JF Vulcan Released

[blanston12]

Its now available for purchase.

https://www.justflight.com/product/avro-vulcan-b-mk2

Although at that price I may wait for it to show up on one of the mix and match sales.

[DaveG]

Yes, it's a bit pricey, plus extra for the expansion pack.
I'll certainly get it, but it won't be for a while.

[Nigel H-J]

Totally brilliant!! Though have to agree about the price, bit more than I expected so will definitively have to wait......a long wait at that!!

Having refueled the Vulcans during the seventies and spent some time in the cockpit with Alf Newton who was a crew chief(and also an instructor at the gliding club I was in) who showed me around that model is spot on though I did notice from their video a certain lack of black, filthy, air clogging smoke!! from the engines.

For those with VR it should be great to fly.

Regards
Nigel.

[Paul K]

It's a certainty for me too, though I think I'll wait a little bit. Just got the VC-10, and need to focus on that for the next few weeks. The Vulcan does look very nice though, and I shall retire my faithful old Iris model, which has served me well.

[Paul K]

...though I think I'll wait a little bit.

Yep, that's the 'little bit' gone, all 19 hours of it. Just bought the Vulcan for full price.

Actually, I feel rather well disposed towards Just Flight, and so I'm happy to cough up on this occasion. Don't ask me what it's like, though - P3D keeps crashing since I updated Orbx Vector, so I'm grounded at the moment.

[Nigel H-J]

Don't ask me what it's like, though - P3D keeps crashing since I updated Orbx Vector, so I'm grounded at the moment.

Shame about that as was hoping someone here would give their verdict on the Vulcan but my immediate thoughts are, looking at how good it is modeled then it should fly very well.

Regards
Nigel.

[DaveG]

I'll be interested to hear how it is on frame rates, and general system depth. The JF in-house models are generally pretty good, so I'm hoping this one will be too.

[Paul K]

Sorry chaps, but it looks like a full reinstall is on the cards. I think something happened while Orbx's FTX Central was updating Vector. I've tried everything I can think of to get it working again, but no joy. So a new start, and I think I might as well move up to P3Dv4 while I'm at it.

[Paul K]

Okay, P3Dv4 bought and installed, and the first add-on is the JF Vulcan. I'm still in the early stages of exploring it but thought I'd post some quick pics and impressions.

The external model is utterly gorgeous, but then it's from the JF in-house team, so how could it not be ? The only thing spotted so far is that the ground equipment is sitting a few inches in the air, but this is only really evident if your viewpoint is down at knee-height. She really is imposing to look at as you pan around.







Inside, the VC is simplicity itself ( cough )





An unusual view option is 'Virtual Cockpit Only' which blacks out the windows, and adds a little internal reflection. I'm not sure what the purpose of this is - maybe for purely instrument flying training ? Not sure I'll use it, but it's there for thems that want it.





The three crew positions facing aft are not modelled in any way, and if you are standing at the top of the access ladder, looking aft will just show partial clipping and outside scenery. I asked about the aft cabin last year at Cosford ( 2017 ) and was told the additional development time and costs wouldn't be justified. Some might disagree, but this is always a problem for developers - how far do you replicate the interior of a large flight deck ? Personally, I'm of the opinion that if it can't be done properly, then it's best left out. XH588 could probably have been done, as all the gear was stripped out leaving the table and a computer terminal or two, but for the in-service machines, it would have been too much.

So, heres a view looking aft from the left hand seat, and I'm perfectly happy with it:






That big white arrow in the top left corner is a click spot for a range of 2D pop ups, including checklists, flight computer, payload/fuel tank configuration and auxiliary power controls, as seen below:






And if you don't want the big white arrow, it can be dismissed in the drop-down menu.




As for systems depth, there is a fairly involved procedure going from cold and dark to up and running. It's probably a bit more involved than the Iris Vulcan, and that was enjoyable enough, so it's going to be fun. Caveat - haven't tried any of it out yet, so I can't be certain, but the manual is fairly detailed. It mentions a four-engine QRA start but the engines can also be started individually - as I say, yet to try it all out. The VC is enormously clickable, loads of indicators and panels, including that centre fuel panel, so there's a lot to learn.

Framerates - Dave G. I assume your concerns stem from your experience with the early JF Tornado, yes ? Well, you'll be happy to know there are no such problems here. On default graphics settings in P3Dv4, and with an Nvidia 970, the hat switch will whizz me round through 360 degrees in a second. No problems at all.

These are only first impressions, but so far it looks super, and well up to JF's in-house standards. This is a real Christmas treat. Well done guys !

Okay, off to study the manual and learn how to start this beauty. There is a tutorial flight from Cottesmore to Brize Norton, so I shall alert the fire crews at Brize.

[DaveG]

Thanks for the mini review Paul.
Looks to be pretty much as I expected from the JF in house team. You were right, my fps concerns stem from the Tornado, although the latest version in P3d v4.4 runs really well.
This is definitely a "must buy" although it will probably have to wait until after Christmas.