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PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IVPublisher: Just FlightReview Author: Shawn WeigeltSuggested Price: $41.99/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.png /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_24.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_25.jpgIntroductionIt feels so good to be back! Aftertaking a long hiatus from writing reviews for FlightSim.Com and, forthat matter, from flight simulation in general, I am pleased tofinally be "back in the saddle." There is something about thetransition between versions of X-Plane that just kills my enthusiasmfor the hobby. I can't imagine I'm alone with this sentiment. Justwhen I finally felt comfortable with X-Plane 10 and how I had itconfigured to run on my machine, Laminar Research announces X-Plane11! I knew my somewhat antiquated 2011 iMac would never keep up(let's face it, it barely could with X-Plane 10) and there simply wasno computer upgrade in the foreseeable future for the Weigelt family.When X-Plane 11 finally released, I found myself flight simming lessand less until, eventually, months passed by and my joystick andpedals collected dust. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_4.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_5.jpgGood things come to those who wait, however, and I am pleased toannounce that I am now the proud owner of a new iMac and a freshlyinstalled copy of X-Plane 11! With my flight sim enthusiasm newlyrekindled, my good friend, Dom Smith, pointed me in the direction ofthe Just Flight line of aircraft as a possible avenue to get back intothe reviewing "game." To be perfectly candid, my initial reaction wassomething akin to, "who's Just Flight?" Now wait a minute, before youcrucify me in the comments, please remember that I have basically beenliving under a flight simulation rock for the past several months.Apparently, Just Flight is something of a big name in FSX and P3Dcircles and has recently begun developing general aviation airplanesfor X-Plane 11. Most of their XP11 aircraft are based upon theubiquitous Piper PA-28 line of low wing piston singles to include theWarrior, Arrow, and Turbo Arrow models. Not to be of singular focus,Just Flight has also recently released theSocata TB-10 and TB-20as well as the popularCessna 152trainer. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_6.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_7.jpgA quick perusal of Just Flight's X-Plane "hangar" in theFS Pilot Shop was enough to have me drooling. It didn't take long tosettle on the PA-28 Turbo Arrow III/IV as the subject of my firstreview for FlightSim.Com in a long time. My familiarity with highquality airplane add-ons for X-Plane mainly center on some seriousjuggernaut development groups. Let's see if the new-to-me Just Flightdevelopment team and their rendition of the Piper Turbo Arrow measureup to the competition! Sights And SoundsOnce my shiny new Just Flight Turbo Arrow was installed I booted up(does anyone still say that?) X-Plane 11.21r2 and excitedly waited tolay eyes on the airplane. Now let's be honest for a minute...Pipersingles aren't exactly the sexiest general aviation airplanes sittingon the ramp of your local airport. I would wager most people regardthem with little more than a passing glance. The Piper Turbo Arrowis, unfortunately, really no exception in this case. In fact, theTurbo Arrow is little more than a retractable gear, tapered wingCherokee with a blower under the hood. Still, I have a great amountof respect for the tried and true PA-28 line of aircraft that Piperhas been churning out for decades and the Arrow is arguably the bestlooking one of the bunch. Sometimes one can find great beauty inheritage and utility. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_8.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_9.jpgOnce Just Flight's Turbo Arrow finally loaded at my home base (KTIWTacoma Narrows) I immediately switched to an exterior view and beganpanning around the airplane grinning ear to ear. I think I've earneda reputation in my airplane reviews as being a stickler for detail.If a development team makes a mistake with the looks of their productI am more than happy to call them on it. There are far too manypayware airplanes available for X-Plane that simply aren't a goodvisual facsimile of their real world counterparts. It was obviouswith this Turbo Arrow, however, that Just Flight has done theirhomework and has done it well. This model holds up very favorably toscrutiny and the dimensions and proportions look spot on. Theexterior textures and reflective surfaces of the aircraft are simplygorgeous to gaze upon and give this "ho hum" looking Piper someserious ramp appeal. I was pleased to see that Just Flight has essentially included bothmodels of the Piper Turbo Arrow (the conventional tailed III and theT-tail IV) into one package. One is able to go into X-Plane 11'saircraft menu to cycle through the various liveries, which arespecific to either the III or IV aircraft model. Cycling throughliveries also conveniently changes the aircraft model. Just Flighthas included ten beautiful and authentic looking liveries as well as apaint kit for those creative types wanting to "make it their own" orshare their new liveries with others. