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Saturday, June 8, 2013

SibWings An-2 : First Look!

FSX/P3D. An Antonov-2 in FSX ? At last! Some of us remember some aborted projects, from Intersim Studios and others....  Sibwings has did it. But is it worth it ?  

Sibwings Antonov - 2 FSX/P3D


Version tested : FSX
File size : 143 MB
Installation : Very friendly. As usual with aircrafts, two or three Windows will pop-up to install specific modules.
Framerate : Very friendly.


The Pitts, The Saab Safir.. Rings a bell ? Sibwings has been a very prolific developer for years, especially Under FS9/2004 Platform. Airdailyx, all three of us, we have tested this old russian-native bird. To be frank, we have encountered a few problems, here and there, specifically on P3D.
But finally, one of use has been lucky. We tested the aircraft during a 40 mn flight test on various liveries.
The first impression is the formidable horsepower delivered by the Antonov 2. Another specific fact about this bird is the position of the cockpit and pilots, a few feets over the cabin. The pilot can even see the cabin through a small window behind him. The flight test was successful. Engines, flaps, worked like a charm, although the aircraft takes-off too quickly - way too quickly  on my taste. Like it would only require 80 - 100 meters. Hmm. The real take-off run requires 170 meters.

Otherwise, 90 - 95 % of switches are working here. Inside the cockpit, and in the external views as well, all the textures look really good, really effective. You can still watch some old markings written in.... Russian. You will also be surprised by the realism of cockpit windows, that are all showing marks, dirts and wear traces, cockpit reflections. The sounds are not faint, you can actually hear loud and clear the flaps noises when you switch them up or down. And on the main panel, all gauges are easily readable and designed with high definition textures.

Now, is it an aircraft for you ? It dépends. Visual landings on these aircrafts are tricky. You cannot see the runway when the wheels are touching the runway. But it's a funny bird. I can only hope that the editor will release more liveries, including a few Cubans.
D.M.


PS : a small "bug" or drawback reported so far, once you upload the aircraft in FSX, lined up on the runway, it can shows a "white shadow" on the runway for a second, depending on your computer performances.

Our computer is a I7, 3,4 Ghz, 6 MB, GeForce GTX 650 Ti, Windows 7 / 64 bits.
You need more info on our computers ? Read our left column ADX system Specs.





 
Six liveries available from Aeroflot old variant to German and Polish liveries.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
Screenshot taken from Taxi2gate La Habana MUHA airport in Cuba.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Gauges and buttons are designed with high résolutions textures.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Three days ago, Sibwings has uploaded an interesting video of its latest product :
 
 
 
 
Airdailyx, June 08th 2013
First Look
 
 
 
 
 


 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

i broke down and purchased this, i'm running the 0.9.6 installer and had no such white patch that i could notice. I'm not saying it doesn't exist but I don't see/notice it. As far as seeing the runway well that's the way it just is, also a good reason to hit the lock tail wheel switch rofl. Love every monet in this bird i must admit, I admire this teams ability to keep putting out aircraft at such detail. My draw back is not P3D ability I suspect/read, idiodic. sorry but yes. What the hell, anyways maybe they'll change this, fingers crossed. I have all their aircraft all work function great, I don't mind their install procedure. Some one mentioned no support, I never had that issue. I easily if reconfigured and redid my pc to state just emailed them and they kindly obliged me in a new install procedure. So no beef their, also note the price is amazing, basically it's done except a full blown release and test and see what could be tweaked here and their to keep all/most customers happy. Also at this price theirs also a ski/float package coming. This better be free and not an addon or I'll use the word idiodic again here again and won't pay more money for it. But I must admit they did a fantastic job on this bird, also note theirs goodies on the forum LoadM's... ahh i won't ruin the suprise i think it's worth while for owners to log into the forums and check out the freebies as well.

all in all superb job. p3d what the heck, please fix this as I'm not long killing fsx off for good.
Amazing job on the Bird and if yah fix that issue you'll always have me as a customer.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the early take off:

SibWings have put a flying guide up in there forums as a downloadable PFD file. In the flying guide it mentions that you have to use A LOT of nose down trim on take off or the aircraft will indeed take off too soon just like the real aircraft will. The pilot quoted in the guide says nearly full forward trim or the aircraft will become airborne too early and trouble will ensue!

Mason Dominique said...

Ok thanks a lot!
Dom
ADX

Andrew Entwistle said...

The problem with this plane is that many people will attempt to use it as an ordinary FSX addon. The weights and balance, as does the engine management, require the user to read the manual. The flight guide Alexander Metzger (yes, THE Alexander Metzger...) put up is excellent reading, I would say essential...
There are some quirky things about this plane, but that is also the case in the real world. The constant morse ident of ADF stations when tuned in drives you nuts after a few minutes. I do hope they can sort that one.
After doing a couple of circuit flights in various locations, I finally flew it point to point, from Athens to Skiathos, which took around an hour or so. The aircraft needs to be trimmed correctly at all times, it is susceptible to crosswinds, the engine needs a lot of management on and just after takeoff... but once you are in the cruise, you can trim her out and she stays straight and level... I flew pretty much hands off for at least 30 minutes. The platform was as stable as a rock...
Not being type-rated on the An-2, or even a PPL or whatever holder, my comments are perhaps meaningless, but Alexander Metzger's flight modelling work has always felt "right", just like Bernt Stolle's, or Robert Young's...
That is the way the aircraft simulation felt last night...

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