Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'spitfire mk1a'.
Found 4 results
-
Supermarine Spitfire Mk1APublisher: Aeroplane HeavenReview Author: Michael HaywardSuggested Price: $32.95/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.png /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-4.jpgThe Supermarine Spitfire is regardedby many as the aircraft that won the war over the skies of Britainduring WWII. Known for its agile and nimble flying, it closely foughtagainst the Messerschmitt Bf 109 throughout the Battle of Britain andinto France. Aeroplane Heaven has been developing flight simulator add-ons since2001, focusing mainly on WWII military prop aircraft, as well as somegeneral aviation and jetliners. They are well-known for theirhigh-quality models, and this is something they aim to bring toMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2020. The Supermarine Spitfire is one of Aeroplane Heaven's newestreleases for MSFS, and in this review I will be giving my thoughts onhow this iconic aircraft performs. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-2.jpgAircraft SpecificationCrew: 1Length: 29ft 11in (9.12m)Wingspan: 36ft 10in (11.23m)Height: 11ft 5in (3.48m)Empty Weight: 5,065lbs (2,297kg)Maximum Takeoff Weight: 6,700lbs (3,039kg)Powerplant: Rolls-Royce Merlin 45Aircraft PerformanceRange: 479mi (771km, 416nmi) Rate of Climb: 2,600ft/min (13m/s)Service Ceiling: 36,500ft (11,100m)Max Cruising Speed: 320kts (600km/h, 370mph) /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-1.jpgDownload And InstallInstallation from the FlightSim.Com Store is a simpleprocess. After purchase, you download a zip file that contains theaircraft file. Drag and drop this into your Microsoft Flight Simulator'Community' folder and the aircraft is then ready to fly! Included is a 13-page document that goes into detail about thehistory of the Spitfire and some of the missions it flew, as well as adetailed layout of the cockpit and a checklist for you tofollow. There is also a 63-page document including real-worldschematics of the aircraft as well as scans of the original pilotnotes for aerobatics. This is a welcomed addition to this add-on,giving you a lot of insight into the real-world operation of theSpitfire, with detail on its optimum flying state which you can applyto the simulator. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-6.jpgExterior ModelThe model of the Spitfire is incredibly detailed and looks veryclose to that of the real thing. The body of each aircraft also includes some weathering; scuffs andmarks where the airframe has been damaged or hasty repairs have beenmade. The layout on the wings where pilots and crew climb to accessthe cockpit has also been worn down, with paint being replaced withbare metal and dirt. Animations on the aircraft are also really well-defined, with flapsand ailerons moving at a slightly different pace, as well as the delaybetween the two landing gear as they drop and raise. A lot of carehas been put into every detail of this aircraft, making it a joy tolook at when flying. Aeroplane Heaven have also made use of some light crash modellingtoo. If you tip the nose over on landing or forget to lower your gear(as was the case with a few early Spitfire pilots) the propellers willbend out of shape and your engine output will completely drop. It's asmall extra detail, but one that adds increased realism to theaircraft. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-7.jpgThe Spitfire comes with nine different liveries, seven from WWII, amodern restored livery and an unpainted alloy shell. These are alldone to a very high resolution and include a lot of detail across thebody, with panel gaps, rivets, and decals being visible, along withclearly defined text. Cockpit And FunctionalityThe cockpit of the Spitfire was a cramped ordeal, with aircraftsystems and gauges surrounding you. Aeroplane Heaven has accurately recreated the inside of thecockpit, with all switches and levers functional to that of the realthing. The control layout is relatively simple, with your main gaugesin front of you, engine systems to your left and hydraulic managementto your right. You can change the weapon armament between 'Safe' and'Fire', however as far as I can tell, the machine gun is non-functioning. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-3.jpgDuring steep dives in the Spitfire, I have noticed that the gaugestend to lock up. This would be accurate with any light prop aircraft,as a high number of G's will cause the gauges to stick at the lastposition they were at. When on the ground too, the engine vibrationswill also cause the gauges and dials to also shimmer a little. One thing you note with the Spitfire is the speedometer is measuredin Miles Per Hour, as opposed to Knots. This presumably comes before atime when speed units were standardised in aviation, and with theBrits using MPH to measure speed, this became a standard in theSpitfire. Altitude and vertical speed are still measured in feet. Textures are once again done to a very high level of quality andlook great when viewing the gauges up close. The Spitfire was built inbulk and went through some of the toughest flying in its era, so it'swonderful to see that the cockpit was full of minor weatheringimperfections. Some of these included scratches along gauge panels orflakes of paint missing on the levers. This helps in bringing theaircraft to life with minor details that add life to the cockpit. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-5.jpgYou also find smaller details too, such as a working harnessrelease switch that changes the state of your aircraft from the air tothe ground, as well as a detailed cockpit hatch that lets you operateit from two places, the spring release on your left and the canopyopen on your roof. One bonus for those of you lucky enough to own a 3D printer (plus abit of technical knowledge), is a 'build your own' Spitfire enginemanagement system with throttle quadrant, engine boost, trim and gearlever, courtesy of Aeroplane Heaven andAuthentiKit.This is designed to work with the Spitfire to give you the mostauthentic experience possible, it's something I certainly wouldn'tmind trying out for myself in the future! SoundEverybody knows the iconic sound of the Merlin engine, andAeroplane Heaven have it spot on! /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-8.jpgThe first thing I was struck by when loading the aircraft up forthe first time was the wonderful purr of the Rolls Royce Merlin atidle. This only gets better when slowly applying throttle as theSpitfire roars into life. I live reasonably close to an RAF base within the UK whichfrequently gets Spitfire and Hurricane fly-bys during annual events,so I have been fortunate enough to get a good sense of what thisaircraft sounds like. I found myself on a couple of occasions switching over to Drone Camand placing myself on the ground, only to swoop in on my position tohear the engine at full blast as I fly by. Audio for buttons,switches, and mechanical movements such as flaps and gear have alsobeen recorded and implemented, creating a very authentic experiencewhen flying the aircraft. During flight, as you bring the aircraft into a series of dives,the engine will speed up beyond your full-throttle setting and at thesame time start to increase its pitch. It is during this phase offlight that you will hear the iconic Spitfire Merlin roar, somethingusually heard during fly-bys and air shows. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-9.jpgWhen it comes to audio in a flight simulator add-on, it issomething that can make or break a product if done well orpoorly. Aeroplane Heaven has excelled in this, sampling audio from thereal aircraft to accurately recreate the sound from one of the mosticonic aircraft ever made. Flight DynamicsThe Spitfire feels good to fly. It's a nimble little aircraft thatcan get itself out of some tight situations. It only requires lightmovement of the stick to keep the aircraft steady, with biggermovements there for aerial evasion when you find yourself incombat. The Spitfire can also handle relatively steep climbs and sharpdrops, but try not to over speed the airframe as your controls willlock up as the airflow around your flight surfaces become too fast. When taking off, it is advised you leave the flaps up. By droppingthem into the first setting, you had to ensure you were flying atleast 120mph to raise the flaps again, otherwise you risked stallingthe aircraft out. Be sure to only put minor corrections into therudder too, as too much and you'll find yourself drifting to oneside. During my initial flights with the Spitfire, I found myselfleaving the runway and dragging onto the grass - a result of being tooaggressive with the rudder on takeoff. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-10.jpgLanding the Spitfire does take a bit of flight management, as themoment you deploy the flaps you lose all speed, and the aircraftbecomes a lot heavier to manage. I found myself often using fullthrottle to keep myself steady on approaches to minimise the risk ofstalling out before the runway. Opinion And Closing RemarksI must admit, I have been blown away by the Spitfire and how wellit has been recreated in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Aeroplane Heavenhave put a lot of care into this model, and it shows with one of themost realistic prop aircraft experiences I've used on this platform. The Spitfire looks good, feels good and sounds tremendous. It's amodel that's full of life and does a fine job of putting you in thecockpit, or as I found myself constantly doing, sitting on the groundand waiting for it to fly past me. The audio of this aircraft alone issomething worth shouting about. /images/reviews/heavspit/t/aeroplane-heaven-spitfire-11.jpgIf you're looking for a WWII warbird or just have an interest inBritish World War history, then picking up the Spitfire is certainlyworth doing! Even if it's for the in-depth manual and reading materialit comes with, you are sure to learn a lot about the operation of theSpitfire and how pilots managed it throughout the Battle ofBritain. The Technical BitMinimum RequirementsWindows 7, 8, 10Microsoft Flight Simulator V 1.19.8.0 +RAM Minimum 2 + GB RAM (free)Hard drive: 1.85gbReview PC SpecMicrosoft Flight SimulatorWindows 10 ProfessionalAMD Ryzen 5 3600 Processor32GB RAMPalit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro/images/reviews/heavspit/title3.jpgMichael Hayward Purchase Aeroplane Heaven - Supermarine Spitfire Mk1A For MSFS See other MSFS 2020 aircraft from Aeroplane Heaven
-
/images/notams/notams21/heav0527.jpgA new video and exciting news on the Spitfire Mk1A. Recently, we were contacted by IntoTheBlue video productions with arequest to make a preview video of the Spitfire Mk1A. Naturally, we agreed and we have here, a link to the video. Now,this is not a review as the video was made earlier in the developmentwith more features and changes to come. However, what it is is adelightful romp through the Lake District in England and we especiallyliked the airfield beat-up at the end and of course, the very best ofElgar to accompany the pictures. The exciting news is about our collaboration with Authentikit whohave designed a set of unique simulator controls especially for theMk1A Spitfire. These kits are amazingly well-designed and are a verycost-effective way of getting a bespoke set of replica Spitfire flightcontrols for a very small outlay. The video shows you how to go aboutgetting a kit, how to assemble the components and next steps. The Authentikit controls are well-worth checking out. Source MSFS Spitfire From Aeroplane Heaven On Final Aeroplane Heaven Describes Issues With MSFS 2020 Development AuthentiKit Spitfire MkIX Throttle Quadrant Released
-
/images/notams/notams21/heav0322.jpgHere is a wonderful video from Aeroplane Heaven showing how to startthe Merlin engine of their Spitfire Mk1A for MSFS: We are going to trial a form of video manual which will explain thecockpit details, how to operate the controls and take you for a shortintroductory flight. This first one is the Cockpit Guide and how tostart the Merlin engine. We'd be grateful for any feedback on whetheryou think a video manual would be a good idea. Source Aeroplane Heaven Announces Spitfire Mk VB Aeroplane Heaven Offers Further Updates On Spitfire MSFS
-
/images/notams/notams20/heav0911/spitfire-1.jpgAeroplane Heaven has announced that they are bringing a classicwarbird to the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. This will be a totallynew and high definition Spitfire Mk1A, which saw extensiveuse by the RAF during WWII. They also state they are working on a numberof other subjects for MSFS 2020. /images/notams/notams20/heav0911/spitfire-2.jpg /images/notams/notams20/heav0911/spitfire-3.jpgSource
