First look at the Blackbox Shorts 330 in Microsoft Flight Simulator

[@stantonmartis7630]

Nice vid Jon. Thanks for sharing. I've flown the SD3-60 for 3 years and hearing the roaring sound of the engines it sounds exactly like the real thing. It might look like an ugly airplane but that plane really builds up your stick and rudder skills, especially in windy airports. I am thankful for getting to fly that plane. A few pointers about this plane, we never used to start the engines on internal master( battery usage) because the batteries become quite hot and worn out, that is why we used the ext GPU each time for engine start. If you noticed on the center panel where you have the engine indicators you will see 2 blue lights and 2 green lights. the blue lights are for the Beta operation of the engine which means the prop angles will go closely to 0 deg pitch angle while the green lights indicate the props will go in reverser which means the prop angle is negative angle. During taxi we barely used the wheel brakes since the brakes wear out quickly on this plane,therefore, we used the beta prop to slow down during taxi. Also during landing we barely used reversers since it wears out the engines quickly so we also used beta to slow the plane down the runway after touchdown. This is a very unique plane and what you;'ve been taught at flight school, this plane will blow you away, your landing was perfect and that is the way to land the shorts. Due to its design if you put the plane on idle it will sink like a rock on the runway even if you flare it will still drop. That's the reason we used poweron landings which i can see you also did which is very good. You are right on the navigation part as well, we had a bendix gps panel in our shorts 360 but we did not have an autopilot so everything was done manually including cruise, thank God for the pitch trim. During takeoff we always took off with flaps 15 on the shorts 360. the reason for this is because if you get an engine failure after V1 the plane would still maintain level flight even if you secured the death engine thanks to the autofeather and rtop system. In the type rating sim, we were flying cruise level, then the instructor failed an engine on us, we secured the dead engine by feathering it. still the plane would drift down no matter what and that was because flaps 15 was not set since at cruise level your flaps are fully retracted. Therefore, when putting flaps 15 the plane will then maintain its level instead of drifting down. That is what makes this plane quite unique and totally different to any other aircraft. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work, keep posting more vids. Cheers

[@jonbeckett]

The only reason I did a battery start was because Wycombe has no power cart (the plane uses ground services for it)

[@jonbeckett]

Ps great comment!

[@stantonmartis7630]

Indeed, if there is no GPU then you have to start via batteries

[@phil_nicholls]

I flew these for 5 years back in the nineties - my first commercial type. Both pax and freight. Never had GPS, it was all VOR and NDB tracking. While it’s disappointing that it’s not photo realistic (even back then, our panels never looked ‘new’ - they were all pretty beat up, scratched, scuffed and what you’d expect a real work horse to look like), I may still have to buy a copy, just for nostalgia’s sake. We generally tried to avoid starting on just batteries, as they were pretty weak, and you’d often end up with a ‘hot’, or even ‘wet’ start - quite spectacular, especially at night with lots of flames being chucked out the back for a few seconds. We avoided reverse on landing only on the 360-300, with its carbon props - very expensive to replace, so tried to treat them gently - other than that, reverse away. The reverse was also useful for powering back off stands - no need for a tug to pushback - just don’t touch the brakes until you’ve put the props forward again and have stopped moving, or you’ll end up on your tail! We would also generally start no 2 first, as this allowed us to finish boarding on the left side if we had a tight schedule to meet. Pretty sure we used to start in feather, and only moved the props out of feather just before taxi. We only had one aircraft with an autopilot, which lasted about 6 months. The first time it developed a fault, the engineers removed it rather than fix it - as we didn’t have CAT II approval, there was little point in having an autopilot (though it did mean we could both eat our packed lunch at the same time for a while)! I’ll have to rewatch the video, as I didn’t notice whether it was modelled, but in the 330, only the skipper had a flight director - the FO got a basic ‘ T’ with no flight director. We got a flight director on the 360, which was a great upgrade - the first time I’d used one! The 360-300, we actually had a CRT based HSI and thought it was the bees knees! edit: having just looked, it seems the model gives the FO a flight director - I suppose it’s possible that this may have been done as a later upgrade in real life, but certainly, back ‘in my day’, this wasn’t the case. Doing the freight flights in the wee hours, one of us might start nodding off - you’d generally notice as the aircraft gently deviated from our assigned altitude. We each had a mischievous way of waking the other. If you were the skipper, you could crack open your DV window on the left, stick your boom mic out into the slipstream, and switch the intercom on! That would generally kick the FO back into life. But the FO had an even better way of waking the skipper - the Fire Test panel is just down on your right hand side, and it still works in flight! Hit the fire test switch, and kick the rudder pedal…. If the skipper survived the immediate danger of the coronary attack you’d just given him, he’d wake up again! 😅 Have fun!

