A2A Cessna 172 now available

[aviator1213 4]

I am a student pilot (IRL) and have been learning in 3 Cessna 172's.  I bought this A2A C172 yesterday for practice (also have Saitek Cessna yoke and rudders) because I wanted better physics than the FSX default Cessna.  My usual bird is a 1972 C172L (Lycoming O-320, 160 HP STC) and the other is a 1981 C172P (Lycoming O-360, 180 HP).

 

What I noticed first is that the A2A C172 sounds like it has an old engine and an old airframe...the C172s I fly are also old (probably older than the real life plane this A2A C172 is modeled after, but they are not nearly as creaky.  I would have liked hearing a deeper and smoother engine sound and road noise...and much less creaky body.  Listen to Youtube C172s and you will hear it's deeper and smoother (more dependable sounding).  I understand the sound is recorded in real life airplane and everyone's sound system could be different...but I bet on other people's systems the sound is also tinier than Youtube videos they can find.  This may be an easy adjustment of made recordings by the sound engineer.

 

- The engine feels really under-powered; the left turning tendency in the real 180 HP is quite significant (compared to 160 HP).  If I go full-throttle I'd need a lot of right rudder on takeoff.  This A2A's engine feels like it's just under 150 HP.

 

- At 1200 RPM I should be able to trim for 60 knots and descend 500 fpm with 30 degrees flap, but I drop a lot more than that in the A2A C172.

 

- Also strange that I can't taxi until at least 75% throttle.  I see others also complain about this.

 

- I feel like I float a lot on landings.  Added my instructor's weight and it's better, but still...one of the culprits is the flap settings are not saved.  If I save and load a flight on final approach, it goes back to no flaps when I reload.

 

- I also started getting "Microsoft Flight Simulator X SimConnect Error has been detected, restarting connection"...seems to be related to reloading repeatedly as someone mentioned on the Web (seems plausible as it happened when I practiced my final approach over and over).

 

- The elevator seems too responsive on landing...in real life I often hold a lot of back pressure on landing, but not so with A2A C172.  I adjusted control to almost lowest sensitivity.

 

- The avionics display is messed up...numbers are too big so that radio 1 and the standby are displayed in Com1 panel, radio 2 and the standby are displayed in ADF...and the rest of the panels don't have numbers.

 

Just some early impressions as I just bought this...had high hopes and it still seems like an excellent product, just not quite right for me out of the box.  Hopefully some of these things can be adjusted or fixed.

[TheDanger 182]

Just some early impressions as I just bought this...had high hopes and it still seems like an excellent product, just not quite right for me out of the box.  Hopefully some of these things can be adjusted or fixed.

 

You'd be a lot better posting this here

 

http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=108&sid=8d8d0e506394c138141e935d79d08564

[Lewis B 14]

I am a student pilot (IRL) and have been learning in 3 Cessna 172's.  I bought this A2A C172 yesterday for practice (also have Saitek Cessna yoke and rudders) because I wanted better physics than the FSX default Cessna.  My usual bird is a 1972 C172L (Lycoming O-320, 160 HP STC) and the other is a 1981 C172P (Lycoming O-360, 180 HP).

 

What I noticed first is that the A2A C172 sounds like it has an old engine and an old airframe...the C172s I fly are also old (probably older than the real life plane this A2A C172 is modeled after, but they are not nearly as creaky.  I would have liked hearing a deeper and smoother engine sound and road noise...and much less creaky body.  Listen to Youtube C172s and you will hear it's deeper and smoother (more dependable sounding).  I understand the sound is recorded in real life airplane and everyone's sound system could be different...but I bet on other people's systems the sound is also tinier than Youtube videos they can find.  This may be an easy adjustment of made recordings by the sound engineer.

 

- The engine feels really under-powered; the left turning tendency in the real 180 HP is quite significant (compared to 160 HP).  If I go full-throttle I'd need a lot of right rudder on takeoff.  This A2A's engine feels like it's just under 150 HP.

 

- At 1200 RPM I should be able to trim for 60 knots and descend 500 fpm with 30 degrees flap, but I drop a lot more than that in the A2A C172.

 

- Also strange that I can't taxi until at least 75% throttle.  I see others also complain about this.

 

- I feel like I float a lot on landings.  Added my instructor's weight and it's better, but still...one of the culprits is the flap settings are not saved.  If I save and load a flight on final approach, it goes back to no flaps when I reload.

 

- I also started getting "Microsoft Flight Simulator X SimConnect Error has been detected, restarting connection"...seems to be related to reloading repeatedly as someone mentioned on the Web (seems plausible as it happened when I practiced my final approach over and over).

 

- The elevator seems too responsive on landing...in real life I often hold a lot of back pressure on landing, but not so with A2A C172.  I adjusted control to almost lowest sensitivity.

 

- The avionics display is messed up...numbers are too big so that radio 1 and the standby are displayed in Com1 panel, radio 2 and the standby are displayed in ADF...and the rest of the panels don't have numbers.

 

Just some early impressions as I just bought this...had high hopes and it still seems like an excellent product, just not quite right for me out of the box.  Hopefully some of these things can be adjusted or fixed.

