SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (RealAir Simulations)

I know that some people here don't read Usenet news groups, so I thought I'd post here a message that I just sent to a flight sim news group. I'll just add that I recomend this plane!

You can find this plane here:

http://www.realairsimulations.com/

...

I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. I'm now the owner of a
shiny new SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 from RealAir Simulations!

This is quite a plane! Naturally, I followed the usual order of such
things...

1) Fly the plane
2) Read the documentation
3) Fly the plane some more

First couple of flights were out of Innsbruck, Austria (LOWI). I flew
up the valley, over some mountains, and back again. In spite of the
natural order of things as mentioned above, I did manage to takeoff,
fly, and land...without crashing! Of course, the landing could have
been more graceful. My second landing - after reading the
instructions - was a bit better.

It will take me a little while to get used to sitting in the right
seat - especially while lining up the approach, but already, this is
a really fun plane to fly! The controls are very sensitive, and this
plane doesn't mind letting me know if I've messed up.

There's a nice open view out the windows, so it's good for VFR
sightseeing flights. It's a little too fast to land at some of my
favorite little bush airstrips, but I've got other planes for that
sort of thing. Finally...it's a flashy looking plane, so as long as I
can manage more graceful landings, I'm sure the simulated plane
spotters will be impressed.

watersprite,
That's a real beauty, I can see how you would have to get used to that cockpit, much smaller.
Enjoy!

I'm quite comfortable with the smallness of the cockpit (I actually prefer a smaller cockpit for a small plane). The thing that takes a little getting used to is that the primary pilot's seat is on the right side rather than on the left. I was just more used to either being on the left side or in the middle (in the case of a tandem or single seat cockpit).

After my post last night, I spent a couple hours practicing landings (and a few aerobatic maneuvers) with this plane, and I'm very quickly getting used to the feel of the different perspective. My landings are much better now as well.

Flying and landing this plane is rather diffent than most other small, single engine, tricycle gear planes. Here's an interesting quote from the documentation:

"One thing you should know about the SF260: It has what is described in aerodynamic terminology as a "critical" wing. In terms of how this affects your use of this aircraft, it means the SF260's wing either "flies" or
"doesn't" fly. It is a very thin wing, very efficient and low-drag when at flying speed, but it doesn't stall like other GA aircraft. There is no "mush" on the stall, it will drop, and drop like a brick! It also has a higher stall speed than most comparable aircraft, so the SF260 has powerful, and draggy, flaps to aid lift on take off and of course landing."

Landing smoothly is a little more involved than just allowing the plane to "settle" at stall speed after a nicely executed flare. In order to achieve a truly smooth landing, applying a little throttle just at the moment of flare is helpful; otherwise, the plane might stall and just "drop" ungracefully to the tarmac at the last moment. It's a lot of fun to get this landing technique just right!

Indeed I am!