[@jonbeckett]

Brilliant comment! Thank you!!

[@renevandop7333]

I'm not usually a graphics snob, but there is something about the look of their planes that puts me off. I've got the Islander and it has the same issue, for me. Something about their textures being too low rez, the modelling just ever so slightly too low-poly, their lights and colours just being a bit too bright, too garish. I don't know, I can't put my finger on it. For lack of a better description, their planes just look a bit too FSX-ey for me. Silly maybe, I can't fly the Islander for that reason - it just niggles at me, every time I spend time in that cockpit

[@peterprow6093]

Exactly my reaction as I first saw this cockpit. I've got the Islander, it's great to fly but really wearing on the eyes

[@tonyf9076]

Roughness issue in the paint program...needs to be less shiny.

[@jay-rus4437]

Agree exactly. I too have the islander and rarely fly it because of the lack luster textures and over finish. Would prefer to have the Twin Otter actually, but it is still not available. Have a sneaky suspicion that we wont see it again until MSFS 2024 release

[@tonyf9076]

@@jay-rus4437 I'd be happy to get the OBJ files for the cockpit and pop them into substance painter for them 😉 if they read this I'm available 👍

[@vmfulcrum]

Where can I find a good tutorial for islander?

[@USIG]

The late 90's Toyota/Honda minivan of the aviation world!

[@SCAJolly]

BOOUFH I wasn't sold by the looks, but the SOUND is precisely what I've wanted from everything else that's supposed to be carrying PT-6's. It has the cushioning ASMR-like sensation you get in the DHC-6 and -8. Really impressive work there.

[@707liner8]

Great video, and it's so good to see more unusual aircraft such as these to make it into the sim, great work by Blackbox!

[@RobJones262]

Somebody has finally made the "Shed" I use to love watching these flying in and out of Southend. Nice model and sound. Cheers for the review ;)

[@theboredpilot8097]

Thank you for the review. As soon as I hear a new plane is released my first stop is your channel to get your take on it.

[@GumperVanLier]

What a unique aircraft with an unique autopilot. Thanks for the quick intro of this model.

[@Elcicikos]

For me, the autopilot is standard. Nothing new and unique.

[@gdwnet]

My next must buy! Thank you.

[@gflo2781]

Thanks for this - I knew you'd be first at a decent first look of this. This was made local to me in Belfast and I was always fascinated by the Short 360 and 330 as a kid seeing them fly over. I'll be going to purchase this now!

[@MichGoBIue]

Very cool. Been flying their Islander for almost a year. Great transition time. Looking forward to this. Thanks for the first look.

[@johnglubney3228]

I flew on these in the late 80s, early 90s on Stateswest Airlines. Wow, memories

[@callumfoster5174]

I've spent the last month looking for something similar to the Black Square Caravan but bigger all round. Looks like this is the answer I've been looking for! Thanks for the great-as-always intro video.

[@wilga80]

I did enjoy it. Thank you Jon.

