Flt 1's Cessna 172

Flight 1 Software, in cooperation with their sister company, Flight 1 Aviation Technologies, Inc., brings you another great aircraft add on, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The phrase, “Beauty in Simplicity” comes to mind here when I took this aircraft for a flight! ATTENTION all you new folks to the Flight Sim World! Here is the perfect first aircraft add on for you! While Microsoft FS 2004 has done a fine job with the modeling of there default aircraft, Flight 1 offers you the Cessna 172 with the attention to detail that Flight 1 is known for! Even for you simmers with experience, this is a great aircraft package, because the flight dynamics are expertly duplicated, to make it as close to the “real thing” as you can get!
    The Cessna 172 has the distinction of being both the best selling aircraft of all time, and also that of being the most widely produced aircraft. The origins of the Cessna 170 series dates back to 1948 when Cessna introduced the Model 170. In 1955 the model 172 was released, which was basically the Model 170 with detail improvements and tail wheel landing gear replaced with the tricycle configuration. New features also included a fuel injected Textron Lycoming IO-360-L2A engine with dual engine driven vacuum pumps, epoxy corrosion proofing, stainless steel control cables, thicker windows and new acoustic soundproofing. Cessna claims the 172R is significantly quieter than the O-320 it replaced, and it can produce its maximum power at just 2400rpm. The Model 172 was proved to be very popular, and in 1956, some 1,170 model 172’s were sold, compared to just 174 of the Model 170b, whose production was terminated. The Cessna 172 is widely used by many Flight Schools for the training of new pilots. That’s what makes this package by Flight 1 so attractive, you get to practice in something that you just might train in!

    After years of flying the “virtual skies” with countless types of aircraft, the Cessna 172 is still one of my favorites to fly in! It gives you the opportunity to see what’s between “Point A and Point B”. In my opinion, it’s one of the better aircraft to be in if you want to enjoy all that scenery that you’ve been purchasing and downloading. It really boils down to a matter of personal choice though, but if you do like to take your time and enjoy the view in a quality aircraft, this may be the one for you! You just can’t get that same view of the hills and valleys in a 747 at FL350!

    Included with the package, is a tutorial with an instructor that will take you through the various aspects of the flight routine. In this tutorial you will cover Pre-Flight and Take Off. The instructor will also talk you through some manuveours , such as climbing, level flight, turning, descent, approach, and finally, all the way down to the runway with proper landing techniques. During the flight, if you vary off course, altitude, speed, or mixture needs adjusting, you will be reminded. If you blow it entirely, he’ll tell you that you “seem to be distracted” and will end the lesson. You also will have a Configuration Manager that will allow you to set such things as weights of passengers and baggage, resolution of the Virtual Cockpit graphics, flight dynamics, spinnable or non spinnable characteristics, and your choice to go bottomless, that is, with wheel pants or not!

    The Cessna 172 Manual is very informative and easy to follow. The 172R manual provides interactive features that will assist you in understanding the aircraft. The manual is in CHM (Microsoft HTML Help) format, and should be viewable as long as you have a recent version of Internet Explorer installed.

The following material is included in the manual:

* Detailed information about the Cessna 172.
* Table of Symbols, i.e. V-speeds, and abbreviations.
* Meteorological Information.
* Limitations of the Aircraft.
* Normal Procedures Checklist, from cold start to shutdown.
* Emergency Procedures Checklist.
* Tables of Performance Data.
* Weights and Balances graph.
* Operations and Systems.

    The exterior details of this aircraft are superbly done, designed using GMAX with fine attention to various details, i.e. lights, landing gear, antennae, etc. I’ve always thought that the 172 was a very nice looking aircraft. I can see why so many have enjoyed flying this plane in the “real world”! All control surfaces are fully animated and are also very detailed, including an opening cabin door and cargo compartments. The dynamic shine on the exterior adds to the realism of the look of this aircraft, and is not overly done. Again, beauty in simplicity!   While looking about in the 2D view mode, the wing views are fantastically done, very photorealistic.
    As with many of the Flight 1 aircraft packages, included is Text-O-Matic, an aircraft repainting utility allowing you to download additional user created paint schemes and install them on your system with just a couple mouse-clicks. A tutorial is also included on how to use this handy tool.

    The interior of the aircraft is done in superb detail! You can almost smell that “new plane smell”! All views reveal a painstaking attention to detail. It really does look as if you’re in an actual Cessna 172! The photo realistic 2D cockpit is laid out in the proper format, with everything where it should be, and uses high definition technology for a very clear and readable panel. A very handy control Panel Manager is available to call up the various subpanels. You get to this little panel by clicking on the middle screw on the right hand side of the gauges panel. This may sound like one of those, “take a right at the oak tree, go about 2 miles and you’ll see a broke down car by a dirt rode with my cousin in it, ask him” type of things, but it’s quite easily found and rather handy! A further clue, it’s a philips head screw! Hmmm, a poet and didn’t know it!   This bit of important info was in the manual. From this control panel, the accessible subpanels are; Switch Panel, Throttle/Flaps, Trim, Fuel Select, GPS, Avionics, and a convenient checklist for your use.

    The sound of the Lycoming Engine, which runs at 160hp @ 2400 rpm is quite authentic, along with the control surface sounds, i.e. flaps, which is an important aspect of any aircraft package, as the sound, along with the flight dynamics of course, is what makes an add on air craft package worth the money! Authentic sounds are digitally recorded from an actual Skyhawk 172 by “Meatwater Sounds”. You want realism in a sim add on, and the folks at Flight 1 have really got it down pat! I have been up in a 172, just a few times, and each time was just as exciting as the last! This may sound silly, but I liken the flight of a 172 to that of a floating leaf that you are in total control of. I hope that's not too Zen! It is definitely one fun and graceful bird to fly! You can enjoy the same characteristics in this aircraft package. The flight modeling has been developed using actual performance tables.

    The installation was smooth and easy, mine from a disc, but the aircraft is also available for download at Flight 1’s site. Windows XP is recommended, although the Skyhawk 172R may operate under Windows 98 or Me, Flight 1 can't make any guarantees that you will not encounter problems when using the software with Windows 98 or Me. Flight 1 highly recommends Windows XP as it is a true 32-bit operating system, and does not suffer from certain memory limitations of Windows 98 or Me.

    So, why spend $24.95 USD for an aircraft that comes as a default with your sim? Flight dynamics, eye candy, and details that you don’t normally see in default aircraft, both in modeling and how it looks! That's why! As I said before, if you haven’t bought any aircraft add on packages yet, but you’ve been thinking of getting your “wings wet”, then this is a perfect package for you! It’s not expensive, at $24.95 USD, and you get a taste of what these Payware add on packages are all about! It is not a difficult plane to fly, and that’s what makes it great to learn in, especially with the documentation and tutorials provided! For those of you simmers with experience and loads of sceneary, I think that this is one of the finest aircraft to do your site seeing in, and Flight 1 has done a very fine job in replicating the Cessna Skyhawk 172!

To find out more about the Cessna 172 from Flight 1 Software visit them at:
www.flight1.com