Tag: SL Aviation

Not too long ago, I wrote about my acquisition of the DSA Beechcraft King Air C90 GTX.  At the time I reviewed it, I mentioned it was somewhat bigger than my “ideal” ‘plane. Well, if only I’d been a little more alert. Not that I’m in any way disappointed with the King Air, I hasten to add (other than the issue in getting it up ramps and out of the water when using the floats), but rather because DSA are, at the time of writing, currently running a special promotion on their Beechcraft C33 Debonair.

This is a variation on the famous Bonanza design, but with a more familiar vertical tail, rather than the latter’s V-tail. However, what matters here is the Debonair comes as a “combo” plane; like the King Air, it can switch between floats and conventional undercarriage with a single command, and is presented, fully-functional, under the promotional offer at the princely some of – L$200!

Obviously, at that price, the Debonair is an absolute bargain (so much so that when I told a friend, they leapt onto the Marketplace and bought two – one for their main account and one for their primary alt account), and I had to pick one up.  And what a bundle of joy!

This is an aeroplane that, given it likely runs the same scripts as the King Air, actually handles somewhat better, with very smooth region crossings for the most part (other than SL occasionally causing the camera to jump from the default view to one set a good ways back from the ‘plane) – no that the King Air was particularly rough. More to the point, with the floats in use and their wheels deployed, the Debonair can climb the ramp of most slips a lot easier than the King Air. I’ve tried my home ramp – although that’s now becoming redundant – the Hollywood airport slip ramp and Honah Lee Surf, and with a little power and a tap of the brakes, the Debonair took all three, where the King Air would frequently bury itself in the ramp / the terrain behind the ramp.

Being a smaller aircraft than the King Air, the Debonair only sits four, and is a bit of squeeze, but makes for a cosy flight :). As with the King Air, undercarriage options (wheels or floats) can be selected at any time, making landing options very flexible (although you can obviously make a runway landing with the floats attached, thanks to them having their own wheels.

Re-texturing the plane is pretty easy, as one would expect from a DSA plane. Download the maps from the DSA website (they’re labelled “Debonair” on the site, but the ZIP file and textures are all labelled “Bonanza”; this isn’t because they are the wrong files – as noted above, the Debonair is a variant of the Bonanza, and so uses the same texture files. the textures are supplied in .PSD, JPG and (some at least) X2 formats. However, I did note that float textures are currently absent the set (I simply re-used my King Air float textures).

You can use Local Textures in the viewer to carry out “test fits” of your own designs prior to uploading anything and incurring costs; just make sure you select the required face of the plane when doing so, obviously, and be aware that you’ll need to use the same texture a number of times to achieve a finished result (e.g. you’ll need to use the wing textures individually on the wings, flaps, ailerons, tail & rudder).

Those who read my article on the King Air will see that I went for a similar colour scheme with the Debonair, and the little ego touches! OK, so I now have THREE ‘planes with the same registration, but I think I’ll be OK with the CAA / FAA! 🙂

All told, the Debonair is a great little aeroplane, and one I’ve been having a great deal of fun with – and likely will continue to do so. Certainly, as while the promotional offer is running, it is a genuine bargain.

Related Links

• DSA Beechcraft C33 Debonair on the Marketplace
• DSA in-world
• DSA website

No, this isn’t a homage to Yul Brynner, although as the song goes, Second Life could well be a show with everything, even without him… The “King” I’m referring to is the DSA King Air C90 GTX, which has – after some considerable deliberation and bouncing around – become the latest aircraft I’ve added to my collection.

To be honest, it wasn’t actually the ‘plane I started out to get; I actually wanted something a fair bit smaller, given I already have the PBY 6A Catalina, and initially started looking at single-engined ‘planes. But for various reasons, I found myself drifting away from that choice and heading back into twin-engined territory, initially looking at Erick Gregan’s Cessna 421 (which came highly recommended, and looks to be a most excellent aeroplane).

However, as I live “on the water”, so to speak, I was drawn to DSA’s Beechcraft C90 GTX and Baron G58, as both of these are “combo” aircraft: you can switch between standard undercarriage or floats with a single command. In the end, and again on recommendation, I opted for the C90, although I suspect I’d have been happy with the G58.