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_10.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_11.jpgMost of the registrations are for European countries, but there aretwo American ones (to my excitement) and one Australian registeredaircraft. Another way to cycle between paint schemes is by clickingon the tabbed menu at the left hand side of the screen. At the bottomof the pop up menu are the words "CHANGE LIVERY" flanked on eitherside by arrows. Simply clicking on the arrows cycles through the tenavailable paint schemes with their corresponding airplane model(either the III or the IV). My personal favorite is of N3023K, amodel IV T-tail aircraft with simple but attractive red and graystriping over a white base. Switching my view to the interior of the aircraft revealed moreoutstanding texture work and attention to detail displayed thus far bythe Just Flight team. Like similar aircraft add-ons available fromother notable developers, the interior of the Turbo Arrow "feels"truly authentic with a worn appearance offered by the high-resolutiontextures combined with reflections on glass surfaces and gauge faces.The Turbo Arrow III model includes blue interior fabric with a lightgray instrument panel. The Turbo Arrow IV, on the other hand,features brown interior fabric with a light brown panel. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_12.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_13.jpgSince this is a facsimile of a late 70's/early 80's airframe, thedated steam gauge instrument panel featured in the Just Flight TurboArrow accurately reflects the technology of the day. Despite notbeing equipped with the latest in all glass instrumentation, the panelis quite comprehensive and IFR capable with good working models ofantiquated King Nav/Comms, DME, and ADF. I was pleased to see thatthe Turbo Arrow also comes with Piper's archaic Autocontrol IIIBautopilot, which, in a real airplane, only controls the roll axis.Actually reading the included documentation, however, revealed thatclicking on the PIPER logo of the Nav/approach coupler knob allows oneto utilize a very helpful altitude hold feature in the sim. While notexactly "authentic," this hidden feature certainly beats having toconstantly juggle the pitch trim while in cruise and doesn't ruin thecharacter of the instrument panel by integrating a visual toggle thatlooks out of place. The X-Plane rendition of the Garmin GNS 530 GPS above the throttlequadrant is a welcome bit of 21st Century technology for those of uswho prefer GPS navigation to following VOR's. Many real world privatepilots upgrade their aircraft in such a way and it is certainlyplausible to believe that a loving owner upgraded the panel of histired old Turbo Arrow with a GNS 530 to keep his airplane relevant intoday's modern airspace without sacrificing its soul. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_15.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_16.jpgOne of the most helpful features of the Just Flight Turbo Arrow isthe inclusion of the tabbed pop-up menu that I've already brieflymentioned. The developers call this the "Panel selector." Other thanthe ability to quickly swap liveries (and airplane models), the menuoffers a handy host of pictograms that allow the user to performvarious aircraft functions instantly with a simple mouse click. Whilecertainly helpful, not all of the pictograms were necessarilyintuitive (for me at least) and I found myself having to reference theincluded Operations Manual to figure out some of their functions. Mypersonal favorites are the weight and balance menu, the logbook, andthe frame rate saving window reflection and instrument reflectiontoggles. When I finally finished ogling the Just Flight Turbo Arrow (theT-tail model IV with my favorite livery) I was finally ready to gether started up and into X-Plane 11's virtual skies. Setting theweight and balance to my personal specifications for a single pilot, Ifollowed Just Flight's helpful checklist menu and brought the TurboArrow's 200 HP Continental TSIO-360-F to life. If I thought thevisuals of the Just Flight Turbo Arrow were good, the sounds were evenbetter. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_17.