We are so very happy to say, we have succeeded in everything we set out to do. We didn’t cut any corners and this brand new Accu-Sim technology represents everything we dreamed of. Perhaps the biggest dream and challenge was to create a new aerodynamics system that allowed us to model how an airplane flies through the air. It’s the kind of simulation we knew was possible but wasn’t yet realized. Nobody has done anything like this before. This represents a quantum leap for us, and it’s the beginning of a whole new way of developing airplanes for flight simulation.

I decided early on the first airplane we had to simulate with Accu-Sim 2.0 would be the Comanche 250, as this is an airplane I have owned and operated for over 10 years. It feels like a nice pair of shoes that are perfectly broken in yet still look good. During development I was continuously asking questions without acceptable answers, and our Comanche gave us every answer we asked. Owning the airplane offers tremendous advantages as you don’t need to ask permission or explain why you need to perform some odd sounding test. None of our testing was dangerous but much of it involved things nobody, including me had ever done before. There is a reason I have owned and operated a Comanche 250, N6229P for over a decade, and now through Accu-Sim 2.0, you can better understand why.”

Scott Gentile
President

A2A Simulations Inc

Even if you have never actually seen a Cub in the flesh (and this is getting harder to do every year), if airplanes are your game, you have a good idea of what a Cub is all about. Virtually every pilot has flown or knows someone who has flown a Cub.

If you throw a baseball, a paper airplane, and a stick into the air, each would behave differently based on it’s weight, density, and shape. Each will interact with the air and ultimately the ground very differently, just as we would expect. But what if you dropped a tennis ball on a hard surface, and instead of bouncing, it just hit the ground with a loud ‘clunk’ and stopped? We are physical beings that live in a world that has certain truths we take for granted, that is until they are gone. However, in a simulated world, nothing can be taken for granted. In fact, if the physics in a simulated world are not specifically created by someone, they simply do not exist. With Accu-Sim, we have built-in to this simulation many of the physical rules that we know to be true and which we expect to exist in the real physical world.

For example, if you start a simple engine that is cold, you expect that it will run rougher and less reliably than when it is warmed up. If one morning you start your cold engine and something seems different, if it does not behave as you expect it to, you will notice this and your senses will tell you, “something is not right.” This is because you have become accustomed and comfortable with how your aircraft responds at all times, not just in the behavior of a single gauge, but in subtle ways — the way the engine sounds and responds to the throttle, the way the body squeaks, or even in the way the air sounds as it passes by your airframe at different airspeeds. More obviously, if you taxi on the grass, you expect your aircraft to buck and dip as it moves over bumps and depressions in the ground. Similarly, you would also expect to sway and rock if sitting on unsettled water in floats. All of this, and much more, will be experienced and brought to you more accurately and realistically by Accu-Sim. Now it’s an entirely new and more real world. It’s a world that makes you believe you literally have a physical piece of equipment stuffed inside your computer monitor because all of these little physical truths which cause actions and reactions, and which you notice when they are there or not there, have been created in Accu-Sim. It is all of these little clues which we experience and observe, and which we take for granted in our real world, which make things seem real to us. When they are missing or portrayed inaccurately, things just don’t seem right. You know it; you sense it, and so do we.

Perhaps the most important thing this little airplane will bring to you is honest, true-to-life stick-and-rudder flying, something pilots often forget after flying large, heavy, fast, complex aircraft for a while. You will be actively engaged in flying this Cub almost all of the time. After just flying it for a very short while you will start to feel like a better pilot, and you will be.

LICENSE OPTIONS:
Academic;
This version is for academic users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d academic license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Professional;
This version is for professional users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d professional license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Commercial;
This software is licensed for commercial use for one year with the option to extend annually for $299.
Click to View

New licensing terms and tailor made solutions are available for Commercial customers please contact us for details.

Yet we all interpret life around us differently, including how an airplane feels to each pilot. It is up to us, at A2A, to not just create an airplane that objectively performs in line with the actual airplane, but to capture that human feel and interaction with the real airplane. We have to somehow magically capture that experience that applies to all pilots. And Accu-Sim technology allows us to achieve this better than anything we’ve used before.

