That headline probably sounds like a sales pitch (and maybe it is) but I was quite honestly just browsing the marketplace in Microsoft Flight Simulator this morning when I discovered that the SimWorks Studios RV-10 (and RV-14) up for 90% off right now. It cost me $2.50 Canadian to purchase and there’s absolutely no saying no with that kind of deal. Here’s how the first two flights went.

London to Toronto

I figured I’d do something local for the first flight so I did CYXU London Airport located in London, Ontario and do a hop up to CYTZ Billy Bishop Toronto Island airport just to shake out the airplane and learn some of its features.

Start-up was very simple with the appropriate settings on the throttle, mixture and prop followed by the fuel pump and the cycling the magneto controls to start. The aircraft sprang to life quickly following the included checklist and after monitoring the engine for a moment it was ready to go!

The RV-10 has a bit of spunk to it with a 260 hp Lycoming O-540 powered the kit-build airplane off the runway and into the skies. I did a bit of a shakeout just to get a feel for the airplane, which is very responsive, before continuing on.

I had a chance to check out some of the features in the cockpit. Every control works, even the electrical fuse pop-outs, and there’s also a small glove box with a hidden brochure for the real thing as a fun little Easter-Egg. Neat! You can also move your seat up and back.

I programmed in an arrival into the G3000 and had the autopilot follow that up to an easy landing on Runway 08. Nice! Fun! And I thought… let’s do that again. So I did!

Tacoma to Siletz Bay

Going from east coast to west coast of North America, my next flight was from KTIW Tacoma Narrows Airport just south of Seattle, Washington State and then down to Siletz Bay S45 in Oregon.

Setting out at dawn with some pretty low visibility, the glass panels give you tons of confidence with its synthetic vision. The low visibility also meant checking out the interior lighting on the aircraft which was really well done. There’s overhead lamps (not on in the screenshot) as well as footwell ambient lighting, and adjustable panel lights.

Departing Tacoma Narrows I made a turn over the Tacoma Narrows bridge (part of the scenery for Orbx’s KTIW) and then turned south for my destination.

Climbing above the fog I was treated to a stunning sunrise over Mount Rainier!

The fog eventually cleared and there were beautiful views of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge, Clatsop and Tillamook State Forests.

Then it was a straight shot over to S45. I came in a little steep and a little hot on the landing requiring a bit of a rudder induced crab to bleed off some speed and then full flaps to get into the proper attitude for a landing. This second landing was a little less graceful than the first but I was down with plenty of room to turn off the short runway.

Go get it now

If you like (or love) general aviation aircraft, SimWorks Studios RV-10 and RV-14 are really well done examples of the kit built aircraft. Good sounds, good flight modeling, reasonably detailed systems and avionics, and they are great looking too. I reviewed the RV-14 quite a while back and will probably give the same treatment to the RV-10 but I can summarize by saying that this is largely more of the same. It doesn’t have the kind of depth you’ll get from A2A’s AccuSim aircraft (looking into that one soon!) but for a lower price its quite fun… and for $2.50, its a steal!