Simplicity is not simple! Full review of Got Friends Taylorcraft BC-12D!
Quick summary· AI-generated
The review examines the Got Friends Taylorcraft BC-12D as a simple high-wing aircraft that belies its complexity through extensive customization options, multiple variants (standard, bush, ski, floats), dozens of liveries, and innovative "Reactive Motion" systems that simulate realistic component behavior during flight. The author, writing independently after receiving a preview build, evaluates the aircraft's 3D model quality, PBR textures, custom Wwise audio, and how the developer has layered depth into what appears to be a straightforward general-aviation design. The piece balances historical context on the real Taylorcraft with the simulation's implementation details.
Excerpt from Stormbirds
From a big picture perspective, the Taylorcraft BC-12D is a relatively simple airplane. Fitted with a conventional engine, fixed pitch propeller, no flaps, simple avionics, and few other frills. The aircraft could have been pretty good on its own with no additional features from any sim developer, however, Got Friends is not that kind of developer. Here is another great instance where a simple plane can be given a long list of options to make it into airplane that you want to fly or tailor it to the mission you want to go on while filling it to the brim with things that make you feel like you’re in the real thing. Let’s talk about the Taylorcraft BC-12D from Got Friends!
Disclaimer
Got Friends provided me with a preview version of the aircraft and let me write a couple of previews before it came out. Then I turned my experience around with a full review of the airplane. As always, my thoughts are my own and Got Friends does not get a preview of my review nor any editorial control over what I say. And with that… on with the review!
A bit of history
Founded by Clarence Gilbert Taylor in Bradford Pennsylvania in 1935, the self taught aeronautical engineer was also responsible for the Taylor Cub and several other designs. Developed from the Taylorcraft A, the Taylorcraft B is a high-wing monoplane with two seats in a side-by-side configuration. It was delivered in both land and floatplane configurations from the factory and used welded steel tubing and doped aircraft fabric for its fuselage.
Variants were produced through the late 1930s before the definitive BC-12D series started production in 1945. Despite the age of the aircraft, Taylorcrafts are still flying world wide but most typically in the United States and Canada.
What’s included
Third party developers Got Friends have built the Taylorcraft BC-12D for both MSFS 2020 and 2024 and then loaded it up with a ton of options. Core to the experience is a detailed 3D model inside and out, PBR textures and materials work, custom Wwise sounds, four main variants (standard, bush, ski and floats), and several dozen liveries.
New to this aircraft is something they are calling “Reactive Motion” which you can boil down basically to the aircraft’s components all reacting realistically to the physics of flight. Inside the cockpit there are various grab handles which will react naturally to the motion of the aircraft in flight. Roll to the left and watch them sway. Push forward or pull back on the stick and…
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