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Picked up this one today , used my saved up points and got it for a tad over £8.00. A great rendition of this lovely old aircraft.

The flight was a weather recce mission out over the Solent. We departed RAF Stoney Cross at 07:00 into driving rain, was hoping it would clear offshore and although it was patchy, by the time we went to return to Stoney the whole of the coast of Hampshire was socked in. Eventually managed to get down at Bembridge on the IoW.

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thanks for viewing.

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Nice aircraft Alan.  I don't believe I am familiar with this one.

The Avro Anson was one of the RAFs unsung heroes, they carried out a variety of roles including , Bombing, Training, Liason, Recconaisence, Coastal Command etc etc. Although first flying in the 1930s the last ones were not retired until the late 70s. They were slow and obsolete by the start of WW2 but still held their own amongst their newer "replacements!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

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It is a nice looking war bird and I was kicking around which one to get, the Aircraft Factory one or the FSAddon one. The one you have Alan looks great but the gap around the gun turret puts me off but I think on the whole it got a better review that the AF one(that is if the one you have is the FSAddon one or some other). Is the gap that big on the real one, it didn't look that way from RW images. Decisions, decisions. :(

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Great pictures of a fantastic old bird.  I too have this in mt FSX hanger.

 

Further to Alan's information above, The Anson was the first British aircraft to engage a U-boat  in WW 2 and:

 

On 1st June 1940 at 8.34 am BST, P/O  Phillip ”Pete”  Peters of No 500 (County of Kent) Squadron took off from Detling to led a patrol of three Ansons to Dunkirk to support the evacuation of the BEF.

 

The flight was attacked appr. at 10.40 am BST while flying at 50 feet near Ostend by a bunch of  Bf109s, the British thought by 9 Bf 109s, from above. Seeing the two other Ansons take the brunt of the attack Peters ordered them to return to Detling, and dropped even lower and throttled back to make his aircraft, MK-V  N9732,  a difficult target. 

 

The navigator Sgt Deryk Cobham Spencer and the Wireless Operator LAC Pepper moved to man the extra beam guns in the windows of the “greenhouse” cabin.

 

Peters immediately turned to the attack and so skillfully maneuvered his aircraft, that he and both the air gunner and the navigator were enabled to concentrate their fire on the enemy.

 

Two Messerschrnitts were seen to crash, and two more appeared to be seriously damaged.

 

According to the original award notices in The London Gazette the shooting downs were allocated to the navigator and the air-gunner LAC Lewis George Smith, who manned the dorsal turret during the combat, according to the notice each destroyed a Messerschmitt 109 and severely damaged another.

 

The Anson flew 15 – 20 mls during the fight which lasted less than 10min. After the other Bf 109s flew off, Peters continued his patrol and then returned safely to the base landing there at 12.37 pm BST  – with just four bullet holes in his aircraft.

 

Peters was awarded a well-earned DFC 

 

 

Last year you could have a flight in one at Duxford if you could stump up  the fee.

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  • 1 year later...

Avro Anson MkI, A2A or FSAddon?  The Latter is more finely modelled and more detailed but one gets the impression that the modeller  is not a pilot or understands aero engines. In the VC one cannot back off enough to see both the starters and the mag switches at the same time. The model flies well enough although the rudder does not have sufficient swing for a reasonable sideslip to lose height  and speed if needed on approach. Also the engine sound is not convincing and it has multi flap positions, of the MkI’s I encountered there was only two positions, up or down. The texturing is a little too bright and shiny for my liking; no warplane wants reflecting surfaces. Also one cannot get rid of the aircrew. Many years ago I started my twin rating on the Annie so naturally I like to go through the cockpit and start-up checks which one cannot do on this model due to restricted vision positioning.

 

The A2A Mk I is much nearer to the real thing and the engine sound is great which is important if one is going to make long trips and of course if one has experienced the real thing. The VC textures are clear but not bright and in one’s face and it has the correct all or nothing flaps. Everything that is there can be seen and works; and one can get rid of one or all of the air crew which suits me being an ATA fan, their pilots flew alone a great deal.  Unfortunately for my interest in the ATA neither supplier have a Mk I with the gun turret removed. This model has become my favourite touring aeroplane although with no auto pilot not even a Sperry and no navigational aids it would not suit everyone but I enjoy the dead reckoning and astral navigation at night. At the present time I am touring southern Europe both by day and night, sometimes a little pressing when flying over high mountains in the dark but all a challenge.

 

In summary the A2A model is a good old reliable war time hack and the FSAddon a restored post war hanger queen.  BL.

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Thanks for your mini review Bob,:thum: always great to get as many opinions as possible.:)

 

Just to note, although A2A sells the plane this particular model is from a company called the The Aircraft Factory. The FSAddon one is made by a self taught fellow from South Africa that does it to squeak out a living.   