Beyond modeling a specific airplane, the Bonanza history is surrounded with tales and stories developed over many decades, some are true and some not. Probably the most common nick name the Bonanza V-tail is known for is being the “doctor killer.” When the Bonanza was first introduced, it was unlike anything anyone has ever seen in the general aviation market. And for the decade following it’s release, successful businessmen and professionals were buying the Bonanza in great numbers. Many of these pilots had primary careers that demanded a great deal of their time, not leaving much room for flying. And like many “weekend warriors” today who spend the whole week sitting behind a desk then go out and play a sport on the weekend, injuries erupt. The same holds true for the busy professional working all week who then decides to occasionally fly a high performance airplane like the Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail.

The V-tail Bonanza was built from World War II fighter technology, which was designed for highly trained professional pilots. And like most Warbirds, the Bonanza want so fly fast, all the time. Unlike general aviation aircraft that were  developed in later years to have benign flight characteristics, the Bonanza inherently has all of the challenging qualities of the World War II fighter. From my point of view, flying a Bonanza is just like flying a Warbird. It rumbles, shakes, rattles, is heavy and can bite the low time pilot in a heart beat. Therefore it’s this writer’s opinion that the new pilot should approach flying a V-tail Bonanza exactly the same as approaching an aircraft like a P-51 Mustang. The V-tail Bonanza, like the Warbird, is designed for experienced pilots who take the time to study and fly and operate such an aircraft with organization, patients, and preparedness.

For those pilots who do approach the V-tail Bonanza with the respect it deserves, it will reward the pilot with an experience unlike any other aircraft in the general aviation fleet today. It is for this reason the V-tail Bonanza still stands alone today, as it did on the first day it was introduced to the public.

We hope our work on this aircraft meets and exceeds all of our customers expectations, and also hope this aircraft delivers not weeks or months, but years of excitement, wonder, surprise, and the most complete simulated aviation experience to date. Thank you to all of our customers for allowing us to pursue our dreams, and hopefully help pass our dreams onto you too.

Yet we all interpret life around us differently, including how an airplane feels to each pilot. It is up to us, at A2A, to not just create an airplane that objectively performs in line with the actual airplane, but to capture that human feel and interaction with the real airplane. We have to somehow magically capture that experience that applies to all pilots. And Accu-Sim technology allows us to achieve this better than anything we’ve used before.

Beyond modeling a specific airplane, the Bonanza history is surrounded with tales and stories developed over many decades, some are true and some not. Probably the most common nick name the Bonanza V-tail is known for is being the “doctor killer.” When the Bonanza was first introduced, it was unlike anything anyone has ever seen in the general aviation market. And for the decade following it’s release, successful businessmen and professionals were buying the Bonanza in great numbers. Many of these pilots had primary careers that demanded a great deal of their time, not leaving much room for flying. And like many “weekend warriors” today who spend the whole week sitting behind a desk then go out and play a sport on the weekend, injuries erupt. The same holds true for the busy professional working all week who then decides to occasionally fly a high performance airplane like the Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail.

The V-tail Bonanza was built from World War II fighter technology, which was designed for highly trained professional pilots. And like most Warbirds, the Bonanza want so fly fast, all the time. Unlike general aviation aircraft that were  developed in later years to have benign flight characteristics, the Bonanza inherently has all of the challenging qualities of the World War II fighter. From my point of view, flying a Bonanza is just like flying a Warbird. It rumbles, shakes, rattles, is heavy and can bite the low time pilot in a heart beat. Therefore it’s this writer’s opinion that the new pilot should approach flying a V-tail Bonanza exactly the same as approaching an aircraft like a P-51 Mustang. The V-tail Bonanza, like the Warbird, is designed for experienced pilots who take the time to study and fly and operate such an aircraft with organization, patients, and preparedness.

For those pilots who do approach the V-tail Bonanza with the respect it deserves, it will reward the pilot with an experience unlike any other aircraft in the general aviation fleet today. It is for this reason the V-tail Bonanza still stands alone today, as it did on the first day it was introduced to the public.