 

Just so people can see the response to this as just about everything in the post was somewhat null and void once updated and setup correctly with some help on our forums;

 

"Hello and welcome to the forums,

 

it sounds like you have not sent your simulation up correctly, are missing the latest update and dare I say it have not read the manual  :wink:

 

No worries though, lets get you straightened out. The A2A Simulations Accu-sim line are not your standard MSFS add on aircraft, they are entire simulations within themselves so its worth taking a look through the manual before getting too serious as if you don't you will end up quickly crashed or otherwise annoyed because a preflight wasn't carried out.

 

So first things first the latest update as of this post is the Accu-sim Core update 1.6 update that adds a bunch of new stuff and will pretty much resolve everthing you have mentioned;

http://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=38314

 

For the avionics readouts you need to make sure your high detail VC setting in FSX is set to ON and also that the other required settings in the manual are correctly set. For the sim-connect disconnect, make sure you don't always reload the sim too much, its a known FSX issue and will eventually (Even with default aircraft) lead to a crash due to a memory leak. Best to come out of the sim (back to the GUI at least) and then reload the flight.

 

thanks,

Lewis - A2A"

 

http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=38903

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

What I noticed first is that the A2A C172 sounds like it has an old engine and an old airframe...the C172s I fly are also old (probably older than the real life plane this A2A C172 is modeled after, but they are not nearly as creaky.  I would have liked hearing a deeper and smoother engine sound and road noise...and much less creaky body.  Listen to Youtube C172s and you will hear it's deeper and smoother (more dependable sounding).  I understand the sound is recorded in real life airplane and everyone's sound system could be different...but I bet on other people's systems the sound is also tinier than Youtube videos they can find.  This may be an easy adjustment of made recordings by the sound engineer.

 

I agree about the sounds. After viewing lots of YouTube videos, and especially after seeing a show on my TV that featured a C172, I feel that the C172 soundpack from Turbine Sound Studios is the most accurate (it was also recorded from real aircraft). But I think that it's impossible to replace the sounds in the A2A C172.

[LHookins 3,102]

I agree about the sounds.

 

You ought to bump on over to the A2A forums and check out what he said there after the suggestions A2A gave him.  He's happy with the sounds now, and everything else.

 

Edit:  here are the pertinent sound parts:

 

 

When I first sent the post I hadn't used the hangar, after a complete overhaul (but I just got the plane! I guess it thought it was last ran a few months ago?) the engine sounds much smoother. And by the way, I flew IRL today also, and did notice some creaky sounds. So I guess it's not as different as I first thought.

 

and

 

 

I don't want the sound engineer to think I am complaining...I take back what I said before. The sounds are also authentic compared to what I just heard in the real-life cockpit this afternoon. I can even identify the right pitches (2200 RPM gives me a D for example - I think FSX's C172 is off by about a half step).

 

Hook

[aviator1213 4]

Yes, I am now very happy after applying V1.6...a couple things that might help others regarding sound:

 

1. If you prefer hearing more of the deep drone of the engine sound and less of the air noise and other higher frequency sounds, put on the headphone (click the headphone jack on the pilot's door).

 

2. In the hangar (Shift-7 when the plane is not started) there are two propellers.  They sound different (the non-stock one is deeper sounding) and will give you different flight characteristics.

 

My suggestion is for A2A to give the newly installed plane excellent condition...I knew when I purchased it that it will be like owning your plane in a virtual world, but I was expecting the plane in beautiful condition, not for it to think it's been neglected for months before I purchased it :-)

 

I am new to flight simulation, but I am truly blown away by the attention to detail A2A gives this plane and probably all their other products.  You can tell how much they care about flying, and the customer service is top notch.

 

Thank you A2A.

[Tabs 2,790]

 

 

I can even identify the right pitches (2200 RPM gives me a D for example - I think FSX's C172 is off by about a half step).

 

Heh, I thought I was the only one here who could do that! I did that for our NGX and 777 sounds - figured out the actual "notes" the engine makes at different power settings on our recordings so that Armen could match the curves perfectly in the sim.

[Bunchy 222]

I am a student pilot (IRL) and have been learning in 3 Cessna 172's.  I bought this A2A C172 yesterday for practice (also have Saitek Cessna yoke and rudders) because I wanted better physics than the FSX default Cessna.  My usual bird is a 1972 C172L (Lycoming O-320, 160 HP STC) and the other is a 1981 C172P (Lycoming O-360, 180 HP).

 

What I noticed first is that the A2A C172 sounds like it has an old engine and an old airframe...the C172s I fly are also old (probably older than the real life plane this A2A C172 is modeled after, but they are not nearly as creaky.  I would have liked hearing a deeper and smoother engine sound and road noise...and much less creaky body.  Listen to Youtube C172s and you will hear it's deeper and smoother (more dependable sounding).  I understand the sound is recorded in real life airplane and everyone's sound system could be different...but I bet on other people's systems the sound is also tinier than Youtube videos they can find.  This may be an easy adjustment of made recordings by the sound engineer.

 

- The engine feels really under-powered; the left turning tendency in the real 180 HP is quite significant (compared to 160 HP).  If I go full-throttle I'd need a lot of right rudder on takeoff.  This A2A's engine feels like it's just under 150 HP.

