AVSIM Commercial Aircraft Review

Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV for FS2004

Review By Bert Pieké

Rating Guide

Publisher: Real Air Simulations

Description: Supermarine Spitfire add-on for Fs9

Download Size: 60mb

Format: Auto Installer

Simulator: Fs2004

Reviewed by: Bert Pieké, Avsim Staff Reviewer

Possible Commercial Rating Score: 1 to 5 stars with 5 stars being exceptional. Please see details of our review rating policy here

Introduction:

I’m sure that every aircraft enthusiast has read about, seen pictures or movies of, or even visited an aircraft museum that had a genuine Supermarine Spitfire on display. As the symbol of the Battle of Britain, this is likely the most recognizable WWII fighter, and even to this day (60 years later) one of the fastest piston driven aircraft ever produced. The first production Spitfire Mk I was powered by a Rolls Royce Merlin liquid cooled V12 engine rated at 1000 hp and saw service in late 1940. The Mk XIV saw service 3 1/2 years later, powered by a 2035 hp Rolls Royce Griffon power plant. It certainly is a testament to the original design that it was able to cope with this much more powerful engine with very few changes to the overall airframe.

If you were looking for a nice airplane to fly on weekends or to take you and your friends on a trip, a Spitfire would not be your first choice… If on the other hand, you want to experience what it feels like to power up a supercharged and intercooled 2000+ hp engine, accelerate to 450 mph or climb to 20,000 feet altitude in only 6 minutes, this plane might be just the ticket. Also, if you like to fly with a Stick rather than a Yoke, this is the kind of plane you want to fly.

Real Air Simulations has a name in the industry as a producer of quality aircraft that handle particularly well in all aspects of flight. Rob Young has a long string of air models to his name, some of which have acquired cult status in the Flightsim community. Even though the Real Air Marchetti, the “Ferrari of the skies” already gave us a fully aerobatic high performance aircraft, this latest airplane goes way beyond and can only be categorized as “speaking to the heart, not the brain”.

Installation & Documentation:

The package can be ordered at Real Air Simulations Website. It comes as a 60 Meg download, complete with an auto-installer, which worked flawlessly on my system. You will end up with nine distinct liveries: 4 clipped

wing-, 3 elliptical wing-, a contra prop prototype, and a bright red Reno style air racer. In addition, the package comes with a nicely done British RAF vintage airfield, which is a great base to start from. The airfield has the necessary buildings as well as a squadron of AI Spitfires which taxi around and fly circuits.

You start your Spitfire Experience

in the Hangar Outside the Hangars at RAF West

Malling A lovely paint job on this "Reno Racer"

(note the contra-rotating prop)

The documentation is professionally put together and includes not only all the information you need to be able to fly this aircraft- it also includes a copy of an authentic 1940s Pilot’s Guide – just to totally put you in the mood. By the time you’ve finished skimming through the manuals, you’ll realize that you are looking at a high quality

package… and you’ll be itching to take the Spitfire for a spin.

Interior and external views:

The start-up is in the “Mini Panel” view and if you have read the manual, you realize that this is all the 2d cockpit you are going to get. The action starts when you push the “S” key, which puts you in the real cockpit. I, along with many others, have resisted the notion that the virtual cockpit is sufficient, given that most virtual cockpits have fuzzy graphics (at least as soon as you pan away from the main panel area) and even worse, choppy stuttering gauges… well, I guess we are being shown that this need not be so. The virtual cockpit in the Spitfire is crisp, readable, detailed in every corner, and the gauges are smooth as silk.

A detailed look at the panel... The left picture shows the panel in its modern configuration, and the right

with the reflector gun sight fitted.

This is truly an achievement, and we’ll all have to re-set our thinking on what can be done in FS2004. Enough

Test System

P4 - 2.8 GHz 512MB DDR Ram GeForce4 Ti4200 128MB Video Card 17" LCD monitor 1280x1024 CH Products joystick w/throttle WindowsXP Pro

Flight Test Time: 12 hours

ride! The best way to start is to load up the first of the provided flights, which puts you at the RAF West Malling airfield, parked and with the engine turned off. If you are like me, the first time through, you hit CTRL-E, watch the engine start up, open the throttle just a bit, hit Shift-L to turn on the panel lighting and then taxi to the runway. You have to remember that you are sitting in a tail dragger with a really big engine in front of you, so take your time, easy does it! The airfield is nicely done, and located in the Kent (Southern England) countryside. Maybe time to have a look outside the aircraft and admire this classic war bird. As you can see from the screenshots, both here and at the Real Air site, the exterior model is really well done. The plane looks great, and every one of the provided liveries is equally beautifully finished.

Looking around the cockpit you can see the extreme detail that has gone into this aircraft

Flying the Spitfire:

You may already have read the testimonials from some of the “pilots” (both real and wanna-be) in the Avsim forums… it is truly hard to describe the rush you get when you move the throttle forward to 7 lbs of boost, hear the Griffin engine growl into action, and feel the aircraft moving down the runway. The huge nose obscures most of the forward view, so you have to make do with the little you can see out the corners of your eyes as you pick up speed. You quickly get to about 120 mph, feel the plane lift off, and pull up the gear. Now, you go to full throttle and watch the VSI go past the 4000ft/min marker… First time through, you will likely be so mesmerized by the awesome performance of the plane, that black smoke will suddenly appear from under the engine cowling, oil will smear the windshield, and the prop will groan to a halt… Here you are, at 10,000 feet and no, the engine will not re-start (I tried…) Lots of time to pick a suitable looking field and decide if you are going to land wheels down or wheels up… After a few flights, though, you’ll find that the Spitfire is a well-behaved airplane that can be brought in for a nicely controlled landing as long as you slow her down with lots of room to spare. After slowing to 160 knots, you can lower the gear and the flaps and bring her in at a comfortable 120 mph or so. Re-reading the pilots guide will give you some do’s and don’ts that will help you with engine management and avoid the ”sudden black smoke”. I also recommend searching for a couple of threads in the Avsim FS forum. There are some very detailed flying tips provided by real world War birds pilot Dudley Henriques. Search for “dhenriques” in the author field and you’ll find all you ever you wanted to know about take off, engine management, and landing.

