Pro Flight Simulator – Beech Starship: Bonaire-Montego Bay-Atlanta
Smooth as silk. That's how I would describe flying the Beech Starship from Bonaire's Flamingo International Airport to Montego Bay, Jamaica and then to Atlanta in Pro Flight Simulator. At 300 knots cruising speed, the leg to MBJ took right at two hours and the leg to Atlanta a little over three. The Starship model, while still in it's alpha stage, is breathtaking to look at and I found myself cycling through the views often just to gawk at it. The panel needs some work as the multifunction CRT display and CDI are all that is visible in dusk and night lighting conditions, but they are accurately presented. The twin pushers give more than adequate power and the take-off roll took very little input to maintain centerline. Gear-up was fun to watch and the Starship climbed beautifully, and rapidly. Not much to see for most of the flight to Jamaica as it is over open ocean, but at the end there are lots of islands in the field of view. GPS setup was easy and provided realistic feedback as the flight went on. I enjoyed the autopilot modeling a lot, it even oscillates like the real thing when large changes are programmed before settling out and continuing the flight. The leg to ATL took place in the dark of night, but it was fun to fly directly over the center of Cuba, something US pilots cannot do in the politics of the non-simulated world. Night scenery over Florida and into Georgia was near-realistic and fun to look at, but more brightness out of the city lights would give a more accurate picture of the view from 20000 feet. Night landing in Atlanta was again, smooth as silk, as was the taxi to the ramp. A fun feature of the Starship model is the ability to open the door upon parking to let your passengers out, making a nice photo op for screen capture. Again, very impressed with the realism of Pro Flight Simulator.