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_18.jpgThis is, to date, the best sound package that I have everexperienced from a general aviation airplane for X-Plane. Every"clickable" area of the aircraft seems to have its own sound, whichbeautifully serves to fully immerse the sim pilot in the experience.The engine convincingly roars to life and the wind from the prop seemsto cascade over the airframe. Opening the ventilation window or thedoor convincingly enhances the sound of the wind entering the cockpit.Switching to an exterior view and panning around the aircraft changesthe sound of the running engine when heard from different angles as itwould in real life. Other offerings from some notable developmentteams do this as well, but the sound package in the Just Flight TurboArrow sounds more authentic and less "canned" than some of thecompetition. Flight ModelWith 25 degrees of flaps set and the Just Flight Turbo Arrowrunning and lined up on runway 17 of KTIW, I set the weather tostandard day conditions and insured that there was no wind present. Iknow this is incredibly unrealistic and somewhat cheating, but I liketo establish a good baseline for comparing the simulated model to thereal world performance tables for reviewing purposes. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_19.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_20.jpgWhen I slowly advanced the throttle to takeoff power I was thrilledto hear the high pitch whistle of the turbo kick in to further lendsome realism to this already impressive aircraft file. I immediatelyrealized that the Just Flight Turbo Arrow requires some hefty rightrudder input to overcome torque and I found myself skidding all overthe runway on the takeoff roll, the tires squealing all the while.Eventually I got it straightened out somewhat and eased back on theyoke at around 65 knots. The airplane obediently pitched up andpractically leaped into the sky. This is a bit of the opposite ofwhat I've read about the real world Turbo Arrow's uninspiring takeoffperformance (especially the T-tail Arrow IV), but I had to remindmyself that I had the airplane configured pretty lightly in the weightand balance department. Mindful not to over boost the turbo, Ipitched for 75 knots, raised the landing gear and cleaned up theflaps. Unsurprisingly, the aircraft required constant right rudder inthe climb as we easily surpassed 1000 fpm on the VSI. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_22.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_23.jpgI then took the Just Flight Turbo Arrow IV up to 2000 feet to testthe aircraft's low-level cruise performance. Once I had it trimmedfor pitch and the autopilot set to follow my desired heading, I begantuning the throttle quadrant for 75% power. The provided cruisetables (which essentially look as though they were scanned directlyfrom an actual operating manual) indicated that I could expect around136 knots true with this power setting and altitude. I've read thatPiper has traditionally erred on the conservative side with theirpublished performance numbers and real world pilots were typicallyable to squeeze better-than-book values out of their airplanes. JustFlight's simulated model seems to follow the same paradigm and at 2000feet I was seeing around 140 KTAS. Taking the Turbo Arrow up to 6000feet I was seeing around 148 KTAS with 75% power. I leaned themixture to flow about 12 gph, which isn't exactly stellar fuel economyfor those speeds. Still, this is a simulation of a Piper airplane,not a Mooney! I continued taking the Just Flight Turbo Arrow higher into the airtesting cruise performance and found it to be extremely accurate and alittle better than book numbers. At 10,000 feet (the highest I went)I was able to wring about 160 KTAS out of the airplane. Not bad forwhat is essentially a retractable gear turbocharged Cherokee! Thebeautiful thing about the Turbo Arrow is that the pilot has all 200horses available to him/her all the way up to 12,000 feet and will beable to fully make use of that power in high-density altitudeconditions where having a normally aspirated engine can sometimes be adetriment. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_2.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_3.jpgWhen I was finished with my cruise testing I did a few steep turnsand "played" a little before deciding to head back to the airport. Ifound that keeping the ball centered on the turn coordinator was a bitmore challenging than I'm used to with other aircraft available forX-Plane. Not being a real pilot I'm unsure if this makes JustFlight's Turbo Arrow more or less realistic than some of itscompetitors. Once established on a long 10 mile final for runway 17 at KTIW, Ilowered the landing gear and smiled as the wind noise increased andthe airplane slowed down considerably. This feels so real! JustFlight's Turbo Arrow is all kinds of "draggy" once I lowered the flapsto 25 degrees and even worse with full flaps on short final. Intruth, I probably hung the flaps out too early and ended up draggingthe aircraft in with power. I made another huge mistake and basicallychopped the power when I crossed the threshold. Let me tell you thatthis is NOT how one ought to land a Piper single! The aircraft almostimmediately decided it was completely done flying and unceremoniouslyplopped onto the runway. Angry with myself and obviously out ofpractice I cleaned up the flaps, added full power, and went airborne,determined to try again. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_26.