Simcheck Airbus A300

Introduction

The SimCheck A300 is a complicated simulation and FSX doesn’t always like complicated add-ons. To avoid any problems during loading we strongly advice to first load the default Cessna 172 after starting up FSX and then load the SimCheck A300. SimCheck Airbus A300B4-200 Aerosoft GmbH 2010. Airbus A300-600R. American Airlines plus Thai Air classic Airbus model for FSX only. Model with diffuse, bump spec and nightmap. Comes with working virtual cockpit.

The Airbus A300 is a short- tomedium-range wide body aircraft. Launched in 1972 as the world'sfirst twin-engine wide body, it was the first product of the Airbusconsortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today byEADS. Production of the A300 ceased in July 2007, along with itssmaller A310 derivative.

What's interesting is that the need for an A300 was expressed byFrank Kolk, an American Airlines executive. The A300 was needed asa replacement on the high density routes operated by the 727s. Theaircraft was required to have a 250 - 300 seating capacity, twinaisle configuration, two engines and the capability to operate outof high altitude airports with appreciable payload without anypenalty.

Development of the A300 began in 1967 as a joint venture betweenaerospace companies of the UK, France and Germany. Developmentwasn't very steady but ultimately it was decided that the A300would be a twin engine aircraft powered by CFM engines to attractUS customers. The Airbus consortium was formally set up in 1970with the joining of the Spanish CASA a year later.

In 1972, the A300 made its first flight and the first productionmodel, the A300B2, went into service in 1974 followed by the A300B4a year later. Although production ended in 2007, many airlinesstill use the A300 freighters and a few use the passenger variantas well. Although now most A300s are the 'cross-bred' types withboth analog and digital flight instruments and a two man cockpitconfiguration.

The technologies employed on the A300 included advanced wings,wind shear protection, advanced autopilots (for its time), and anelectrically controlled braking system. The early A300s hadcockpits with analog gauges and a position for the flight engineeras well. Later A300s incorporated features like two man crew due toautomation of the flight engineer's duties, glass cockpits, andextensive use of composites. On newer A300s, the ADI, HSI, INS,have been replaced by EADIs, EHSIs and simple FMCsrespectively.

Product Background

Add on developers seem to be on an Airbus-developing spreelately. We had the Air Simmer A320, A320 Jetliner from CLS/JustFlight and Airbus X from Aerosoft. Now come to think of it, aren'tthese all of the newer 'glassy-classy' Airbuses? There's onedeveloper who decided to stand out from the crowd and develop oneof the seeds of the Airbus family tree: the A300B4-200. Unlike mostA300s today that have semi-glass cockpits, SimCheck decided todevelop the classic variant with the analog steam gauges and INS.Both passenger and cargo modes are included. The product ismarketed by Aerosoft and is for FSX only. The latest version isV1.2. I couldn't find any published system requirements but Ireviewed it on a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Quad with 3 GB of RAM and a 512 MBNVIDIA 8400GS running a 32 bit Windows 7 OS. The simulator used wasFSX Acceleration.

Download, Installation & First Impressions

You won't have to wait long, lest you have dial up, for this 196MB zip file download from the FS Pilot Shop. One downloaded andunzipped, an installer with license agreements in five languagesare found. Installation is rather easy and painless as it uses thedirect serial key validation method. After installation, adirectory is created in the start menu containing some links touseful web pages, a flight plan converter, texture installer and afolder containing all the manuals. Checking out the planes in FSXit seems we have quite an appreciable collection of liveries oldand new for both passenger and cargo variants. More repaints areavailable on SimCheck's web site. Some extras are available theretoo.

Documentation & Applets

Documentation for this aircraft covers the following topics:INS, configurator, livery installer, normal checklists, normalprocedures, panel overview, quick start, and a tutorial flight. Themanuals are quite realistic and comprehensive. This bird isn't easyto fly. Be sure you give the quick start and tutorial manual athorough go before actually flying the tutorial itself. You mightwant to do the panel overview manual as well. The flight tutorialhas been nicely done but it's not complete. It won't teach youeverything you will need to know to fly this plane but enough isthere to help you get the aircraft from A to B if the cockpit hasbeen powered up (start up procedures from cold & dark have notbeen described). As for the applets, you get a flight planconverter which converts FS2004 flight plans into FSX flight plans,an aircraft configurator that can be used to configure the aircraftand plan for fuel, and a texture installer which can install thoseadditional liveries you can download from SimCheck's web site. Theywork fine and are quite useful as well.