The C90 is actually a big aeroplane; particularly when up on its floats – the picture of me doing a naughty and sitting on the wing probably gives you an idea of the size, if you’ve never seen this ‘plane before. 100% mesh, it weights-in at 96 LI, which is quite hefty – but it is packing a lot – and a physics weight of 11.7, which is slightly less than that of my MD-900, and almost one-third that of my Kv23H. It is supplied copy / mod, and is suitable for repainting, if desired (and a range of optional paint kits are available in-world from Josh Noonan – and I can personally attest to the quality of his work.

Indeed, the very first thing I did on getting mine, other than going for a short familiarisation flight, is repaint it. As I liked elements of the default colour scheme, I decided to stick with this as a base, and then work-in my traditional red and white. The model supports the use of local textures, which means you can play to your heart’s content creating and trying colours, and a full set of textures in JPG, PaintShop Pro and Photoshop formats can be downloaded from the DSA website.

To apply textures when working on things, simply blank a copy of the ‘plane then select the required face, then select and apply the texture from you heard drive via the viewer’s Local Texture option in the texture option of the Build floater. Note that The fuselage and the wing textures are used several times, and you’ll have to make sure they are applied to all the faces using them. For example, the fuselage texture needs to be applied to the fuselage (best to select the face by clicking on the tail), the rudder, and the nose wheel doors. When you’re happy, upload your textures to inventory & apply, or use the painting note card in the ‘plane.

I went for a very personalised look, as the photos here show, complete with my usual G-NARA registration and a bit of ego-pandering with a stylised “I” on the tail and on the winglets. I also added a touch of shine to the fuselage and wing textures, to give them more of a polished finish.

Flying-wise, this is a ‘plane aimed towards the more “realistic” end of the market (my one disappointment with the Catalina is that the flight system is rudimentary). DSA aircraft aren’t perhaps as advanced in this area as some other makes, but they are still pretty comprehensive. A detailed HUD is supplied, and commands can be given in chat as well.  One thing that is missing for those who enjoy procedure, is a need to carry-out pre-start checks (battery, magnetos, etc.); “lstart” and “rstart” will kick the respective engines into life once seated in the pilot’s seat, although the Engines button on the HUD will run through a more complete (and automated) pre-start check and engine start-up. This will also enable navigation, strobe and beacon lights for you, as well as close the boarding door.

The C90 handles really well in the air, and can be shared between pilot and co-pilot (the HUD is copy / transfer, so you can share it with friends) – make sure you both activate the co-pilot option on the HUD. Range is limited by fuel, and the plane comes equipped with a full fulling station (43 prims, which I presume works with any DSA ‘plane), or a convenient jerry can should you need to set down somewhere to refuel. Another nice touch is the inclusion of an instrument landing system (ILS), although I confess I’ve yet to actually try this, and documentation is supplied on the DSA website, rather than with the aircraft.

A slight irritant I have found is that this plane doesn’t handle water ramps at all well; with the wheels for the undercarriage deployed, it seems to require a decent run-up to a ramp at full throttle. Even then, getting ashore is far from guaranteed, and should you do so, there is the inevitable desperate throttling back before you go careering too far across an apron. Ironically, the C90 cannot make the relatively shallow ramp I have at home at all.

Also, the HUD also seems sensitive to region crossings; In the 4.5 hours I’ve been flying the plane, I’ve had buttons vanish from the HUD when clicked just after a region crossing, only to reappear on their own a short while later or at the next crossing. This is a niggle, but not a major problem.

At L$5500 (at the time of writing), this isn’t a cheap light plane to have – but you do get the floats / wheel combo, and the mod options are all good, paint-wise. Overall, I’ve found the C90 more than pleasing to fly – the ramp issue following water lands notwithstanding; and particularly like the fact you can swap between floats and “standard” undercarriage mid-flight. OK, so not terribly real, but adds a certain flexibility when flying :). While this may not be the ‘plane I set out to get, I certainly have no regrets over buying it, and I’ll likely be swapping back and forth between the C90 and my Catalina quite regularly.

