FSX T6 Texan USAF. This is a modified Version of Kazunori Ito 's T6 Texan For Flight Simulator X. The T6- Texan was the Trainer used by allied air forces around the world during WWII. It is an all metal monoplane powered by a Pratt & Whitney radial engine. This is an UPDATE for the package Hellenic Air Force AI Beechcraft T-6 Texan II 361 MEA - Air Training Squadron 50 Years Anniversary Repaint. It will work at FS9/FSX. Accu-sim T-6 Texan Bundle for FSX and P3D Professional; Reviews There are no reviews yet. Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review. Related products. Virtavia – T-6 Texan / Harvard for FSX $ 28.00; Virtavia – Yakolev Yak-52 for FSX $ 30.00.
he T-6 Texan II is a two seat primary military trainer based on the highly acclaimed Pilatus PC-9. The layout of the plane and its flight characteristics have much in common with the more advanced aircraft that lie ahead for those who complete primary training, yet despite its performance, the T-6 can claim to be a worthy successor to the T-34 and T-37 fleet which it is replacing. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop developing 1100 horsepower, the T-6 has an initial rate of climb of more than 3000 feet a minute and can reach FL180 in under six minutes - on top of this, it is fully aerobatic, sports a pressurised cockpit, advanced avionics and an anti-G system, and you can see what an irresistible package it makes.
The reason we aren't all flying T-6s is that it costs several million dollars to buy one, but despite its advanced features, the plane is simple to operate and has proven to be very reliable in service. Customers have included the USAF and USN, Canada and Greece, the Canadian examples having cockpit layouts designed to facilitate subsequent conversion to the Hawk trainer, while the Greek planes are combat mission capable. With a service ceiling of FL350, a top speed of more than 300 knots and a range of 900 nautical miles, the T-6 is quite a package and it is good to see one for Flight Simulator.
Iris Simulations have been around for a while now, although this is the first product of theirs that I have had an opportunity to review - but check out Nigel Martin's look at their F-4 Phantom II and F-15 Eagle. The Texan might not be Mach 2 capable, but it is the first FS plane in which I have been able to fly a half Cuban starting from sea level more or less straight after take-off, so it can't be said to be lacking in the excitement department. The best news is that although the T-6 has some characteristics that will fox newbies - for example, the way it won't slow down unless you make it - it is a pussycat as long as you remember to treat it with respect. So if you are bored of the default planes and want to try something a faster and raunchier, read on.
The package is available from the Pilot Shop as an 85 Mb instant download and installation is a simple matter of clicking on the .exe, selecting which version of Flight Simulator you want to install the package into, and entering the key code. The only other complication is that you are offered a choice of textures to install with the plane, the review being done with the highest quality 32 bit version installed - choose the DXT3 textures if you think your system is liable to struggle to maintain frame rates. I did the review using FSX SP1 on a 2.66 Ghz Core2Duo with 4 Gb of RAM, a 768 Mb GeForce 8800 GTX and Windows Vista.
A quick check of the Start Menu revealed a new Iris program group, but this was empty apart from a link to the uninstall routine - the manual for the T-6 can be found on the Iris website and I was interested to read that the package is a 'continuing product' and that the developers are planning to release a number of system packs over the next few months as their expertise with FSX increases. So if you are reading this review some time after the posting date, bear in mind that the product may have been enhanced quite considerably, although I must say I am happy with it as it stands and haven't had as much fun doing a review in a while. The T-6 is a blast to fly and Iris have done a good job on it.
As often as not, I install a new addon and then have to hunt around the 'select aircraft' dialog like a lost soul trying to find the two liveries the developer has deigned to honor the user with, but not so with the T-6. You get more than a screenful of different paint schemes, something like fourteen in all, each in two different versions, one of which uses the FSX GPS and the other a custom unit. There are liveries for the Dogfight Experience, the Hellenistic Air Force, the 'Iris Display Team', the Canadian Air Force, Raytheon's prototype, and various schemes for the USAF and the USN including an outstanding Tiger Meet paint.
As you can see, the 32 bit textures are absolutely fantastic and the review system had no problems running them, with frame rates which were a little slower than the default planes, but not by as much as I expected. I expected to have problems with slow skinning, but didn't see it once I had got past the select aircraft dialog, or at least, I didn't experience it to any great extent. However, I would expect that the 32 bit textures would cause problems on systems with less graphics memory, or on slower PCs.
