by RollerBall » Tue Oct 24, 2006 4:16 pm
This is NOT a knocking thread - let's get that clear from the start OK?
Just had a most enjoyable hour or so flying the ski Maule out of Courchevel with the weather set for winter and snow.
Just one little thing - why the heck is there a tree right in the middle of the runway approach threshold - anyone knows that Courchevel is a favourite airfield, so why didn't the beta testers find it? Again - sloppy.
Having said that, the rest was stunning. The aircraft looked and handled great and the scenery was exceptional. Not just the mesh, which was very good, even though I don't have that high a setting, but the scenery textures as well. Snow in FS2004 ......well, it doesn't look like snow does it. Can't pretend it does. But snow in FSX looks excellent. From a technical point of view, repeat tiling is almost unnoticeable which makes so, so much difference, and it's nice and white. The mountain peaks look great.
So what was weird? I said the Maule handled well, but the flight came to an end in a very strange way. The aircraft totally lost its trim. I'd descended to the valley floor and I can't remember whether it pitched up first or down. But it pitched up and elevator wouldn't get the nose down, so I had to wind on down trim, then it pitched too far down, couldn't get the nose up with elevator so had to wind in up trim. But the oscillations (large porpoising) got worse and worse until it became uncontrollable and it crashed.
Really disappointed. Anyone else found this? Not icing surely.......