We hope our work on this aircraft meets and exceeds all of our customers expectations, and also hope this aircraft delivers not weeks or months, but years of excitement, wonder, surprise, and the most complete simulated aviation experience to date. Thank you to all of our customers for allowing us to pursue our dreams, and hopefully help pass our dreams onto you too.

LICENSE OPTIONS:
Academic;
This version is for academic users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d academic license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Professional;
This version is for professional users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d professional license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Commercial;
New licensing terms and tailor made solutions are available for Commercial customers please contact us for details.

We also Offer Bundle deals for FSX and P3D Academic and Professional users for those that run both simulator platforms.

Lycoming 540 engine
Most A&P mechanics refer to the Lycoming 540 as being “bulletproof.”  Consider that a Chevrolet big block in an early ‘70’s Corvette is 454 cubic inches, a Skyhawk’s engine is either 320 or 360 cubic inches (like small automobile V-8).  The Skylane engine is 541.5 cubic inches, which is bigger than the previously mentioned Chevy big block.   I have the same engine in my Comanche, and you feel this 50% bigger engine under the hood, just rumbling and rattling, waiting to be opened up on takeoff.  We expanded Accu-Sim to capture the more aggressive nature of operating such a nice and powerful GA engine.

Constant speed prop – propeller physics
We upgraded the propeller physics for the Skylane in several areas.  This was necessary to deliver the best experience when operating this new system.  For example, many people don’t realize that a 2-blade propeller will generally cruise faster than a 3-blade at all but the very highest altitudes (and I’m talking where oxygen is required).  The Skylane manual is based on the 3-blade, so you can squeeze out even more speed by using a 2-blade.   The high cruise is just around 167 mph with a 3-blade, and around 170 mph with a 2-blade (keep in mind every plane will have slightly different cruise speeds, which speaks to the uniqueness of each airframe, engine, and prop).  However, the 3-blade propeller will, in general, pull harder off the line and perform better in steep climbs.  We also improved the modeling and sound of the propeller when it both flattens out and cuts into the air, which is most noticeable during prop checks on the ground.

Cruise management – beyond the book
This was an unexpected, but pleasant discovery when making the Skylane:  Our cruise performance accuracy actually exceeds the pilot’s manual.  Yes, we’re actually better than “by the book.”  This is because some figures in the POH are calculated / estimated.  For example, in Accu-Sim, you can realize the benefits of flying at lower RPM’s with higher manifold pressure, or “over square” (higher manifold pressure X 100 than RPM).  Some pilot’s are still being told today that running a modern GA engine over square is bad, which is a technique recommended on some older, larger radial engines of the past.  The fact is that most engines run better and more efficient at lower RPM and higher manifold pressure, rather than high RPM and low manifold pressure (just make sure you follow the guidelines in the pilot’s handbook for the airplane).  Accu-Sim models this efficiency, and we confirmed this on our actual flight tests.  So, you will be experiencing the same differences from the POH with Accu-Sim than with the actual airplane.  You will also find yourself thinking hard about your mixture, how it affects your cruise performance, temperatures, economy, etc., just like in the real aircraft.  Just make sure, any real world pilots out there reading this that you follow the recommended cruise settings for your airplane because there is a limit to how much manifold pressure you are able to use at certain a RPM.  Also, some engines require you to avoid certain power settings / RPM ranges due to vibration and balance issues.  There is no one size fits all approach, but this Accu-Sim Skylane will certainly help both pilots and sim enthusiasts learn better flying skills and engine management practices.

Cowl flaps and advanced combustion physics
We further researched and developed engine temperatures, both cylinder head and exhaust gas temps.  We also re-formulated the impact of mixture on the process and temperatures.

Expanded physical sound
The starter physics, engine starts, shutdowns, and in flight physics are pushed even further.  Try playing with the throttle, or kicking the rudder at speed or doing a prop check.  It’s a world of wonderful physics that drives our sound engine.

Hand towing
We added a new feature, turning your flight stick or yoke into a tow bar.  It really gives the feel you are moving a large plane around, and you can put it exactly where you want it, however you wish.  Our own Captain Jake said the other day “This towing is fun!”  That’s a good sign coming from a 14 year old.

