"Bumblebee" PLANE: Specs & Discussion

[FlimFlamm 509]

This recent status report teased an image of the seemingly confirmed 'Bumblebee' plane, which is technically known as a "Zlín Z 37"

I took a few moments to read through the specifications of real world Zlin's, and so here are the capabilities that we should expect from it in game:

Speeds:

• "Minumum airspeed" is 81 kmph (51mph) (This is the slowest speed required for lift; this is take-off speed (give or take the effect of flaps)
• "Standard cruising speed" is 183 kmph (114 mph) (This is the speed the aircraft comfortably and efficiently flies at)
• "Maximum safe speed" is 210 kmph (130mph) (This is the maximum speed before aircraft control becomes compromised)
• "Do Not Exceed Speed" is 270kmph (167 mph) (exceed this speed and your aircraft might break apart)

 

Performance:

• Has 2 person capacity (pilot plus passenger)
• Max cargo weight is 600kg worth of cargo (including passenger but not including pilot)
• Minimum take-off distance is 50 meters unloaded (This distance can be highly reduced by taking off facing into wind or by taking off using a hill for acceleration)
• Minimum take-off distance is 125 meters with a full load (This is can also be reduced by strategic use of hills and wind)
• Minimum landing distance is 100 meters (This is a safety standard. Hills wind and creativity, but 100 is for for standard landings in still air)
• Maximum altitude is 4000 meters
• Maximum rate of climb is 4.7 m/s

 

Other Specs:

• 12.2 meter wingspan
• 8.5 meter long fuselage
• 3 meters tall
• 250 liter fuel tank
• 52l/hr fuel consumption at cruising speed
• 110l/hr fuel consumption at full power
• 640 km flight range (how far can it fly on a full tank at cruising with no cargo)
• Fuel: "Un-leaded 95 octane" (or anything higher than 73 octane if desperate)

 

In summary, this thing will be able to take off and land in many many fields, and on even more hills if pilots are skilled enough. It can hold one passenger plus about 500kg worth of cargo, if you have the room for it. It's more maneuverable and flyable than a Cessna, but cannot go quite as fast. It is designed for dusting crops, and can carry a good deal of weight. This seems like a superior selection than the Cessna simply because it is more of a working plane than a long distance travel plane. The main utility of this plane is that it seems to be quite powerful, giving it a good rate of climb and a decent maximum cargo capacity.

Here's some more sweet media from Trello:

.......

So what do you think!?

Edited September 28, 2016 by FlimFlamm

[stinkenheim 249]

Meh. I can see some people being pleased that there are more planes/helis coming in but I'm personally fine without any of them.

 

On a purely aesthetic note, the art team continue to make some gorgeous pieces. Hats off to those guys.

[sausagekingofchicago 4711]

I like that takeoff distance for sure.  It could actually be useful.  But.. uhh.. I don't see how two people will fit in it.

 

Edited September 28, 2016 by sausagekingofchicago

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

It's really cool, the bumblebee whozits, but when I think apocalypse aircraft my mind always comes back to....

[emuthreat 2837]

Can't wait to get one stuck on a fence...

[sausagekingofchicago 4711]

 Mad Max will haunt this genre to it's dying day... 60 years from now when teleportation of molecular structures becomes a reality and all the dystopian air flight systems become a silly inside joke, we'll look back at all of this as a quaint concept of the apocalypse.

[FlimFlamm 509]

For anyone who thinks that this thing will not be actually useful, think about about much time can be saved by flying building materials and other materials to remote and hard to get to locations. Building remote bases will be made more easily and perhaps safer via this plane; it can really lift a lot.

Players can be scavenging and looting abroad, and then when they have all their loot together, they can call in for an aerial pickup of said cargo. This would be much quicker and safer thann driving around a slow and vulnerable vehicle to and from destinations.

Edited September 29, 2016 by FlimFlamm

[FlimFlamm 509]

7 hours ago, ☣BioHaze☣ said:

It's really cool, the bumblebee whozits, but when I think apocalypse aircraft my mind always comes back to....

Yea I am severely partial to ultralights myself because they are so versatile (especially the auto-gyro). Here's hoping the devs consider them for 1.0!

[philbur 476]

I knew it was inevitable that aircraft would make their way into the SA...but I secretly hoped they would not.