Sounds and effects:

The sounds are well recorded and very immersive. The engine is properly noisy and the airframe creaks and groans when you pull too hard on the stick. The manual stresses the importance of having a good soundcard, but I was happily surprised to find that my on-board sound was able to handle the sound with no problems. I even play it through my vintage Dynaco tube amplifier to add to the “authenticity”. Did I say that I like this plane?

The effects are worth a chapter on to themselves. The canopy reflects the instruments, the raindrops are a

custom design (it rains a lot in England, I guess..), the wing vortices are separate for each wing tip, and the failed engine sequence must be experienced to be believed. The cockpit view also has built in inertia that mimics your head movement when you move the stick forward or back. This effect is adjustable to your liking, using a “Real View” pop-up gauge. The more you fly, the more you realize how many special features have been built into this simulation. I was surprised to see wheel tracks on the ground after a well executed wheels down emergency landing, and Rob Young confirmed that these indeed have been coded as part of the package. Lastly, the pilot in the outside view is fully animated and moves his hands, head, and feet as he controls the plane.

Note the tracks left in the grass Custom raindrops enhance the experience

Whoops! Don't let this happen too often.. but the effects are pretty

spectacular!

Flying the Spitfire (contd.):

I hate to admit it, but I have now flown MS Flight simulator for about twenty years with a Flight Stick and Throttle combination, relying on the auto-rudder to keep my turns coordinated. For GA aircraft as well as airliners this gives me all the excitement I want, and I have never missed the ability to sideslip and spin. For the Spitfire, however, this is like going to the concert with cotton wool in your ears. So while I have added a set of rudder pedals to my Christmas wish list, I have asked our Managing Editor, Aidan Williams to contribute a paragraph or two on what it feels like to fly this great airplane the way it is supposed to be flown, with “Stick and Rudder”.

“Not having a set of rudder pedals, Bert asked if I could write a few words on how they interacted with the RAS Spitfire. I have been a user of the CH range of pedals for a number of years now. Originally starting with the standard pedals, and then upgrading to the pro pedals. The first thing you notice when you load up the Spitfire and place yourself in the cockpit is the view you get through the front windshield. A trait with nearly all tail draggers is the very restricted view you get. The spitfire is typical of this, and apart from the engine cowling all you get to see is sky! Ok, so what has that got to do with rudder pedals? Think back to the last time you were at an air show, saw a WWII film on TV or watched a documentary, notice how a tail dragger like the Spitfire would taxi to the runway. Unlike a typical tricycle undercarriage aircraft, a weaving motion is used to allow the pilot to see where he is going and what is approaching. This manoeuvre is orchestrated with the use of the rudder pedals. It takes a while to get used to it, but with careful use of both rudder and differential braking you soon get used to it.

RAS are renowned for the flight dynamics they incorporate into their creations, and the Spitfire is no exception to the rule. Input from the rudder pedals can have quite a significant effect on the handling of the aircraft, which pays testament to the flight dynamics that Rob has created.

One of my favourite aerobatic manoeuvres is the hammerhead. A vertical climb, drop the power and almost when all the velocity is expended, a swift kick on the pedals to bring the nose through 180 degrees and point

back towards mother earth. This is not the easiest of manoeuvres to perfect at the best of times, and even with rudders and a reactive aircraft it can be a handful. I am pleased to say that I could achieve it quite easily using the Spitfire, and with the power at hand from the Griffon, it is quite a spectacular exit!

For the real weather user, rudder pedals can really come into their own if you have a strong wind on landing. I have tried a strong crosswind landing using the Spitfire, and with careful coordination using the rudder it was quite easy to land with the nose pointing straight down the centre line of the runway. Lots of controllers these days have a twist grip that will mimic the axis of the rudder. Although this may be a suitable solution for many, there is no substitute for a proper set of rudder pedals for flight simulation.”

Strong wind on approach, but the Spitfire handles as

expected

Kick the rudder and you will soon be gliding straight down the

centreline of the runway

Summary:

Every once in a while a new aircraft comes along that is so clearly a step forward compared to everything that has been done before, that you drop whatever you are doing to explore it in all its glory. If this were a new car, you would be standing with your face pressed up against the window, wishing that you could take it for a test drive. Well, Real Air Simulations have given us the keys… For less money than I pay to fill up the gas tank of my car, I can realize my dream of flying a true classic, the Supermarine Spitfire. But the real magic is the level to which this simulation has been crafted… it one more time re-defines what is possible in FS2004. A realistic three dimensional cockpit with smooth gauges, great looking interior and exterior, great flight dynamics, awesome sounds, lots of neat new effects... and all this without bringing my PC to its knees! The 5-star rating is only given to products that establish a new benchmark, and the Real Air Spitfire fully deserves this recognition. Rob Young, Sean Moloney, and the other members of the Real Air team have produced a masterpiece!

What I Like About The RAS Spitfire Mk XIV

• Makes you feel that you are flying the real thing

• Awesome power and yet smooth flying and landing behavior, lots of fun to fly!

• Truly beautifully finished inside and out • Nice accessories: RAF airfield, AI aircraft,

special effects • Remarkably smooth gauges in the 3-D

panel

• Breathes new life into FS2004

What I Don't Like About The RAS Spitfire Mk XIV

• Like a true race car, it is not really suited to “everyday driving”

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