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I took the plunge and bought an addon aircraft that I have flown in real life. Since I did not find a review of it here I wanted to share my thoughts and impressions with you and go from merely consuming to contributing :)

 

The FlySimWare MU2B-60 is Twin Turbo Prop with a geared Turbine, that can cruise up to 30000 ft and up to 300kts TAS. It was produced from 1963 to 1986 in various models for a total of around 700 aircraft.

 

One of its main features was the lack of conventional ailerons. Roll control is achieved by spoilers extending upward from the wings surfaces in order to reduce lift on the appropriate wing, thus initiating a roll. That left room for almost all wing double flaps. That in turn meant that the wing surface itself could be kept small for high speed cruise while enough surface area was available for landings at around 100kts IAS.

 

In its flight characteristics it is more akin to a jet then to any other turbo pro that I know of, mainly because of its high wing load and the need to fly it procedurally "by the book". This necessity was somewhat neglected in the aircrafts early days and it led to a number of accidents and an FAA investigation into the MU2. It was found to be perfectly safe if operated within its specifications.

 

So what do you get with the package?

 

The version offered by Flysimware is a MU2B-60 or Marquise, one of the later stage long body versions of the MU with the Garret TPE331-10 turbine. This is the most powerful engine fitted onto the MU2 in its lifespan, giving it around 720hp per engine.

 

It comes with three liveries for two different configurations. Three with a panel with somewhat standard GNS and the same three with a 3D implementation of Flight1's GTN 750 and an optional weather radar for different publishers, including CaptainSim, RealityXP and the freeware weather radar available for ASN. As I have none of the weather radars but a GTN 750 I used the latter version for this review.

 

Included in the product are checklists, custom sounds and full lighting, VC shadows, custom 3D switches and 3D gauges.

 

 

Also included is a hangar view that gives you a brief overview over the state of the airplane (fuel, some options regarding the pilot appearance, wheel chocks, start locks and luggage)

 

From here you can also access your ground power unit, that allows the aircraft to operate without its avionics draining on the battery, for example while flight planning in the gtn and waiting for a startup clearance. This works well and is a nice addition to the plane.

 

The APU that came with the Marquise is not modelled.

 

On a second popup you get the option for a cold and dark mode or ready to fly mode, as well as the ability to switch lighting. This works nicely and caters to your wanted degree of realism.

 

The model

 

This thing is drop dead gorgeous. Inside and out with attention to every little detail. Be it sun shades or the actual friction lever that counters power lever creep in the real airplane. All is there and modeled, clickable and movable.

 

The flight instrumentation is and all knobs and dials are completely in 3D. All dials and gauges are easily readable from the VC mode. All in all, a spot on job. The test switches in the cockpit illuminate their appropriate panels (and the moo has a ton of test switches).

This continues on to the cabin, the folding table, movable doors, everything is done with a great attention to detail and makes this a plane, that is top notch in terms of modelling.

 

The landing lights are animated, they retract and extend, the exterior lighting, that goes along with it looks really nice.

 

The spoiler and flaps are modeled nicely as well, the props look great and it has some nice reflections.

 

This is all complimented by some rather nice exterior textures. The interior quality is ranging from okayish to superb in different places, but still a solid good work overall.

 

The panel lighting, though not dimable like in the real aircraft is nice as well, the cabin and cockpit lights look good.

 

One more thing to add, the aircraft comes with a custom rain animation on the windshield. It looks awesome.

 

 

8/10

 

The sound

 

Everything has its own sound, all the click switches, the loud whining turbines, even the obnoxius beacon underneath the cockpit can be heard. That would be all good if it were not for a little something, that really gets to me, but might not be an issue for you at all.

 

If you retract your landing lights for example and you have the switch in the off position (switches are mostly operated by left clicking for one and right clicking for the opposite direction) and right click it again, you will hear the retraction sound again. Same goes if it is back in the off position and you move it to retract, eventhough nothing extended the sound will play regardless.

 

Also happening with the flap switch if you hit one end or the other (fully up or extended) the sound will continue to play, even if you hit the last possible postion for extension/ retraction that is possible.

 

As I have no track IR or Oculus this is a major kicker for me. I rely on audible feedback, especially on TO and landing because I have no easy way to visually check the switch.

 

A flip switch, that can not be operated by the mouse wheel will also play its sound, leaving you to believe it was modified, even if it wasn't. At stressful situations this can be very detrimental.

