Classic British Flight Sim

well i've been hurtling around in the yak-3 and p51 bit as amazing as they are they just can't beat the spitfire for looks, pride and freeware merlin (or griffon) sounds are mostly unspectacular.

so which is the best spitfire add-on? i have the freeware spit from aeroplane heaven, but looking at the realair and plane design versions seems hard to choose. the first has the nice engine effects, reno racer and scenery but the latter has much nicer looking worn textures and somehow looks more pleasing in general.

really which is most satisfying to own...or even the shockwave spit is coming soon?

Hinch,

Without doubt I would go for the Plane Design one, an incredibly immersive Spitfire indeed.

The attention to detail is pure art and you shan't find a more rewarding aircraft to fly.

I could go on for paragraphs about how good it is but there is no point.

I also think that Plane Design have a 25% off offer on at the moment (saw it on some forums...was it here?!) so probably a good time to take advantage!

All the best,

Alex

Just a couple of points to be aware of with the Plane Design Spit (I won't recommend you buy it as I'm obviously very biased ) - by default the rear fuselage fuel tanks will load as full - these made the aircraft pretty unstable in real life and this is reflected in the sim.

Also, when taking off, be prepared for a vicious swing. Half throttle is all that can be safely used until the tail is up.

There is an 25% discount offer available, but it's not at the website - I hope it won't be considered impolite to say it's over at the Sim Outhouse forums. If so, mods please edit this post!

Not got it meself,but a friend of mine (Leif Harding) did some of the beta testing for Ed on the Plane Design Spitty.

Leif reckons it's an awsome bit of kit.

I have the Just Flight package(gifted to me by a close friend) and that's pretty good.Their MH434(the great Ray Hanna's "own"Spit)is pretty good fun.

Aeroplane Heaven also do a rather nice freeware Merlin-Seafire package(I,II and L.III.I'm biased a bit there as FAA is my love both for scale modelling and Fs-ing).

Mark :-({|=

Ed,

Ed Walters wrote: Also, when taking off, be prepared for a vicious swing. Half throttle is all that can be safely used until the tail is up.

Interesting that. Were the low back Merlin Spitfires more prone to swing than the high back versions?

My Dad, who AFAIK only flew high back versions, complained that the PRXIXs had a terrible swing compared to his favourite PRXI. Mind you he did like the extra oomph once it was airborne

In my opinion the freeware Seafire from AH is still a good plane, also the Paul Rebuffat's Spits can be useful if you don't want to buy something pay.
About payware (just my opinon): number one the Mk.16 from Plane Design, second place for the Shockwave Mk.1 and third place for the Real Air Mark 14.
Followed by the AH/JF Spits and the Skyunlimited Mk V.
That's because I love Mk IX and XVI Spitfires (waiting for a Plane Design MK. 9 ), the Shockwave one is good as usual (a little mistake in the tail) and the Real Air is a masterpiece, but I don't like Griffon engines.
Place d'honneur for the others.

kit wrote:Were the low back Merlin Spitfires more prone to swing than the high back versions?

My Dad, who AFAIK only flew high back versions, complained that the PRXIXs had a terrible swing compared to his favourite PRXI. Mind you he did like the extra oomph once it was airborne

Interesting stuff!

The low back was less stable than the high back, but as I understand it all Spitfires have a significant swing if mishandled. Our test pilot (Andy Sephton) has several hundred ours on various Spits from Mk.V's to Mk.XIXs, and he said that even on the Mk.V, you can't have the throttle more than 3/4 of the way open on takeoff, and even then the aircraft is right on the edge.
As it is now, he was satisfied that it was close to how the real aircraft handles on takeoff.

The thing you have to realise is that even with the early versions, this is a very powerful aircraft. The Mk.XIX would be far worse than the Mk.XI, due to the extra power and bigger prop. You'd have to reduce the throttle even further to stay on the runway.

"These are the things that remind you it's not a Chipmunk". That said, the Chipmunk would be an excellent aircraft to practice in!

I treated myself to the MkXIV by Realair about twelve months ago, and it is still in my top three add on payware files.

The VC is a masterpiece, the gauges are smooth as silk, the view is excellent and the sound of the Griffon immerses you in the experience.
I prefer the full elliptical to the clipped wing, it bites when you push it too hard, but rewards you when you treat it nice.

Still can't grease it on though :roll:

John

I prefer Clipped.Has a Better Roll Rate.

Not That I have The RealAir Model Yet.

Well,I got It and Say It Is the Best Spit I ever Flew in FS.(Based On a 5 Min Test Flight At Duxford)