LICENSE OPTIONS:
Academic;
This version is for academic users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d academic license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Professional;
This version is for professional users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d professional license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Commercial;
This software is licensed for commercial use for one year with the option to extend annually for $299.
Click to View

New licensing terms and tailor made solutions are available for Commercial customers please contact us for details.

We also Offer Bundle deals for FSX and P3D Academic and Professional users for those that run both simulator platforms.

The entire PA-28 Cherokee line from the humble two- seat 150 h.p. PA-28-140 to the swift, retractable undercarriage PA-28R-200 Arrow, to the powerful, heavy load-carrying 235 h.p. PA-28-235 Dakota, is respected as being one of the most popular, commercially successful series of aircraft containing within some of the most pilot-friendly aeroplanes ever built. Each member of the Cherokee family fills its particular niche at least as well as, and often better than other aircraft of similar type. However, of all of the many Cherokees the Cherokee 180, sitting as it does right in the middle of the pack has proven itself to be most popular and justifiably so. Introduced to the public in 1961, the first Cherokee, the 150 hp PA-28-150 was immediately well-received setting the pace for its later siblings who went on to provide pilots of all levels of experience with honest, dependable and well-performing aircraft which are fun and satisfying to fly, reliable, safe and economical to own and operate. However, getting to this place took some time and some very astute business and aeronautical skills and sense.

LICENSE OPTIONS:
Academic;
This version is for academic users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d academic license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Professional;
This version is for professional users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d professional license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Commercial;
This software is licensed for commercial use for one year with the option to extend annually for $299.
Click to View

New licensing terms and tailor made solutions are available for Commercial customers please contact us for details.

We also Offer Bundle deals for FSX and P3D Academic and Professional users for those that run both simulator platforms.

No airplane personifies the epithet “Dynamic Elegance” more aptly than does the Piper Comanche 250.

The unique conjoining of many superlative aeronautic and aesthetic qualities marks this very special aeroplane. It has been said that if an aeroplane looks right, it will fly right. In this it is supposed that the eye’s natural ability to sense the pleasing proportion and intrinsic efficiency of a design is a reliable predictor of similarly excellent aeronautic performance. The Comanche 250 proves that this adage may be relied upon and bears validity. The Piper Comanche takes its well-deserved place on an illustrious list of aeroplanes which are both so very pleasing to the eyes and which are equally capable of superior performance.

There are many including this writer the most beautiful of all General Aviation (GA) aircraft, if not the most beautiful. From any angle the Comanche treats the eyes. This is what provides its elegance. Its superlative performance is a matter of record and this provides its dynamism. These two great and rare qualities, beauty and performance would be enough in and of themselves to place the Comanche at the pinnacle of GA aircraft, but the Comanche possesses an additional quality, one which, after all, may be its most endearing. Of all of the high performance GA aircraft the Comanche is arguably the least demanding of the relatively low- time pilot. That this is so is not an accident or a fortuitous circumstance – William Piper specifically intended that it should be so. The Comanche’s forgiving flight characteristics and its refusal to turn and bite an unwary pilot without plenty of warning, its relatively gentle stall, easy handling at low airspeeds and its overall delightful handling at all airspeeds are confidence boosters for its fortunate pilots.

The Comanche is also particularly exceptional in that it does not achieve its excellent aerodynamic performance at the expense of interior room and comfort; it is among the roomiest and most comfortable of “high performance” aeroplanes. Neither does the Comanche sacrifice useful load nor its generous weight and balance envelope at the altar of high airspeed. It is a highly capable heavy load hauler and its capacious useful load as well as its ability to safely carry baggage and substantial rear seat passengers without straining its aft load limits is far better than its closest competitors of equal horsepower – including and specifically the V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza. Perhaps most importantly, the Comanche does not achieve its performance by the intrinsic design features which compromise stable flying characteristics. Its light airframe weight and its generous, high aspect-ratio, laminar flow wing provides the Comanche with high efficiency as well as a low wing loading.