 

So as I said, might not be an issue for you, for me it is, bringing down the otherwise nice experience considerably.

 

6/10

 

The avionics and systems.

 

Everything is in its place and looks nice. All the systems work, VOR/DME, the radio panel and the GTN 750 integrates quite nicely into the cockpit. I cannot say anything about the weather radar. Nothing to add here. Just great work.

 

Also included is the cabin pressurization system, while not having any real effect, I just love that it is there. You can adjust every aspect of it and it really adds to the level of immersion in my opinion.

 

There is a custom wind meter installed, that shows you the wind vector and speed as well as the side wind component. A nifty tool and nicely implemented.

 

Virtually any switch can be clicked, there is a full deicing system, windshield wipers to go along with the aforementioned custom rain effects on the windshield, great.

 

The fuel system seems to be implemented correctly, the pressurization of the outer tanks is simulated that forces the fuel into the main body tank, from where the engines are fed.

 

As also mentioned before, everything is crisp and clear, the gauges are easily readable, making flying in the vc a joy.

 

9/10

 

The autopilot

 

The Moo comes equipped with a Sperry autopilot with a multitude of modes, HDG and NAV hold, APR and BC, VOR/APR, Altitude hold, Altitude select, vertical speed and indicated airspeed hold that go along with the altitude select.

 

While looking the part, here some functionality quirks have crept in. The IAS hold is a little bit hit or miss, it struggles a little bit with holding the airspeed and this can result in a wildly varying climb speed without touching the controls, when the autopilot struggles to get back to climbing. Also I think that the IAS hold normally would engage the currently flown airspeed, not the trimmed one when entered and trim for the hold speed by itself. I might be wrong on this one though. So currently you have to trim the aircraft to a certain speed, have it reach it and then engage IAS hold to alleviate some of the problems it has.

 

It is also not possible to disengage the IAS hold by itself, whenever altitude select is armed. This leads to some wild trimming attempts

 

The Altitude hold mode is plagued by the same problem. It can work but sometimes it starts to wobble inconsistently. I also had that happen to me on an approach which can lead to questions from the controller on vatsim :) The altitude hold is also influenced by the pitch select wheel in the model. I am not quite sure, but I think that was not the case in the real thing.

 

I was in contact with the author about these things and he already works on some changes, so that might be fixed in the near future.

 

Nevertheless in its current state the AP only will get a 6/10

 

 

The flight model

 

Here the plane starts to shine again. It feels almost like the real deal. In certain situations the aircraft is unforgiving. Slowing down needs to be planned well in advance and that is quite correct. There is no speedbrakes and this thing is built for high speed cruise. Trying to slow down from 200kts on short final will not be possible. Flown correctly however, this is a real joy.

The performance seems to be in the right ballpark, albeit it seems to me that it is a little bit too easy to climb well above 33000ft. But my experience here is limited as normal operation would be between 25 and 29000 ft.

Other than that it is a joy to fly this thing by hand at low alt as well as up with the jets, going 300kts TAS and with its seemingly accurate range is quite nice:

 

8/10

 

The engine

 

To get it out of the way, sadly this is where this simulation falls short.

 

While engine startup and shutdown as well as the start locks are simulated well, there are some major issues.

 

In the Moo, you will find no prop pitch lever. But this thing is not a constant prop speed model either. Pitch is controlled by a governor and pre selected via the condition lever. There is also no RPM readout in numbers, just a percentage.

 

On the ground you would put the condition lever to the taxi detent and the governor would establish 76% prop speed. Although there is no detent simulated (might be a shortcoming of P3D), the lever in the taxi position also gives you that rate in the simulation. So far so good.

 

Now when you advance the condition lever past the min cruise detent up to full, the prop percentage would go up smoothly to 100% for take off. then you had the space between full and the min detent where the governor would give you anything between 100% and 96% prop speed.

This however does not happen in the simulation. The prop speed jumps up from the 76% taxi to the 100% and it stays there, regardless of take of or min cruise setting. It will only come down again at the taxi setting and will immediatly jump back to the 76% then. There is no way to control the pitch in flight, which is a integral part of fuel and speed management in the Moo. High speed cruise would be 100% torque, 98% prop, min cruise 96%. Not doable here.

