Jump to content

ORBX EA-7 Edgley Optica


Recommended Posts

Has anybody tried out this aircraft offered in the MSFS marketplace? It looks like it might be a fun option for making sightseeing videos -- while flying through the Grand Canyon, for instance.
HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought it a while back and it’s ideal for slow sightseeing trips :)

 

Regards

Steve

Intel I9-13900K - Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX - 64Gb DDR5 5600Mhz - Asus RTX4090 ROG STRIX 24GB

3x 43” Panasonic 4k TVs - Corsair RMx 1200W PSU - 2 x 2TB M.2,  2 x 4TB SATA III and 1 x 4TB M.2 SSDs.

Pico 4  VR Headset - Honeycomb Alpha Yoke - Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Unit

Thrustmaster TPR Rudder Pedals - Saitek Throttles

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. I appreciate your seal of approval. It's only $9.99, so why not? I just watched a video review. The reviewer flew out of Salisbury. If I ever get to the UK again (haven't been since 1970), that's an area I'd like to visit.
HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I also arrived in the UK in 1970 (I was born LOL)

I’ve never been to Salisbury in real life, but I have flown in that area (in MSFS) there are some large badges near by, made from chalk. They are in MSFS if you ever want to take a look.

 

 

Regards

Steve

Intel I9-13900K - Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX - 64Gb DDR5 5600Mhz - Asus RTX4090 ROG STRIX 24GB

3x 43” Panasonic 4k TVs - Corsair RMx 1200W PSU - 2 x 2TB M.2,  2 x 4TB SATA III and 1 x 4TB M.2 SSDs.

Pico 4  VR Headset - Honeycomb Alpha Yoke - Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Unit

Thrustmaster TPR Rudder Pedals - Saitek Throttles

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way Steve, my first visit to the UK was in 1967, after I graduated from college -- in Grinnell, Iowa. A travel agent there arranged for a student-group flight from New York JFK to Luxembourg and return, on Icelandic Airlines. The plane was a jet prop. It was a long flight. We stopped enroute at Keflavik. I remember that they fed us really well (french toast for breakfast), and that the seating was two by two, not three by three as in economy today. I rested for overnight at Luxembourg and then traveled to the UK by train and channel ferry. There was a school group on the ferry returning from a holiday in France. I remember a young girl telling one of her mates to "sharrup." Where would that expression have placed her, I wonder now. I stayed in England for a couple of weeks, lodging at a hostel near Paddington Station, before heading back to the Continent to start using my eight-week Eurail pass. I spent most of my time in London. It was June and the weather was glorious. I loved going to Hyde Park and hanging out at the speakers corner. I went to a number of plays, the British Museum, and the Tate Gallery. I took one side trip, to Cambridge, where a student invited me up to his room. I went to pubs and even developed a liking for warm beer.

 

I returned to London in Nov., 1970 on my way home after two years in the Peace Corps, in Monrovia, Liberia. I stayed at the same hostel. I went to some plays again. I went to "Butterflies are Free," "Hair, " and "Vivat Vivat Regina," with Sarah Miles and (I think) Glenda Jackson. I also went to a comedy called "How the Other Half Loves," with Robert Morely. It was probably the funniest play I've ever seen to this day. Also went to movies: "Blowup," and "Tora, Tora, Tora." After nearly two years in Liberia, I was starved for real entertainment.

 

A note on Grinnell College: One of the students in my dormitory was a Brit, Michael Tetley. He said he was of the Tetley Tea Tetleys. The story we heard was that he'd been a troublesome lad at home and his family had sent him to the middle of Iowa to straighten up.

HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're still a youngster, then.

 

Thanks Steve :)

You certainly have a good memory! I struggle to remember an hour ago LOL

 

Regards

Steve

Intel I9-13900K - Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX - 64Gb DDR5 5600Mhz - Asus RTX4090 ROG STRIX 24GB

3x 43” Panasonic 4k TVs - Corsair RMx 1200W PSU - 2 x 2TB M.2,  2 x 4TB SATA III and 1 x 4TB M.2 SSDs.

