This is a review of A2A simulations Boeing 377 Stratocruiser by Jessica Bannister-Pearce.

One of the great things I love about commercial aviation is that it’s full of great era’s in time. My favourite is the late 70’s or early 80’s. but for the sheer glamour of flying, there can be no better era than the late 40’s to the late 50’s. And whist the Low Cost carriers have really stripped the glamour and thrill out of flying, the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser must really be seen as glamour personified. And thanks to A2A simulations, we now have the chance to fly in style.

Welcome Aboard

What’s in the Box?

Well, Nothing. As is increasingly common these days, the B377 is available as a download only, although for an extra nominal charge ($6.50), you can get a back up disk through the mail. But that really doesn’t matter. It’s got to be good news for us as, without the packaging costs and such, add-ons such as this can be priced a lot more keenly. Anyway, the download is somewhere near 200mb, so a quick download speed would be an advantage. You can also download the manual in PDF form and that comes in at over a 120 pages. But I urge you to print it out. Partly to help learn the systems, but also to just enjoy the quality of the assembled information. (Including a rather nice pic of the A2A blonde pin up girl.) The manual is presented in landscape format and in a genuine 40’s style. (Little touches I know, but they really help set the scene).

Installation was simple and within a few minutes you’re ready to go.

Wow!

After loading up Flight Simulator X, you get to choose your aircraft. There are only a few variants, but this reflects every operator of the B377 including United airlines and BOAC. As an extra bonus, you also get the chance to fly perhaps the greatest variant of the B377 - the Pregnant Guppy.

After selecting The BOAC variant, I was simply awe struck at the aircrafts level of detail. The Exterior model is simply astounding. You can see each rivet, and marks left from dirt and the exhaust. The tires bulge when the aircraft is fully loaded, but it’s the exterior lights that really steal the show. A2A are experts at 3D lighting for Flight Sim aircraft, and the B377 looks beautiful lit up in the early evening. The lights look natural and the light cast blends evenly with the ground and aircraft panels (no more white triangles when switching on the landing lights.) But if I thought the outside was good, the interior simply sparkles.

The lighting helps put this aircraft in a league of it’s own.

The Cockpit

The first thing that’ll hit you from the cockpit is the view. 19 windows fill the cockpit, which really gives a great sense of scale. A look over you’re shoulder reveals the outboard engines. The cockpit itself is simply huge. Besides the captain and co-pilot stations, there are also stations for the flight engineer and navigator tucked away behind the pilots. Each of these stations work as expected, which means you’ll spend some time hopping between stations. The visuals of the panels, however, are nothing short of top quality. Gauges move smoothly and throttles behave just as nicely. But getting this bird running is no mean feat.

Everything is beautifully rendered and everything works.

As they say, there’s more

So far I can’t tell you how great this aircraft looks and feels. But A2A felt that there was more to be added to the aircraft. So they came up with an expansion pack called Accu-sim. Adding this to the B377 will blow you away. I often say that ‘the devil is in the detail’. Well, with the B377 and accu-sim pack, the Devil is certainly in the house. As I’ve alluded to earlier, this aircraft has four crew stations. And you can imagine that hoping back and forth between some of them will be par for the course.

A2A had, of course, thought of this and helpfully provide you with a great reporting system that you can view from the captain’s seat. It’s transparent, so it doesn’t spoil the view of your instruments, and it’ll let you know if the engines run too hot or if the oil pressure is too high. With the Accu-sim pack, however, you can forget that system as you’re given a full crew to help you monitor all the systems. The virtual co-pilot and flight engineer watch with eagle eyes each system, and will tell you when an engine runs hot, or that take off flaps have been selected. Your handy crew is available in British or American flavours, but you have to decide this during installation. Still, all this adds to the real experience of the B377.

The Accu-sim pack also adds some great effects. Engines that run hot begin to smoke. Whist idling too long before applying full power produces plumes of black smoke as the engines burn the oil from the spark plugs. Brakes creak and groan as you move, whist the passengers can be heard in the background. Surround sound really is a must to get the best from these great extras.