[@critter9044]

I have been trying to turn on lower pedestal lights in the sd330 for a while now with no luck. The book says their with overhead panel lights, but

[@jonbeckett]

I just looked - overhead, to the left and right sides, there are two spot-lights. Next to the spot-lights are rotary knobs - they light up the seats and the pedestal.

[@critter9044]

Thank you u very much. I appreciate what you do to help the community. Best wishes.

[@Squirel]

Certainly an excellent looking plane. She looks a lot of fun to fly. I really enjoy my Islander and Trislander and so have no trouble trusting Blackbox's work. Thanks for the first look.

[@Chrisb8s]

oh, I remember flying in those out of Chicago.. the Dirty shorts 360s.. similar plane

[@jonbeckett]

You get several 360s in the package too :)

[@daskonstrukt]

There seems to be a NAV/GPS button right above the HSI. So maybe following a GPS track is possible? Anyway, thank you for presenting the plane. Wasn't aware that this was in the making.

[@droge192]

Yes, he missed it, and told all potential buyers that this aircraft can't track GPS 😨

[@WokACT]

I’ve been waiting for this since they announced it originally. It’s perfect for some bush flying in PNG. Can’t wait to get a copy.

[@D.Frasure]

I agree it's a perfect plane for that. I wish it were cheaper though.

[@GulfCoastTim]

I'm definitely a fan of Blackbox. I have both of their Islander planes and really like them. Just good all around solid planes with a lot of features. So yeah, this one is going in my hanger before long.

[@graeabarth2227]

Great aeroplane. I used to fly in them on regional flights around the UK. As a passenger they were noisy and uncomfortable and felt very slow! Also gave me the impression of being in a caravan 😂 However, I love this plane and find turboprops in general far more interesting than identical twin jets. Great video as always. A big thank you 🙏

[@FlightSimVRDad]

Thanks for the shake down cruise! I like this plane.

[@yams900]

I like this aircraft very much ! My kind of old school navigation :)

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Haven't watched the whole vid but this is definitely interesting me. Looking for an upgrade from the Twin Otter and this may be it. Loved the overhead lights slowly dimming before going out. Nice touch by Blackbox.

[@340ACP]

Most underrated developer out there, not for you if you care mostly about eye candy but they have the best flight models. I have the Islander, the L-19, both of which I flew in real life and they are fantastic! The Islander is a solid platform for basic panel IFR training, all flight instruments are clean and crisp so you can fly with precision and the L-19 will teach you how to fly a taildragger … highly recommended but again don’t expect beautiful Carenado style graphics

[@jonbeckett]

Completely agree - the flight modelling and ground handling of Blackbox aircraft are excellent.

[@daniell1869]

What are some of those photo realistic addons you mentioned in the beginning?

[@jonbeckett]

PilotPlus Wycombe Air Park, Orbx Eltstree

[@daniell1869]

@@jonbeckettmany thanks

[@droge192]

PS..... You *can* set the navigation to follow the GPS course... there's a small white NAV/GPS button just above the HSI. I'm amazed you missed it, it was right in your field of view when looking forward at the main panel. Se 16:15 !

[@cikame]

I think Blackbox is my favourite plane maker for this game even after only flying the Islander, as you say their rendering isn't photoreal but it's such a joy to fly and i'm not a graphics snob, the cockpit is feature complete and the flight model is amazing that's the main thing. The Shorts might need a few updates to match up with the Islander but i've no doubt it'll get them.

[@JockoFlocko]

50 Euro's??? Holy smokes, where I live that's $72 Canadian! Awesome looking plane, but this will be a hard pass for me. Thanks for a fantastic video as always.

[@whammo11224]

Yeah...I was kind of under the impression that M$ was gonna control the prices this time around!

[@D.Frasure]

I feel ya.

[@ianyeates9872]

$80 AUD but I suppose you do get a lot of different "Irish Concords" Worked on the first build of the SD-330.

[@JockoFlocko]

@@ianyeates9872 I bought the new Piper 500 by FSReborn instead, it's absolutely epic and cost about 39$ Canadian. The care and attention to detail FSReborn put into the 500 is simply amazing.

