Funny story: I've wanted a skycatcher for a while. I see the little buggers all the time (Final assembly is across the runway from my office) and they look like fun. However, all I could find is Abacus's Skycatcher, which did not look worth $20.
I get a package from my parents today with Hannukah gifts for me and a Christmas present for my girlfriend, and what did I get? An Abacus Skycatcher. And no, it's not worth $20.
Out of boredom, I go to flight1 to see if there's anything interesting for sale/on sale. What do I see? A SKYCATCHER! And for $30! So what do I do? BUY NOW!
Contrary to the Abacus one, my first impression of the Flight1 Skycatcher: Totally worth the $30. I'm a huge fan of their Mustang, it's a great simulation, and this seems to be on par.
I'll do a comparison, if anything as a warning against Abacus. I'm sure they mean well, and I've seen some models by Brian Gladden on there and he's a great developer...just not at that price point. Knock the price of everything Abacus sells down $10 and have great bargain payware, maybe. But when I can buy a Carenado 152 with such great realistic detail for the same price as an on-par with decent freeware Skycatcher, something is askew.
Anyways, here's a few pics of the new toy. One complaint is the external camera centers above the plane, makes it hard to look at. I guess it's time I reinstalled FS Recorder
On the ground, flight1 as usual puts a lot of attention to eye-candy. Love the sun visor!
Taking off. Flies about like you'd expect it too, feels a tad bit underpowered at MTOW, and it probably is. I'll play with the load tomorrow and let you know if it gets better. That being said, not bad for short field takeoffs, and since you won't be flying all that high you probably don't need to get up there too quickly
The exterior model is fantastic, but the interior is even better! The detail is remarkable. Some of the textures are lacking when compared to the Mustang, but then again, the Mustang is a $55 addon (and well worth it IMO). Everything runs smoothly, minimum frame hit, and the literal bugsmashing is a neat touch
The G300 seems like a good sim, left out some features but all in all it's pretty realistic. Hopefully down the road they add some more features (I know it's probably not possible, but I am dying for a simulated garmin with synthetic vision!), but to get up and fly, it's a great system. Will take some getting used to, but as usual Flight1's manuals are unmatched!
And touching down. This plane is a bit weird to switch too after flying heavier and faster planes, but it's so forgiving, and you are moving so slowly you have plenty of time to correct mistakes!
So if you want a nice LSA, or something more modern than a Carenado classic, I highly recommend this! $30 with a coupon until January 15th, so act soon!
Like I said, a comparison to come shortly. Until then, comments welcome!
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