Turbo Commander Progress
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Hey @Black-Square I was wondering: Does the upcoming Commander still have the same shortcomings with the mixture and the leaning procedure? I know you told me that you where going to solve this in the future, but I dont remember if the solution was coming with the commander or the twin commander
@xender Fixed for all future products. That includes the 114, and 685. I saw your post on AVSIM too, so feel free to let anyone there who is curious know too.
I will see what I can do about bringing it back to the previous releases, as well. It's a little more difficult than flipping a bit, because of my turbocharger simulation, but now that I have examples on both sides of the chasm, I should be able to build a bridge, metaphorically speaking.
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@Black-Square I never did get a response to several emails I sent to you after you said you were open to my help. FYI
I realize it's early and probably/hopefully to be fixed, but in today's update it shows two shots of the Turbo Commander shut down with the props feathered. This is an abnormal condition and they should be flat/zero pitch if properly put on the start locks at shutdown
@CdnCptMoustache Have I not? I'm sorry, I thought I got back to everyone. I hope you don't take it personally. I just get a lot of mail in various forms.
Yes, I'm well aware. Rather than just have them always start on the locks (in which case you would never need to experience unfeathering them), the propeller state is saved from your previous flight to the next. Hopefully this will get users in the habit of following the correct shutdown procedure to put them on the locks. I've also included a tablet option called "Realistic Unfeathering" that defaults to off, so users unfamiliar with this part of geared turbine operation will not repeatedly hot-start their aircraft on their first attempt to fly it.
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@CdnCptMoustache Have I not? I'm sorry, I thought I got back to everyone. I hope you don't take it personally. I just get a lot of mail in various forms.
Yes, I'm well aware. Rather than just have them always start on the locks (in which case you would never need to experience unfeathering them), the propeller state is saved from your previous flight to the next. Hopefully this will get users in the habit of following the correct shutdown procedure to put them on the locks. I've also included a tablet option called "Realistic Unfeathering" that defaults to off, so users unfamiliar with this part of geared turbine operation will not repeatedly hot-start their aircraft on their first attempt to fly it.
@Black-Square ah good stuff. FWIW I've had to do manual unfeathering on the ground only 2 or 3 times in 2500 hours of Turbo Commander time. It's a required knowledge procedure but very, very rare to actually do. If I shut down without getting it on the locks, outside of a mechanical failure I'd call that a personal use issue
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@Black-Square ah good stuff. FWIW I've had to do manual unfeathering on the ground only 2 or 3 times in 2500 hours of Turbo Commander time. It's a required knowledge procedure but very, very rare to actually do. If I shut down without getting it on the locks, outside of a mechanical failure I'd call that a personal use issue
@CdnCptMoustache said in Turbo Commander Progress:
I'd call that a personal use issue
Something new Commander pilots in flight simulator will no doubt be very good at
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@xender Fixed for all future products. That includes the 114, and 685. I saw your post on AVSIM too, so feel free to let anyone there who is curious know too.
I will see what I can do about bringing it back to the previous releases, as well. It's a little more difficult than flipping a bit, because of my turbocharger simulation, but now that I have examples on both sides of the chasm, I should be able to build a bridge, metaphorically speaking.
@Black-Square That sounds amazing!!!
Please, pleeeeeeease port that back to your other products! I own them all and to me that's the only thing that detracts from the experience.
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@CdnCptMoustache said in Turbo Commander Progress:
I'd call that a personal use issue
Something new Commander pilots in flight simulator will no doubt be very good at
@Black-Square oh absolutely. I'm ridiculously excited for the detail you are no doubt putting into this. I've been waiting for endless years for a proper Garrett simulation
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Nick's statement that the Twin Commanders are "the first Black Square aircraft modelled and textured professionally" is the most unbelievably humble instance of "selling yourself short"...
So stoked for everything to come.
P.S. Mayhaps could we get an FAA Flight Check bird with the King Air? Although their B300s have a ton of modifications (to such a degree that they are hardly recognizable as KA300s), would it be possible to represent some of the superficial differences on the exterior? (E.g. the two window deletes on the left side, extra antennas, winglets.)
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Hey Nick! Looking forward to the Turbo Commanders! In the latest update you released yesterday I couldn't see it in the photos but is the bottom triple flash beacon light going to be modelled if not already? Would loveeeee to have that!
said in Turbo Commander Progress:
Hey Nick! Looking forward to the Turbo Commanders! In the latest update you released yesterday I couldn't see it in the photos but is the bottom triple flash beacon light going to be modelled if not already? Would loveeeee to have that!
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Forget about the triple flash beacon, if you want to see Nick work his magic, lets see how well he does the nosewheel steering system. My guess is, he'll knock it out of the park.
I'll describe it as our instructor did when I bought my Commander 840 (690C):
I don't care who you are, what your background is, how many hours you have, or what you've flown in the past. I'm telling you right now, you CANNOT just get in this airplane and taxi it. By the time we're done, you'll be a master. But there's no pilot on earth that could just get in this airplane and taxi it without instruction.For the uninitiated, the nosewheel steering on all of the Turbo/Jetprop Commanders, 690 through 695B, is hydraulically actuated. The rudder pedals function mostly as you'd expect conventional rudder pedals to work. Slide them back and forth and it moves the rudder, and the toebrakes are typical toebrakes. The pedals, however, are in no way physically connected to the nosewheel. Instead, the first one to two inches of toebrake travel commands the steering actuator to turn the nosewheel in the direction you press. Press further than two inches, and you get brake. The actuator is extremely lethargic and lazy, and there is significant anticipation required when making turns. Want to make a 90 degree left turn? Press the right toebrake into the steering range about 5 seconds earlier than you think you should, and wait. When it starts turning, you need to apply left steering input about halfway through the turn to have it going straight again at the 90 degree point. Any later, and you'll overshoot the turn.
It also behaves completely differently (read, BAD) at low speeds. In fact, the steering actuator isn't even powerful enough to turn the nosewheel when the airplane isn't moving forward. The airplane is considerably easier to maneuver and taxi when you keep it going a little fast.
Much of taxiing this airplane well is understanding how to use beta and differential power to your advantage to help the steering actuator get the nosewheel pointed where you want it.
This whole thing makes takeoffs really interesting until you get used to it. Line up on the runway and keep it rolling to make sure the nosewheel is straight. Then, advance the power levers until they click past the flight idle detent and get the power in quickly. We do this to accelerate the airplane through 40 knots as soon as possible. 0-40 knots on the takeoff roll is what I like to call the "range of goofiness" where its ridiculously easy to overcontrol with the steering and lose directional control. Any directional changes you need to make form 0-40 with a bunch of takeoff power applied need to be made as quick little taps on the steering input. As soon as you've got 40ish knots of airspeed, the rudder is effective, and you immediately drop your toes down to the bottom of the pedals to prevent unintended steering inputs at high speeds, which can quickly send you heading for the weeds.
This is precisely the kind of system I know makes @Black-Square giggle, and I have no doubt he'll implement it perfectly, if he hasn't already.
Cheers.