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_27.jpgI'm pleased to report that my second landing was significantlybetter but it was obvious that this would take some practice tomaster. I have found the best technique is to carry a little powerinto the flare and gradually let it out while holding the nose up. Itis also okay to be a little fast on final as well. The speed bleedsoff very quickly in the flare and you definitely won't be floating inground effect for too long. The published Vso in the Turbo Arrow is asurprising 61 knots, which is considerably faster than that of theCessna 172 I usually tool around X-Plane's skies with. Overall I came away extremely impressed with the Just Flight TurboArrow's flight model and found it to be extremely accurate whencompared with the provided real world documentation and the real lifeaccounts of Turbo Arrow pilots I've found through my own personalresearch. ConclusionOwning the Just Flight PA28R Turbo Arrow III/VI for X-Plane 11 isan absolute joy and, in my opinion, represents one of the very best"study" level simulations of a piston single available for the sim.The visuals are stunning and spot on accurate. The sound files are anaudio masterpiece and definitely served to suck me into theexperience. I love the user interface with the tabbed menu and thesmooth functioning animations and plethora of features Just Flight hasincluded here. In fact, I have really only scratched the surface byhighlighting just a few of the exceptional features the developershave packed into this airplane. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_28.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_29.jpgI believe that one of the best ways a development team such as JustFlight can make their product stand out is with the inclusion of aprofessionally laid out and comprehensive documentation folder packedwithin the file. Just Flight has included two very impressive PDF'swith the Turbo Arrow. One of them is titled "Operations Manual," andserves to basically describe the real world airplane and help the userunderstand every detail of how their product functions and how it isto be used in X-Plane 11. The second PDF is titled "Operating DataManual," and includes documentation and performance tables taken froma real world Turbo Arrow. I really appreciate this particular file,as I like to fly my simulated airplanes "by the book." Perhaps thebest feature of the two included PDF's is that all of the pages havebeen book-marked and given headings in the left hand margin so thatthe user can quickly find what they are looking for with a mouse clickrather than by scrolling though the pages aimlessly. Bravo, JustFlight...bravo. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_30.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_31.jpgMy only real criticism of the Just Flight Piper Turbo Arrow is thatit is quite resource demanding. As I've mentioned, I now have arelatively new iMac but even with no clouds I was seeing frame ratesin the mid twenties. Granted, I have X-Plane 11 looking pretty goodon my computer and don't exactly have the rendering options turneddown all the way, but the natural consequence for the extreme amountof visual fidelity with this airplane is a frame rate penalty. Istill have some tweaking to do to get my copy of the Just Flight TurboArrow performing the way I'd like it to on my machine. Needless tosay, however, if you have an older machine with a lower end processorand graphics card you may want to steer clear of this file. Asalways, please make sure your computer meets the minimum systemrequirements before making your purchase. Speaking of purchase, the Just Flight PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV ispriced competitively at $41.99 USD in the fspilotshop. Some may findthis to be a little steep, but please consider what you are gettingfor your money. You're essentially getting two ultra high-resolution,high visual and audio fidelity airplane models with ten gorgeousliveries between them. Further, you are getting unparalleled aircraftsystems and functionality with a super realistic flight model. Thisisn't a "plug and play" aircraft model...this is a true simulatedPiper Turbo Arrow and is possibly one of the finest general aviationpiston singles currently available for X-Plane 11. Sure, there areother great looking and sounding files out there that offer goodflight mechanics at a lower price point than this file. You won't,however, get the same feature set and systems fidelity from thoseairplanes without spending more money to upgrade them. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_32.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_33.jpgSo, if you're anything like me and general aviation piston singlesare your thing, and if you have a machine that can handle it, the JustFlight PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV is definitely an airplane you're goingto want to get. Considering that real one will set you back at least$60K, you should view $41.99 for the X-Plane version money well spent!It is definitely the next best thing! /images/notams/notams17/turb1223/turb1223.jpgShawn Weigelt Purchase Just Flight - PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV for X-Plane

PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IVPublisher: Just FlightReview Author: Shawn WeigeltSuggested Price: $41.99/images/fsc/wbicons/pilot-shop-buy.png /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_24.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_25.jpgIntroductionIt feels so good to be back! Aftertaking a long hiatus from writing reviews for FlightSim.Com and, forthat matter, from flight simulation in general, I am pleased tofinally be "back in the saddle." There is something about thetransition between versions of X-Plane that just kills my enthusiasmfor the hobby. I can't imagine I'm alone with this sentiment. Justwhen I finally felt comfortable with X-Plane 10 and how I had itconfigured to run on my machine, Laminar Research announces X-Plane11! I knew my somewhat antiquated 2011 iMac would never keep up(let's face it, it barely could with X-Plane 10) and there simply wasno computer upgrade in the foreseeable future for the Weigelt family.When X-Plane 11 finally released, I found myself flight simming lessand less until, eventually, months passed by and my joystick andpedals collected dust. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_4.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_5.jpgGood things come to those who wait, however, and I am pleased toannounce that I am now the proud owner of a new iMac and a freshlyinstalled copy of X-Plane 11! With my flight sim enthusiasm newlyrekindled, my good friend, Dom Smith, pointed me in the direction ofthe Just Flight line of aircraft as a possible avenue to get back intothe reviewing "game." To be perfectly candid, my initial reaction wassomething akin to, "who's Just Flight?" Now wait a minute, before youcrucify me in the comments, please remember that I have basically beenliving under a flight simulation rock for the past several months.Apparently, Just Flight is something of a big name in FSX and P3Dcircles and has recently begun developing general aviation airplanesfor X-Plane 11. Most of their XP11 aircraft are based upon theubiquitous Piper PA-28 line of low wing piston singles to include theWarrior, Arrow, and Turbo Arrow models. Not to be of singular focus,Just Flight has also recently released theSocata TB-10 and TB-20as well as the popularCessna 152trainer. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_6.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_7.jpgA quick perusal of Just Flight's X-Plane "hangar" in theFS Pilot Shop was enough to have me drooling. It didn't take long tosettle on the PA-28 Turbo Arrow III/IV as the subject of my firstreview for FlightSim.Com in a long time. My familiarity with highquality airplane add-ons for X-Plane mainly center on some seriousjuggernaut development groups. Let's see if the new-to-me Just Flightdevelopment team and their rendition of the Piper Turbo Arrow measureup to the competition! Sights And SoundsOnce my shiny new Just Flight Turbo Arrow was installed I booted up(does anyone still say that?) X-Plane 11.21r2 and excitedly waited tolay eyes on the airplane. Now let's be honest for a minute...Pipersingles aren't exactly the sexiest general aviation airplanes sittingon the ramp of your local airport. I would wager most people regardthem with little more than a passing glance. The Piper Turbo Arrowis, unfortunately, really no exception in this case. In fact, theTurbo Arrow is little more than a retractable gear, tapered wingCherokee with a blower under the hood. Still, I have a great amountof respect for the tried and true PA-28 line of aircraft that Piperhas been churning out for decades and the Arrow is arguably the bestlooking one of the bunch. Sometimes one can find great beauty inheritage and utility. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_8.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_9.jpgOnce Just Flight's Turbo Arrow finally loaded at my home base (KTIWTacoma Narrows) I immediately switched to an exterior view and beganpanning around the airplane grinning ear to ear. I think I've earneda reputation in my airplane reviews as being a stickler for detail.If a development team makes a mistake with the looks of their productI am more than happy to call them on it. There are far too manypayware airplanes available for X-Plane that simply aren't a goodvisual facsimile of their real world counterparts. It was obviouswith this Turbo Arrow, however, that Just Flight has done theirhomework and has done it well. This model holds up very favorably toscrutiny and the dimensions and proportions look spot on. Theexterior textures and reflective surfaces of the aircraft are simplygorgeous to gaze upon and give this "ho hum" looking Piper someserious ramp appeal. I was pleased to see that Just Flight has essentially included bothmodels of the Piper Turbo Arrow (the conventional tailed III and theT-tail IV) into one package. One is able to go into X-Plane 11'saircraft menu to cycle through the various liveries, which arespecific to either the III or IV aircraft model. Cycling throughliveries also conveniently changes the aircraft model. Just Flighthas included ten beautiful and authentic looking liveries as well as apaint kit for those creative types wanting to "make it their own" orshare their new liveries with others. