D17 Staggerwing Review

By – Stephen Todd

Originally built in the 1930s and 1940s, The Beechcraft model D17, better known as the Staggerwing, was marketed for businessmen much like the business jets of today.  However, despite the interior cabin being hand built to spec, their $18,000 price tag was a little steep for the depression era economy.  However, as small refinements were made and the price dropped, they sold well, eventually totaling over 400 built.  Many of the Staggerwing’s were drafted into military service during World War II. The Spanish even used them as bombers due to the large Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 radial engine that enabled them to fly at 200 miles per hour. However, they also saw service in the United States Army Air Corps, United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, as well as a handful of other military organizations.  Because of their speed, they are also known for use in air races. That is, until losing pilots started complaining about not being able to keep up.  A separate race class was established just for the Staggerwing, but it didn’t stick.

According to some sources, there are only five of these beautiful birds left airworthy today.  Now you have an opportunity to fly one of the most iconic aircraft from the golden age of aviation.  Alebeo has faithfully recreated this classic aircraft for FSX in spectacular fashion.  So, without further adieu, let’s get to the aircraft!  Like any good pilot, I’m going to start with an exterior walk around.  Aside from the classic 1930’s styling and polished surface, the first thing you will notice is the aircraft is an atypical stagger biplane.  This means that there are two wings, with the top wing being set back farther than the bottom wing.  Thus, the ailerons are on the top wing and the flaps are on the bottom wing.

Moving along the left side of the fuselage, I come to the only door on the aircraft, located behind the pilot seat.  That’s right, the only way in or out is through a door that looks like they pulled it off a luxury cruise liner.  If you look at pictures of the real aircraft, you’ll see the door is absolutely massive.  Heading down to the empennage, you will notice this aircraft has the classic rounded tail design that was fairly common for the time.  The right side of the fuselage has only surfaces to check, so I move to the right wing, checking the skin, struts, wire supports and ensure the ailerons are functioning properly.

Then, I move to the large, but beautiful, Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 radial engine. Smartly, designers put the exhaust on the bottom, instead of the side.  This helps with keeping exhaust away from the pilot and any passengers in the cabin, but makes cleaning the bottom of the plane a nightmare.  Overall, the exterior texture on this aircraft are phenomenal!  The spec map, bump maps, and alphas were beautifully done.  You can tell the texture artist took their time and made sure it was done right.  Whoever the artist is, you deserve a pat on the back for these. Great work!

As for animations, the door functions properly.  Ailerons, flaps, elevator and vertical stabilizer (tail) move correctly.  The prop spins perfectly and shows some variation according to your prop pitch and throttle settings.  The only I would change about the exterior are better lights and more light splash.  By default, the only flashing lights are the red beacon lights.  Let’s face it guys, they don’t exactly look real.  Sure, it blinks, but only just; and there is no such thing as light splash onto the aircraft itself, except a bit from the landing lights. I think you can do better here, but really, it’s a small issue compared to the grand scheme.

One thing I want to point out is how well the inside is textured.  I’ve spoken about how great the outside is, but the inside is a real treasure in its own right.  I read some reviews that talked about the inside having some major flaws and I have to say, that simply was not my experience. I went looking for problems and didn’t find them. Is this the product of successful patches?  Maybe. But in my opinion, the interior textures are first rate.  Moving inside, you are greeted by a wonderfully put together interior. It lives up to the business traveler motif in every way.  Business jets today are luxurious and comfortable, and the Staggerwing is no different.  This particular model is adorned with excellently textured leather seats, polished wood, and a realistic looking head liner.

The gauges and controls are exactly what I would expect for an aircraft of this age.  There is a single yoke that is passed back and forth between the two pilots, depending on who is in control.  The gauges themselves are large, easy to read, and of the styling that fits the era.  No fancy glass cockpits here.  You’ll also not find any form of autopilot.  You’re just going to have to use good old fashioned stick and rudder skills.  Now, interestingly, the throttle, prop and mixture controls are stacked vertically in the center of the panel.  They are still the vernier style, push-pull that you are used to, just located higher than you might expect.  In fact, the prop pitch control is right at the top. That’s kind of annoying, but you’ll adapt quickly.  Sound wise, Alabeo did a pretty good job.  Thankfully, they did not alias the sound to a default plane, opting instead to make a custom sound set that fits a large radial engine on a general aviation type aircraft.  So, don’t worry about it sounding like a DC-3 or a Cessna 172.