Puffs of smoke from start up are a nice touch.

Flying

Getting starting on the B377 is both a simple task and a difficult task at the same time. Loading the aircraft is a simple matter of calling up the loading menu from inside flight sim. A quick Shift + 1 and you’ll have a choice of fuel, cargo and passengers to fill the B377. There are several presets as well as the option to load each passenger individually. Personally, I prefer presets. Still, I like the fact that you can set the load from inside the cockpit. Next comes the start up. Having being spoiled with the big jets lately, the engine start up procedures seem rather long winded.

From starting the APU to setting the pumps, then priming the engine before finally starting the engines turning and switching the magnetos on. Plus, don’t forget to set the mixture and to advance the throttles a little to fire up the huge Pratt & Whitney R4360 engines.

Thanks to the Accu-sim add on, the engines cough and wheeze their way into life. Taxiing and take off present other problems that we jet jockey’s simply don’t worry about. You really need to watch the temperatures in the engines as they will overheat and catch fire. Take off is especially dangerous, as the engines really can’t take the heat of full power. (I flamed out two engines on my first flight, short though it was). To help at take off, you’ll need to switch on the water injection to help boost the take off power of the B377 as well as cooling the engines. There is only a limited supply, however, and once you’re airborne you’ll need to turn the system off. But once you’re up, the fun just keeps coming.

FIRE…. You’ll have to watch you’re engines carefully to get the best from this Bird.

The Autopilot

I’m used to the advanced autopilot functions of modern Boeing’s and such, so this particular autopilot seems crude and slow. However, once you get used to it, it works well. It’s as simple as an autopilot gets. A switch will help you maintain altitude, whist a handle helps you turn the aircraft left or right. Adjusting your mouse scroll wheel will help to set the pitch required. And that’s about it. As I said, it’s simplistic but effective. I believe that it can navigate to ADF’s but my navigation skills aren’t great. (Curse you FMC).

Navigation

As I said, my navigation skills are not renowned. So navigating the B377 was a bit of a challenge. Accessing the navigators station, you can select the map. ( Shift + function will also do the same) You’re given a large radius to view and many of the FS waypoints can be displayed on screen (Intersections, VOR’s, Airports, etc.) I choose VOR to VOR, hopping along from point to point. It wasn’t easy (again, Curse You FMC), but it really challenges you to concentrate on what you’re doing. Besides there are still the Engines.

Navigation in the dark. Just you, a map, Compass, sexton…

Engines

Assuming you’ve managed to keep the engines from imploding (a really cool effect, by the way) you’ll need to monitor them constantly throughout the flight. From carb temps to oil temps and various throttle and turbo charging settings need constant fettling. Thankfully, your flight engineer will tell you if things begin to get out of hand. Adjusting the Cowl flaps or intercooler flaps will help keep things cool, but beware of opening them to much, as I discovered. (I got the cowl flaps stuck open during the cruise). If you don’t have the Accu-sim add on, you can monitor systems from the crew reporting system, and the cowl flaps and such can be opened and closed from this panel to save you leaping from one seat to the other.

Loadouts, crew reports and options to control systems from the front. A2A have thought of everything.

Conclusion

What can I say? A2A simulations have created something that is far beyond some of the add-on’s on the market. As I said earlier, ‘The Devil is in the detail’ and I firmly believe that it’s the detail that helps to make this one of the best simulations on the market.

And it is a simulation. Don’t expect to just jump in and go. You’ll need to study the manual and be patient to get the best out of this great aircraft. With the addition of the Accu-sim add on, you’ll really be able to smell the burnt fuel in the air. I really can’t think of a downside.

The B377 only ever sold 56 aircraft to a few airlines before the 707 appeared and changed the world forever. But in that short space of time, the B377 showed the world what real glamour was. Double decks, a lounge for socialising and even sleeper bunks. If the engines had been more reliable and the jet age a little slower, this great aircraft may have done well. Fortunately, Thanks to A2A Simulations, we can all experience some of the glamour of a bygone age.

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