Black Square Baron Steam Gauge Overhaul/RTW Advice requested.

[blanston12]

Does anyone have the Black Square Baron Steam Gauge Overhaul, if so I was wondering what your opinions of it are.

I am considering doing another RTW trip but unlike previous figured I would try to keep it as realistic as possible. Route wise I figure the northern route would be most practical but to be realistic I need to stay out of any countries the US State department has given a level 4/Do Not Travel status to, which means avoiding Russia at all cost. But that makes the stretch from Alaska to Japan the longest leg. Its 1600nm from Northern Japan to Adak Alaska.

So for aircraft, to keep it realistic I need to get a somewhat affordable price, say less than the cost of a house in the SF Bay area, so say 1M$. For such a long flight over water twin engines are essential but turbo props are out. Looking through the twin engine GA aircraft I have in my sim the only aircraft twin piston aircraft that are close to the range are the default DA62 and G58 Baron, but they are both G1000 equipped aircraft, being that new they are probably outside my budget (new G58's go for 1.5m), but though maybe a steam gauge baron could probably be found and equipped with long range fuel tanks for the journey.

So looking around I see the Black Square SGO might be a good candidate for such a trip, if so has anyone any experience with it? Can anyone think of an alternative aircraft that might be good candidate?

So my basic requirements are:
Twin piston engine with a range > 1500nm
Functional autopilot with GSN530 or equivalent.
plausibly purchased by a civilian for not more than 1m USD.

 

[jmig]

I have it and find it enjoyable and realistic. The turbo modle is faster but more finicky in starting. Just be aware that since they are based on the MS model the doors won't open.

Another airplane to consider, if you want more speed is the PC-12. You have two choces. The Carenado model or the Mediterranean guys (SWS) depending how realistic you want to get. The PC-12 is a bit more money, however.

 

[Tom Clayton]

Another one that should fit the bill is the Flysimware C414 Chancellor. According to Wiki, the real thing has a range of just over 1300NM at 10k', but since it's pressurized, you should be able to stretch that at higher altitudes. It has three panel options (quoted from simMarket):

(PANEL 1) Garmin GTX327 / GMA 340 / GNS 530 / ADF C1046A / DME C1077B / COM 2 C1038A / NAV 2 RN-1079A
(PANEL 2) 605 Autopilot / RT859 Transponder / GTN 750Xi (Requires you own TDS GTN750Xi for MSFS)
(PANEL 3) 605 Autopilot / RT859 Transponder / GTN 750 (Requires you own PMS50 GTN750 for MSFS)

I don't have the TDS version of the 750, so I just deleted those entries from the aircraft.cfg - the free version works just fine. The autopilot on the GNS530 panel is an interesting variant, but once you know how to use it (thank you YouTube!), it's easy to work with.

The 750 panel features two of those instruments, with one controlling Com/Nav1 and the other Com/Nav2. On the main displays, I usually fly with one map set for Track Up and the other set for North Up.

My only gripe is that the exterior doesn't use the dynamic registration system, but I was able to combine MSPaint, Paint.net, and Gimp to take my favorite color scheme and add my usual N721TC to the tail.

 

[blanston12]

Thx John and Tom.

I think the PC-12 probalby does not fit my requirements, as a single engine turbprop, where used copies are listed for 3-7m.

\The Cessna 414 is a possibility, the range is a bit short as you say so only east bound route and a good tail wind would be needed. Although maybe I could mod in long range tanks.

I do see that FS2024 will include a Cessna 404 Titan, which wikipedia lists its range at 1,840 nm and i see listed for sale in the 500k range, so if I am willing to wait I could do that.

 

[J.Case]

Question: The DC-3 is out? - with all those steamgauges, ADF and all...?

By the way - Heading westbound will give you more wind from the wrong direction and add to your range problem

 

[mgchrist5]

Looking at the list of available aircraft for MSFS, there don't appear to be many piston twins that fit your requirements besides those already mentioned. The range seems to be the most difficult criteria. A lot of these planes simply don't have the legs to do 1,500nm.

https://msfsaddons.com/2023/11/08/o...tly-available-for-microsoft-flight-simulator/

My one possible alternative suggestion: the COWS Diamond DA-42. It's a well simulated twin diesel with some failure modes implemented, and can have about a 1200nm+ range if flown conservatively. They also cost well under $1m USD. They're G1000 (no GNS530) but do have a GFC700 autopilot. They've flown over 2000nm with ferry tanks installed....which could be simulated with either some easy flight_model.cfg fuel tank mods or cheating by just adding fuel on-the-fly while airborne. Per the article below, real life DA-42s could have been outfitted with optional 78 gallon long range fuel tanks and supplemented with a 26 gallon temporary ferry tank.

