Today we’re finally taking the new Curtiss C-46 Commando by Aeroplane Heaven up for a short evening display over one of my favorite airfields, Tannheim.
Initially I wanted to make a video with the C-46 on its release day, but I think the paint schemes it comes with are pretty bad and overall, I was a bit disappointed in it. But I must admit over the last few days it has really grown on me and now that Jankees has released four fantastic repaints (one featured here) it's also great to look at.
In my opinion the C-46 is probably Aeroplane Heavens best Local Legend or Famous Flyer release. It's much better than the Boeing 307, Ford Trimotor or Douglas C-47. The only Microsoft / Aeroplane Heaven release it can't compete with is the DC-3, especially with the Duckworks mod, mainly because of the awesome soundset.
Visually the C-46 can't compete with a Carenado, BlueMesh or Inibuilds release, but I still think it looks quite good and I especially like all the extra features like the Willys Jeep or the ladder and fire extinguishers. I also like the soundset, I just think it could use some additional sounds and some remixing. For example, the window latches or the touchdown sounds are much louder than the engines.
The flight model seems convincing and feels appropriately heavy. The takeoff and landing behavior also feel realistic and come close to what I've seen in many C-46 videos.
Overall, I really like the C-46 and I'm very happy to have this iconic aircraft in MSFS. I only think it's a bit of a shame that almost all Aeroplane Heaven releases feel a bit rushed. Almost all their releases have minor to major flaws that dampen the experience and enjoyment. In case of the C-46 it's the liveries it comes with, that look like they were made in 15 mins (luckily, thanks to Jankees, we've already got proper paint schemes) and some issues, like the engines quitting if you turn off the electric fuel pumps, floating nav lights or a few rough edges with the visual model.
For this flight I decided to have some low-level fun over one of my favorite airfields EDMT Tannheim. In this case ClearPropStudios fantastic payware version. Sadly, it's quite hard on the system and there are way more stutters than I would like. I hope you'll still be able to enjoy the video and I hope the next one will be more fluent. I also apologize for the wonky approach, I got distracted outside of the sim and ended up anywhere but near to the runway.
Jankees C-46 Kunming Express repaint is available here:
[ Ссылка ]
ClearPropStudios EDMT Tannheim is available here (and in the in-game marketplace):
[ Ссылка ]
Hardware used:
Ryzen 7 5800X
32GB RAM
RTX 3080
00:00 Intro
00:50 Startup
03:40 Taxi
05:13 Runup
06:37 Takeoff
07:21 External Takeoff view
09:05 Display Flight
16:18 Landing
17:20 External Landing View
18:12 Taxi
19:55 Shutdown
20:26 Visual Extras
21:05 Spectator View Takeoff
22:00 Spectator View Display
28:11 Spectator View Landing
