By: Anthony 'Shepherd' Underwood
Date: 2006/08/25
This is one of the best aircraft I have flown yet! The detail of the bird is amazing, the choices in level and performance make it a must have for the avid small aircraft pilot. This release is officially endorsed by the aircraft manufacture Pilatus and they worked closely with Flight One to make it as real as possible.
First let’s deal with the system stuff.
This product is only compatible with FS2004, so of course, FS2004 is required. For your computer, we recommend you have a 1.6 GHz machine, with a 128 Mb memory video card. System memory should be a minimum of 512. Low-end on-board sound chips are NOT recommended. A plug in sound card, such as a Soundblaster Audigy, is recommended. In some cases, sounds will not work correctly unless you have an adequate sound card.
(http://www.flight1.com)
Windows XP is the official operating system that is supported for use with the PC-12. It may work with other Microsoft operating systems; however this is not supported by Flight One.
What is this amazing bird?
The PC-12 is a powerful combination of size, speed, economy and advanced design that allows the PC-12 to dominate where other aircraft struggle to compete. The PC-12's power and efficiency come from the Pratt and Whitney PT6A turboprop engine. Combined with the Swiss engineered airframe it is able to offer a cruise speed of 270 knots and direct operating costs of around $300.00 per hour. With its large pressurized cabin and seating from 6 to 7 passengers it offers anything from a perfect airborne conference room to a large and versatile freight hauler with a cabin of 330 cubic feet and a cargo door that measures 53 x 52 inches.
The PC-12 demonstrates wide opportunities for corporate, air ambulance, cargo, and regional work. A true Swiss army knife of the aviation industry.
Features
Flight One Software continues its "commitment to authenticity" with it's rendition of the PC-12. The performance of the 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67B turboprop engine, along with its Hartzell 4-blade aluminum prop, will take you to 30,000 feet as you SCREAM along at 310 mph. The available range of 2,239 NM will allow sim pilots to go coast-to-coast, with just one stop.
The aircraft add-on features include: a visual model with and without a virtual cockpit/cabin, accurate flight modeling, advanced glass avionics suite and a custom GPS system.
The package also includes caution and warning voice alerts in 4 languages; English, German, Spanish and French which can be selected from the included configuration manager. Both high and low resolution virtual cockpit options are available, and Flight1's Text-O-Matic repaint utility will allow you to expand your fleet with customized paint schemes. Also included is a detailed manual, point-and-click interactive tutorial and much, much more.
The very first thing I noticed about the PC-12 is it’s amazing attention to detail. You have multiple variants of the aircraft to fly, cargo, executive, passenger, police and air ambulance. Each has different colors and schemes to accommodate the immersion into that profile.
Dropping down into the pilot’s chair you will notice how very crisp and clean the instrument panel is in front you of you. This has not always been the case with the stock and adds on aircraft and seeing such effort placed in the detail is very nice. The lay out is easy to come up to speed with and finding everything is very easy. If you should find yourself a bit lost, the disk downloads a copy of the manual on your desk top for you to refer back to just for a extra help.
If you look to your left and down you’ll find the nice cold Coke they left for you and to your right is a bag of Tayto Hunger Twisters chips to help make those long flights easier on you. This is the detail that I have mentioned already. For me it is the little things that really make it real and Flight One has got that right for me on this one.
Many of the functions of pilot can be performed from the cockpit view which is also a great bonus. No more guessing what the dial says Flight One has made it where you can easily fly from this view and not miss a single thing.
Taking out to the runway you can come to terms with the pep of the single engine. After getting clearance you can roar down the runway and off you go on a solid cruising speed with good range as well. I found nothing to dislike about the PC-12 in the hours I have flown it which right now are around about 20. I find it to be a very good bush plane taking it down into the smaller islands and hitting the remote area’s that larger twin engine aircraft would have trouble servicing.
I recommend this aircraft for any pilot seeking to get the most out of his small aircraft flight time. It is flawless in detail, performance and enjoyment. Thanks Flight One for the excellent work on the PC-12, it is amazing.