X-Plane 12 sees far fewer significant aircraft releases than Microsoft Flight Simulator does so when a significant release is a purported “full fidelity” airliner and a turboprop at that, the community tends to notice. DeltaWing Simulations has just released their ATR 72/600 for X-Plane 12 and the initial reports are sounding pretty positive. Let’s have a look.
DeltaWing’s ATR
Turboprop airliners are few and far between on both major sim platforms. X-Plane does have the FlyJSim Q400 which has been seen as the go-to aircraft for quite some time. Now DeltaWing Simulations has come along with an aircraft that they say is a study level release for X-Plane.
Indeed, the feature list is quite complete with custom avionics for the ATR 72/600’s glass cockpit, custom autopilot, deep electrical, hydraulics, air conditioning, bleed air, brakes, anti-skid, fire protection, authentic crew alerting, ice, rain protection, and more. The aircraft also has an interactive cabin area with seats, galley, and overhead bins as well as lighting controls. EFB includes flight dashboard, moving map, Navigraph, flight plane import, ground services, and aircraft settings. Persistence features are also built in. In short, it seems like Delta Wing Simulations have aimed high with the product.
Sounds are also a custom implementation and initially there were some issues, however, these seem to have been dealt with immediately on launch. It uses the Skunkcraft updater system so be sure to run the update.
They are charging a relatively high price though that is more typical of X-Plane aircraft releases. At $69.95 USD, the ATR 72-600 for X-Plane 12 undercuts FlyJSim’ Q4XP by $10. If you’re interested, its on sale through the X-Plane.org Store.
Community reaction
DeltaWing Simulations have done other airliners in the past. Their CRJ series have received mixed reviews so a lot of users are currently skeptical about the ATR release, especially with its stated goal of being a study level experience, however, initial reviews appear to be good.
These comments on the X-Plane Reddit community certainly seem to suggest so:
The new DW 72-600 is really good! The systems, performance, flight model, cabin, lighting, textures, and overall attention to detail are all very impressive.
For a day-one release, I think this aircraft is a big W! I’ve completed a couple of flights with Binter so far, and I’ve encountered zero bugs and stutters. The frame rates have been smooth, and everything has worked flawlessly.
This aircraft is on a completely different level compared to the Asobo ATR. DeltaWing has done a fantastic job, and I can highly recommend purchasing the DW 72-600. It’s definitely worth the money!
Quite high praise has been backed by others.
I have done 3 flights and here are my thoughts.
- 3D Model and texturing is top notch up there with the Q400.
- Flight Model seems very good it is a joy to hand fly.
- Systems depth is very impressive ( I spent 15 mins pulling every circuit breaker and watching every warning pop up and system fail yes EVERY SINGLE ONE works)
- The amount of interactive things in this plane is crazy (Every window shade , tray table , overhead bin , galley item , the toilets you name it it works)
- Its got a fully functional and accurate FAP (Forward Attendant Panel) to control the lights and everything it is also available in the EFB.
- The EFB is one of the best I have seen in XP12
- Performance hit is about as big as the Q400 so its not exactly FPS freindly.
- Sounds are good systems sound are perfect engine sounds are good but could be louder.
And still others.
I love it! This new aircraft is going to be my new go-to aircraft to fly. I’ve always wanted a good ATR 72-600, and the Asobo ATR just doesn’t cut it. The difference between the Asobo and DeltaWing versions is night and day when it comes to the flight model, systems, and overall textures.
The performance is also really good, and the aircraft is very FPS-friendly and on my computer it´s like Toliss.
I can highly recommend the DeltaWing ATR 72-600. In my opinion, this is the best aircraft they’ve made so far. I haven’t encountered any bugs, and for such a polished day-one release, I’m extremely happy with both the product and the price. Great job, DeltaWing!
So, it may be the surprise launch of the year for X-Plane 12 but a welcome one.
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