Reality Revisited....

[Lothaire]

I have looked at most articles concerning reality settings, and though not all, many centre around 'looks' such as scenery, aircraft, textures, etc. However I find little or no information on the simulated 'physics and mechanics' of aircraft in flight. I'm a PA28R-201T pilot, the real plane, and for practicing IFR I try to use FS2004 instead of the plane, because a) its cheaper, b) mistakes can be analyzed and c) various conditions can be made up.

The problem I have is in setting up the aircraft (any single engine) so that a T/O resembles the real real thing... instead the aircraft begins to oscillate up and down as soon as flaps and gears are retracted. Most cases (in no wind) the oscillations go from 0'/min to 1000'/min or more, and unless I put the autopilot on, it is very difficult to manually stabilize. This oscillation is unrealistic compared to real life aviation. It never does this much.

So the question (yet again I hear you say): Any tools/settings that will give a more 'actual reality' rather than an 'almost reality'?

I have Saitek Yoke, Pedals and Quadrant

Cheers

[billwhite]

My experience is that much depends on the accuracy of the model. That being said, remember that you are not using an expensive simulator. I have flown a Mooney and there is little resemblance in FS9 to the real thing, but its not a bad approximation for the price. The processes are there, but there really is only one way to experience reality. You might find a plane with a more realistic model.

[scottb613]

Hi Pepe,

I'm guessing you tried to use the Carenado Arrow ??? If so - that plane had really significant issues with the flight model. In fact - it was sooo bad it's the only flight sim product I have ever asked for my money back on... I know folks were trying to fix it long after I removed it from my hard drive - so I don't know if the issues were ever resolved...

In my opinion - if I were looking for an FS9 single engine complex to train a bit with - I'd try the old Dreamfleet Bonanza or the Carenado Mooney... For some reason - I think Carenado did much better with the flight model on the Mooney than they did on the Arrow... I've upgraded my panels with the Reality XP gauges...

As for training value - as Bill mentioned - the FDE's are just an approximation... So if you can get an FDE that behaves in a believable manner - you can focus on the procedures... The procedures are where you can get a real training benefit from using FS9...

Good luck...

Regards,
Scott

[Lothaire]

Cheers chaps (Bill & Scott),
I was very hesitant in pointing my finger a product, whether FS2004 or a model, but still I thought that FS would have more capabilities to harden up the controls. Still, Scott, you are perfectly right in as much as real life procedures training based on FS is very beneficial. I circumvent most of my problems flying with the autopilot during the mostly mundane stuff, and mentally I allocate the oscillations in the same context as strong updrafts and downdrafts in real life. So much so that in real life flying, I have surprised some fellow pilots with my almost pin-point ILS approaches in bad weather. So yes... FS is very beneficial...

But the child in me would have enjoyed some R&R from fighting this headache, and have a leisurely FS flight or two.

Thanks again.

Pepe

[billwhite]

It's human nature. This attitude also leads to product improvement. Never quit questioning the current situation.

[JerryH]

Lothaire, there are some revisions that can be made to the flight model if you have the ability to edit two files. As always, be sure to backup the original file before any editing.

In the aircraft.cfg file, look for the section on [Flaps]. Often there will be a parameter named pitch_scalar. If not, you can add the line, pitch_scalar=xxx. My first choice would be pitch_scalar=0, but you can test any value until the aircraft responds better. Also, there may be several [Flaps] sections, so revise them all.

Secondly, there are values in the .Air file that can usually be changed. Look for the line labeled "1101 Primary Aerodynamics" and click on it. Scroll down the list until you see "Pitch Moment - Gear = xxx". Again, you can change that to zero or whatever gives you better results.

If you try any of this, please let us know how it turns out.

Regards,
JerryH