AEB&W C-130J Hercules 3.0

i was thinking if should buy this one or another from a different builder, this is much better, better size, better texture, flights really amazing, i'm reallly glad i give it a shot

I found this ship an excellent prop for my video/machinima production because:
- Plenty of detail in the build
- Back ramps open slowly and smoothly in an authentic manner, they don't disappear like in some craft.
- Most important for video, once started, it will remain in place, even in the sky. There is no movement. If you set the brakes and throttle up, it still remains in place, but there is little need, as the sound is the same as at idle
- Nice starting animations with propeller motion and some smoke
- The static display at the store features a fame in the cargo bay, however a menu command will remove this, for a clean cargo area
- Several lighting configurations
- Being paintable may be of use to some filmakers
- Cockpit looks great
- As usual it can be commanded via chat, so you can close the hud and clear up the screen

Other features I tested:
- The flight HUD is fantastic and works exactly as needed
- She flies well. Its a cargo ship, so it lumbers, and handles as such. However if you set brakes, throttle up, flaps up, you can take off and climb quickly. I intent to see if I can launch from a Navy aircraft carrier.
- I crossed sims many times, as usual, there is a chug/glitch as you cross, and then it catches up and you are off again. Once I was ejected and the ship recovered and pulled me back in the pilots seat. Only when crashing did I have to truly abandon the ship and delete it. Generally, to stay in a sim, you have to keep her turning.

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wish it had:
- Technically she is a C-130. An AC-130 would have guns.
- Having cargo bay lights switchable from red to green for jumps would be good for role play
- I would enjoy more exhaust smoke and fume trails
- Someday its nice if an animator would make "pilot working switches" animations to use

Lorne, some things you say in your review may not be untrue, but they are very relative to your circumstances of lag, internet connection, pc, etc...

I've been flying in SL for almost 10 years now, and have to say that the best aircraft I've flown are those from AEB&W.

I bought the C-130J as soon as it was released on the market, back then Mosaii did a great campaign and I know he sold more than one hundred copies of it in his renowned combat sims.

The C-130J by AEB&W is an excellent aircraft, in my opinion the best airplane ever created in SL and comes at a very reasonable price. Most important, it's an airplane for experimented pilots.

Sure when one is used to fly the planes of one creator, it takes a lot of willpower to fly those from another creator. Each creator adds his or her personal touch to the flight behavior of their airplanes; there are really no good or bad ones.

I've read the previous reviews and, while I agree that the plane crosses sims smoothly (as well as can be expected for flying in SL), the C130J flies very poorly. For such a high price tag, I expect better performance and customer service. The problem is that, with the AEB&W stall feature, in order to keep the plane from stalling, I have to set the throttle at 40% or more. As any experienced flier knows, all planes suffer from lag as they cross the sims. While a plane is lagging, it is uncontrollable. With the AEB&W C130J, at 40% throttle, it is flying so fast that by the time the plane has recovered from lagging, it is almost at the other end of the next sim. Therefore, there is only a small window of opportunity in which to make corrections to height and direction. This makes landing extremely difficult. Also, the speed indicator on the HUD does not accurately reflect any kind of actual speed. At 40% throttle, the speed indicator reads '38' whatever that means.

For a price tag of L$2500, I expect a plane that flies near-perfect, and the HUD accurately reflects what the plane is actually doing. I am experiencing nothing of the sort with the C130J. Therefore, I must give this plane a poor review.

Oh, in case anyone is thinking I'm a noob and don't know how to fly in SL, nothing could be further from the truth. I am an experienced SL pilot with hundreds of hours logged.

I was surprised by the many additional features I found on the new update, which makes it actually a mostly new plane from initial version. For example I appreciate the localization beacon, that can be switched on or off, and the large space inside that allows for various roleplay options. New scripts make sure it crosses sim borders smoothly, and handles in a realistic way. It takes some practice before mastering a large cargo plane like this, but it's a lot of fun. Kudos!

I like this plane because her great way to handle in combat situations.... it flies smooth and it is so secure at sims crossings even with the full complement of crew and her way to land is just Superb