So life has been a tad stressful as of late. What does one do?
Fly circles around Puget Sound at 100 knots in the Turbine Duke at sunset.
Real Air Turbine Duke over Puget Sound
One of the most serene and beautiful flights I’ve had in a long time.
Cheers!
With climb rate of 4,000 ft/min and two glorious turboprop engines attached to its six seat fuselage, you can’t help but question the sanity of such a thing. Its like putting a V-8 in a Miata and wondering why the tires are bald after one lap.
One mean looking airplane!
As insane as it seems, it actually makes a lot of sense as an alternative to flying a jet. Why not put jet-like performance on an aircraft that can deliver much lower operating costs? Enter the Real Air Simulations Beechcraft Turbine Duke for FSX. It is a regular six seat Duke twin-engine aircraft retro-fitted with PT6A turbine engines that take this bird to a new level.
Real Air Simulations is known for producing realism, putting an emphasis on flight dynamics and system operation rather than eye candy. That isn’t to say the Duke’s model is poor, but the package is much more refined and complete compared to other payware offerings. With this model, engine failure is quite real, so managing torque and prop speed is essential as I found out on a test flight when I blew both engines and had to make an emergency landing.
Take care of those engines!
While some might balk at the nearly $50 US price tag, the level of detail of this model is well worth it. You aren’t paying for eye candy alone, but also realistic engine function and flight dynamics. I’ve flown the Turbine Duke in FSX on three flights and have to say that I am extremely impressed. This is probably the best commercial add-on for FSX yet. A full review is coming soon, so check back in the next few days.
