In my opinion, there are two additions to this beautiful model which really make it a first-class addition to FSX, and both are by John Terrell. The first, and most important, is an alternate FDE.
Out of the box, the biggest problem I had was that power changes were very erratic. If all you want to do is cruise around at a constant setting, okay, but consistent aerobatics were impossible , and even a smooth approach, other than a power-off circle-to-land was difficult. If you misjudged a little and needed to goose the throttle... well, you might see the power come up before you bounced. Mr. Terrell's FDE took care of that, making this a sweet flyer.
The other required addition is any one of the many super-detailed John Terrell textures which make this great model dazzle. The texture in this post is his "Factory Fresh," but all of his textures have a beautifully subtle variation berween the different metal panels, a nice sheen on the fabric-covered control surfaces and very accurate markings and stencilling.
A note on the scenery: It is Orbyx' NorCal payware which I recently installed and about which I'll gush in another post in the Payware section of the Forum. I just want to note that even as impressuve as the Orbyx product is, they still didn't get the iconic SF Bay Area bridges quite right. Freeware to the rescue! Mike Mahat did a beautiful scenery Package called "Bay Area Bridges," and although published for FS9, it looks great in FSX, too!
The basic packsge is available here: http://simviation.com/1/search?submit=1 ... egoryId=54
I don't know if John Terrell's work is available here, but it is on Flightsim.com. It's worth going to the bother if you like good-looking, good flying freeware.