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_10.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_11.jpgMost of the registrations are for European countries, but there aretwo American ones (to my excitement) and one Australian registeredaircraft. Another way to cycle between paint schemes is by clickingon the tabbed menu at the left hand side of the screen. At the bottomof the pop up menu are the words "CHANGE LIVERY" flanked on eitherside by arrows. Simply clicking on the arrows cycles through the tenavailable paint schemes with their corresponding airplane model(either the III or the IV). My personal favorite is of N3023K, amodel IV T-tail aircraft with simple but attractive red and graystriping over a white base. Switching my view to the interior of the aircraft revealed moreoutstanding texture work and attention to detail displayed thus far bythe Just Flight team. Like similar aircraft add-ons available fromother notable developers, the interior of the Turbo Arrow "feels"truly authentic with a worn appearance offered by the high-resolutiontextures combined with reflections on glass surfaces and gauge faces.The Turbo Arrow III model includes blue interior fabric with a lightgray instrument panel. The Turbo Arrow IV, on the other hand,features brown interior fabric with a light brown panel. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_12.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_13.jpgSince this is a facsimile of a late 70's/early 80's airframe, thedated steam gauge instrument panel featured in the Just Flight TurboArrow accurately reflects the technology of the day. Despite notbeing equipped with the latest in all glass instrumentation, the panelis quite comprehensive and IFR capable with good working models ofantiquated King Nav/Comms, DME, and ADF. I was pleased to see thatthe Turbo Arrow also comes with Piper's archaic Autocontrol IIIBautopilot, which, in a real airplane, only controls the roll axis.Actually reading the included documentation, however, revealed thatclicking on the PIPER logo of the Nav/approach coupler knob allows oneto utilize a very helpful altitude hold feature in the sim. While notexactly "authentic," this hidden feature certainly beats having toconstantly juggle the pitch trim while in cruise and doesn't ruin thecharacter of the instrument panel by integrating a visual toggle thatlooks out of place. The X-Plane rendition of the Garmin GNS 530 GPS above the throttlequadrant is a welcome bit of 21st Century technology for those of uswho prefer GPS navigation to following VOR's. Many real world privatepilots upgrade their aircraft in such a way and it is certainlyplausible to believe that a loving owner upgraded the panel of histired old Turbo Arrow with a GNS 530 to keep his airplane relevant intoday's modern airspace without sacrificing its soul. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_15.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_16.jpgOne of the most helpful features of the Just Flight Turbo Arrow isthe inclusion of the tabbed pop-up menu that I've already brieflymentioned. The developers call this the "Panel selector." Other thanthe ability to quickly swap liveries (and airplane models), the menuoffers a handy host of pictograms that allow the user to performvarious aircraft functions instantly with a simple mouse click. Whilecertainly helpful, not all of the pictograms were necessarilyintuitive (for me at least) and I found myself having to reference theincluded Operations Manual to figure out some of their functions. Mypersonal favorites are the weight and balance menu, the logbook, andthe frame rate saving window reflection and instrument reflectiontoggles. When I finally finished ogling the Just Flight Turbo Arrow (theT-tail model IV with my favorite livery) I was finally ready to gether started up and into X-Plane 11's virtual skies. Setting theweight and balance to my personal specifications for a single pilot, Ifollowed Just Flight's helpful checklist menu and brought the TurboArrow's 200 HP Continental TSIO-360-F to life. If I thought thevisuals of the Just Flight Turbo Arrow were good, the sounds were evenbetter. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_17.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_18.jpgThis is, to date, the best sound package that I have everexperienced from a general aviation airplane for X-Plane. Every"clickable" area of the aircraft seems to have its own sound, whichbeautifully serves to fully immerse the sim pilot in the experience.The engine convincingly roars to life and the wind from the prop seemsto cascade over the airframe. Opening the ventilation window or thedoor convincingly enhances the sound of the wind entering the cockpit.Switching to an exterior view and panning around the aircraft changesthe sound of the running engine when heard from different angles as itwould in real life. Other offerings from some notable developmentteams do this as well, but the sound package in the Just Flight TurboArrow sounds more authentic and less "canned" than some of thecompetition. Flight ModelWith 25 degrees of flaps set and the Just Flight Turbo Arrowrunning and lined up on runway 17 of KTIW, I set the weather tostandard day conditions and insured that there was no wind present. Iknow this is incredibly unrealistic and somewhat cheating, but I liketo establish a good baseline for comparing the simulated model to thereal world performance tables for reviewing purposes. