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The E-Type Jaguar of Fighter Aircraft!
The Hawker Hunter - Record Breaker, Cold War warrior and PPL legal!
The Hunter is perhaps the most impossibly beautiful aircraft ever assembled. No, not assembled - sculpted - as though from a single block of aircraft grade aluminum. Designed by Sir Sidney Camm, an engineer whose designs span biplane to jump jet, the Hunter is a remarkable machine. Powered by a Rolls Royce Avon engine which will propel you at Mach 0.94 at sea level, and let you climb at no less than 10,500ft/min to 'touch the face of God' at 51,000ft.
Hunters were the chosen mount of the famous Black Arrows, whose livery is one of many in this simulation. Their 22-plane formation loop, set a record which stands to this day.
In 1953, fighter ace and acclaimed test pilot Neville Duke, flew the Hunter against a backdrop of the Sussex coast to set a new world speed record of 727.63 mph. Duke described flying the Hunter into the sound barrier as 'A piece of cake', and the Hunter the love of his professional life.
The Hunter is a true fighter of the cold war, its merits still demonstrated by continued service with the Test Pilot school at Boscombe Down and of course a popular sight with 100,000s at many an air show!
Pre-Flight
The Virtavia Hunter simulation is compatible with FS2004 plus the FSX version including subtle reflectivity, bump-mapping, self-shadowing and bloom and even signs of weathering. The static realisation includes the cockpit ladder, engine covers and pitot tags. The speedbrake is simulated to be restricted to operation only with wheels up, just as in the real Hunter.
The simulation covers 7 unique variants and 8 texture sets including the Black Arrows, and the famous Swiss air force examples where the pilots were often part-time and the runways - empty motorways!
Looking into the cockpit the auto-animated avatar even has correct insignia on his arm patches.
Once started the high-quality sound rendition of the Rolls Royce Avon is unmistakable. Engine start produces exhaust smoke which settles to the turbine glow.
Going Hunting
Inside the hunter, is a special place. No glass cockpit here, no fly-by-wire avionics or 'plastic' aeroplane. This is the real thing.
Be it the 2D panels or the virtual cockpit, the realistic dark military finish looks particularly purposeful, but not intimidating. Perfectly simulated by Virtavia, the Hawker's designers clearly thought about this panel, unlike perhaps those of Jaguar's E-type! Most of the systems will be very familiar to the general aviation pilot and in fact the Hunter is legal on a PPL.
The realistic all-xml 2D panel, custom pop-ups for autopilot, electrics and radios, and in addition to the printed manual a PDF guide to all the features. Rain effects are included in the FS2004 VC variant, while FSX boasts night illumination of the gauges. With FSX SP2, self-shadowing is also added.
Thefully authentic VC includes many animations and 'mouseable' controls.
Sweep into the sky and the simulation matches the superb responsiveness of the real jet. The real Hunter just felt 'right' and the simulation feels matches up to that expectation. This highly authentic replication comes complete with checklists for operational procedure. Using the aircraft to high-speed aerobatic advantage, the wing-tip vortices flicker with vapour.
Hawker Hunter Paint Kit
Download this free paint kit to create your own custom liveries for the Hawker Hunter.
Check out this video then brush up your aero skills for putting on your own airshow display!
FS Compatibility - System Requirements
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MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR X or FS2004
Windows XP or Vista
Processor - 2.8 GHz
Memory - 512Mb RAM
Hard Drive - 208 Mb free
Video Card - 128 Mb
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