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Thanks for the feedback guys. I love this old aircraft. I'd love to see some more versions of the aircraft produced, such as the High roof later versions used by Transport Command and various small civil operators. Also some of the WW2 versions without the gun turrets of which there were many. It would also make a great Air Hauler add-on for you guys that fly those missions. The Anson served her country well and deserved the accolades foisted upon her.

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20 hours ago, brett said:

Thanks for your mini review Bob,:thum: always great to get as many opinions as possible.:)

 

Just to note, although A2A sells the plane this particular model is from a company called the The Aircraft Factory. The FSAddon one is made by a self taught fellow from South Africa that does it to squeak out a living.   

 
Thank you Brett, I was of course aware of the different modellers but my submission was not so much a review but a comparison between the two models. Over several years Simon has produced some good models which I have enjoyed but he often seems not to fully understand the sim pilots requirements or understand the aviation history relating to vintage models which is all part of the aeroplanes atmosphere and charisma. All the information he needs is available on the box and for old warplane aeroplane reality there are Dave Garwood's models available for reference. The difference in sound between the AF model and the FSAddon being a case in point.
 
For those who have the AF model I suggest flying a close and low display round an airfield and then playing it back viewed from the tower. The sound of those two AS 7 cylinder 350 hp engines is pure music and for me bringing back many happy memories; better than the Proms!    Bob.
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Your welcome Bob, you will have to excuse my choice of wording but mini review does sound better than mini comparison.:D I have several of Simon's aircraft and although I often root for the little guy, all his aircraft do seem to be missing that something which could make them rise above the rest. I do enjoy flying his choice of aircraft but they soon end up gathering dust. I do find the AF planes to be well modeled yet short on features, as to the sounds which are superb I have a feeling that Scott from A2A had his audio skills hand in the pie.:)

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13 hours ago, brett said:

Your welcome Bob, you will have to excuse my choice of wording but mini review does sound better than mini comparison.:D I have several of Simon's aircraft and although I often root for the little guy, all his aircraft do seem to be missing that something which could make them rise above the rest. I do enjoy flying his choice of aircraft but they soon end up gathering dust. I do find the AF planes to be well modeled yet short on features, as to the sounds which are superb I have a feeling that Scott from A2A had his audio skills hand in the pie.:)

On 2017-5-27 at 21:04, brett said:

Thanks for your mini review Bob,:thum: always great to get as many opinions as possible.:)

 

Just to note, although A2A sells the plane this particular model is from a company called the The Aircraft Factory. The FSAddon one is made by a self taught fellow from South Africa that does it to squeak out a living.   

 

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For any Annie fans watching this topic a bit of history not generally known. As the aeroplane has a free castering tail wheel and no lock, maintaining direction during take-off is maintained by individual wheel braking which doesn’t help when attempting pick up speed. To over come the problem any crew or passengers used to crowd into the cockpit to help get the nose down and the tail up.  Bob
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Interesting tidbit Bob.:thanks: Do you have tail wheel lock on your version, if not the default keyboard command of "Shift+G" might work, worth a try anyway.

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Just now, BOB LOMAS said:

 

The answer Brett is no but that is exactly as it was and I wouldn't change it even though I cannot move the crew into the cockpit! But thank you for the thought. I have an idea that later models have a steerable tailwheel.

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On 5/29/2017 at 00:51, BOB LOMAS said:
For any Annie fans watching this topic a bit of history not generally known. As the aeroplane has a free castering tail wheel and no lock, maintaining direction during take-off is maintained by individual wheel braking which doesn’t help when attempting pick up speed. To over come the problem any crew or passengers used to crowd into the cockpit to help get the nose down and the tail up.  Bob

 

I have a few in my hangar with no tail steering...always a challenge on take off. I overcome it by "knowing" which way the nose is going to want to drift (natural tendency or crosswind usually determine that), and beginning my roll out angled the opposite way with full oppossing rudder, and yes I have to tiny-tap the brakes once in a while if necc... which does cause some slowing of the take off, but prevents careening through hangars and parked aircraft along the runway.

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Thank you Alan, I hadn’t seen the first video. Presumably a NZ Mk I but seemingly modified with hydraulic or electric under carriage and flaps although the pilot was perhaps a tad slow on hoisting up the latter it being on grass as small stones and rubbish can be thrown up and damage them. The delightful sound of the Cheetah radials is well replicated with the AF sim model.
 
Thinking back to when I last sat in an Annie now yonks ago I wondered what the crew would have made of the young man who climbed aboard dressed in a teashirt, baggy shorts and trainers!
 
Bob.
 

 

Edited by brett
Moderator edit to show OP of videos
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