Product Review

Introduction

Just Flight's de Havilland DH.104 'Dove', known to military operators as the 'Devon', covers both the civilian and the military versions of this aircraft. The aircraft has enjoyed a long life, originally entering service in 1946, and there are still a few flying today.

Operational History

The de Havilland DH.104 'Dove' was first manufactured in 1946 and production continued until 1967, in which time 542 airframes were built. As well as airlines, the 'Dove' saw service with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Australia, several business concerns, such as the Iraq Petroleum Company, and various government organisations, including the Indian Government of Madras. On the military side, the aircraft saw service globally from the UK to New Zealand, Paraguay to Portugal. This service was mostly with the air force of the countries purchasing the aircraft, but it also saw service with the Royal Navy, Indian Navy, and several police forces.

Availability and Installation

The Just Flight DH.104 'Dove' and 'Devon' is currently available direct from Just Flight and Just Flight resellers as a download only product (some resellers also offer a master back-up CD / DVD service for a minor additional cost). It is priced at £19.99, or the equivalent on currency cross rates. The download file size is 362MB and it requires 1.6GB of HDD space for installation. There is a separate livery pack available for £3.99 which contains a South African, Dutch, and two British liveries.

Installation is straight forward and will install the 'Dove' and 'Devon' effortlessly to your chosen simulator. The process for uninstalling the 'Dove' and 'Devon' is described in the manual and is essentially a guide to uninstalling the package through the Windows Control Panel.

Models

The Just Flight DH.104 'Dove' and 'Devon' offers a good selection of variants including:
DH.104 'Dove' Mk. 2 - fitted with a clear perspex cockpit roof;
DH.104 'Dove' Mk. 5/6 - solid roof, presented with a modernised instrument suite;
DH.104 'Dove' Mk. 8 - built primarily for the USA market with a lengthened cockpit roof and roof aerials removed;
DH.104 'Devon' C Mk.1 and 'Sea Devon' C Mk. 20 - versions used by the RAF and the Royal Navy with dash mounted DeccaLog analogue flight recorder; and
DH.104 'Devon' C20 RNZAF - unique version for the RNZAF with plexiglass viewing bubble and wing top and under fuselage aerials.

Visual Appearance

External Model. The exterior of the model is excellently rendered with just the right amount of reflective sheen to the paintwork. The bodywork is very detailed, with all rivets and panels, aerials and control surface mechanisms present. The panelling is convincingly shaded to provide subtle realism, and signage is well detailed throughout. The views of the inside of the aircraft from an external perspective are also excellent, with realistic cabin interiors, cockpit and pilots. Fuselage voids, such as wheel wells, are very well detailed inside as are the undercarriage legs and doors.

Internal Model. There are three virtual cockpits available. The cockpit of the civilian 'Dove' is a grey cockpit and is a faithful representation of the real thing, as can be seen from the pictures below. The 'Devon' versions use the black military cockpit and it is also a very good representation of the real thing, with the main difference to the real world pictures being the addition of the analogue flight recorder in the Just Flight cockpit. Both the civilian and military cockpits contain the original analogue instrument suite, much of which is animated and works. The civilian version also comes as a modernised cockpit with the centre of the main console replaced with modern radio and GPS systems. The LTU aircraft comes with the upgraded cockpit and there is a version of the South Australian Air Taxi aircraft with this cockpit as well. The South Australian Air Taxi aircraft also comes with an original cockpit as do all of the other models of the 'Dove', and all models of the 'Devon' come with the black military cockpit. The modern cockpit's digital upgrades can be seen in the screenshots. The instruments and their use are described well in the manual. There is a comprehensive panel guide in the manual, and this guide is based on the instrument set of the 'Dove'. However, there is sufficient commonality with the 'Devon' panels to be able to easily cross-reference the two aircraft's instrumentation. In addition to the main panels, there are a number of small controls dotted about the cockpit in nooks and crannies, be sure to read the manual to find these and understand their use. Personally I liked the old analogue instruments, as they really give a 1950s feel to the aircraft and provide a nostalgic impression when taking a flight in the DH.104.

Sounds. The aircraft has a good sound set that covers all of the major aspects of the flight operation of the aircraft. However, the engines, when started, run up a bit too quickly without going through the clattering that the real aircraft does at very low engine revs. The engine sounds are constant from whichever outside direction the aircraft is viewed from. Wander around the back of a real aircraft and it will sound very different from a frontal aspect, there is no difference when this is done with the Just Flight DH.104. Aside from the above, the sounds are convincing enough and add atmosphere to this aircraft. From inside the cockpit, the sound set is also good. There are some lovely nuggets in the sound, for example, when the brakes are used, there is a rather nice pneumatic sound effect not unlike a large articulated truck makes when applying its brakes. However, there are some omissions as well, the cockpit side windows can be opened by clicking on their handles, however there is no sound as they open.

Animations. There are many animations supplied with this model. Along with the usual control surface movements, the switches, levers, and undercarriage movements, the variable pitch prop blades are animated, and the side cockpit windows can be opened. The 'Dove' and 'Devon' were fitted with a retractable landing light, and this is animated from a switch in the cockpit as well. The main exit door, the luggage compartment, and nose locker open. An entry ladder can be placed at the exit, a Ground Power Unit can be made available and chocks can be placed at the wheels. The pilot yoke can be also be hidden, if necessary, by mouse clicking on an area of the main panel to the right of the gear lights.

General Characteristics and Performance Specifications