 

There is also a prop phase sync selector, but regardless of the setting, I have found no influence in the flight model by adjusting it.

 

The engine deice has an adversarial effect on the torque, which is nicely modeled. However if you can really trip the IAS hold with engaging disengaging it (see the autopilot section for this)

 

Next thing is the EGT. I understand there is an engine fire system in place, at least the handles are there. But to the best of my efforts I could not get the exhaust gas temperature reach its peak. In warm and moist condition the Moo would get EGT and not power locked. Especially in climbs. It simpy does not happen, taking away some depth.

 

The Moo requires attention to its engines, but not with this model.

 

4/10

 

Documentation and checklists

 

For an aircraft that requires training to meet the FAA regulations, the checklist and documentation is sparse at best. There are only rudimentary checklists supplied, albeit there is a training video. For an aircraft in this price range, I was somewhat suprised and had wished for a better overall experience in this regard.

 

Especially all the first flight and regular checks should have been there, but they are not. This leaves you with a rudimentary checklist, that basically only consists of turn the engine on and fly.

 

2/10

 

Conclusion

 

So is the product its $42/ 40€ price tag. Well, let me say it depends. If you want a nice to fly model that looks good, go ahead. For me, in its current state? Not so much. Especially the engine part leaves me a bit disappointed as well as the lack of documentation and the sound issue. For such a premium price I expected more. And seeing that there is a no refund policy instated by the author of the plane, there is no try, only do :)

 

That being said, this is developed by one person. I was in contact with him and he is really enthusiastic about his project and doing continous updates. So it might improve in the future, it might not. Overall I would rate this plane

 

7/10

 

DISCLAIMER:

 

this is a personal opinion, yours may differ, I might have stuff gotten wrong. If you want the plane, go ahead by all means, support the developer and buy it.

 

Edit:

 

got the order of review items wrong. Corrected

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Thanks for the detailed review Deimos and welcome to the forums here. :hat:

 

I looked at the video on their site and wasn't much impressed with the model. The cockpit panel textures and modeling was not what one would expect from today's developers, especially for the price. That said, his gauges look decent and it sounded ok and if I really wanted that particular aircraft I might buy it for around $30 if he fixed all the bugs. If that sounds harsh I apologize but I tend to compare addons with comparable products available, something reviewers endeavor to avoid. Just my opinion. :)  

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Thanks for the detailed review Deimos and welcome to the forums here. :hat:

 

I looked at the video on their site and wasn't much impressed with the model. The cockpit panel textures and modeling was not what one would expect from today's developers, especially for the price. That said, his gauges look decent and it sounded ok and if I really wanted that particular aircraft I might buy it for around $30 if he fixed all the bugs. If that sounds harsh I apologize but I tend to compare addons with comparable products available, something reviewers endeavor to avoid. Just my opinion. :)  

Thank you. And yeah, that is actually what I think as well. Sadly there is only the freeware Moo to compare it too and that would not have been a contest....

 

I also have the A2A Comanche, which I picked up actually for less than the Moo. These are the only planes I flew and that I have in the sim so I can do a qualified comment about. It is just another league. When I tried to extend flaps-to-brake-which-you-should-never-do-maneuver and the left flap hinge broke, I was blown away (and a little bit ashamed, because I had done that irl as well *cough*). So comparing that to the Moo would have been also no contest.

Its a hard thing, I tried for a refund and was turned down. Now it is uninstalled.

 

For me this is down the Carenado road a bit. Looks pretty, and I think better in the actual sim than in their video and I actually dig the style of not having it overdone with too many textures and reflections and such. But for me base functionality is lacking. For others it might be ok. And the next guy will ask me what an idiot I am for calling the model pretty... Taste is different and you cannot please them all...

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Hi Deimos

 

Welcome to the Hangar and thanks for a very interesting read.

 

That's a shame about the condition/prop pitch bug, hopefully the developer can fix it with useful input like yours.

 

Cheers,

 

Joe 

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Great review...I bought this on a sale... I have been dissappointed and not really used it... I was not very pleased with the quality of the finish and there forum just says they are more concentrated on aystems than looks.. I may have set it up wrong but it looked cheap I have seen better payware.....I was also dissappointed with the basic checklists too..maybe I will look at it again but at the moment its in the hangar gathering dust...

Welcome to Mutleys and thanks for the comprehensive review...

Wayne

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