The visual model is very good impressive, despite my expectations having climbed some over the years as developers have leap-frogged each other in the race for perfection. The T-6 looks, well, real, and the paint schemes are to die for, with lots of fine detail on the plane, right down to stencils and detailed landing gear. With its tandem layout, the Texan has a lot of glazing and Iris have provided a fully detailed interior that manages the neat trick of looking real while not killing frame rates stone dead.
Animations are limited to the control surfaces, gear and canopy, this being about the limit of the animations on the real plane, unless you count the engine going round (-: There isn't a maintenance mode, which may be why the frame rates are so good.
The addon comes with both a 2D panel and VC, which was something of a surprise, as the VC is easily good enough to use to fly the plane - however, using the 2D panel boosts frame rates, so if you have trouble running the T-6 in VC mode, it is a useful backup. The 2D panel has popups for lighting and trim aid, throttle and flaps, seat control and system test (which can be used to move the point of view up and down in Flight Simulator), engine startup and operation, cockpit heating, oxygen, annunciators, standby instruments, gear and flaps, UHF radio and the Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS), all of which are accessed via a simicon group at lower left.
The 2D panel graphic is sharp even at 1600 x 1200, although it suffers from some stepping, as you will be able to appreciate if you take a look at the large screenshots. All the legends are clear and easy to read and the gauges are exremely fine; when it boils down to it, they are in a class apart from the main panel graphic as far as quality is concerned, and although they aren't in the class of gauges by Reality-XP, it isn't difficult to imagine Iris getting there. The main panel is extremely up-to-date, as you might expect, and features an Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI), which can either be driven in GPS/VOR linked composite mode; in HSI mode; in GPS mode; in directional gyro mode; or in rose or arc map mode. Needless to say the ranges are switchable and critical failure annunciations show up on the gauge if they occur. The Electronic Attitude Directional Indicator (EADI) is no less capable and offers a selection of modes found on the real T-6, including unusual attitude recovery direction chevrons to aid the hard of flying, as well as the expected stuff, like approach mode.
Other gauges include the Primary Engine Data Display (PEDD); the Alternate Engine Data Display, which lacks a couple of the less important functions of the real instrument in the current build; the Engine Systems/Naval Aviation Collision Warning System (ESND to its friends), which does not display AI or multiplayer traffic in the current build; digital VSI, ASI and altimeter; the radio, which lacks some of the functions of the real unit, because they can't be duplicated in FSX; and the GPS, which once again, is a very much slimmed-down version of the real thing. In the documentation, Iris are refreshingly honest about what is and what is not simulated, the real T-6 GPS being described as being 'quite a complex system and beyond our current programming knowledge'. If only all developers were as honest as this, reviewing would be a much simpler task - as it stands, although the T-6 is perfectly flyable, many of the controls in the cockpit do not work and if you are looking for a fully-simulated cockpit in the manner of the Captain Sim jet fighters, you are best looking elsewhere, but if you want a plane that is fast and fun, keep on reading. Besides, if Iris do as they say, you will have the fun of seeing those non-functional controls come alive.
I have already commented on the flight model, which is best described as delightful. Real T-6s aren't quite as easy to fly, given that you have to worry about the engine and systems to a much greater extent than you have to do in this addon, but if what I am told about the Texan's handling is correct, Iris are in the ballpark. One of the problems with a desk top simulator is that you can't experience the G which would act on a real pilot, which leads to some unreal flying in multiplayer, but it has the advantage of allowing you to fly aerobatics without any worries and this addon excels in this respect. I would be interested to read the handling notes on the real T-6 but I could fly rolls from level flight, loops and Cubans were a piece of cake and I managed a barrel roll first time, so more capable simmers will have a ball. Newbies need to read the checklists on the website, because the streamlined nature of this rather wonderful little trainer means that it is easy to end up with no way of dumping excess speed on the approach, the result being an ignominious float all the way down the runway. However, the turboprop up front is very responsive and will get you out of trouble every time, if you are quick enough. The stall is very ladylike, prefaced by the angle-of-attack indicator going bananas and you can also spin the Texan without too much difficulty, recovery being a simple matter of centralising the stick and pushing the nose down.
Verdict? Despite the unfinished nature of the panel, I liked the Iris T-6 very much indeed. If the promised upgrades do turn up, I will take another look at it, because with a more functional cockpit, it would have picked up an AAA. Even so, the addon comes with a bunch of liveries, a good visual model and it is fun to fly, so I can recommend it.
Andrew Herd
[email protected]
Learn More Here
Fsx T 6 Texan Ii Download Full
Fsx T 6 Texan Ii Downloads