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Blackbird Sims to release A6M5 on the 10th

I'm very much looking forward to this. The Zero, from a completely aesthetic and mechanical viewpoint, is one of my favorite warbirds - a respect I gained after having seen most of the original surviving flying examples in person. It would seem that Blackbird really gave the aircraft the fullest amount of respect that's needed to do it right. Based on the description, features list, the user guide, their Youtube introduction to the product, and what I see visually, it has been incredibly well researched and executed. Visually, I'd say it's just about the most accurate and highest-fidelity A6M I've seen for any sim (I'm a big fan of the Warthunder model and textures in particular, though I don't have that sim). I've already downloaded the paint kit, and I'm looking forward to, after the product release, trying my hand at repainting the Planes of Fame Air Museum's restored A6M5 Model 52 (the one I would most like to have in the sim).
 
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Thank you gentlemen! Will be interesting to see how this one flys! A very interesting aircraft, one which did not have the upgrade capability as the war wore on. The surviving experienced Japanese aces were able to make up some ground, but the tide was against them. Mitsubishi built these in Nagoya and hauled them through the narrow streets on Ox carts to be assembled at the airport. Not so different today, Mitsubishi builds 787 wings in Nagoya and barges them to the airport where we picked them up in the Dreamlifter to be assembled in the US.
 
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I've just spent the last hour and a half looking it all over in the sim and taking it for an amazing flight around Chino, CA. I'm so incredibly impressed with the attention to detail in the visuals, flight dynamics and systems. Be sure to read the manual, in order to get the most of your experience! It's quite a complex, heavily-coded simulation. I just love how mechanical it all is. Hand cranks for the cowl flaps and oil cooler flaps, and you have to keep an eye on the cylinder head temps and oil temps and keep manually changing the positions of the cowl and oil cooler flaps to keep the temps within their proper ranges. Be aware that the hydraulically-controlled flaps work with a three-position lever (up, down and neutral) - so for those like me, who use a two-position flap switch on your controller, you just have to remember what the last position was that you moved the flaps to. The sounds are excellent, and I especially love the hand-cranked inertia starter sound and then the sound of it starting up when you engage the clutch. It's the first warbird designed for use in MSFS 2024, so it takes advantage of the walkaround (rotating the prop to move the oil around in the engine, removing the chocks, removing the pitot cover, and checking the control surfaces), and it also has dirt/grime textures that build up as you fly it, depending on the conditions (which you can also "wash off"). In the cockpit, you have access to a notebook that provides interaction with all of the intricate features woven in - the same sorts of things you find with computer tablets in other sim aircraft, and I love the fact that with this aircraft it is a notebook, which seems much more at home in the cockpit of a WWII warbird than a computer tablet. One of the many options, from the in-cockpit notebook, is the ability to have a modern handheld radio in the cockpit, which I also find to be an excellent choice/option and, like the notebook, you can also move the handheld radio between two different locations in the cockpit (for when you want to see it easily, or when you want to stow it out of the way). Flying it, I love the feeling they've been able to capture with the flight dynamics - it doesn't feel like a toy, it really feels like what I've read described and seen how these warbirds handle - very stable, very heavy control forces with speed, and having to use some real muscle to throw it around in the sky, not just fingertip controls. You really get a sense of the aircraft's mass. Also, as soon as the engine starts, all sorts of things begin shaking/rattling/swaying in the cockpit, as they would in reality. I think Blackbird has done a phenomenal job with this.

There are so many details and features, I could go on, and on.
 
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I have to agree, this is a awesome warbird, plus very reasonably priced at $24.99 USD. I think the bar has been raised again. If you love warbirds you owe it to yourself to give it a try you won't be disappointed. I have no idea if the engine sounds are correct, but it does sound good to me. I spent the first 10 minutes with the canopy open revving the engine.
 
One of the cool features in walkaround mode, is that on the port-side of the fuselage, you can click on the steps that spring out, and they'll pop out just like how they do on the real aircraft. Once they're popped out, you can then use them to walk up onto the wing (where there is also the reinforced step plate). Then make sure to slide them back in before you climb into the cockpit. On the real aircraft, you have to be mindful not to step anywhere within the red-outlined area of the wing, due to how thin the skins and structure are (hence, the importance of the steps). .



 
Amongst the first to attempt a download but still for various reasons not on board. Pleased to hear good reviews from people I respect. Kept getting kicked off on the download, probably an Arctic Starlink issue. Glad that it flys well.
 
Flying Iron set the benchmark for WW2-era warbirds, IMO, so I tend to compare other developers' products to theirs. Based on the screenshots above and in other posts, Blackbird has done a superb job with the Zero. Some of the textures look a bit iffy ( the belly drop tank, for example ), but generally they have exceeded my hopes and expectations. Once MSFS2024's SU3 is officially released, the Zero will be joining my virtual Fighter Collection at Duxford.
 
Finally got my download issues solved (pleasure of the sub arctic) and it is really a great flyer, much better in pitch than my Flying Iron birds. Having a few issues that will be easily solved by a RTFD episode and brushing up on what's what in Japanese. Great effort!
 
fliger747 said:
Having a few issues that will be easily solved by a RTFD episode and brushing up on what's what in Japanese. Great effort!
Click to expand...

I really like that from the in-cockpit notebook, there is an option you can select which adds little English labels to everything in the cockpit. I used those for a while on my first flight, just to remind myself where the temps and pressure gauges were.
 
fliger747 said:
Finally got my download issues solved (pleasure of the sub arctic) and it is really a great flyer, much better in pitch than my Flying Iron birds. Having a few issues that will be easily solved by a RTFD episode and brushing up on what's what in Japanese. Great effort!
Click to expand...
Nono, it's not that. Apparently they store their files on an M$ SharePoint tenant. I'm on a fibre connection and for some of their updates, I had to wait for the downloads to start. It's on their end, not yours.

Priller
 
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