Now that we’ve talked about the physical parts of the aircraft, it’s time for me to talk about my experience flying the plane.  If you have read my other reviews, you know I like to start by reading all of the documentation that came with the aircraft.  In this case, there is almost none – just a basic specification sheet.  However, on the Alabeo website, there is a link to performance sheets and the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) for a military version, which is a close relative of this model.  That POH helped tremendously, with checklists, performance data, and other such things that you would expect to find in a POH.  My recommendation is that you go read it. Here is the link.

I made several local area flights with the Staggerwing, just to get a feel for it.  I’m not very familiar with tail draggers, but after 10 or 15 landings and about an hour of practicing ground handling, I felt pretty comfortable.  I did notice the aircraft was very easy to trim and maintaining altitude wasn’t really a problem during a cruise phase.  What got me is, as I stated before, there is no autopilot.  I hadn’t realized how accustomed I had become to “set it and forget it”.  Flying manually takes work and coordination, especially when you have to communicate and navigate.  Looking at sectional maps, terminal charts and approach plates took on a whole other level of difficulty that I hadn’t experienced since my flight school days in 2007.  I also had a huge smile on my face because it just added that much more realism to my simulation experience.  Sure, you could cheat and add some code to have an autopilot and GPS, but why?

Usually I would take some shorter flights around the Salt Lake Valley, and then I would fly longer legs.  Now, some wouldn’t consider a ninety minute flight long, but when you fly by hand and work radios and navigation equipment, it get tiring quickly. Luckily, I figured this out on my local flights and decided to limit the distance I flew on my cross country, so as to keep an element of fun in my flying and not burn out.  I decided to fly up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and back; a distance of about 188 miles.

Departing from South Valley Reigonal Airport (U42) on a 102 degree day, I opted to limit my climb rate to only 1,000 ft per minute, giving me a 75 knot airspeed, instead of the 65 I would normally climb.  With the amount of fuel I had on board, I didn’t want to push my luck. Air Traffic Control pushed me out over the city while I circled and climbed, then transitioned north and back into controlled airspace, tracking the OGD VOR and up into Logan.  I followed my planned route and eventually reached my 15,000 ft cruise altitude, where I stayed until my decent just over an hour later, followed by a slightly bumpy touchdown.  I wasn’t happy. This was a mechanical, slightly stressful flight  because that’s the way I made it.  My instrument flying skills were rusty, a product of too much autopilot ‘flying’, and knew it.  I decided to relax and enjoy myself on the flight back to Utah – that’s exactly what I did.

The next day, I climbed back into this beautiful aircraft more determined than ever to just enjoy myself.  Parking brakes – Set. Tail Wheel lock- Set. Gear Lever- checked down. Battery Switch- On. Master Switch – On. Beacon light- On. Fuel Pump – On. Mixture – Idle Cut Off. Propeller- Full forward. Throttle – Set to Idle. Ignition – On.  “CLEAR PROP!”  And so it went. I followed procedure and checklists, obtained my ATIS information, then my IFR clearance and taxi to the active, stopping briefly to run up the engine. When I was cleared, I pulled onto my runway and advanced the throttle. Once again, into a 1,000 fpm climb and trimmed to hold it. I performed my after takeoff checklist, and proceeded on course.  This time, however, I looked around at the gorgeous payware scenery and the gorgeous machine that I was operating. I had noticed the gleam of the sun on the aircraft before, but that day was slightly different.

I could almost smell the smoke from the exhaust, the 100LL on my hands and feel the buffet of the wind over the wings.  Checking my gauges, I was amazed to see absolutely no lag in the time from when I made an adjustment to when the instruments moved.  I watched as the shadow caused by the simulated sun moved in the cabin and how much I missed looking down at the Earth from nearly two miles above sea level.  Eventually, the time came for me to land and taxi in, but I’ll tell you – I enjoyed that flight. It reinforced to me how a good, simple airplane could be and how much I really enjoyed the basics of aviation, especially when the simulated plane you are flying is as well done as this one.

Is It Worth Your Money?

With the fantastic textures inside and out, high level of attention to detail, and great flight dynamics, I believe that Alabeo has faithfully recreated a classic aircraft.  Add to that the $19.95 price tag, and I wholeheartedly say that this add-on aircraft is well worth the money!