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_19.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_20.jpgWhen I slowly advanced the throttle to takeoff power I was thrilledto hear the high pitch whistle of the turbo kick in to further lendsome realism to this already impressive aircraft file. I immediatelyrealized that the Just Flight Turbo Arrow requires some hefty rightrudder input to overcome torque and I found myself skidding all overthe runway on the takeoff roll, the tires squealing all the while.Eventually I got it straightened out somewhat and eased back on theyoke at around 65 knots. The airplane obediently pitched up andpractically leaped into the sky. This is a bit of the opposite ofwhat I've read about the real world Turbo Arrow's uninspiring takeoffperformance (especially the T-tail Arrow IV), but I had to remindmyself that I had the airplane configured pretty lightly in the weightand balance department. Mindful not to over boost the turbo, Ipitched for 75 knots, raised the landing gear and cleaned up theflaps. Unsurprisingly, the aircraft required constant right rudder inthe climb as we easily surpassed 1000 fpm on the VSI. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_22.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_23.jpgI then took the Just Flight Turbo Arrow IV up to 2000 feet to testthe aircraft's low-level cruise performance. Once I had it trimmedfor pitch and the autopilot set to follow my desired heading, I begantuning the throttle quadrant for 75% power. The provided cruisetables (which essentially look as though they were scanned directlyfrom an actual operating manual) indicated that I could expect around136 knots true with this power setting and altitude. I've read thatPiper has traditionally erred on the conservative side with theirpublished performance numbers and real world pilots were typicallyable to squeeze better-than-book values out of their airplanes. JustFlight's simulated model seems to follow the same paradigm and at 2000feet I was seeing around 140 KTAS. Taking the Turbo Arrow up to 6000feet I was seeing around 148 KTAS with 75% power. I leaned themixture to flow about 12 gph, which isn't exactly stellar fuel economyfor those speeds. Still, this is a simulation of a Piper airplane,not a Mooney! I continued taking the Just Flight Turbo Arrow higher into the airtesting cruise performance and found it to be extremely accurate and alittle better than book numbers. At 10,000 feet (the highest I went)I was able to wring about 160 KTAS out of the airplane. Not bad forwhat is essentially a retractable gear turbocharged Cherokee! Thebeautiful thing about the Turbo Arrow is that the pilot has all 200horses available to him/her all the way up to 12,000 feet and will beable to fully make use of that power in high-density altitudeconditions where having a normally aspirated engine can sometimes be adetriment. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_2.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_3.jpgWhen I was finished with my cruise testing I did a few steep turnsand "played" a little before deciding to head back to the airport. Ifound that keeping the ball centered on the turn coordinator was a bitmore challenging than I'm used to with other aircraft available forX-Plane. Not being a real pilot I'm unsure if this makes JustFlight's Turbo Arrow more or less realistic than some of itscompetitors. Once established on a long 10 mile final for runway 17 at KTIW, Ilowered the landing gear and smiled as the wind noise increased andthe airplane slowed down considerably. This feels so real! JustFlight's Turbo Arrow is all kinds of "draggy" once I lowered the flapsto 25 degrees and even worse with full flaps on short final. Intruth, I probably hung the flaps out too early and ended up draggingthe aircraft in with power. I made another huge mistake and basicallychopped the power when I crossed the threshold. Let me tell you thatthis is NOT how one ought to land a Piper single! The aircraft almostimmediately decided it was completely done flying and unceremoniouslyplopped onto the runway. Angry with myself and obviously out ofpractice I cleaned up the flaps, added full power, and went airborne,determined to try again. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_26.