Interior

One of the things about this aircraft that really impressed meis the virtual cockpit. The textures are crisp and the instrumentsare clear. For those systems that have been simulated, quiteliterally 99% of the controls for them are functional in the VC.The VC also has some hidden click spots to access sub panel pop upslike the setup menu, refueling gauge, etc. One neat performancefeature is the option to show or hide VC window reflections. Havingthese on does provide a realistic view but they do hit frame ratesa wee bit. It's also possible to display/hide the yoke if needed.These two features can be accessed immediately through two labeledclick spots next to the ADI. You'll be happy to hear this plane hasa functional flight engineer's station as well. One thing I found alittle odd was the inclusion of the SimCheck logo on the yoke.There is no virtual cabin with seats for this aircraft for thepassenger version but there seems to be a low resolution one forthe cargo model. There's a functional doors panel as well. Oddly,the passenger models have this too. Other than that, the VC looksand works great. The VC has a few sub-views as well.

2D panel users can take a breather because this product comeswith a functional 2D cockpit. The gauges and instruments are niceand clear. An appreciable portion of the panel is visible on themain display. A panel selector is available at the top left cornerof the screen. The captain's, F/O's and FE's (flight engineer's)panels can be accessed along with the other usual sub panels aswell. Everything's quite clear and easy to use. The click spotshere are in commonality with the VC although there is no option toenable window reflections. This is perhaps a limitation of FSXitself. The yoke isn't there for obvious reasons. The 2D panellooks good on the whole.

Exterior

The exterior model looks quite good. An appreciable collectionof liveries are available but they aren't really of very highquality. Various airlines' liveries are available for bothpassenger and cargo variants. Some elements of detail are visibleon a closer glance like dirt effects. All usual animations havebeen modeled and it looks like there's an external power unit aswell that is visible when the external power is connected. Oneletdown here would be the absence of wing flex. It feels odd seeingthose wings just sit still when flying. Wing flex on the real A300is not so pronounced but it would have been nice to see it modeled.Aircraft views are available as wing views, a tail view and nosegear view.

Night Lighting

Night lighting in the interior of this aircraft is quite goodand realistic. But it's not possible to control the lighting muchas the only options available for lighting are a common function ofthe BRT switch and storm light switch. Nevertheless, lighting isvery good in the interior. One letdown is the FE panel. One of thescreen shots very well explains it. Exterior lighting is fine.

Aircraft Systems

The level of systems programming for this add on is quiteastounding. In no way is this bird easy to fly without a flipthrough the tutorial. Some of the interesting features are the INS,autopilot and the FE panel. Nearly all possible systems have beensimulated. A setup menu can be accessed through a click spot and beused to configure various aspects of the aircraft such as externalpower, panel state, etc. The working environment is very realistic.For example, the brakes don't work if there isn't enough pressureand their efficiency can even reduce due to overheating from excessbraking under load. As with any aircraft there are some acceptablelimitations: shared cockpit is not supported, INS does not have anMSU (similar to aligning on modern IRSs) or VOR updating or drift,no weather radar, panel works only with FSUIPC (registration is notnecessary). During cruise, however, the autopilot does rock theplane gently from side to side. It's not erratic but it's gentle.Sometimes, the autopilot does get a little abrupt.

Flight Dynamics

The flight dynamics for this add on have been well done. Theyare well balanced and represent the feel of flying a medium sizedairliner. The flight dynamics have been tested by a professionalA300 captain. The plane handles quite well on the ground as well.Braking is quite realistic on this aircraft. One bug is with thehorizontal stabilizer trim. For some position of the trim justshort of 3 units, just a touch of adding trim results in the trimjumping to above 3 causing a sudden pitching up tendency andvice-versa. Other than that, I had no problems.

Sounds

I would categorize the sounds for this add-on in the aboveaverage category. The sounds are good but they do need sometweaking. The exterior sounds are very realistic and it feels likelistening to some real GE engines. It's the internal sounds thatcould use a bit of tweaking. A little more of the sounds of therelative wind could have added to realism. What's interesting isthat specific sounds can be heard on the movement of almost everyswitch in the cockpits which is quite realistic. Air conditioningand avionic sounds have been designed well also. There aren't anyV-speed callouts but GPWS altitude callouts are there.

Frame Rates

I bet you've been itching for this topic. This aircraft doesgive a hit on the frames but not too much. Now don't be expectingto be flying to complex airports with scenery and AI cranked up.The exterior model and 2D panel give negligible hits. It's the VCthat's the main killer. To get the best results, it's important tohave an acceptably powerful machine.

Verdict

This is a fine product. It has some appreciable documentation,virtual cockpit and 2D panel, nice night lighting, and systems aregood. The sounds could have been better though. Wing flex andproper virtual cabins could have been a nice touch. Trim controland autopilot need some tweaks. SimCheck have another service packcoming up that will also add more features as well so be on thelookout for that. Please feel free to contact me if you have anyqueries or suggestions.

Rohan Nair
[email protected]
Learn More Here

Other Rohan Nair Reviews:

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Introduction