Rejoice! Aerosoft’s Twin Otter will be out for MSFS on January 19th
At long last, Aerosoft has given us a release date for the highly anticipated DHC-6 Twin Otter, the rugged STOL utility aircraft that has been teased and previewed for months. After more than a year in development, Aerosoft’s second aircraft for MSFS (after the CRJ), will finally be out later this month, on January 19th (a Wednesday, if you’re wondering).
We all honestly saw this coming when testers were allowed to share their first videos of the aircraft this weekend. It was a sure sign that the package was at least nearly ready, and with today’s confirmation of a release date, all but the final polishments are probably all that is left to do.
The release date announcement was candidly made by the usual Mathijs Kok in the official Aerosoft forums and is followed by some useful bits of information. Besides the set release date, pricing has also been revealed, a very tempting €29.95 (plus tax when applicable). A surprisingly nice price considering what Aerosoft is promising with this product, and also the variety of liveries and models to be included, which will be as follows:
- DHC6-100 Floats Passenger (Westcoast Air C-FGQH)
- DHC6-100 Wheels Cargo (Norway Airforce MXJ_67-062)
- DHC6-100_Wheels Passenger (Fuerza Aerea de chile 940)
- DHC6-300 Amphibian Passenger (Viking Air N153QS)
- DHC6-300 Floats Passenger (Trans Maldivian 8Q-TJM)
- DHC6-300 Floats Passenger Short Nose (Trans Maldivian 8Q-MAV)
- DHC6-300 Ski Cargo (British Antarctica Survey VP-FBB)
- DHC6-300 Tundra Wheels Cargo (Air Inuit C-GKCJ)
- DHC6-300 Tundra Wheels Passenger (Norlandair TF-NLC)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Cargo 3 Blade Prop (Aklak Air C-CDHC)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Cargo 4 Blade Prop (Aklak Air C-CDHC)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Skydiver (Perris Valley Skydiving N-708PV)
- DHC6-300 Wheels Passenger (Solomons Airline H4-FNT)
See below an extensive live preview of the Twin Otter for MSFS, streamed this weekend by British Avgeek:
Mathijs also listed the avionics options that will be available to be used in the Twin Otter:
- Garmin 530 all-in-one GPS/Nav/Comm solution
- Garmin 430 all-in-one GPS/Nav/Comm solution
- Bendix/King KR-87 ADF Receiver
- Bendix/King KT-76C Transponder
- Bendix/King KAP140 Autopilot
- Intercontinental Altitude Alerter
- Collins 913K Autopilot Controller (used as repeater for the KAP140)
- Bendix/King KMA Audio Selector
- Collins FD-112V Flight Director
Sadly, there are no plans to support the PNS50 GTN750 in the future.
There you go folks, the moment so many of you have been waiting for (me included!) is finally upon us. The Twin Otter has always looked great in all the previews we saw over the last few months, but now it has some big shoes to fill after the release of some brilliant airplanes such as the Kodiak 100 or the Milviz PC-6. The Twin Otter is certainly a different machine, and the amphibian variant will surely offer a different experience, but it will have to be built up to a high standard if it wants to compete.
The relatively low price will surely attract a lot of customers (and we know the MSFS user base is absolutely massive), but is that price something to be wary about, knowing how good planes are usually more expensive? We will soon find out!
