Already available via simMarket, the SPAD S.XIII biplane fighter aircraft. It’s a digital replica of the World War I Collection. The S.XIII proved to be one of the most capable fighters of the war, as well as one of the most-produced, with nearly 8500 units built. It was popular with its pilots and numerous aces from various nations who flew the S.XIII. And it’s looks to me as a basic flyer. Some instruments are nice, but mainly looking outside. (As now known to be a VFR pilot).
And AvAngel did make a flight with it:
And see also this one, from Vintage Simulations:
His remarks:
Today we’re taking Captain Sim’s new SPAD S.XIII up for an aerobatic display over ORBX’s fantastic S43 Harvey Field scenery. The SPAD is the first release of Captain Sim’s new WWI Collection. Something I’m really looking forward to, since I always had a soft spot for WWI planes and they are very underrepresented in MSFS at the moment.
Overall, the visual model and the textures are very nicely done and at around 13 US-Dollars the SPAD is very fairly priced. There are also a few nice visual bonuses on the clipboard, like chocks, tie-downs or battle damage.
The flight model is pleasant but could use a bit of work to make it more realistic. I think the aircraft should be more unstable overall, especially in yaw. At the moment it doesn’t require a lot of rudder use. I also think that the elevator could use a bit of adjusting. When compared to the Rise of Flight version of the SPAD or looking at the few contemporary aircraft that perform aerobatics today the elevator doesn’t seem to be very effective. For the loops in this video, I had to use full back elevator, in comparison in Rise of Flight that would cause an accelerated stall.
The engine also could use quite a bit of tweaking, depending on the version of the Hispano-Suiza 8 engine the max rpm should be at 1900-2300 rpm, the sim version is currently at around 1500-1700 rpm. The oil temperature also seems to rise way too quickly, even at a power setting of around 70-75% and fully opened cowl flaps, the temperature will climb into the red.
One weird bug I found is that the pilot will disappear when using the showcase camera.
So, overall, I would say the SPAD has a lot of potential, with tweaks to the flight model and engine behavior it could be fantastic. As it is now, it’s a fun and especially for the price nice addition to the sim.
For this video I’m flying the SPAD over ORBX/Andreas Hegi’s S43 Harvey Field, which is part of their Harvey Field and Monroe Firstair Airports pack. It’s a very nice addition to the sim, especially Harvey Field, as it is surrounded by photogrammetry scenery. As you’ll be able to see in the video, with some aircraft it can be a bit hard on the FPS and sadly can cause stutters from time to time.
Thanks for watching! I hope you’ll enjoy the video =)