elmerfudd

This crazy anomaly applies to the Baker Lake region of Nunavut. Your mileage may vary.

Elmer J. Fudd

In Canada's Northern Domestic Airspace, the magnetic north pole is about in the middle of that airspace, making compass readings unreliable. Headings and VOR orientation are oriented towards true north, rather than magnetic north.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 8 and 9 have reversed this. The compass reads true heading, while the VORs are oriented towards magnetic north.

This may cause a little confusion. Had me befuddled for a while.

Elmer J. Fudd

In Canada's Northern Domestic Airspace, the magnetic north pole is about in the middle of that airspace, making compass readings unreliable. Headings and VOR orientation are oriented towards true north, rather than magnetic north.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 8 and 9 have reversed this. The compass reads true heading, while the VORs are oriented towards magnetic north.

This may cause a little confusion. Had me befuddled for a while.

Elmer J. Fudd

The same list, more oriented to area, rather than in alphabetical order:

Tahiti NTAA Avgas Jet

Rangiroa NTTG Avgas

Ahe NTHE none

Manihi NTGI Avgas

Takaroa NTKR none

Takapoto Aero NTGT none

Napuka NTGN none

Fangatau NTGB none

Nuku Hiva NTMD Avgas

Eiao no airport

Hatutu no airport

Ua Huka NTMU none

Hiva Oa NTMN Avgas

Reao NTGE none

Totegegie NTGJ Avgas

Mururoa NTTX Avgas

Tureia NTGY none

Nukutavake NTGW none

Vahitahi NTUV none

Pukarua NTGQ none

Tatakoto NTGO none

Hao NTTO Avgas

Hikueru NTGH none

Makemo NTGM Avgas

Katiu NTKT none

Kauehi NTKA none

Aratika NTGR none

Arutua NTGU none

Kaukura NTGK none

Fakarava NTGF none

Faaite NTKF none

Anaa NTGA none

Raiatea NTTR Avgas

Moto Mute NTTB none

Maupiti NTTP none

Fare NTTH none

Temae NTTM none

Takume NTKM none

Christmas I PLCH Jet Kiribati

Palmyra PLPA none (U.S.)

fuel availability in French Polynesia is as follows:

Ahe NTHE none

Anaa NTGA none

Aratika NTGR none

Arutua NTGU none

Eiao no airport

Faaite NTKF none

Fakarava NTGF none

Fangatau NTGB none

Hao NTTO Avgas

Hatutu no airport

Hikueru NTGH none

Hiva Oa NTMN Avgas

Katiu NTKT none

Kauehi NTKA none

Kaukura NTGK none

Makemo NTGM Avgas

Manihi NTGI Avgas

Maupiti NTTP none

Moto Mute NTTB none

Mururoa NTTX Avgas

Napuka NTGN none

Nuku Hiva NTMD Avgas

Nukutavake NTGW none

Pukarua NTGQ none

Raiatea NTTR Avgas

Rangiroa NTTG Avgas

Reao NTGE none

Tahiti NTAA Avgas Jet

Takapoto Aero NTGT none

Takaroa NTKR none

Takume NTKM none

Tatakoto NTGO none

Temae NTTM none

Totegegie NTGJ Avgas

Tureia NTGY none

Ua Huka NTMU none

Vahitahi NTUV none

Palmyra PLPA none (U.S.)

Christmas I PLCH Jet Kiribati

Thanks for the tips. I was doing pretty-much the same thing, but found that I was leaving too much manifold pressure on, about 20 inches. The other problem was misjudging my flare height. For a four-seater, the Spartan is pretty high off the ground. Elevator authority at stall was also limited, until Keith helped with an adjustment.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Many thanks.

Elmer J. Fudd

I forgot to mention in my OP that I did the install on a test box, that had a clean install that I didn't care about mangling. I installed the Golden Wings over the clean install.

One thing I did forget, was to run the fs9.1 update, so my fsGW3 does not have it. If I recall correctly, the 9.1 update was to fix some bridges. After flying to New York City and San Francisco, I haven't noted any problems with the bridges, or anything else, so I suppose the Golden Wings took care of most of that.