[@mikecoffee100]

essentailly a flying box ( seen a few back in my day ) and of course another enjoyable video.

[@Decent_GameplayBG]

Super plane!!! I enjoyed when i fly. Everything works for me 5/5

[@AshleyWincer]

This aircraft looks very good; especially the fully working aircraft systems..

[@johnb.3655]

You always make it look so fun Jonathan…!!!

[@lostboii3588]

50 Euro is steep but I have no regrets at all. What a great experience this addon is!

[@carloslmcnulty]

Nice video well explained. for some reason i can't engage the AP do you have any suggestions? Yaw Damper will turn on though.

[@jonbeckett]

Not flown it for a few weeks - I'll take a look next time, and try to remember to reply :)

[@frankdiehl8749]

Completely late to all of this, but I picked up msfs after a year or two of being distracted by truck and racesims. Got excited for the release of msfs 2024 so thought I'd prepare in terms of hardware. And of course ypu wanna test said hardware, so what else is left but re-install(hundreds of gigs?!😂) flightsim and visit the marketplace of course. Funny thing is I have the fancy stuff like the a2a Comanche and the JF Bae-146, and what gobbles up most of my time? Right, the Nardi FN-333 and this bus of a plane... What a fine machine, can't even be bothered to take offense to lacking textures or fine detail. Sounds, systems, sheer feel of the thing... All true greatness! And it's so smooth, with a real sense of weight and inertia to it. Difficult to get slowed down, but oh so enjoyable. Got the Sherpa with some fancy gps. Had no trouble finding my way around the systems and switches at all. Ground handling feel top notch, why can't some of the more reputable devs get this right?! Let's hope with su15 the like of the sws pc-12 finally get "fixed" in that regard. Anyways, gonna be flying this and the Nardi over the coming days. What an absolute gem to fly!

[@shinkicker404]

In terms of using the GPS, there is the button under the HSI that has NAV/GPS written on it, presume that is what you use to set it up to follow a GPS course.

[@jonbeckett]

I'll have a look next time :)

[@ceegnz]

So good to see you flying this ! I had no idea it was coming, it just popped out last night and based on my experience with the Islander out came the credit card. Tutorial completed, absolute great fun, hardly anything electronic, just lots of lovely good solid clicky switches. There is a gps/nav button above the HSI which brings up an appropriately magenta GPS light, you can absolutely follow a gps course. The GPS is a 400 not a 430 so it doesn't have radio functions, that's why no CDI button. The weather they set up for the tutorial didn't even give me a glimpse of approach lights through the clag until I was down through 300' 🤣 Like the Islander it didn't come with any checklists, again like the Islander it's good enough that you can download a real POH and use that.

[@jonbeckett]

Did you notice the tutorial missed the inverters ? :)

[@ceegnz]

@@jonbeckett Hard to ignore those big glowing lights wasn't it :) It also missed pitot and windscreen heat (absolutely necessary in that weather) and wanted me to taxi with the control lock on. I've since found that if I map my mixture lever which I don't use with turboprops to the nose wheel steering I can do it, but it doesn't end well if you need your rudder pedals working to steer. Or if you forget to turn the nose wheel steering off when you're ready to fly 🤣 I went looking for cockpit lights too, I found the LED spotlights which did something and some instrument light knobs which may or may not have, it was terrible weather but not actually dark. I really like this plane !

[@rollonsummertime]

Thanks Jonathan, I have the BN2 Islander from Backbox which is excellent and this looks just as good,,

[@wvs-productions2937]

Hey you do great startup videos would you do a video on the new shorts skyvan?

[@jonbeckett]

I've worked through the startup several times - you can crib from the recent videos :)

[@ironmanballer4868]

Wonderful video definitely be checking this out on release however if you haven’t already fsreborn released the M500 today I got it and am having a fantastic time with it.

