Hi guys
So I know It's a little cheesy just getting on a forum and posting reviews, but I promised JustFlight that I'd post these reviews at all the sites I can. If it's not ok, just let me know please admins
Anyway, this way the members here get some info on a product, so.... :p
R44 from JustFlight releasedBrief details-
FS9 AND FSX Acceleration/SP2 compatible
3 Variants
98MB file size
AeroPaint, AeroFace, and AeroLoad programs
221 variations total
Overview-
The R44 is a light helicopter which has been used for general aviation, news, and police purposes. It struck me that this is exactly the type of heli you'd see launching off the deck of a cruise ship; it has the air of power and luxury due to its sleek design. The R44 is a worthy addition to the JustFlight Flying Club, which specializes in 'family' aircraft; great detail, fun, and easy to fly.
Exterior-
Really an excellent portrayal; the detail extends right down to the slots for the ground maneuvering wheels and includes pivoting/tilting rotors and superbly animated pilots. You can even read the instructions on the fuel tank cap; unparalleled Aside from that, the main and tail rotor assemblies and associated metalwork is highly accurate and very realistic. The view into the VC is superb, too. If the doors are opened, the pilot actually opens his, and I've never seen such a precise animation. Meanwhile, both copilot and pilot look around, while in flight and on the ground. One other thing I noticed is the detail on the shoes; you can actually see the treads Also, you can click the button labeled 'P', to turn on the Park Animations. This empties the cockpit, places maneuvering wheels in their slots, and places red warning streamers; meanwhile, the rotors literally sway in the breeze.
Interior-
Well, this helicopter isn't shallow, it has beauty inside too. My first impression was basically, 'Wow, where'd my computer screen go' Well, not quite, but you get my point. One thing that always sticks out for me are the seats; they look just like real leather. Also, the copilot is handsomely portrayed. In my experience, most designers usually degrade from the overall feel of the cockpit by putting in a half-baked, blocky ET copilot. JustFlight's, however, is a middle-aged man in blue shirt, grey trousers, and pointy shoes. I personally don't like the 'back-seat' heli pilots, but this guy keeps his opinions to himself, and I haven't had to fly solo yet. Wait, you can fly solo? Yes indeed, JustFlight's commitment to realism extends even to the cyclic. In the real R44, you can remove the left side part of the cyclic and the left hand pedals. However, the copilot stays. Also, you can hide the whole cyclic for better visibility. I found the gauges a bit difficult to read, and you need to zoom in, or Shift-Z. However, it's realistic, but it would be nice if JustFlight provided this in an alternate form, perhaps a pop-up panel at the bottom of the screen.
One thing I dislike about default aircraft is that switches that aren't clickable are often given poor representation. However, on the R44, bothworking and nonworking switches are given equal representation, but don't let that make you think that thereare a lot of non-functioning switches in the VC. Even the passengers show up if you set them in the Aero tools. All these features getting you worked up? Well, feel free to click on the small panel on the door, which will open right up for you so you can let off some steam. I cannot say enough good about this VC, and it show FSX at its full height and glory. Plus, it's not deadly to frames.
Flight-
(Note)
I have trouble with this; frankly, I have no experience with helicopters. I'll try to give you an idea of how it handles, but I can't give you my personal opinion if it's realistic or not. However, there are several thing that make me think it's realistic-
-JustFlight told me that they received an email from a pilot-turned-simmer, saying that he thought that their R44 was so realistic that he was actually going to use it to brush
up on his techniques.
-The general consensus in reviews that I've read is that it?s realistic
-In the 'credits' of the manual, it gives thanks to several helicopter companies; thus
giving the impression that it certainly should be realistic.
-JustFlight has advertised on their site for real-life R-44 pilots to come and test the
R44.
Overall, I think JustFlight modeled the flight dynamics very well, but I'll leave you to
judge for yourself.
This bird easily does 80-100 knots and doesn' overspeed until 130, but good luck getting to that. Generally, cruising speeds are between 105-110 knots, and it slows down easily enough. Definitely a great touring heli (and excellent on a cruise ship ), as it has the power to get up and around hills, but the maneuverability to get into those interesting little crevices. I did notice a definite difficulty in controlling at higher speeds, so don't go blasting around the harbor as you fly. Hover-taxi is difficult, and small control input is best. It takes off like a charm, and overall it feels like it has a lot of power. Be careful of overloading, though. If you fill it up with four passengers in AeroLoad, you're going to need to compensate with less fuel. Not only that, but the R44 is a piston (not turbine) engine. If you're planning on doing any high-altitude flying, watch out for less performance. But hey, you got this heli for less money than a Bell 206, so don?t complain.
