EAW - SUKHOI SU-26

[Quixoticish]

I spotted this little gem whilst browsing Simmarket to see if anything interesting had been released and at 15.95 Euro it comes in at a snip under £10 if you catch it on a day with a good exchange rate. I know this type of aircraft isn't really the focus of these forums as it's neither Brit nor classic but I've always admired the SU-26 displays I've seen, they've always seemed quite different to the ever endless streams of Extra displays and I've always wanted one for FS for pretty much the same reason, everywhere one looks there are various Extras available from the default through to payware and freeware versions so it's nice to see something a little unique.

The flight model and repaint kit is what makes me feel I really haven't wasted my money, whilst the 3D model is excellent, and you can do things such as remove the wing aerosights, customise the display card with your own display if you feel so inclined (or just put a pretty picture there), the flight model really feels like I imagine a stunt plane should but it's very smooth and stable compared to the default Extra and actually feels like it has a little bit of grunt and mass behind it. Of course it's very stunt capable and I've managed to replicate a lot of manoeuvres within the confines of FS so it ticks the boxes for me! There are two sets of flight dynamics provided, one with just the internal fuel tank (A rather paltry 17.5 gallons that will give you about 25 minutes of power if you thrash the engine about) or you can choose to have the internal tank followed by a full pair of wing tanks (an extra 60 gallons) that makes countrywide transits possible to get to your next air display but of course aerobatic performance suffers as a result. The repaint kit is well laid out and very very easy to use so I think we'll see all manner of colourful schemes being released for this little gem very soon. The sound package really demonstrates the growl the SU-26 has, the gauges in the VC are crystal clear and smooth and very easy to read, aircraft can be started authentically, (everything works in the VC, in fact a proper 2D panel isn't provided but why would you want one on an aircraft like this). Oh, and of course it has a lovely smoke system with trails that hang about in the sky for many many minutes, great for trying to join up loops and whatever other shapes you fancy drawing in the sky during the course of your display.

There is also a choice of "full" and "lite" aircraft, the "lite" version has some of the detail removed for low spec computers, but I couldn't honestly see any slowdown with the full model at all, in fact frame rates were better than with the default aircraft.

All in all if you like whizzing around in the default Extra 300 (I know a few on here do for exploring scenery and suchlike) but fancy something a bit different then this will definately be a worthwhile purchase in my opinion.

http://secure.simmarket.com/product_inf ... ts_id=2797

[DaveB]

A nice report Chris Tks for posting ;-)

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Tweek]

Was thinking about getting this. Just wondering about the power of the aircraft, a department where the default Extra seems to be lacking, in climbs at least.

Could you 'flick' it over the top, much the same as around 42 seconds in this video? I do like such manoeuvres, and I've never been able to pull them off in the Extra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNcp_XutqG4

[Quixoticish]

I've just taken the default FSX Extra 300 for a spin to compare. It feels far more "sedate" than the Su-26 and feel does run out of grunt very quickly. Side by side from 120 knots pulling up into the vertical and hanging off the prop the Extra makes it to a measly 1000ft, whilst the Su-26 can almost peak at twice that with the wing tanks emptied as they would be for display flying. When banking and turning the Su-26 is much more vicious as well, you can "snap" back to +10G when trimmed for level flight at a decent display speed but it's hard to pile on the G's in the default extra. The Su-26 is also much faster, it's been modelled with a "tweaked" engine that kicks out more horsepower than at factory settings (as I understand this practice is fairly common with these aircraft), so you have 400hp to use rather than the stock 360. (Some of the Su-26 on the display circuit kick out as much as 500hp, or so I've been led to believe). From a standing start the Su-26 was making 185 knots by the end of the runway, the Extra 300 was still accelerating albeit very slowly at 162 knots.

Basically it feels twitchy, violent, lots of propeller torque so you really have to work the prop pitch and throttle, and it just flys how I feel a stunt aircraft should rather than the rather sedate generic Extra 300 flight dynamics that come as default with the sim. If you push it too hard you'll definately end up stalling and you can produce some unusual FS stall behaviour if you aren't careful, but if you take the time to master it I find it a very fun aircraft to fly. In fact I keep setting up transit flights from one airfield to another to display then return, but I never make it there because it's so hard to resist the temptation to fly aerobatics on the way.

[Tweek]

I may have to get it then! Thanks.

[T6flyer]

Bu**er, just realised that this is for FSX. Oh well.....

I purchased a Yak-52 sometime ago from the same vendors and was shall we say a little disappointed as it was very easy to overstress (not that I'm saying my flying is bad!). Think with the Sukhoi, it would be virtually unbreakable!

Martin

[hinch]

It's a shame it's for FSX only, it's such a nice plane. Modern tech with retro style and NOISE. It looks like a neat package.