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_27.jpgI'm pleased to report that my second landing was significantlybetter but it was obvious that this would take some practice tomaster. I have found the best technique is to carry a little powerinto the flare and gradually let it out while holding the nose up. Itis also okay to be a little fast on final as well. The speed bleedsoff very quickly in the flare and you definitely won't be floating inground effect for too long. The published Vso in the Turbo Arrow is asurprising 61 knots, which is considerably faster than that of theCessna 172 I usually tool around X-Plane's skies with. Overall I came away extremely impressed with the Just Flight TurboArrow's flight model and found it to be extremely accurate whencompared with the provided real world documentation and the real lifeaccounts of Turbo Arrow pilots I've found through my own personalresearch. ConclusionOwning the Just Flight PA28R Turbo Arrow III/VI for X-Plane 11 isan absolute joy and, in my opinion, represents one of the very best"study" level simulations of a piston single available for the sim.The visuals are stunning and spot on accurate. The sound files are anaudio masterpiece and definitely served to suck me into theexperience. I love the user interface with the tabbed menu and thesmooth functioning animations and plethora of features Just Flight hasincluded here. In fact, I have really only scratched the surface byhighlighting just a few of the exceptional features the developershave packed into this airplane. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_28.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_29.jpgI believe that one of the best ways a development team such as JustFlight can make their product stand out is with the inclusion of aprofessionally laid out and comprehensive documentation folder packedwithin the file. Just Flight has included two very impressive PDF'swith the Turbo Arrow. One of them is titled "Operations Manual," andserves to basically describe the real world airplane and help the userunderstand every detail of how their product functions and how it isto be used in X-Plane 11. The second PDF is titled "Operating DataManual," and includes documentation and performance tables taken froma real world Turbo Arrow. I really appreciate this particular file,as I like to fly my simulated airplanes "by the book." Perhaps thebest feature of the two included PDF's is that all of the pages havebeen book-marked and given headings in the left hand margin so thatthe user can quickly find what they are looking for with a mouse clickrather than by scrolling though the pages aimlessly. Bravo, JustFlight...bravo. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_30.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_31.jpgMy only real criticism of the Just Flight Piper Turbo Arrow is thatit is quite resource demanding. As I've mentioned, I now have arelatively new iMac but even with no clouds I was seeing frame ratesin the mid twenties. Granted, I have X-Plane 11 looking pretty goodon my computer and don't exactly have the rendering options turneddown all the way, but the natural consequence for the extreme amountof visual fidelity with this airplane is a frame rate penalty. Istill have some tweaking to do to get my copy of the Just Flight TurboArrow performing the way I'd like it to on my machine. Needless tosay, however, if you have an older machine with a lower end processorand graphics card you may want to steer clear of this file. Asalways, please make sure your computer meets the minimum systemrequirements before making your purchase. Speaking of purchase, the Just Flight PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV ispriced competitively at $41.99 USD in the fspilotshop. Some may findthis to be a little steep, but please consider what you are gettingfor your money. You're essentially getting two ultra high-resolution,high visual and audio fidelity airplane models with ten gorgeousliveries between them. Further, you are getting unparalleled aircraftsystems and functionality with a super realistic flight model. Thisisn't a "plug and play" aircraft model...this is a true simulatedPiper Turbo Arrow and is possibly one of the finest general aviationpiston singles currently available for X-Plane 11. Sure, there areother great looking and sounding files out there that offer goodflight mechanics at a lower price point than this file. You won't,however, get the same feature set and systems fidelity from thoseairplanes without spending more money to upgrade them. /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_32.jpg /images/reviews/turboarr/t/jf_pa28_turbo_arrow_33.jpgSo, if you're anything like me and general aviation piston singlesare your thing, and if you have a machine that can handle it, the JustFlight PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV is definitely an airplane you're goingto want to get. Considering that real one will set you back at least$60K, you should view $41.99 for the X-Plane version money well spent!It is definitely the next best thing! /images/notams/notams17/turb1223/turb1223.jpgShawn Weigelt Purchase Just Flight - PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV for X-Plane