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Australian Simulations Glasair III

By Supah - 11th Jul 2007
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When people think of kit planes often they think of the flying party-tent kind of contraption. Boats with delta wings duct-taped to them, Flying bathtubs and that sort of thing. The Glasair III couldn't be further from those machines. It out performs most machines from manufactorers like Cessna, Piper or Cirrus with a large margin! With an initial climb rate of 3000 Feet per minute and a top speed of 260 knots it is on par with some warbirds. It's control responses are smooth and crisp and coupled with its high power it allows for some fantastic manouvres. It's performance depends on the engine choice of the builder, some even chosing to install turbo-props which must make for one wild ride!

These performance figures also make it a machine that doesn't tolerate pilot errors very well. Over the years there have been a number of mishaps. The Glasair has a high landing speed and it is unwise to take liberties with this. These accidents and the fact it is often selfbuilt, and thus of varying build-qaulity, have led to some owners having trouble insuring their machines. However after a factory developed pilot training program the situation has markedly
improved.

Australian Simulations has based their rendition of this machine on a australian registered Glasair III, VH-EVG. It is well kitted out with some of the instruments being digital and some of the older steam-gauge variety. An alternative paintscheme's include, amongst others, a canadian based machine, all with the same cockpit configuration. The gauges are very readable and response is smooth. Modeling in the cockpit is sometimes a bit over-simplified, for instance on the switches, on other parts it is more then good enough. The same goes for the textures, also they have a bit too clean a feel to them in places which is perhaps realistic. I can understand a proud owner/builder of one of these machines would want to keep it clean inside and and out! One thing that did stand out is the loose can of coke behind the seats. This would have given a certain instructor of mine fits as it could kill you in case of a emergency landing if it flies forward!

Outside the machine is well modeled and the textures are of a good quality. The pilot and passenger models look believable and are removed when you shut down the engine and remove the cowling, which looks more realistic. If the mechanics are going to largely dismantle my plane I wont be waiting for them to finish it sitting in my plane with my headset off, I'd be off to the bar, in this case for a nice fosters! One can remove the top cowling, place covers in the cooling intakes behind the propellor and open the canopies, apart ofcourse from the normal animations of the control surfaces and landing gear.

Handling in the air is much as one would expect after doing a quick read online. The machine is fast, manouverable but still pleasant to fly as long as you stay within its comfortzone. It's high cruise speed makes it an ideal aircraft for cross-country flights. It is easily IFR capable and working these instruments is very easy. The feel it has is what one would expect from the stories you can find on the internet.

In conclusion, the AusSim Glasair III offers a good rendition of the machine it portrays. The main downside is the sometimes simplistic modelling in the virtual cockpit but that doesn't distract from the gameplay in a big manner. It leaves the user with a good impression of the real plane and is a entertaining machine to master. One thing I'd personally love to see though is a turbo-prop version, that would make an already strong product even better! Four out of five from me!