Pico 4  VR Headset - Honeycomb Alpha Yoke - Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Unit

Thrustmaster TPR Rudder Pedals - Saitek Throttles

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blimey, you have a good memory! I struggle past last week [emoji16]

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Actually, I have trouble remembering whether I took a medication five minutes ago. I hadn’t thought about my London visits for years, decades even. Chatting with Steve brought it back to me. Apparently, this is what happens when you get older; you can remember something from your distant past, but not last week, or what day it is today. Even so, I had to look up a couple of plays I mentioned to see when they were published and to confirm that I saw them in 1967, and not 1970. One performance I remember vividly from 1967 was “Love for Love,” a restoration comedy (I think it was comedic) at the National Theater. I recall that Lawrence Olivier was supposed to be in it, but he wasn’t that evening. I didn’t know anything about the play; Olivier was the draw. I enjoyed the play nevertheless (after all, it was the thing), and how everyone stood to sing “God Save the Queen” when the final curtain came down. At least I think that came at the end. We sing our national anthem at the start of sporting events, like baseball.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In 1967 I was 5 years old and was taken on holiday by my grandparents to my great uncle's house in Broadstairs, Kent. One day he drove us to RAF Manston, and being ex-Household Cavalry, he had a word with the guards on duty and I was allowed to sit in the gate sentry Spitfire. The guard assured us that the Spitfire had served in the Battle of Britain but he probably said that to all the tourists. Anyway, somewhere in the family album is a small black & white photo of an even smaller me grinning from ear to ear in a real Battle of Britain Spitfire.

Tim Wright "The older I get, the better I was..."

Xbox Series X, Asus Prime H510M-K, Intel Core i5-11400F 4.40GHz, 16Gb DDR4 3200, 2TB WD Black NVME SSD, 1TB Samsung SATA SSD

NVidia RTX3060 Ti 8Gb, Logitech Flight Yoke System, CH Pro Pedals, Acer K272HL 27", Windows 11 Home x64

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You were five in 1967, Tiger? And Steve was three years short of even being born? You chaps are making me feel old!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You were five in 1967, Tiger? And Steve was three years short of even being born? You chaps are making me feel old!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sorry LOL

 

Regards

Steve

Intel I9-13900K - Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX - 64Gb DDR5 5600Mhz - Asus RTX4090 ROG STRIX 24GB

3x 43” Panasonic 4k TVs - Corsair RMx 1200W PSU - 2 x 2TB M.2,  2 x 4TB SATA III and 1 x 4TB M.2 SSDs.

Pico 4  VR Headset - Honeycomb Alpha Yoke - Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Unit

Thrustmaster TPR Rudder Pedals - Saitek Throttles

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't expecting much for $9.99; no fancy gauges on the order of Asobo's aircraft, but I did expect a reasonably decent sim-flying machine. However, when I took this plane up for a quick spin around my local airport (KWVI), I quickly discovered that the ORBX Edgely Optica is anything but. It was slow off the runway, but I could live with that. Unfortunately, after I finally established a positive rate of climb in this plane, I found that it was barely maneuverable. Turning was painfully sluggish. Worse yet, it's devilishly difficult to land because it doesn't want to descend once it's aloft. I cut the throttle all the way back and nothing happened. The plane would not give up any altitude or airspeed. No wonder it can "loiter" for eight hours. I had to point it nose down at the runway to land it. Bottom line, it's no fun to fly. I'm glad it didn't cost more, because as a third-party offering in the MSFS marketplace (via Steam) there's no refund on it. Forget about it.
HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry you didn’t like it Steve. The real aircraft was designed as a slow, surveillance aircraft for police forces etc. This model is pretty good in VR, but it’s not fast LOL

 

Regards

Steve

Intel I9-13900K - Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX - 64Gb DDR5 5600Mhz - Asus RTX4090 ROG STRIX 24GB

3x 43” Panasonic 4k TVs - Corsair RMx 1200W PSU - 2 x 2TB M.2,  2 x 4TB SATA III and 1 x 4TB M.2 SSDs.

Pico 4  VR Headset - Honeycomb Alpha Yoke - Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Unit

Thrustmaster TPR Rudder Pedals - Saitek Throttles

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In 1967, I was at the University.

 

In '66-68 I was in Vietnam. No not all the time, I spent some time on the hospital ship Repose and then in rehab in the US. But most of that time I was in Nam. I was allowed to do a lot of low altitude "sightseeing" back then.

Being an old chopper guy I usually fly low and slow.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was allowed to do a lot of low altitude "sightseeing" back then.

 

The understatement of the century, Michael. Some time ago, when I was complaining about the number of helicopter accidents hitting the headlines, you PM'd me and told me about your 'Nam service as a chopper pilot. I don't think I'd have handled it half as well as you still do.