[@leerose9436]

Cool ! Nice review JB 👍🙏🏻👨‍✈️✈️ Be in my hanger soon !

[@acratone8300]

12:42 keep an eye on the .. vertical speed. Which is displayed on a dark cockpit and barely readable as to needle position. Increase gamma in Nvidia Control panel to lighten up the panel as all would be well.

[@jonbeckett]

I should have turned the cabin and instruments lights on :) I'll no doubt be flying it soon so will play with all sorts of horrific weather and time conditions to see how it goes :)

[@jaywatson4196]

Hi Jon, I hope you'll be doing some tutorials I just bought this plane as it was the first aircraft I had flown in as a kid (the 360 anyway) Just tried a flight following your video as my download didn't seem to come with any manuals and I cannot find them anywhere. Fantastic to fly however I could not get the auto pilot to turn on what so ever, anyway hope to see more of these on the sim!

[@jonbeckett]

I've been away for the last few days - I should be home this evening, and will start thinking about what videos to make. I'm looking forward to flying this :) There was an update released overnight - all of the issues I spotted in the aircraft have already been fixed :)

[@stephenjones8928]

Nice! You've been a busy boy lately.

[@CAVOK3112]

Good morning, very good video, where can I find that plane?

[@jonbeckett]

Blackbox website

[@Unknown_Ooh]

Thanks for this video it's helped me make the decision to buy these a/c. Hopefully next week I will be purchasing the bundle pack with all three variants which I think is a good deal especially each variant having variants within themselves. I've been flying the BN2A and really enjoy what blackbox brings to the table with these unique aircraft that are good quality at the same time. It seems like rare/unique aircraft are either a great hit or a great miss (like a lot of msscammers a/c) with MSFS.

[@ABeech-zv5ri]

I really appreciate you taking the time to make this review. In no way a reflection on you, you lost me at “not photorealistic”… when you see what the platform is capable of from other developers and with good performance, there is no reason to tone down the graphics.

[@jonbeckett]

They may not have the budget to hire professional 3D artists...

[@Ephedrin666]

@@jonbeckett then asking for the same price is a bit off... This model costs as much as other top tier addons, visually and regarding system modelling. Comanche, A320, 737 is a bit more but still way too close comparing the stuff behind the scenes. Blackbox got a loooot of money for their never finished Airbuses and while their system completeness has apparently improved their idea of prices today looks... familiar. For what I actually get with their products the money they ask for is simply too much and for me it's not justified.

[@haramaschabrasir8662]

This plane heavily reminds me of the X Pane Turbolet L-410.

[@JetfighterPL]

me too :)

[@thecheesedip]

Such a cool airplane. Ugly as all heck, but she has it where it counts - utility! Almost reminds me of a PC-6 Porter in that regard. I see these somewhat often in the mid-west USA, used for regional cargo runs. Glad to see her added to the sim.

[@jsa2001]

I wish Carenado would bring their version out for msfs.

[@caribbaviator7058]

Meh Carenado is the same old. No in-depth systems, just pretty planes.

[@DavidR_192]

I know KZbinrs never like to be up front when they've made errors, but this flight was a perfect example of letting the aircraft get ahead of you. Busting through your altitude - twice, overspeeding, 40kts taxi speed after landing, not to mention missing the fact that the aircraft has a NAV/GPS mode selector right above the HSI.

[@jonbeckett]

Erm... it was a FIRST LOOK lol :) There's a LOT more to learn about the aircraft. This was literally the first flight - validating the checklist, and learning as I went :) I'm always up-front about errors, mistakes, and whatever else :) I'm not a real pilot, I'm not the developer, and I don't pretend to be a professional at any of this - just sharing something I'm interested in :)

[@Danko05]

You better call your lawyer Jonathan a sim police enforcer got his eyes on you...!!! Soon you'll get a call from virtual FAA...!!!