When the running gets nerfed to more realistic speeds and player health becomes more critical to manage then having a plane will mean you are now the biggest bullet-magnet on Chenarus.

While FF is making great arguments for why a utility aircraft is going to really "help" with in-game activities, it is still going to be used more as a means of Loot-hoarding than anything else.

The Mod has some seriously cool maps and a plane or chopper certainly makes getting around on those easier but the SA seems to be going in a different direction where the sheer expanse of the territory is, by itself, a major feature...and making the trip from one side to the other by air just "seems" immersion breaking to me.

Either way...I am sure I am in the minority on this...so I just hope the Dev team sticks to "logical" choices for aircraft in the SA....(Rural, Soviet-Era, Junk-that barely flies). The day I see a mint Cessna 182 or a Turbo Otter...or maybe even a Twin Beech is the day I turn Pro Aircraft Killer!

[Arthur Dubrovka 376]

10 hours ago, emuthreat said:

Can't wait to get one stuck on a fence...

... after you spended hours to find the stuff and fuel to repair it ^^

[ScipioII 176]

Will you be able to drop grenades out of it?

[emuthreat 2837]

8 hours ago, philbur said:

snip-

it is still going to be used more as a means of Loot-hoarding than anything else.

-snip

This is just my opinion, but if one is trying to survive long-term in an apocalyptic wasteland, generating a surplus of supplies seems like the a pretty reasonable use of one's energy.  I know some people might not like loot-hoarding, but persistence is a feature; and as long as it is a feature, people will use loot hoarding as a way to soothe the sting of "permadeath."

[Volcanogod 28]

I love the idea of planes and helicopters, they are prizes to be won and work for. While aircraft will provide speedy travel it will certainly throw off any pretense of stealth, a great trade off and i cannot wait to spot one flying around and watch where it goes... i mean, they have to be parked some time.

[Funkmaster Rick 373]

Shit, I'm a Flight Sim fan myself. I'd fly these things just because.

[FlimFlamm 509]

5 hours ago, Funkmaster Rick said:

Shit, I'm a Flight Sim fan myself. I'd fly these things just because.

I'm also a fan (a big one) of flight sims, especially gruelingly realistic ones!

I would really really love it if the actual flight controls were high fidelity. This way actual flying skill can translate to in-game success (as opposed to hard or soft point based skills!).

I spent the latter part of my dayz mod career carving out a reputation on the CCG servers as pilot #1 (even if it was not always true, it was really fun to pretend to be sky police over the global radio).

Here's something related to this that I just realized: The little bird is faster and can climb faster than the bumblebee. This means that (pilot skill being equal) a littlebird with some jerk hanging his lmg out the side can subjugate the bumblebee by chasing it and threatening to shoot it down over the radio.

If some other jerk in the bumblebee can also hand his gun out the window and take some shots, then we have the makings of some potentially interesting aerial encounters.

However, with that said, the bee does have a few things going for it. It can turn more sharply while maintaining momentum than the helicopter can, and at higher speeds. It really can not outrun the little bird in the long run, but in the short term it can outmaneuver it. I really cannot wait to see what we get available in terms of ability to fire from aircraft!

[FlimFlamm 509]

Here's some bonus media of the Zlin 37!

 

[Nebulae3 422]

The plane looks really difficult to fly properly due to wheels - I`m more fan of old WW II war planes like Supermarine Spitfire. :)

About Dayz I hope the dev. team add more military loot at NE Airfield so people don`t sucide when they start north of the map.

I`m not fan of the end game items located mostly at the west side of the map - Berezino & Krasnostav need some love to get the map

more interesting. Because when chopters or airplane will be used in Dayz - it`s a lot faster to travel to object A-B C-E - I don`t enjoy when popular dayz streamers

just sucide north or far east of the map - it just follow a bad pattern and player base behaviours and they will use similar approach which result that the map far east and north is completely empty

of players, and I dont like that. 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2016 by ori42

[gannon46 788]

Man the dev team never cease to amaze me with the items etc they add to the game. I love the look of the plane and the detail of the cockpit. I already want to mess with the switches and buttons lol. the curiosity will probably be my death in that plane that is if i ever get one running I imagine them requiring a lot of work to keep in working condition.