Accordingly, Comanche pilots and owners are particularly loyal and satisfied, and for good reason; the Comanche delivers extraordinarily dynamic performance while embodying the highest degree of aeronautic elegance.

So, how is it that all of these superlative qualities came together in this aeroplane? Well, therein lays the Comanche’s tale, one redolent of aeronautic expertise, prescience, confidence and also of a fierce competitive spirit. As it happens, it all began a little more than ten years before the first Comanche ever flew.

Once upon a time…

LICENSE OPTIONS:
Academic;
This version is for academic users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d academic license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Professional;
This version is for professional users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d professional license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Commercial;
This software is licensed for commercial use for one year with the option to extend annually for $299.
Click to View

New licensing terms and tailor made solutions are available for Commercial customers please contact us for details.

We also Offer Bundle deals for FSX and P3D Academic and Professional users for those that run both simulator platforms.

Even if you have never actually seen a Cub in the flesh (and this is getting harder to do every year), if airplanes are your game, you have a good idea of what a Cub is all about. Virtually every pilot has flown or knows someone who has flown a Cub.

If you throw a baseball, a paper airplane, and a stick into the air, each would behave differently based on it’s weight, density, and shape. Each will interact with the air and ultimately the ground very differently, just as we would expect. But what if you dropped a tennis ball on a hard surface, and instead of bouncing, it just hit the ground with a loud ‘clunk’ and stopped? We are physical beings that live in a world that has certain truths we take for granted, that is until they are gone. However, in a simulated world, nothing can be taken for granted. In fact, if the physics in a simulated world are not specifically created by someone, they simply do not exist. With Accu-Sim, we have built-in to this simulation many of the physical rules that we know to be true and which we expect to exist in the real physical world.

For example, if you start a simple engine that is cold, you expect that it will run rougher and less reliably than when it is warmed up. If one morning you start your cold engine and something seems different, if it does not behave as you expect it to, you will notice this and your senses will tell you, “something is not right.” This is because you have become accustomed and comfortable with how your aircraft responds at all times, not just in the behavior of a single gauge, but in subtle ways — the way the engine sounds and responds to the throttle, the way the body squeaks, or even in the way the air sounds as it passes by your airframe at different airspeeds. More obviously, if you taxi on the grass, you expect your aircraft to buck and dip as it moves over bumps and depressions in the ground. Similarly, you would also expect to sway and rock if sitting on unsettled water in floats. All of this, and much more, will be experienced and brought to you more accurately and realistically by Accu-Sim. Now it’s an entirely new and more real world. It’s a world that makes you believe you literally have a physical piece of equipment stuffed inside your computer monitor because all of these little physical truths which cause actions and reactions, and which you notice when they are there or not there, have been created in Accu-Sim. It is all of these little clues which we experience and observe, and which we take for granted in our real world, which make things seem real to us. When they are missing or portrayed inaccurately, things just don’t seem right. You know it; you sense it, and so do we.

Perhaps the most important thing this little airplane will bring to you is honest, true-to-life stick-and-rudder flying, something pilots often forget after flying large, heavy, fast, complex aircraft for a while. You will be actively engaged in flying this Cub almost all of the time. After just flying it for a very short while you will start to feel like a better pilot, and you will be.

This little Cub represents the most complete and accurately flying aircraft which we have created to date. With it, A2A proudly delivers to you the “Total Flying Experience”.

If any aeroplane ever deserved to be called “classic”, then the venerable and ubiquitous Cessna 172 in all of its many variations surely deserves that title. It is a time-tested benchmark of aircraft efficiency, utility and excellence; it is one of the most recognizable aeroplanes (although sometimes mistaken for its larger and more powerful brother, the Cessna 182/Skylane and vice versa); its value has been and continues to be well-established and constant. The Cessna 172 has endured going- on six decades, and is an undisputedly traditional design. Classic? Q.E.D..

LICENSE OPTIONS:
Academic;
This version is for academic users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d academic license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Professional;
This version is for professional users in Prepar3D, in accordance to the Lockheed Martin Prepar3d professional license. This software is to be used for flight simulation only, and not to be used for real world flight training. For real world flight training, use our commercial license which is intended to be used with flight simulators authorized by the FAA while using our software.
Click to View

Commercial;
This software is licensed for commercial use for one year with the option to extend annually for $299.
Click to View

New licensing terms and tailor made solutions are available for Commercial customers please contact us for details.

