


My FS interest has been primarily military, but I was intrigued by this aircraft for its history. It was used by the US Marines for a rescue in Nicaragua in 1932 and flown by Amelia Earhart for a record breaking alititude. I had also previously purchased several other aircraft from Golden Age Simulations and was impressed by their quality.



Cockpit details is as expected and everything in the VC is clickable. Flight dynamics are also easy - even the autogyro dynamics. When you shut down the engine, the gyro still floats to the ground due to the rotating blades.
Sounds are great. I'm not sure how they did it, but there's a definite distinction between the main engine and the overhead rotors.
The only drawback of the package is the 2D cockpit. The same bitmap is shared with all the models, so the fuselage color is the same. Since I fly from the VC anyways, I may remove it for my tastes.



The basic package retails for around $20 USD and contains both the FS9 and FSX installs. These shots are from the FS9 install. The package contains 3 models - the original autogyro, a crop duster version and a military version.


If you've flown both straight wings and helos, this falls inbetween. You need to continue forward thrust for flight, so more akin to an STOL than a helo. I tried to hover several times, but just couldn't get it.



Still, a lot of fun.

--WH