AH Curtis Commando Released!

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Just purchased, and downloading now. Too bad I have to wait till late tonight before I can give this bird a try (work is calling, grr)
 
Purchased!

Too bad I have to wait until I get home to download and try it, even then it will probably be tomorrow before I really have time to check it out.
 
Love it!
Had to change viewpoint a bit to match my TrackIr and added a view for the GPS.
Good VC, very good external and nice paints (3 variants: Mil, Civ and Cargo with 2 different VC).
Aircraft seems a bit overpowered since it reaches overspeed very easy - haven´t tried a heavy plane yet.
Now back to next flight...
Cheers, Marc
 
I love the sounds(!) and she flies very nicely - handles like a big plane, but still quite docile/responsive to the controls. I love that you have the equivalent of a Corsair or P-47 strapped to each wing, pulling you along. Perhaps the most tricky aspect is just taxiing to and from the runway - to get it to turn, you need a lot of brakes and a good amount of power at slow speed (and make sure the tail wheel is unlocked!) - getting the hang of the way it handles on the ground, I'm sure I took out a few taxiway lights along the way. Before reading all of the manual, I just took it up and used the typical low-power settings that I know are normal for R-2800's, and it performed all as expected (later, reading more of the manual, the numbers listed to use for the power settings were all nearly identical to what I used/knew to be true for R-2800 operation, so that's always good - usually only the difference of an inch or two of manifold pressure per setting between the various dash numbers of R-2800's).

Here's a few screenshots from a first test flight -

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stovall said:
Saw my first Commando last year at Oshkosh 2016. The sound of the engines is a real experience. I was impressed on just how big this aircraft is. It was in Boeing square very close to a C-47. Two very different aircraft.
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Yeah, Tinker Belle looked great last year in her new coat of paint! It's impressive how big the Commando really is! It is almost identical in size to the Stratoliner, but with two engines. (It makes me wonder how the B-17 would have performed with a pair of 2800s vs four 1820s! There's only around an 800 hp difference.) Seven minutes left on my download.:applause:
 
Some screenshots from a flight around ORBX freeware Barth airport (inspired by one of Carl's fantastic screenshots posts). Having flown both, now, I think I prefer the instrument layout in the civilian/modified panel compared to the original WWII panel, as you get all of the flying instruments right in front of you - really nice!. As always, all screenshots are from FSX.

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John-

Absolutely salivating over these pics, but unable to fly until tomorrow.... especially appreciate your insight into her flight and handling characteristics... I'm planning on Fairbanks - Galena runs in this one... soon!

Best- C
 
anyone want to talk about frame rates on a 3.6 or better CPU? also - is there a difference depending on which panel is used (vc) ?
 
dvj said:
I'm getting nothing but "jaggies" on all the panel lines. Very distracting. I don't see them in your screenshots. So I'm off to adjust graphics card settings. -d
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Did You try 2x SSGS in NVidia Inspector (or more, but x4 or 8 can have FPS hit). Its a good option for this and FSX problems with AA.
 
I'm in the wrong country to even look at this one right now, but it seems, at least, that C-46s were never actually stationed in the UK prior to the end of the war? I know one of the 9th Air Force TC squadrons used them, but that seems to have been based in Italy, before moving to an ALG in newly occupied France, for casualty evacuation duties.

Does anyone know any better?

Look forward to playing with this when I get chance and finances to do so... ;)

Ian P.
 
I say it with a heavy heart, as I would looking forward to this release, but this plane is a bit of a mess. Problems I have found:


  • no functional interior lighting -- the rheostat knobs are there but they don't do anything
  • the warning lights are always on -- stall, engine fire, marker beacon, gear light are always illuminated
  • Engine 1 would never start under the described procedure in the manual while Engine 2 starts first try
  • civilian VC has a panel that floats one foot away from the wall it's supposed to be attached
  • the manual is very bare bones -- it does not even provide a recommended power setting for cruise
  • after finding the recommend cruise power settings in the actual manual, the plane cruises about 30 knots too fast -- at speeds comparable to the L-049
  • the landing light would extend but not illuminate sometimes
  • the vertical speed indicator in the military VC would not measure the actual rate of descent correctly -- 500 FPM was actually 1000 FPM
  • overstressing the engines is inconsequential -- CHT temperatures barely budge above 100 deg C when going 55" MP, 2500 RPM, and 240 KIAS

Now all of this can be fixed, but for $40 I expected a plane that at least had parity with the Manfred Jahn C-47.
 
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