We also Offer Bundle deals for FSX and P3D Academic and Professional users for those that run both simulator platforms.

No airplane personifies the epithet “Dynamic Elegance” more aptly than does the Piper Comanche 250.

The unique conjoining of many superlative aeronautic and aesthetic qualities marks this very special aeroplane. It has been said that if an aeroplane looks right, it will fly right. In this it is supposed that the eye’s natural ability to sense the pleasing proportion and intrinsic efficiency of a design is a reliable predictor of similarly excellent aeronautic performance. The Comanche 250 proves that this adage may be relied upon and bears validity. The Piper Comanche takes its well-deserved place on an illustrious list of aeroplanes which are both so very pleasing to the eyes and which are equally capable of superior performance.

There are many including this writer the most beautiful of all General Aviation (GA) aircraft, if not the most beautiful. From any angle the Comanche treats the eyes. This is what provides its elegance. Its superlative performance is a matter of record and this provides its dynamism. These two great and rare qualities, beauty and performance would be enough in and of themselves to place the Comanche at the pinnacle of GA aircraft, but the Comanche possesses an additional quality, one which, after all, may be its most endearing. Of all of the high performance GA aircraft the Comanche is arguably the least demanding of the relatively low- time pilot. That this is so is not an accident or a fortuitous circumstance – William Piper specifically intended that it should be so. The Comanche’s forgiving flight characteristics and its refusal to turn and bite an unwary pilot without plenty of warning, its relatively gentle stall, easy handling at low airspeeds and its overall delightful handling at all airspeeds are confidence boosters for its fortunate pilots.

The Comanche is also particularly exceptional in that it does not achieve its excellent aerodynamic performance at the expense of interior room and comfort; it is among the roomiest and most comfortable of “high performance” aeroplanes. Neither does the Comanche sacrifice useful load nor its generous weight and balance envelope at the altar of high airspeed. It is a highly capable heavy load hauler and its capacious useful load as well as its ability to safely carry baggage and substantial rear seat passengers without straining its aft load limits is far better than its closest competitors of equal horsepower – including and specifically the V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza. Perhaps most importantly, the Comanche does not achieve its performance by the intrinsic design features which compromise stable flying characteristics. Its light airframe weight and its generous, high aspect-ratio, laminar flow wing provides the Comanche with high efficiency as well as a low wing loading.

Accordingly, Comanche pilots and owners are particularly loyal and satisfied, and for good reason; the Comanche delivers extraordinarily dynamic performance while embodying the highest degree of aeronautic elegance.

So, how is it that all of these superlative qualities came together in this aeroplane? Well, therein lays the Comanche’s tale, one redolent of aeronautic expertise, prescience, confidence and also of a fierce competitive spirit. As it happens, it all began a little more than ten years before the first Comanche ever flew.

Once upon a time…

LICENSE:
This software is for entertainment purposes only.
Click to View

Lycoming 540 engine
Most A&P mechanics refer to the Lycoming 540 as being “bulletproof.”  Consider that a Chevrolet big block in an early ‘70’s Corvette is 454 cubic inches, a Skyhawk’s engine is either 320 or 360 cubic inches (like small automobile V-8).  The Skylane engine is 541.5 cubic inches, which is bigger than the previously mentioned Chevy big block.   I have the same engine in my Comanche, and you feel this 50% bigger engine under the hood, just rumbling and rattling, waiting to be opened up on takeoff.  We expanded Accu-Sim to capture the more aggressive nature of operating such a nice and powerful GA engine.

