Soon to be released to the MSFS market is the much-anticipated Aerosoft DHC-6 Twin Otter -100 and -300 series. This go anywhere, do anything GA aircraft is the No.1 choice for bush pilots and extreme landing experts alike. First built in 1955 and 844 aircraft later this aircraft is still going strong today.
It has 13 models included featuring cargo, skydiver, and passenger variants with a choice of gear, floats, amphibian, tundra or skis for all wet, dry, and icy conditions. The Twin Otter is a true workhorse in extreme conditions from the freezing Antarctic to the sublime luxury of the Maldives.
I have been testing the Twotter over the past few days as I would software in my day job and although still in beta I could not find any niggles that I understand will not be smoothed out before release. The flight performance feels true to type although I haven’t extracted and analysed the figures and The STOL capabilities are well represented with take-off / landing in as little as 366 / 320 m. Flying with the turbine engines requires different skills to piston aircraft to control the varying speeds required for flight and planning ahead is vital.
The quality of the cockpit textures is incredible, and all switches appear to work, this is not a port from FS2004/FS10/P3D, no, this has been built from the ground up using all the benefits MSFS technology offers. It has full autopilot features thanks to the familiar Garmin GNS530 GPS / 430 combination and Bendix/King and Collins avionics. All autopilot modes worked as expected including establishing ILS approach mode.
Externally, the same care has been taken with the quality of the textures, the rivet mapping alone must have taken days! The detail of the mechanical parts is superb and the Twotter can look just as pretty in close up as it does from the distance.
Also included is a very comprehensive user manual. It's full of information and history of the aircraft which is interesting for an oldie enthusiast like me. Most setup and use subjects are covered in a clear and precise way. Spare time to read it, its 155 pages are full of stuff you need to know!
Sim performance seemed unaffected by this aircraft, the gauges were smooth, mechanical items were smooth, and no stutters in flight were encountered.
I can see the Aerosoft Twin Otter easily topping the GA charts for months if not years, it lends itself very nicely to missions and is a great twin to learn on, I would go as far to say my Honeycomb Alpha & Bravo were made for this aircraft!
In conclusion, there are no unexpected surprises with this aircraft, it has been modelled and textured to the high standards we expect from Aerosoft. At €35.94 inc. 20% VAT, the Twin Otter is a must have for my Hangar.
Note: The release date is scheduled for 19th January 2022, the star ratings shown are for a product in production and I would fully expect the final RTM version to reach the magic 5/5.
Features:
- Full new development using all options of the platform
- Highly optimized modelling, prepared for use on PC and Xbox
- Wwise sound set with close to 300 spatially placed sounds
- Full use of decals to save on texture memory, very light on system resources
- Complex icing modelled on almost all surfaces and functional de-icing systems including electrical de-icing for probes and de-icing boots for leading edge
- Fully featured fuel systems (updated when MSFS adds more features)
- High-definition flight models for each model
- No additional navigation database needed
- MSFS checklists implemented
- Complete avionics stack (all compatible with available tweaks):
- Garmin 530 all-in-one GPS/Nav/Comm solution
- Garmin 430 all-in-one GPS/Nav/Comm solution
- Bendix/King KR-87 ADF Receiver
- Bendix/King KT-76C Transponder
- Bendix/King KAP140 Autopilot
- Intercontinental Altitude Alerter
- Collins 913K Autopilot Controller (used as repeater for the KAP140)
- Bendix/King KMA Audio Selector
- Collins FD-112V Flight Director
- Thirteen models:
- DHC6-100 Floats Passenger (Westcoast Air C-FGQH)
- DHC6-100 Wheels Cargo (Norway Airforce MXJ_67-062)
- DHC6-100_Wheels Passenger (Fuerza Aerea de chile 940)
- DHC6-300 Amphibian Passenger (Viking Air N153QS)
- DHC6-300 Floats Passenger (Trans Maldivian 8Q-TJM)
- DHC6-300 Floats Passenger Short Nose (Trans Maldivian 8Q-MAV)
- DHC6-300 Ski Cargo (British Antarctica Survey VP-FBB)
- DHC6-300 Tundra Wheels Cargo (Air Inuit C-GKCJ)
- DHC6-300 Tundra Wheels Passenger (Norlandair TF-NLC)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Cargo 3 Blade Prop (Aklak Air C-CDHC)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Cargo 4 Blade Prop (Aklak Air C-CDHC)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Skydiver (Perris Valley Skydiving N-708PV)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Passenger (Solomons Airline H4-FNT)
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