The Cub's full working panel, in a bigger aircraft on floats. Her doors open as you climb aboard and her flaps look after themselves. Both front seats have a yoke, and you can hear her from the starter to the splash.
Moored on the lake beside the timber hangars, the blue and silver Skywagon is the newest arrival at Ruritania Aerodrome. She is a four-seat Cessna 180 on floats, with a two-blade propeller, room for a pilot, a co-pilot and two passengers, and the lake for a runway.
She carries the same Hanscoque avionics as the Piper Cub Mark Five, with every gauge reading live, and then goes further. The doors open when you board, the flaps come down for take-off, and there is a yoke for each front seat. The floats throw up spray on the take-off run, and there is a full set of engine sounds from start to shutdown.
TypeCessna 180
VariantSkywagon Floatplane
SeatsFour
BuilderHanscoque Avionics
13Live instruments
4Seats
2Yokes
2Opening doors
6Moving surfaces
9Sounds
The Instrument Panel
Every needle is live
The Skywagon has the same Hanscoque panel as the Cub. A full six-pack of flight instruments sits at the heart of it, with a row of engine and systems gauges above. Each one reads live from the aircraft as she flies. Click most of the gauges and a voice reads your speed, height or heading aloud.
Air- speed
Attitude
Alti- meter
Turn coord.
Heading
VSI
The Skywagon's panel: compass above, engine row, six-pack and supporting gauges.
Cockpit view on the lake: the live panel and both yokes, with a steamer beyond.
Switch to cockpit view and you are sitting in the Skywagon, with the live panel in front of you and a yoke at each front seat. The two yokes move together. Pull back and both columns come towards you, and out on the tail the elevator rises with them. Bank, and both wheels turn as the ailerons answer. Hold back and bank together, and the yokes do both at once.
This is where the Skywagon moves up from the Cub. Her doors open and close as people come and go, and her flaps work through the whole flight without you having to think about them.
❖ Opening doors
Both cabin doors swing open on their hinges. When you board, you stand on the float while your door opens, then you're in your seat and it closes behind you. The inside panel and glass swing with it, so it looks right from the cabin too.
✦ Automatic flaps
Down when the engine starts and for the take-off. Up as you climb through 10 m, down again below 8 m on the approach, and up at touchdown. The pilot can click either flap to change them by hand.
✻ Dual yokes
A working yoke for each front seat, so pilot and co-pilot each have their own. Push and pull moves the column in and out, and banking turns the wheel.
◉ Front view
Look at the aircraft from ahead, with the propeller turning towards you.
◉ Side view
A broadside view from the right, ideal for watching the flaps, rudder and elevator at work.
◉ Chase view
An external camera that follows the Skywagon around the sky.
◉ Cockpit view
Over the pilot's shoulder, with the live panel and the yokes in front of you.
Starting & Flying
Climb aboard, start her up, and fly
Click the wing, the fuselage or either door to climb aboard. You take the next free seat, and the door on that side opens for you. When you've had enough, click again and you'll step out onto the float on your side.
Engine
Page Up first press
Starts the engine. The starter turns, the prop catches and she settles to idle. The flaps come down, ready for take-off.
Page Up again
Adds power, a step at a time. The sound rises from idle to full power as you go.
Page Down
Eases power off a step at a time. At zero on the water, one more press stops the engine.
On the water
←→
Steer across the water. The rudder swings as you go.
↓ pull back
Once you've added power and built up speed, pull back. The nose rises gently, the floats lift clear and she climbs away.
In the air
←→
Bank into turns.
↑↓
Descend and climb.
Landing
Page Down
Ease the power off and glide down. The flaps come down for the approach. She splashes down on the floats and comes to rest on the water.
Camera
/5 chase/5 front
Type in local chat to change the view. Only whoever is flying can change it.
/5 right/5 shoulder
Side view, or the cockpit view over the pilot's shoulder.
✦ Moving surfaces
Elevator, rudder, both ailerons and both flaps move with the controls, each with a soft click.
✻ Spinning prop
The two-blade prop starts turning when the engine catches, and keeps turning until it has wound down after you shut her off.
✸ Stall horn
Let her get too slow in the air and the stall horn sounds. Lower the nose and add power.
On the Water
Spray, wake and sound
On the lake by the hangars, ready for the next flight.
The Skywagon sits level on her floats like a boat. As she taxis out, a light wake trails behind the floats. Open the throttle for the take-off run and the spray thickens until she lifts clear.
On landing there's a splash as the floats touch down. The wake stays where she passed, fading away over about half a minute, and you can hear the water rushing past the floats whenever she's moving on it.
♫ Engine
The starter and the engine catching, then shutting down and winding to a stop.
♫ Propeller
A steady tick-over at idle, rising to full power as you open the throttle.
♫ Water
Water rushing past the floats, and the splash on touchdown.
♫ Cabin
The door catch as the doors open and close, soft clicks from the controls, and the stall horn.
Dual Controls
Four seats, two pilots
Seats fill in order: left front, right front, then the two rear seats. The left front is the pilot's seat. The right front has its own yoke and can take control, and the rear seats are for passengers. If the pilot steps out, the right-front pilot takes over automatically.
Handing over control
Whoever is flying says: you have control
The other front-seat pilot takes it by saying: i have control
Just type the phrase in local chat. The handover happens only once both have spoken.
❖ Mayday
If both front seats are empty in flight, she won't fall out of the sky. The power drops to idle and she glides down to the water. She lands, shuts down and leaves any rear passengers safely afloat.
☼ The magnetic compass
A one-time set-up. Face true north, then touch and hold the compass for about a second and a half until it says north set. After that, a short tap reads out your heading.
⚙ Readout
While anyone is aboard, a yellow readout above the cabin shows height, heading, speed, power, the flap setting, what she's doing and who has control.
What's New
The Skywagon at a glance
Everything built into the Skywagon, from the gauges to the splash.
Full live six-pack flight instruments
Live engine and system instruments
Liquid magnetic compass
One-time compass calibration
Spoken instrument readouts
Supporting gauges with dark faces
Four seats, boarding in order
Opening doors on both sides
Board and step out beside your door
Two working animated yokes
Dual-control handover
Automatic flaps
Flaps you can click by hand
Moving elevator and rudder
Moving left and right ailerons
Spinning two-blade propeller
Four selectable camera views
Floats that sit level on the water
Spray and wake on the water
Splash on touchdown
Engine start and stop sounds
Prop idle and full-power sounds
Door, control and water sounds
Stall warning horn
Mayday glide to the water
Live flight readout above the cabin
A note on regions
The Skywagon is a physical aircraft, so she flies best on a healthy region. If you see heavy rubber-banding or stutter, that's the region or your connection rather than the aircraft. A relog usually helps.