 

- At 1200 RPM I should be able to trim for 60 knots and descend 500 fpm with 30 degrees flap, but I drop a lot more than that in the A2A C172.

 

- Also strange that I can't taxi until at least 75% throttle.  I see others also complain about this.

 

- I feel like I float a lot on landings.  Added my instructor's weight and it's better, but still...one of the culprits is the flap settings are not saved.  If I save and load a flight on final approach, it goes back to no flaps when I reload.

 

- I also started getting "Microsoft Flight Simulator X SimConnect Error has been detected, restarting connection"...seems to be related to reloading repeatedly as someone mentioned on the Web (seems plausible as it happened when I practiced my final approach over and over).

 

- The elevator seems too responsive on landing...in real life I often hold a lot of back pressure on landing, but not so with A2A C172.  I adjusted control to almost lowest sensitivity.

 

- The avionics display is messed up...numbers are too big so that radio 1 and the standby are displayed in Com1 panel, radio 2 and the standby are displayed in ADF...and the rest of the panels don't have numbers.

 

Just some early impressions as I just bought this...had high hopes and it still seems like an excellent product, just not quite right for me out of the box.  Hopefully some of these things can be adjusted or fixed.

Aviator 1213,

 

I've noted one of your problems being that the numbers are too big in the nav radio's.

I found this to a setting in the FSX aircraft menu. Set Virtual cockpit resolution to highest setting.

 

I had mine set lower to avoid OOM's when using the PMDG triple7. It's easy to forget to set it back for all  other aircraft.

 

I too notice the floating on landing, even if set up for a shortfield at flaps 30 and 62kts.

One other issue I've noted is the sensitivity of the elevator if you calibrate your yoke using FSUIPC. It's difficult to change pitch smoothly.

 

I'm still working on that one.

 

Overall, I find the 172 a fantastic aircraft. I've only flown the 152 in real world and after I gained my PPL I almost always used a PA28...... It had better NAV equipment for when I trained for my IMC rating.

 

Happy days....

 

Stu

[Lewis B 14]

Hey Stu,

 

the perceived float issue is mostly due to controls or incorrect technique. We have found the issue to be that simmer and real life pilots tend to sim, sim and then real fly, real. That is to say they wont fly the sim the same as they would fly in real life.

 

We have over 15 flight tests of the real C172R, including all kinds of float, drag, and lift tests. The most recent of which being just last week to verifiy some things and gather data on some new stuff coming in with the next update to bring the C172 inline with the new tests developed during the Cherokee development.

 

Our Accu-Sim C172 is certified to fly within these tight margins from our live flight testing. Scott also demonstrated a landing "over a 50ft obstacle" that came just short of the manual specifications for ground roll.  This proves, beyond any doubt, the Accu-Sim C172 does not float, because if it did, the ground roll test would have shown this.  If you believe the Accu-Sim C172 is floating, then you need to consider the airplanes you have been flying in FSX or your landing techniques.

 

Please feel free to post on our forums if you would like any advice or any troubleshooting should you believe there to be an issue. We have a great bunch on the forums from thousand hour warbird pilots, to old commercial liner pilots and even the odd combat vet. And of course with the release of the Accu-sim C172 Trainer a lot of GA pilots.

 

Regarding the elevator, try playing with the elevator slider, it will affect the aircraft on the fly and gives you the opportunity to tweak the settings slightly to your preference or your equipment.

 

thanks,

Lewis

[Lewis B 14]

Heh, I thought I was the only one here who could do that! I did that for our NGX and 777 sounds - figured out the actual "notes" the engine makes at different power settings on our recordings so that Armen could match the curves perfectly in the sim.

 

Yes all our Accu-sim line have the engine coded from ignition to thrust so you can tune, lean and generally care for your engine using sound alone all where possible recorded live during flight testing or sound sessions with the aircraft.

 

The sounds are all dynamic, in effect allowing an almost endless combination of sounds that could mean anything from great running, spark fouling or general engine damage and all the various sounds that then come in with that ole can of worms.

 

thanks,

Lewis

[aviator1213 4]

Regarding elevator, I think the simulation yoke is one of the problems...I use the Saitek Cessna yoke, which is close to the real one and can rotate 180 degrees (actually real Cessna yoke can even go beyond that). But its range for elevator control is probably 1/2 of the real range. So you can't pull or push the same distance and expect the same result; some adjustment will be necessary even with the most realistic yoke.

[aviator1213 4]

Heh, I thought I was the only one here who could do that! I did that for our NGX and 777 sounds - figured out the actual "notes" the engine makes at different power settings on our recordings so that Armen could match the curves perfectly in the sim.

Oh I think more people use sound than people think...even people who weren't trained in music, they can hear the sound and know if something isn't right.  My instructor played a musical instrument and so did I, so he wants me to use sound to know how much power change was made; I am training myself to be able to tell accurately and quickly what RPM we are flying at based on sound.  This of course means one less instrument to look at, so I can focus more outside the cockpit.

 

So I really appreciate being able to practice this with A2A's Cessna 172R.