Just Flight / Lago - RAF TORNEDO

As some regulars will know, I'm generally a Modern Airliner sort of guy, with a fondness for some light GA..... but Combat stuff has never really interested me, and I don't really know my Vulcans from my Falcons!

However, a friend said it was criminal not to have a single Combat Aircraft in my Virtual Hangar, so yesterday I took the plunge and wandered into "PC World" and wandered out with "RAF Tornedo" add-on which is developed by Lago (of Italy), and Published by Just Flight.

WOW! How much fun have I been missing!! I'm no convert to Combat but this is just such good fun to fly.... the cockpit views when you're travelling at 900mph at 1000ft from the ground are Mega!

People know that I am obsessed with the 737NG and I would previously have said that it had the best exterior model of any add-on.... however, I would have to say, that considering the complexity of the Aircraft's shape and structure, I must now transfer this award to the RAF Tornedo... It just looks drop-dead gorgeous ! The 2D cockpit is also really good to use and gives fab views when flying.... On first view, the Virtual Cockpit doesn't look so hot but when you are flying (fast) you realise that it has been designed to give excellent visibility, rather than to represent ultra complex elements of the cockpit.

The RAF Tornedo has the famous 'flexing wing' which can be controlled automatically or manually (as can the flaps)... and also you have the whole challenge of in-flight refuelling (which I haven't tried yet)....

This plane represents something TOTALLY different and new within the Flight Sim experiance, if you have previously only flown commercial and GA airplanes....

To give some context, I flew from Norfolk in Southern England, up to Newcastle, right up in the North-East, in 12 minutes !!! If I had flown this in the Cessna 172P it would take about 4.5 hours !! It's not always good to fly fast but theres nothing like pushing the throttle all the way forward to engage the "Re-Heat" (afterburners), and to see the Airspeed runaway and wind up to 900 within a couple of minutes!

I also flew from Norfolk over to Germany - after leaving the UK's coastline behind me, I could see the German coast within about 4 minutes! again, this would have taken about 45 minutes in a Cessna.

You also get 3 Airbases as scenery, with this add-on, they are small but perfectly formed and add to the realism and enjoyment.

If you have never tried fast, super-sonic, combat jets, I'd really recommend this.... it blends all aspects of Flight Sim together well - Hand Flying, Views of scenery, and sense of exhilaration and speed.