Related Links

• DSA Beechcraft C90 GTX on the Marketplace
• DSA in-world
• DSA website

Back at the start of the year, I wrote about my experiences in getting hold of an EC-135 Eurocopter from  Spijkers & Wingtips. As noted in that article, it’s a great little helicopter – easy to fly, plenty of space in the cabin, and nicely customisable. It’s been on my helipad ever since.

Well, at least until this weekend, when it found itself returned to inventory after one last (for the time being) flight. Not because I’ve given up on flying – oh no! Rather, as the images in this piece show, I’ve swapped to a new aircraft.

Gracing my helipad at home now is the Spijkers & Wingtips MD-900 Explorer. Superficially like the EC-series of helos in terms of exterior cabin looks, this is a 7-seater helicopter that is 100% mesh, the design by Sylvira (sylviramaus). And I have to say, it is beautiful, with a wealth of detail to enjoy.

The first thing that is immediately noticeable about the MD-900 is that it doesn’t have a tail rotor. Instead it uses a NOTAR system, employing a fan system together with a thruster mechanism at the end of the tail to both counter torque from the rotors and provide vectored thrust when turning, etc. With the S&W MD-900 the system is reproduced such that in-flight manoeuvring of the helicopter will see the directed thrust mechanism at the end of the tail moving in response to control commands, together with the twin rudders.

The helicopter comes as a comprehensive package: there is the MD-900 itself, Copy / Mod and with an LI of 54; a static display model, six customisable texture packs, optional combat script and cargo payload scripts. The default colour scheme for the helicopter is striking, and possibly the best of the supplied packs, and a further air ambulance option can be obtained from Sylvira.

Using the texture packs is a matter of unpacking the desired finish, then editing the helicopter via Edit Links Parts to drag and drop the various texture elements onto their requisite sections of the helicopter. For those who want something more personal, the textures can be saved as TGA or PNG files and amended locally & then re-uploaded at the usual L$10 a shot.

As most know, I have a penchant for red and white in my boats and planes, so one of the first things I did was grab one of the texture packs (“white with red stripe”) and download the various elements to produce a colour scheme more in keeping with my preferred style. When I did this with the EC-135, it literally took me 3 minutes to get something I was happy with  – although admittedly, I didn’t really try anything clever in editing the textures.

The MD-900 did take a lot longer. The was mostly down to my decision to go for a design which required some careful detailing around hinges and things. However, it also has to be said that, outside of the default paint scheme, the finishes on some of the packs are a trifle rough – in my case I found that white parts would have an odd splash of red where they shouldn’t (and vice versa, or that edging between the colours be a tad rough when looked at closely (and I do mean closely – the packs past muster reasonably when to the casual eye). Unfortunately, for me, once seen closely means such things are forever nagging; so I spent a good few hours doing some general clean-up, because I’m obsessive that way.

Handling-wise, the MD-900 is fabulous. I’m not sure how much updating Tig has done with her helicopter scripts, but the MD-900 really is a delight to fly. It’s very responsive, can move at a fair lick if required, and offers the usual 3rd person or Mouselook flight options (the latter feeling far more responsive that the EC-135). A HUD is provided for flying, although not essential (all commands can be entered via chat), and this reveals some of the extras – such as the searchlight (which can also be turned on / off via the chat command “sl”), the winch options for lifting cargo aloft – read the instructions carefully, and take note that cargo can behave oddly if particularly complex. There’s even a police / rescue siren!

A particularly nice touch with the more recent helicopters in in S&W range is the inclusion of auto-deploying pontoon floats. Simply drop down over Linden water in a low hover, and the floats will deploy for a water landing. They can also be manually deployed / stored when in flight via the HUD or a chat command.

All told, the MD-900 is a great aircraft, and niggles over the texture packs aside (they don’t in any way spoil the aircraft), it will make a great addition to any SL aviation enthusiast’s collection.

Related Links

• Spijkers & Wingtips SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• Spijkers & Wingtips on the Marketplace
• Spijker’s MD-900 on the Marketplace