[@onegoodknock]

What a fab looking plane. Fingers crossed it makes it to xbox

[@DavidR_192]

FIFTY Euros!!! More than the A2A Commanche. The same price as the Fenix A320. Sorry but this is seriously overpriced.

[@droge192]

The panel has that flat, dull look to the textures that the Islander had too. Sorry but 50 Euros is just insane for this; even accounting for all the circuit breakers working. They justfiy the price with their being 9 variants. but who wants or needs 4 different military verisons? The Shorts is known as a commuter plane. Cargo, sure. But 3 variants and and a 30 Euro price tag would have been much more reasonable. Hard, hard pass!

[@XCougar85X]

Nice review. I have their Islander and tbh i am not buying the "we made it look worse to keep the FPS good" That is just a bad excuse. Lots of content though, like versions. but well, just too steeply priced for me.

[@normg2242]

I appreciate their concern about frame rates, but my average system has no problem handling much more realistic looking add-on planes than this. So, although I have a soft spot for this plane, I'll pass on this one. Thanks so much for your review though :)

[@ImpendingJoker]

To be honest I prefer hand painted textures than photorealistic because they usually end up looking like crap, that said, high rez textures are a must and that is one of the things that are must haves for me in MSFS. Sure all the switches work but if it looks like you are in a 1960's instructional video it kind of breaks the immersion.

[@payt01]

If you like turboprops, this is the time for you, apparently :)

[@peterprow6093]

Shame so many people get hung up on the cockpit textures, because they are really missing out. Every Blackbox aircraft in the marketplace is a super immersive gem, you'll be so busy handflying this that you wont have time to notice the graphics around the footwell and surely that's what its all about. Real shame theres no checklist though, thats poor as it's not cheap

[@CraigScottProductions]

LOL Dorky looking plane. Still waiting for the Grumman Mallard Turbo for FS2020

[@ThorntonWillie]

It sounds like bumble bee

[@firefox3187]

Better being functional, that shiny and non functional..

[@jamesderiven1843]

"Not photorealistic" You could have fooled me.

[@jamesderiven1843]

Well, okay, the INTERIOR not so much.

[@motoerhead1990]

I like your review but i don´t really agree what are you saying about the quality. Good textures dont really impact perfomance anymore so I think thats a bit of an lazy excuse for a substandard msfs product

[@johngleason6472]

Insane pricing for that lackluster texturing. Was waiting for this release, I'll pass.

[@simmingszycho1980]

If you are in contact with them, please ask them if they will ever finish their P3D widebodies. People payed for that stuff and they just abanded every customer. They're shady at best.

[@flieger701]

After the way they grabbed people's money who paid for the v.9 of their widebodies and then completely ceased to finish the product and did not respond to forum posts about the situation, I will never buy another of their products again.

[@D.Frasure]

It's nice but too expensive.

[@TGSFY]

I really like the plane, visually beautiful from the outside, but the textures on the inside are a bit too simple. I think the flight behavior is really not realistic, it's wobbly and you get the feeling that the plane has no real inertia. It flies like jelly ,-) Can't find a better description for it. Totally bumpy flying feeling, something I'm not familiar with from other aircraft. Especially at low speeds during approach it is really extrem how it is wobbling around. The Twotter from another provider is much better in this regard. I hope the plane gets improved in that regard, as it is really no fun to fly at all at the moment. Until then, I'll leave it in the hangar. For 50 Euro I expect a bit more for a premium version. I would prefer less liveries over good aerodynamics and textures.

[@sky_004]

I'm very impressed by the systems, but the graphics in the cockpit are abysmal, I just can't get past that. The texture work is just horrible. For 50 euro, these guys are having a laugh, it's not acceptable.

[@peterbassey9668]

The looks are a bit too icky for me, so Im gonna give it a pass.

[@Привид_Бандери]

Has a real fsx feel to it. 😂🎉 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@andybrockbank3027]

Wouldn't buy a Blackbox product if it were the only aircraft available.

[@jonbeckett]

I think their aircraft are great!