On the subject of accurately modeled autorotation, I can't see if it's modeled or not, and there was no documentation. Autorotation is basically where, when the engine or drivetrain quits, the pilot quickly lowers the collective to start an upward flow of air going into the rotors to maintain their RPM. The host simulator imposes disappointing limits for a creative company like JustFlight. I think almost of everyone would agree with me that MSFS is geared much more toward fixed-wing flight as opposed to helicopters. I don?t think that Autorotation was specifically modelled on the R44, however it is still possible to do it by pulling the mixture and lowering the collective then re-engaging power to cushion the landing. A little rough, but that's as close as FSX will let us get, and from what I've read on the subject, it seems decently accurate. I should note, however, that in the FS9 version, you can select to flight models, basically simple and realistic, but I haven?t tested for any differences in FS9.
Miscellaneous features-
Well, it seems a bit of an insult to call the features miscellaneous, but JustFlight gave us tons of goodies. First, let' start with the emergency floats. The R44 Clipper II is equipped with emergency floats. This is a unique feature for flight sims, and really quite neat You activate the floats by switches on the collective, and wa~la, you can land on water. Note that just like the real aircraft, you can't pack these away in flight, at least not until you reload the aircraft. The floats are nicely modeled; you can see the textures and various valves on the floats.
The pilot animations are the best I've seen. When you're looking at the aircraft from external views, you can see the pilots looking around, moving the controls, and opening the doors The pilot reaches over and opens his door, and his hand stays on the handle; It doesn?t wobble around as a poor animation would. In total, there are six opening doors; the pilot, copilot, passengers doors (as one), and the engine doors (as one). If you open the engine doors, you can see tubes, rods, and all sorts of fascinating metal things that I wouldn?t know anything about .
One thing that I found showed JustFlight's commitment to detail is the emergency lights. Most developers wouldn?t bother with these, but you can turn them on via a read button
in the cockpit. Also, as I said, the detail is so precise that you can read all the stickers and markings on the aircraft (if you zoom in). The door handles, rotating belts, door vents, swash plates, and inspection panels all work. There is also a detailed 2D cockpit, with 10 different panels:
SHIFT+1 = Shows/hides the main panel
SHIFT+2 = Shows/hides the engine panel
SHIFT+3 = Shows/hides the cyclic stick
SHIFT+4 = Shows/hides the fuel switch
SHIFT+5 = Shows/hides the centre console
SHIFT+6 = Shows/hides the collective lever
SHIFT+7 = Shows/hides the radio stack
SHIFT+8 = Shows/hides the compass
SHIFT+9 = Shows/hides the default GPS
Also, there is full, easy to understand documentation on the aircraft and all the tools.
Summary-
The JustFlight R44 delivers incredible bang for your buck.
It looks like a dream, and won't murder your system. Like all addon planes, I did notice the increase of blurries and drop in FPS, but for the level of detail it is well worth the small performance hit. The package (available via a 98MB instant download from JustFlight) includes the R44 Raven II, Clipper II, (fixed utility floats) and Clipper II (pop-out emergency floats). In total, there is a possibility of 221 variations available by changing the paint schemes, nationality, and of course model. However, when you first boot it up, there are
about 40 different paints, but I added a couple more with the easy tools. This bird, in my opinion, could easily do mountain flying, or if you want, just go island hopping. If you're looking for a great touring helicopter with power to spare, chuck out your passengers and hop into this great helicopter.
If you have questions, feel free to PM me
Rating-
10/10p = What you get - Price Ratio
7/10p = System Requirements/Performance on the computer
4/5p = Installation/Quickness of Key Delivery (Support)
20/20p = The Model, moving parts, how it looks like compared to the real plane..
10/10p = The Panel, features that are given/that work.
28/25p = The VC
8/10p = Manuals/Tutorials provided that explain how to work the plane
9/10p = Features, All the eye candy, neat effects, etc.
*
96/100p
Cheers Mates
EDIT: Also, I apologize for the lack of pics. My computer is acting weird, and I posted this in safe mode, so future reviews will have pics
Hopefully I'll add some in within the week
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