still too fast but that was my fault and regardless, I managed to get stopped just before the end and that is good enough for me!

So, after all these years, the Mike Stone version of the Jetstream-31 went away and I now have the Premier Aircraft Design's version, slightly tweaked, in my hangar. Thank you to Barry and his team for all of the years of service. Your legacy lives on in our hangars.

Ron Blehm
pretendpilot@yahoo.com