Constant speed prop – propeller physics
We upgraded the propeller physics for the Skylane in several areas.  This was necessary to deliver the best experience when operating this new system.  For example, many people don’t realize that a 2-blade propeller will generally cruise faster than a 3-blade at all but the very highest altitudes (and I’m talking where oxygen is required).  The Skylane manual is based on the 3-blade, so you can squeeze out even more speed by using a 2-blade.   The high cruise is just around 167 mph with a 3-blade, and around 170 mph with a 2-blade (keep in mind every plane will have slightly different cruise speeds, which speaks to the uniqueness of each airframe, engine, and prop).  However, the 3-blade propeller will, in general, pull harder off the line and perform better in steep climbs.  We also improved the modeling and sound of the propeller when it both flattens out and cuts into the air, which is most noticeable during prop checks on the ground.

Cruise management – beyond the book
This was an unexpected, but pleasant discovery when making the Skylane:  Our cruise performance accuracy actually exceeds the pilot’s manual.  Yes, we’re actually better than “by the book.”  This is because some figures in the POH are calculated / estimated.  For example, in Accu-Sim, you can realize the benefits of flying at lower RPM’s with higher manifold pressure, or “over square” (higher manifold pressure X 100 than RPM).  Some pilot’s are still being told today that running a modern GA engine over square is bad, which is a technique recommended on some older, larger radial engines of the past.  The fact is that most engines run better and more efficient at lower RPM and higher manifold pressure, rather than high RPM and low manifold pressure (just make sure you follow the guidelines in the pilot’s handbook for the airplane).  Accu-Sim models this efficiency, and we confirmed this on our actual flight tests.  So, you will be experiencing the same differences from the POH with Accu-Sim than with the actual airplane.  You will also find yourself thinking hard about your mixture, how it affects your cruise performance, temperatures, economy, etc., just like in the real aircraft.  Just make sure, any real world pilots out there reading this that you follow the recommended cruise settings for your airplane because there is a limit to how much manifold pressure you are able to use at certain a RPM.  Also, some engines require you to avoid certain power settings / RPM ranges due to vibration and balance issues.  There is no one size fits all approach, but this Accu-Sim Skylane will certainly help both pilots and sim enthusiasts learn better flying skills and engine management practices.

Cowl flaps and advanced combustion physics
We further researched and developed engine temperatures, both cylinder head and exhaust gas temps.  We also re-formulated the impact of mixture on the process and temperatures.

Expanded physical sound
The starter physics, engine starts, shutdowns, and in flight physics are pushed even further.  Try playing with the throttle, or kicking the rudder at speed or doing a prop check.  It’s a world of wonderful physics that drives our sound engine.

Hand towing
We added a new feature, turning your flight stick or yoke into a tow bar.  It really gives the feel you are moving a large plane around, and you can put it exactly where you want it, however you wish.  Our own Captain Jake said the other day “This towing is fun!”  That’s a good sign coming from a 14 year old.

LICENSE:
This software is for entertainment purposes only.
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The entire PA-28 Cherokee line from the humble two- seat 150 h.p. PA-28-140 to the swift, retractable undercarriage PA-28R-200 Arrow, to the powerful, heavy load-carrying 235 h.p. PA-28-235 Dakota, is respected as being one of the most popular, commercially successful series of aircraft containing within some of the most pilot-friendly aeroplanes ever built. Each member of the Cherokee family fills its particular niche at least as well as, and often better than other aircraft of similar type. However, of all of the many Cherokees the Cherokee 180, sitting as it does right in the middle of the pack has proven itself to be most popular and justifiably so. Introduced to the public in 1961, the first Cherokee, the 150 hp PA-28-150 was immediately well-received setting the pace for its later siblings who went on to provide pilots of all levels of experience with honest, dependable and well-performing aircraft which are fun and satisfying to fly, reliable, safe and economical to own and operate. However, getting to this place took some time and some very astute business and aeronautical skills and sense.

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If any aeroplane ever deserved to be called “classic”, then the venerable and ubiquitous Cessna 172 in all of its many variations surely deserves that title. It is a time-tested benchmark of aircraft efficiency, utility and excellence; it is one of the most recognizable aeroplanes (although sometimes mistaken for its larger and more powerful brother, the Cessna 182/Skylane and vice versa); its value has been and continues to be well-established and constant. The Cessna 172 has endured going- on six decades, and is an undisputedly traditional design. Classic? Q.E.D..

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