I remember the shocking scenes on the TV news at the time, it wasn't edited the way it is today.

You and all Vietnam veterans have our eternal respect and gratitude, rest assured that we'll never forget either.

Tim Wright "The older I get, the better I was..."

Xbox Series X, Asus Prime H510M-K, Intel Core i5-11400F 4.40GHz, 16Gb DDR4 3200, 2TB WD Black NVME SSD, 1TB Samsung SATA SSD

NVidia RTX3060 Ti 8Gb, Logitech Flight Yoke System, CH Pro Pedals, Acer K272HL 27", Windows 11 Home x64

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Aptosflyer. It is great for sightseeing but it does have weird flying anomalies. I feel it flys much faster than the indicated flight speed. It shows flying 70-80 knots but it appears to be flying faster than a 172. Great visual modelling but the performance could be improved substantially. Maybe so few of them were built because they are so easy to crash. It may be that I need to practice with it, but it is definitely not stable in flight. Anyway, could be fun if I can figure it out.

Alienware Aurora R7 * i7-8700 @ 3.2GHz * 32 gb RAM * NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 gb * Samsung EVO 1 TB SSD * Logitech EXTREME 3D PRO * Dual Monitors (1 X 2k + 1 X HD) *Windows 11*. MSFS Premium Edition

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...
The new update to this aircraft has fixed a lot of stuff. Much more stable to fly but still a bit weird in performance. Not sure how it compares to the real thing but it is now flyable.

Alienware Aurora R7 * i7-8700 @ 3.2GHz * 32 gb RAM * NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 gb * Samsung EVO 1 TB SSD * Logitech EXTREME 3D PRO * Dual Monitors (1 X 2k + 1 X HD) *Windows 11*. MSFS Premium Edition

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The new update to this aircraft has fixed a lot of stuff. Much more stable to fly but still a bit weird in performance. Not sure how it compares to the real thing but it is now flyable.

Yes, I saw and downloaded the update a couple of days ago. It's flyable now, but it's still a challenge to land it because once up, it almost refuses to come down. I think you have to fly a landing pattern at 600 ft. order to land it correctly -- without pitching down.

HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have the Optica, but I learned a few tricks from other FS aircraft.

 

When you decide to descend for approach and landing, you could try this: cut the throttle, gain altitude slightly with slight pitch up. This is to reduce airspeed, and you should find the ability to descend. Maintain that attitude, adjust if you need to change airspeed or rate of descent.

 

I notice that weight and balance are very important in the Optica. There's even a ballast weight system. Check the Weights and Balance section of the manual.

 

Landing flaps are 50 degrees... I mean, that SHOULD provide plenty of drag to slow and descend...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you have to fly a landing pattern at 600 ft. order to land it correctly -- without pitching down.

 

Why pitch down at all? Control your rate of descent with your throttle, not your yoke or stick. Need to slow your rate of descent? Then add a bit of throttle. Need to increase sink rate? Then cut throttle but maintain pitch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is really more like a sail plane when you are trying to land. The throttle makes little difference. It just loves to stay in the air.

Alienware Aurora R7 * i7-8700 @ 3.2GHz * 32 gb RAM * NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 gb * Samsung EVO 1 TB SSD * Logitech EXTREME 3D PRO * Dual Monitors (1 X 2k + 1 X HD) *Windows 11*. MSFS Premium Edition

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is really more like a sail plane when you are trying to land. The throttle makes little difference. It just loves to stay in the air.

 

I'm sure they figured it out by now seeing as this thread was from a YEAR AGO!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you decide to descend for approach and landing, you could try this: cut the throttle, gain altitude slightly with slight pitch up. This is to reduce airspeed, and you should find the ability to descend. Maintain that attitude, adjust if you need to change airspeed or rate of descent.

 

Thanks. Pitching up to dump speed is called "mushing." I learned about this technique from Stick and Rudder, a highly recommended primer on the fundamentals of flying. I've used it in various prop planes, which I've flown exclusively to date. I resort to mushing when I'm both too high and too fast on final approach and don't want to go missed and around. Most recently, I have "mushed" the Kodiak and the Icon A5 on final. I'll try it with the ORBX. You can get away with it in MSFS, but I wouldn't want to try it if I were a pilot IRL.

HP Omen 25L Desktop, Intel i7-1070 CPU, 32 GB DDR RAM, Nvidia 3070 GPU, 1 TB SSD, Logitech flight yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, multi-panel, radio panel, TrackIR 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...