The A2A Simulations Community

As a long time fan of A2A and accu-sim products, could some of the folks who've purchased and flown the P-40 give their impressions on how it compares to other single seaters A2A has published? That is to say, is there enough new there to make the experience unique?

Let me put it this way, I have (and love) the Captain Sim C-130 and once I'm flying that I'm reluctant to try Just Flight's Viscount or DC-6 because, as interesting as those planes are, I don't think the actual siming experience is likely to be all that different. The Real Air Duke is quite a treat, but once you're flying that, what other GA aircraft give you a new or more challenging experience?

Accu-sim as a concept brings a lot more to do and think about, especially in terms of engine management and flying A2A's planes is more immersive experience for sure, but if I've got the P-47 and the Spitfire, it there enough there there to fly the P-40? The Spit does look a lot better in the cockpit than the P-47, but aside from this, what does the P-40 have that the others don't?

Someone convince me to open my wallet, or, wait, convince my wife I should open my wallet and dive into the P-40.

The P-40 is kind of like the Bush pilot's warbird. It is a little more practical for scenery exploration/low altitude flying than the Spitfire because the Allison has a better cooling system. I find it to be a little more stable on approach as well. Like any accusim plane, there is a little bit of a learning curve getting used to its quirks, but once you get used to it, it is pretty easy to fly.

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"The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." - Douglas Adams

Let's put it this way... my first flight in the P-40 I was very eager to go, so I didn't RTFM... I started up (the sequence was the only part I did read ahead of time) and taxiied to the runway. I took off, and just keeping this airplane on the centerline was far more difficult than the previous Accu-sim birds... I got in the air only to find that my best efforts to raise the gear were not working; it stayed put! Noticing my engine temperature rapidly rising I decided to land so I could read the manual and figure out the landing gear... as I set up my approach I found I couldn't get my flaps to work either! I side slipped my way in and had a very rough, ugly, bouncy landing and was shocked I didn't damage the plane.

Upon reading the manual I learned about the hydraulically operated gear and flaps, and how much more complex they are to operate than any others in FSX. Also, how you select your fuel tanks can change the aircraft from deadly in aerobatics to nice... even regular flight is severely affected by fuel burn/placement.

I agree the Spitfire has a nicer cockpit and better low RPM vibrations, but the P-40 has better sounds (how is this even possible?) and even gave this flight-sim veteran a real challenge! Of course, like anything it becomes easy to fly with a little practice, and in no time you will be flying with the best of the bush pilots... but given the historical value and complexity of an early P-40 it is a must have!

And if you combine it with the dynamic tire squeal in the new Accu-feel addon you WILL NOT be disappointed!

Joe

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I have the P-40, the Spitfire and the P-47 and each one is a different experience for me. Each one is like a museum of a certain period of time. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each is a propeller plane, that is all that seems similar to me. There are new systems to learn and new ways of doing things. each one handles and feels different. The P-40 is what the United States had going into WWII, you can see the challenges that the crews were facing at the time. The P-40 is not a high altitude machine, it likes it a lot lower, places the early Spitfires would get hot. If you just want to fly point to point in a WWII era fighter, there are plenty to choose from. But the P-40 takes you to the time and place that only it can, to show everyone what it was like to be in that machine at that time.

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Jim

Fantastic guys, thanks. I'm sold.

To the point James is making, I feel a difference between the P-47 and Spitfire in that the first seems so solid and rugged and the second leaner and lower tech (and somehow then more of an achievement). If you compare these with say flying Rise of Flight where you really feel like you're in a go-cart with wings, you can see a progression in the technology and with it the sim experience.

OK, so I'm sold. If I can use the logic of these three mails to convince the wife we should crack open the family budget and grab the P-40, I'm home.

If that works, could you guys do me a favor and make the same case for Aerosoft's Bronco X?

Speaking of the Bronco, the official video for it should be done in no time flat. I suppose perhaps, next week? Sub to my channel on YouTube and you'll see it.

The P-40 is easily one of my favorite aircraft right now. I like the Spitfire, absolutely, and she flies wonderfully.... but I enjoy personally the P-40 more. It has such a menacing look. She's light on the controls, a bit squirrely and uncoordinated. A bit like the slightly heavy uncle that comes to the family reunions with a buzz and proceeds to stumble around and offend everyone, but is always reliably sticking up for you. The P-40 is a strange time capsule of pre 1941 American aviation technology. You see a flash of brilliance, such as prop governor and the hydraulic system mixed in with a bit of crudeness, such as massive Browning .50 machine guns sitting inside your cockpit. She's reliable however, if nothing else. That Allison can be pushed HARD, and she'll keep on happily singing.

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The A-2-A p-40 is one of the most realistic sim aircraft available today....This is only compaired to the other A-2-A planes, and it is just as hands on as the real thing....
Buy this plane you will not be sorry....The sounds, like the sound of the wind when the canopy is open( only thing needed is a few fans around you on while flying, and sights you get plus the realism in flight plus the hands on controls. This is a must have aircraft.

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Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I especially like Cody's depiction of the P-40 as the A2A plane you'd most like to sit in an all night poker game with (so to speak). I'm getting this one for sure.