Search the archive:
YaBB - Yet another Bulletin Board
 
   
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
Acrobatic Review - RealAir SIAI Marchetti SF.260 (Read 892 times)
Aug 7th, 2004 at 9:35pm

SaVas   Offline
Colonel
KSTL Home
St. Louis, MO

Gender: male
Posts: 2632
*****
 
THIS WILL REMAIN A STICKY FOR THE WEEK
August Review

Its been a while since I had the time to sit down and type out a review of one of my payware aircraft. Luckily, I had a break this weekend from corporate America....a long needed break!

So without any more waiting. I give you the

RealAir SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (clickable for link)


Overall, this is a fun, albeit touchy little critter. Gentle on the stick, or you find yourself with ain airsick bag, especially when using Active Camera 2004 by AntiCyclonE. This is definitely a fun and detailed little plane and I chose an appropriate color scheme (a repaint found on another site)  for having some summer fun. Reminiscent of the American USAF Thunderbirds, this paint is colorful, crisp, and exciting. (Yes I know. A European livery in Washington state...I like this repaint so neer neer)

...

For my afternoon in RealAir's gem, I chose my payware landingstrip - Strom in Washington state. Little did I know, it would be overcast and a bit windy, but otherwise, safe for having a creative flight.

The 2D panel is clear, easy to read, and fully functional.

...

The VC is also very well done, clean, and with little blur of the instruments, or any cockpit writing/instructions. Its as I would expect a decent payware aircraft to be. It too is fully functional, with working switches, guages, and cockpit sounds. I will touch on the sound file in a bit.

...



The RealAir SIAI Marchetti SF.260 taxiing down the runway (screen shot taken using external view of Active Camera 2004). As you can see, this plane is very well detailed.

...

Taking off, I turned the wing smoke on for those around Strom, letting the populace know they were in for a treat. The sky was overcast, which helped make the smoke stand out...thankfully there was no precipitation.

...

I flew the plane making a pass of Strom, and began the show. A number of barrel rolls at cruising speed, and I knew those that were watching would have their jaws dropping onto the floor. Eyes glued on me...

...

To be continued in the next post....
 

My life is like the movie Office Space
IP Logged
 
Reply #1 - Aug 7th, 2004 at 10:06pm

SaVas   Offline
Colonel
KSTL Home
St. Louis, MO

Gender: male
Posts: 2632
*****
 
Part 2

So after a pass of Strom, I inverted the bird and looked up to the ground and down to the sky. As you once again can see, the detail and coloration is very well done and not blurry at all. Default the plane comes with several color schemes. Some miltary, some civilian, giving the user some choices, but I really like this repaint, so it is my personal choice for the review.

...

Upward I go, still upside down. Weeeeeeeeeeee. I feel like Fozzer! I hope I do him proud.

...

Acrobatically, this plane is fairly easy to fly, given a little time. You have to get up a lot of speed to male a loop, otherwise a stall is imminent. You are my witness...I didn't stall Grin

...

So after a couple of hours giving my blood pressure a hard time, it was time to come in. Besides, the wind had picked up and I was getting caught in the crosswinds.

...

Safely landed, I shut her off, and prepared her for hangar duty until the next time she would be spreading her wings.


...


So, what do I think about the RealAir SIAI Marchetti SF.260?

Its wonderful and very well done. The best part oddly enough is the sound file. From the whine of the engine, to the canopy open/close sounds, the creaks and rumbles of the fuselage when feeding her full throttle down the runway, etc, it really adds to the realism.

Detail as I have stated is focused, and very little blur to distract from your enjoyment of panning around the aircraft. The exhaust and oil residue on the undercarriage, and dirt around the rivets, gives you a sense of realistic photo like skins.

Interior is well done, and there is reflection on the cockpit glass. The pilot is done nicely, though I have seen better (Carenado Mentor is a good example).

Flight characteristics take some getting used to. As mentioned before, shes a touchy gem. No need to slam the stick to get her to bank. Be gentle and she rewards you with fluid banks and rolls. Remember if you want to do a loop, get that speed up.

Now for the rating on a scale of 1 - 10. Remember I am not a pilot, so if you have flown one of these in real life, you could disagree, but for the record, this is in light of simming only

1 Being a horrible waste of time (I hope I never have to give a 1 on any review)

10 being perfection in the eyes of a non pilot flight simmer.

Sound: 10 - Its incredible. Really it is.

