Page 22 - June2019
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The Twin Otter is truly the small airliner that does it
all. There is no aircraft that can land on tarmac
runways, mudflats, water, sand, snow and ice. There is
also no aircraft that does regular scheduled flights in
both the Polar Regions, to airports at extreme
altitude, tropical islands and to a beach in the UK. And
it still does all that after decades or service. It is really
That’s where I landed, after the tail rotor failure. One of a remarkable aircraft. Do not underestimate the Twin
the blades cracked from the inside-out & failed. The off
Otter, it is not a large twin engine general aviation
balance then caused the entire gearbox to be ripped off, aircraft, in complexity it really is a small airliner and
so away we went into a tight spin. It was learned later,
the Twin Otter Extended will show the aircraft in its
that when that blade was originally manufactured at the
full complexity.
factory, an acid wash had been put into the inside of the
The version for FSX and P3D that we created is
blade to cause the metal to be pitted, (it was supposed remarkable as well. Not only does it represent the
to be then, neutralized), but wasn’t. The inside spar &
best in modeling (with 2k textures), it also comes with
the other ribs were inserted & fastened in, but the acid complex systems, the best implementation of turbine
kept on working away for years, until failure, in flight.
engines to date and flight models are as accurate as
This is a photo of Jim slinging a water bombing bucket, possible and tested by several Twin Otter pilots.
(which normally held 150 Imperial gallons of water) , Where FSX default systems are not good enough we
and weighed a little over 1500 lbs. As we burned-off the complete replace them with our own modules.
fuel weight, we could modify the bucket to carry more The aircraft comes equipped with skies, tundra tires
load, if required. The bucket doors were opened, when and floats so there will be no place where the trusty
the pilot depressed a “button” on his cyclic control stick Twin Otter will not be able to take you. With versions
and an air compressor sent air down to the bucket ram. for cargo and passengers, 100 and 300 models and
different engines we cover the whole range of this
This is a forest “Cut-Over” area that was on fire from a
lightning strike, during a very dry period, which amazing aircraft.
The experienced simulator fan will be able to start the
sometimes occurs, later in the Fall. Jim is bucketing,
aircraft with all the checks and tested that are needed,
while the Fire Crew is working on the ground, in order to
get a line around the outside perimeter. Helicopters are but if you like you can also use the advanced
interactive checklist to guide you from step to step or
an excellent tool to be used, (especially in a “mop-up”
even to jump directly into an aircraft ready for take-
operation). Weather and particularly “The Wind”, can
ruin the Firefighters entire “Daily Plan”! off. We feel this is an ideal way to make complex
aircraft usable for all users.
There’s Lots More Pictures and True Stories About Some If you wonder why we called the project the Twin
of “THE OLD DAYS”, Coming Up Over The Next Few Otter Extended, it is because this is the third time we
Months; So I Hope You’ll Enjoy, Jim are modeling this aircraft for Flight Simulator, but this
is the first time we decided to make it a true high end
project.