As an added realism bonus, it'd probably be easier to fly a Jet-A powered diesel piston like the DA42 around the world, due to the difficulty in obtaining 100LL avgas in many parts of the globe.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

DA42 Twin Star crosses Atlantic non-stop...

...marking the first Atlantic crossing of a diesel powered aircraft!

www.diamondaircraft.com

DA42-VI Ferry Flight to North America - diamondaviators.net

Diamond Aviators Net. On and about Diamond Aircraft.

www.diamondaviators.net

 

[ryanbatc]

Does anyone have the Black Square Baron Steam Gauge Overhaul, if so I was wondering what your opinions of it are.



So my basic requirements are:
Twin piston engine with a range > 1500nm
Functional autopilot with GSN530 or equivalent.
plausibly purchased by a civilian for not more than 1m USD.

How about the Black Square Beech Duke? It's nearly 1500 mi range, and turbocharged. Has panel options similar to the C414 (also an excellent addon).

Untitled-11 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

 

[blanston12]

Question: The DC-3 is out? - with all those steamgauges, ADF and all...?

By the way - Heading westbound will give you more wind from the wrong direction and add to your range problem

Actually I have done RTW's in various DC-3 variants before, but in this case I think its a big large to consider a GA aircraft.

 

[blanston12]

Looking at the list of available aircraft for MSFS, there don't appear to be many piston twins that fit your requirements besides those already mentioned. The range seems to be the most difficult criteria. A lot of these planes simply don't have the legs to do 1,500nm.

https://msfsaddons.com/2023/11/08/o...tly-available-for-microsoft-flight-simulator/

My one possible alternative suggestion: the COWS Diamond DA-42. It's a well simulated twin diesel with some failure modes implemented, and can have about a 1200nm+ range if flown conservatively. They also cost well under $1m USD. They're G1000 (no GNS530) but do have a GFC700 autopilot. They've flown over 2000nm with ferry tanks installed....which could be simulated with either some easy flight_model.cfg fuel tank mods or cheating by just adding fuel on-the-fly while airborne. Per the article below, real life DA-42s could have been outfitted with optional 78 gallon long range fuel tanks and supplemented with a 26 gallon temporary ferry tank.

As an added realism bonus, it'd probably be easier to fly a Jet-A powered diesel piston like the DA42 around the world, due to the difficulty in obtaining 100LL avgas in many parts of the globe.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

DA42 Twin Star crosses Atlantic non-stop...

...marking the first Atlantic crossing of a diesel powered aircraft!

www.diamondaircraft.com

DA42-VI Ferry Flight to North America - diamondaviators.net

Diamond Aviators Net. On and about Diamond Aircraft.

www.diamondaviators.net

Looking at the DA42 it does look like a promising aircraft, and you can see listings for aircraft for sale in the 500k range. Its only that G1000 display that seams too modern for my personal tastes that might hold me back there.

There is a website I find interesting on the subject.

twins.php

www.earthrounders.com

Earthrounders keeps a record of pilots who have done RTW flights and the last three twin engine RTW flights were in DA-42's. So maybe I should keep an open mind about the more modern avionics.

 

[blanston12]

How about the Black Square Beech Duke? It's nearly 1500 mi range, and turbocharged. Has panel options similar to the C414 (also an excellent addon).

Untitled-11 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

The Duke is a possibility, a bit pricier for the sim model and all their talk of "over 130 possible failures' is a bit scary. So I may need to wait till its on sale again if I go that way.

 

[Tom Clayton]

The G1000 suite is actually quite nice once you get used to everything it can do. It essentially puts everything you need to know onto one or two screens, depending on the plane. The sim's version still doesn't do as much as the real thing, but it has come a long way from the original release.

 

[blanston12]

I am considering a G1000 aircraft, I did some looking at RW used Barons for sale and many at the price point I was thinking have been retrofitted with something that looks like a G1000.

I did get the SGO Baron to try it out, of course once I did I though, what happens when 2024 is released, will this update work with the default 2024 baron the way it did with the 2020 baron?

 

[blanston12]

I have selected for this trip the Black Square Baron 58P (Analog gauges, turbo charged). I found a real world 58P Baron listed for sale for 550k so its well within the budget. But I chose it over the other options because of its range and its speed, being significantly faster than the DA-42. I have modified it by adding 50 gallons to the fuel capacity, to simulate a ferry tank.

I am not going to bore you all by posting a diary of the flight, but I did start the first leg, starting in Oakland (KOAK) and flying to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive (KMYF) in San Diego. I started in Oakland as its less than an hours drive from where I live and its where Amelia Earhart started both of her attempts. But I will be going east bound, but will also try to visit a capitol city on each Continent. After working out the route its going to be a distance of 33,754 nm with 63 stops in 32 countries, travelling through United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guyana, Barbados, Sint Maarten, Cuba, United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, United States.

We will see if I have the patience to finish.



Flying out of Oakland (KOAK)