Islander die Dritte. Nach Nimbus und Torquesim haben sich auch Thranda daran gemachte, die Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander umzusetzen. Bekannt ist die Islander für den Einsatz auf besonders kurzen Strecken. Seit Anfang Juni ist die Umsetzung zu haben.
Die Islander bietet bis zu 10 Sitzplätze und wird schon seit den 1960er gebaut. Sie ist dafür bekannt, auf kurzen und auch außergewöhnlichen Strecken eingesetzt zu werden, wie zum Beispiel der kürzesten Verbindung der Welt auf den Orkney-Inseln.
Aber zurück zu X-Plane. Hier ruft der Release ein gewisses Déjà-vu hervor. 2020 haben bereits Nimbus und Torquesim die Umsetzung relativ zeitgleich veröffentlicht. Mit der Ankündigung und dem Release von Thranda hat auch Nimbus fast zeitgleich ein XP12 update veröffentlicht.
Was bietet Thranda?
- True X-Plane 12 Aircraft
- FULLY configurable 3D instrument panel.
- Fully VR Compatible
- Over 50 instruments to choose from! (Including Aspen EFD 1000, and support for RealityXP GTN650 and GTN750)
- Move any instrument to any location on the panel, or even between pilot and copilot’s panel!
- Comes with 5 panel presets, but can easily be expanded by moving instruments around, using a simple and intuitive interface.
- Lighting is fully 3D, and dynamically moves along with the instruments, as you configure the panel.
- Ability to assign a lighting index to individual instruments, to allow different lighting knobs to be assigned on a per-instrument basis.
- Save your own presets, and even share them with the community!
- Almost every instrument can be popped up or popped out as a 2D floating window! They can be placed on other monitors as well.
- Instruments can be moved in 3D directly, on a 2D pop-up preview window, or by numerical entry for precise placement.
- GNS430 and 530 can be swapped out, but a restart of the plane is required, as 430s and 530s are mutually exclusive in terms of compatibility in X-Plane
- Dynamic livery editor (like in the Kodiak, the Beaver, the Wilga, the Caravan, the C206, the C337, and the Pilatus PC-6)
- Full PBR control! Create stunning metallic liveries, or matte, sand-blasted look in mere seconds!
- Additional control over dirt/scratches, adjustable in real-time to dial in the exact desired amount of wear and tear.
- Create „virtual“ liveries, based on two basic common design layouts (Modern and Classic), and assign any colour to any available paint segment.
- Quickly create preview of livery in real-time, using intuitive controls. Previews include visualization of metallic materials and dirt overlays.
- Apply selected livery in real-time, right in the sim, without the need to even touch a 3rd party image editor!
- Option to change the tail number in real-time, or disable it altogether. (Enter a „space“ instead of a callsign number to create a blank tail number.)
- Easily and quickly create dozens of paint schemes in-sim!
- Also includes 8 traditionally painted liveries, all visible in a convenient pre-selection preview window.
- Ability to swap pilot/co-pilot figures
- Uses SkunkCrafts Updater. Option to participate in Beta program, via checkbox in SkunkCrafts Updater.
- Excellent 8k hi-res textures with realistic PBR materials, featuring true-to-life plate deformation and to-the-rivet precision.
- Windshield ice and rain effects
- Individual functional circuit breakers.
Feature-rich elegant fly-out menu with the following features:- Electric tug, with in-panel controls to move forward/backward at the desired speed, and steer proportionally
- Control over chocks, individual tie-downs, covers, internal lights, external lights, etc.
- Option to enable/disable Cargo Pod, with realistically simulated weight, momentum, rotational inertia, and drag characteristics.
- Option to start up running (all systems ready), or cold-and-dark, for realistic startup procedures, directly from this fly-out menu.
- Control landing lights, strobes, beacon, and nav lights via fly-out menu
- Detailed weight and balance manager with visual chart, individual passenger seat weight control, Lbs/KG unit toggle, CG control, external tank control, and the option to save and load configuration.
- Show or hide individual seats, to create a hybrid passenger/cargo version.
- When seats are hidden, cargo fills the space when weight is added via the fly-out menu.
- Multiple camera snap points, above and beyond what’s available by default in X-Plane, so you can perform your walk around checks.
- Adjust your camera’s Field of View without having to go to an X-plane menu, allowing for real-time adjustments.
- Audio mixer: individually control audio channels in real-time, so you can adjust volumes while hearing them play.
- Slew control: move your plane around the world, temporarily bypassing flight physics. Includes ground mode and air mode.
- Dynamic panel control page, with a separate view for the entire panel layout preview, or a per-instrument view, allowing for fine-tuning of instrument position, as well as copy-paste function to quickly replace instruments.
- DynaFeel panel: Dial in precisely how you wish for the controls to react as a function of speed.
- Option to swap pilot and co-pilot
- Optional de-ice system
- Optional bubble windows
- Optional tundra tires
Flight dynamics and systems:- Detailed and accurate flight dynamics and weight and balance, with accurate takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance.
- Tie-downs and chocks actually keep the plane from moving, even in high winds.
- DynaFeel: controls that simulate how strongly the control surfaces are affected by oncoming air, and how much strength would be needed to overcome these forces.
Advanced FMOD-based sound system:- High fidelity, multi-track sounds with smooth, finely tuned transitions (actually having calculated the precise beat frequency for each section, to minimize „muddy“ transition sounds), and amazing atmospheric effects.
- Individual volume control over different aspects of the sound experience, adjustable in real-time (while listening to the sounds)
- Panning around the plane in exterior view yields awesome 3D audio effects, including „blade slapping“ sound when view is perpendicular to prop
- Far away sounds include aerodynamic interaction effects between engines.
- Individual buttons and switches in the cockpit each have their own unique sound.
- Engine has typical cool-down ticking sound, based on engine temperature.
- Sounds actually give you clues as to what’s happening under the hood.
- Outside wind intensity is affected by slip and AoA. (The more the surface area of the fuselage is hit by oncoming wind, the louder the sounds)
- Doors and windows opening, let outside sounds in
Gerade das frei konfigurierbare Cockpit, wie von vorherigen Flugzeugen bekannt, hebt den Flieger hervor.
Zu haben ist die Umsetzung bei X-Plane.org für 34.95$. Damit kostet der Flieger exakt so viel wie die Umsetzungen von Nimbus und Torquesim und der Simmer hat die Qual der Wahl, wobei für Torquesim das XP12 Update noch aussteht.
Ich mag die Maschinen von Thranda. Habe leider auch die Nimbus Version. Thranda sind immer gut umgesetzt. Ich bin mir echt nicht sicher, ob ich mir die holen soll.
Ich bin sie während der Beta-Phase geflogen. Und sie ist wirklich gut. Aber ich habe auch die Nimbus. So sehr ich Dan und sein Team schätze, muss ich leider auch sagen, dass ich die Thranda-Version jetzt nicht soviel besser finde, um sie mir zusätzlich holen zu würden. Sie hat ein paar Features, die ziemlich cool sind (dynamisches Dashboard, dynamische Livery, mehr Variation in den Optionen wie unterschiedliche Bereifung). Für mich persönlich ist das allerdings keine zusätzlichen $35 wert. Aber letztendlich muss das jeder für sich entscheiden. Und die Umsetzung ist auf dem typischen Thranda-Niveau. Anders sähe es aus, wenn ich noch keine Islander für X-Plane hätte. Dann wäre die Thranda meine persönliche erste Wahl. Zur Torquesim kann ich nichts sagen, da ich sie nicht habe.