Alphasim C-17

Hi

I think you should stay away from this one
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As I know Alphasim .. sure the C-17 will be a great plane for aerobatics (just be sure to check the ground crew for secure very well the cargo before I take off :) )
 
I was suckered into buying a half finished aircraft once before from a different builder(not alphasim) and it was never finished to my knowledge . Once bitten twice shy i guess. $62.75 canadian for a model? I am a longtime Alphasim supporter and happy customer but geeezze thats kinda steep IMHO. I can see many passing the C-17 by just on the price alone and this latest offering would have to have some cutting edge improvments over anything they have done in the past to warrent 60+ bucks. I will sit on the fence to see what becomes of this then decide after it is finished if it has a place in my hanger.
 
Wing_Z said:
...I must remember which AI package it was that dropped a bunch of these at EDDF Frankfurt
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Turns out it's a PAI package, the lot from McChord.
They spend a lot of time in Germany and Austria it seems...
And I'm still playing happily with my 300-tonne fighter jet!
 
But can it Fly?

Felixthreeone said:
Anyone care to comment on the flight model? Many Alphasim releases tend to have FDE's that are....'quirky'?
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Righto then...a 45 minute hop from Vienna to Frankfurt to find out.
I filed IFR and flew it as an airliner.
Only...it is much more fun.
It is very manoeuvrable, and quite powerful. On the backtrack to pick up the GPS route, we were at 10,000ft by the time we crossed the runway again.

C171.jpg


Nice thing about flying an airliner-size fighter jet is you can easily fix ILS overshoots: 2,500fpm straight down and you're locked.

C172-1.jpg


It can fly really slowly, so there's no excuse for not putting it down, and stopping, on a dime.

C173.jpg


The answer: Yes it flies. Very nicely.
I'm very happy to have this one in the hangar, lots of pleasure looking at the external model too. (See details like the HUD, in the last picture)
 
I've always loved going to McChord AFB and watching these big birds land and take-off. When I went there I usually sat in the grass at the end of the runway. They're massive. And amazing. The abilities these birds have is inspiring. I swear they could do a knife edge indefinitely. Wouldn't that be a sight.

If I was a hard core, ex-bird-of-nature pilot, I might consider the purchase. But there are plenty of other planes that are freeware. The Boeing B-29B Superfortress for one.

Nice screens though
 
Now I'm really confused.

The shots are great, but I thought it doesn't have any cockpit. Or am I wrong? Is that a 2D cockpit in the pics, and the VC comes later??

--WH
 
OleBoy said:
I've always loved going to McChord AFB and watching these big birds land and take-off. When I went there I usually sat in the grass at the end of the runway. They're massive. And amazing. The abilities these birds have is inspiring. I swear they could do a knife edge indefinitely. Wouldn't that be a sight.
If I was a hard core, ex-bird-of-nature pilot, I might consider the purchase. But there are plenty of other planes that are freeware. The Boeing B-29B Superfortress for one.
Nice screens though
Click to expand...
Thanks Oleboy, what a sight that must be to see them come and go. I saw my first C-17 just recently and was amazed by its size and agility too. One of McDonald Douglas' finest. As to alternatives...

WH: see Post #6 above. The last shot there is of the freeware Gmax Academy external model+panel. I'm using that panel in the ALPHASIM plane, which has NO PANEL. (It aliases the stock B777 which is possibly stretching things a little).

The freeware is 90% as good as the payware so if you're on a tight budget, that's the one for you. I just de-shined the model a little.
 
*****,

Just downloaded and installed the GMAX file in FSX. Can I still use the cockpit in the FSX variant of AS C-17? I know it's generic, but looks cool enough until they release the proper pit.

Matt
 
Alrighty, these aircraft are all about hauling heavy stuff to faraway places.
How about...50 tonnes of hardware, Frankfurt - Tel Aviv?

Absent any better ideas, I used the fuel calculator in the sim, which thought 70,000lbs would do, for a journey of just under 4 hours.
This would be well under MTOW, so I put in 100,000lbs of fuel, and loaded 75 tonnes of Big Stuff.

It climbed out of EDDF at 1500fpm, which I think may be a little optimistic for the weight. We cruised along at 30,000ft admiring the scenery over Turkey en route.

C17fs92009-10-2016-41-12-07.jpg


Then: calamity!
The journey is 1,500 nm so if 4 hours were correct that meant averaging nearly 375 kts.
I wasn't doing anywhere near that, and a quick look at the fuel gauge showed...we were out of fuel.
Luckily in a simulator you can just add a bit while no-one is watching, and hope for an airstart.
I can report that this bird glides serenely.
At 22,000ft I got E1 going, and the others followed.

C17fs92009-10-2016-44-45-03.jpg


A little under five and a half hours after liftoff, and now well into evening, we were cleared into Ben Gurion (Curses! Night screenshot!)

C17fs92009-10-2017-22-12-39.jpg


It becomes clear that for this model to have any meaning, it will need a decent FMC and all that goes with it.
 
Of course there's a video

...uploaded at 1080 so HD and up with the volume, just a quickie.

[YOUTUBE]uRxPr0VoT3M[/YOUTUBE]
 
OK I'll play...
The GMAX Academy's model is too shiny so I deshined it 50%.
Mike Stone model has been supplanted for AI by the excellent PAI model.
I have these flying all over the place.

c17-3.jpg
 
:bump:
Still enjoying this plane, a month and a bit later...
anyone hear anything from Alphasim??

C17-1.jpg
 
AS has sent an email stating cockpit won't be available now until 1st Quarter2010 now and a paintkit coming out this weekend. They have also updated their website link to the C-17, though not the 01 OCT 09 news announcement, to omit the promise of a cockpit within 1-2 months of release, though strange they aren't posting 1stQ 2010 though.

Just wanted to let the forum know the latest.

Matt
 
Thanks Matt
Ah well at least it's not been abandoned.
I have packed it away and will forget about it 'til next year...
 
Charl , I keep i eye out for it every night , just habbit , i ll give ya a yell if they introduce it earlier .
 
It won't even get a look from me unless it has a fully functional VC....and at least SOME systems modeling; My FSD one has been serving me quite well in the 'Basic' category, and for the money Alpha wants for theirs it has to break some ground somewhere. I do feel bad for those who are waiting...but payware developers really shouldn't release until a complete aircraft is ready.
 
Yup, well let's see what comes our way in 2010, it could end up one of their best models yet.
I hope.
And thanks Ian, I knew you're onto it!
 
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