2D Panel: 8 - It looks great, but really hard for me to give a 10 to anything.

VC: 9 - With the sound file, its immersive. Reflections on the canopy glass, and functional switches abound.

Exterior: 9 - From the screen shots perhaps you might agree. Without sounding repetitive, its crisp, clean, reflective, and very well done. (repaint)

Exterior (default paints from RealAir not shown): 9 - All are great and like the repaint, very crisp.

Value for the Money: 7 - Cost is $25.00 from the website. Why a 7? Because it might be detailed, but I like eye candy. I enjoy opening engine compartments, and other misc well thought out details not often found in most payware.

Overall: 8 - It is a good buy. A lot of fun to fly, and worth the $25.00 if you are looking for something acrobatic instead of the normal planes. If you are not very interested in acrobatic planes, or small props, maybe pass on this one, otherwise, give it a go. I don't think you will be disappointed.

---Stephen

The Simviation Payware Addict







 

My life is like the movie Office Space
IP Logged
 
Reply #2 - Aug 7th, 2004 at 10:43pm

Fly2e   Offline
Global Moderator
It's 5 O'clock Somewhere!
KFRG

Gender: male
Posts: 199132
*****
 
Absolutely Intense Stephen!!!
That is Why you are the Payware Mod!!!!!  Grin
Great review for anybody who is "debating" on weather to buy it or not.................
Are You crossing' or what,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?


"Keep the candles lit and the fires burning down down here Stephen!
If they get restless,  we have some high octane Columbian bean in the back....Just add a little Sambucha ...  8)
I think this place is for a few of us,...  24/7

For some of You 4:20!!


Dave......  8)   
 

Intel Core i7 Extreme Processor 965, 4.2GHz/8MB L3 Cache, Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Intel X58 Chipset Cross
Fire & SLI Supported, Mushkin Redline 6GB (3X2GB) Memory, eVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285, Vista 64.

...

IP Logged
 
Reply #3 - Aug 8th, 2004 at 12:43pm

SaVas   Offline
Colonel
KSTL Home
St. Louis, MO

Gender: male
Posts: 2632
*****
 
Thanks Dave!

as for 4:20, as Salvador Dali once said.

"I don't do drugs....I AM drugs"

Shocked

Though admittedly I went through 7 years of college, and its a blur  Grin


Also if you have any questions about the aircraft I review in teh Payware forum, don't hesitate to ask. If I know the answer, I'll let you know

(just make sure its not in correlation to to the real aircraft, because I am not a pilot)

----Stephen
 

My life is like the movie Office Space
IP Logged
 
Reply #4 - Aug 8th, 2004 at 2:18pm

scorpionbruno   Offline
Colonel
Never Fly Alone
Somewhere in Heaven

Gender: male
Posts: 45
*****
 
I also have this plane , and I must say it fly's like a charm.

I use the Belgian camouflage livery, with the Shark nose , because I'm a Belgian.

The review is well done , and I must say you must be very easy on the stick otherwise the plane handles you.
 
IP Logged
 
Reply #5 - Aug 9th, 2004 at 6:39pm

JBaymore   Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender: male
Posts: 10261
*****
 
Nice job of writing + photos, Savas.  Thanks.

best,

...............john
 

... ...Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M,  Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit
IP Logged
 
Reply #6 - Aug 14th, 2004 at 7:07pm

SaVas   Offline
Colonel
KSTL Home
St. Louis, MO

Gender: male
Posts: 2632
*****
 
I very much appreciate the comments Smiley

---Stephen
 

My life is like the movie Office Space
IP Logged
 
Reply #7 - Aug 15th, 2004 at 9:09pm

jrpilot   Offline
Colonel

Gender: male
Posts: 2255
*****
 
Nice shots SaVas...you must spend a few dolars..or Euros whatever it may be on payware..but as long as your happy
 
IP Logged
 
Reply #8 - Aug 15th, 2004 at 10:04pm

SaVas   Offline
Colonel
KSTL Home
St. Louis, MO

Gender: male
Posts: 2632
*****
 
Quote:
Nice shots SaVas...you must spend a few dolars..or Euros whatever it may be on payware..but as long as your happy



US Dollahs my friend Smiley

And yes, I spend a few bucks, but overall I tend to like the detail in payware aircraft hence my spending sprees. Granted there are a number of wonderful payware, but its a catch 22. Some I like, some I don't *smiles*
 

My life is like the movie Office Space
IP Logged
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print