Flight1 Super 80 Pro Review

Super 80 Professional logoOne of our newest members of the team, William Nonya has written a detailed review of the new Super 80 Professional from Flight1. The review starts... Hello my name is William I am currently a student pilot working my way up the aviation ladder to get to the left seat in a large airliner. I also wish to fly as commander on one of the moon missions. These are all of course opportunity I tend to take. With all that said my interest in aviation as you can tell is quite strong. I have flown a piper archer, Cessna 172, Cessna 182, I have completed my solo and continue to advance my aeronautical knowledge. Click on Read More to read the full review.

This product has recieved a 5 Star Rating by Fly Away Simulation

Super 80 Pro Review by William Nonya

Flight1 - Coolsky

Now that you know a little bit about me lets get into the review of the "Flight 1 Super 80 Professional".

Super 80 Pro
We start out on the most important part of the airplane the cockpit.







Here we see the basics to the three dimensional cockpit. As you notice the pro version of the super 80 has a EFIS cockpit or (Electronic Flight instrument System). You will also notice that it has WX radar (Weather radar), TCAS (Traffic collision avoidance system), FMS (Flight Management System), Digital Engine displays and a digital annunciator panel.

The Super 80 Pro has been updated from the Standard super 80 also offered at flight 1. For instance once you select the plane the start up panel is a lot smoother and loads faster then it does on the standard Super 80. You also have the option to request push back, Start, or Push back and start. All of which have audio recorded from the cockpit of cockpit talking to ground.

Now We get into the meat of the airplane. This is one of the best ideas the makers of a complex add on much like this could add. This allows people who want to take their time and plot a flight making it as realistic as they can and people who just want to get in this bird and fly. It is called the Super 80. Center it is located by clicking the red arrow at the bottom left portion of the screen. This system has everything from training you step by step of what you need to do to get this from starting a cold cockpit all the way to shutting down the cockpit after a flight. This training system is purely visual telling you what you need to do while bringing you to the appropriate areas.

You cannot possibly mess up a flight mechanically. This is a remarkable airplane. The amount of work to create such complex flight systems and the exact explanation of how it works.

Something different for you new age heavy fliers is the GPWS 50, 40, 30, 10, is now humming sound that increases in pitch as you near the ground in addition to the 50, 40 ,30 etc.



Another unique Feature of this is the "Automatic configuration" This allows you to simply select what stage of flight you would like IE Cold and dark Cockpit or Cleared to land and as soon as you click this you airplane will go to that configuration without interfering with you flight plan in your FMS. And again if you have the Super 80 then you know that the automatic configuration runs slowly and unless you have a high end computer will often cause it to crash.

This airplane will accelerate slowly d but will fly very nicely while establishing yourself in a normal climb it cruises well. It lands well. This airplanes flight dynamics are modeled well, But what else could you expect from flight 1. Almost every single button, Knob, Dial, Switch etc is modeled. And again this all comes with a built in tutorial of every system as well as a 330 page manual. If you bought the boxed version of this airplane it comes with a colored poster of the cockpit all labeled front and back.

The FMS is slightly different from the FMC we are use to from the PMDG aircraft. you must input a series of way points for you airplane to follow in VNAV/NAV mode. This will tell your airplane exactly where to fly. For those of us who have learned on the Wilco publishing's FMS or the PMDG FMC I highly recommend you read the manual and follow the tutorial's. This is a complex system. The plane fly's very smooth on autopilot and climbs relatively fast with full fuel tanks.

Now we move on the the exterior of the aircraft.

The beautiful Detail on the exterior. This airplane comes with the new Mcphat livery's which are highly detailed. So much so that if you don't have a very high end computer your better off using other livery's. There are many available on the internet and installing them is a matter of two clicks.

The airplanes exterior has transparent passenger windows detailed flaps,ailerons, Trim tabs, Elevators, etc.

The interior cabin lights go out once you turn the cockpit flood light out making a realistic nighttime DEP/ARR from the exterior. Reverse thrusters work very well, Landing lights extend and retract from the wingtip and the landing gear is very detailed. Flight 1 and coolsky spared no details on this airplane.



Now I've saved the best for last the conclusion, The faults, And the coolest edited pictures of this airplane.

My Conclusion for the Super 80 Pro By Flight 1 and Coolsky is my opinion is worth the money. This is both a complex airplane and a simple one which can latterly be flown by one click. It is amazing that once loaded up you can either automatically configure your aircraft or you can go step by step with the tutorial walking you threw each and every step.

For those of you who wonder well I have the standard super 80 WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? Well it's simple the plane has been modified heavily minus the exterior for the most part, This plane features an EFIS cockpit or glass cockpit and this plane has much much much faster loading times with the Super 80 pro configuration panel. The quality paintwork is stunning to say the least. The amount of fun I had flying this airplane drove me mad simply because it took away my social life lol.

As for the Faults there are a couple of problems that need to be addressed but with flight 1 and cool sky's friendly support team any questions or suggestions asked on their forums will be answered with kindness and speed. First off as the Standard super 80 the baggage door's do not open I am not sure why they have decided not to model this? The Windscreen Wipers only move in the 2D cockpit, A few gauges specifically on the overhead panel are difficult to read, And they Really Need to work on Cockpit night lighting.

Another thing for the new fs pilots despite the complexity of the airplane and it training you must learn how to navigate by means of FMS there is no GPS in this airplane.

All in all it's great I can compare it to an expensive metal collectors model airplane. It's great and bound to keep you up flying for hours on end. With the extravagant detail to the EFIS cockpit this will most certainly keep you flying for day's on end!

Factory Screenshots










Factory information sheet

Ultimate Airliners - The Super 80 Professional simulates the latest cockpit upgrade given to the MD-80 series. It includes a full Electronic Flight Deck (EFD) that includes a full EFIS with FMS, TCAS, Systems Display Panel, Engine Display Panel, and many more advanced systems. The Super 80 Pro gives you the high-tech avionics required to fly the precision procedures executed by today's professional pilots. This product includes:

Full Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS).
Primary Flight Display and Navigation Display (PFD/ND).
Flight Management System (FMS).
Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).
Includes a Weather rada.
A completely detailed 2D panel, with an aircraft model and virtual cockpit created with 3DSMAX.
Integrated Cockpit Training System provides inflight procedure and systems training.


Requirements:
MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR X
Windows - Windows XP or Vista
Processor - 2.6 GHz
Memory - 1 Gb Min., 2 Gb RAM Recommended
Video Card - 256 Mb


Test Machine:
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual core processor 5200+ 2.60GHz
Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
System Type 32 bit operating system

I would like to thank Flyaway of Fly Away Simulation, Radarman a major member of Fly Away and the manufacturer of these paints and the software.

Information

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Ian Stephens

Ian Stephens

Ian Stephens is a flight simulation industry expert with over 20 years of experience and also has a keen interest in aviation and technology. Ian spends a lot of his time experimenting with various simulator packages but has a love for Microsoft Flight Simulator X because of the huge selection of add-ons available. However, Ian also has copies of Prepar3D and X-Plane installed.

Ian has been writing for Fly Away Simulation for over 9 years. Should you wish, you can contact Ian via email at ian.stephens@flyawaysimulation.com.

1 comments

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The content of the comments below are entirely the opinions of the individual posting the comment and do not always reflect the views of Fly Away Simulation. We moderate all comments manually before they are approved.

FinlandSun, 22 Jul 2012 19:52:39 GMT

Gpws is not humming for normal altitude, its DH (Desicion Height) alert!

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