The 4gb patch has been mentioned in this thread, but I don't know what that is. Could someone clue me in as to where to find it?

Elmer J. Fudd

Thanks, Tom. It must have been an enormous amount of work. I was surprised to discover that even my local area (Toronto), had been significantly altered.

I can't even begin to imagine the software, and its attendant learning curve, that would be involved. I stand in awe, of people who can do this sort of thing.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Tom,

You've described WHAT they did. What I wondered about is HOW. Where did these ground textures come from?

Elmer J. Fudd

Does anyone know how Bill and Lynn Lyons did this? It seems an incredible piece of work.

Elmer J. Fudd

Quite so, Larry. I stand (sit?) corrected. That's what I meant, but the right words didn't come to mind. I should know better than to rely on my memory, but sometimes, I forget.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Man, you're ahead of me by almost a generation. I started in 1972. There were a few tailwheels around, but not many. I remember seeing a sign on the highway that said, "Learn to fly, in a Champion". The sign said that one could be bought for $7,995, but when I went in to make inquiries, I was told, "That sign is old. They're about $14,000 now..."

Time for a new sign. I got hooked anyway. You done good. I soloed at about 11 hours, I think, but got PPL in 35, which was not common, at that time. I was told at one airport it would be 45-50, so I went to a different one.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Rick,

Yes, Keith's suggestion about the elevator effectiveness was quite helpful. I'm getting there, even without the "cheat" window. In 3D view, I'm still having a little trouble judging my flare height, but I'll get there.

Once I realized what I was in for, I did spend 5.8 hours in the Cub.

Yes, I are using a joystick. I use the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for my airplanes, and the Logitech Wingman Force 3D for my helicopters, with the "Force" turned off.

We don't share, we have separate offices. I use a U-shaped desk, to accommodate the three machines, and the three sticks. One of them is for F/S 8, another for F/S 9, and the third for adjusting/testing/surfing the net while on long flights.

Sucks, to be rich. ;)

I'm on my way to Vegas (in Golden Wings), where it's quite a bit warmer than here. When I get there, I'll turn up the heat.

You have a nice day, too.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Rick,

The reason I chose the Spartan, was because I'm using it in Golden Wings, and I wanted to keep it "time period correct". I hadn't realized that it would be such a handful. As Keith suggested, the bird seems to have a problem with elevator authority at stall, which when corrected makes quite a difference. Also, the use of the "takeoff window", (which I had wanted to avoid using) makes a huge difference. In 3D view, it's hard to judge flare height, when you can't see.

From what I recall, the problem seemed to be that if I had enough speed to keep the bottom from falling out, there was too much speed. Even when I greased it on, it would bounce (even if only half a foot). With less speed, it would pay off suddenly, like the old laminar flow wing Cherokees.

I'll get there, eventually...

I do have a Cessna 180 in my inventory, but it came along after the "Golden Age".

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Actually, per your advice, rather than modifying the .air file, I modified the .cfg file. I set the "elevator_effectiveness" to 2, which has helped. Another thing that has helped: I hadn't been using the "takeoff window", thinking that it's a bit like cheating, but I just couldn't see a darn thing in the 3D view with the nose up so high. Between the .cfg mod and the use of the takeoff window, it has gotten much easier.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fdd

I was beginning so suspect something of the sort. It all seemed to happen so fast, that it was hard to tell exactly what happened. I would start to flare, and the nose would come up, but the descent would continue. The bottom would just drop out, and it would prang into the runway.

I read somewhere that the Spartan is "realistic". If this is how the real plane flew, it's small wonder that they only ever managed to sell 36 of these things.

My AirEd doesn't give me the opportunity to modify 517. You must be using something more sophisticated. Any chance you could e-mail me your corrected .air file? I'd appreciate it. I'm at my wits' end with this beast, in its current incarnation.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Yeah, I have the same humble opinion. As I said in the OP, I don't recall it being an issue in the 201. Thanks for the tips.

At any rate, I've come to terms with it. It takes a bit of technique to fly this bird in the sim, as opposed to SOP in the real aircraft. I just carry a little more speed until I get closer in, then bleed it off as I get close.

Regards

Elmer

Rick,

Thanks for that. Yes, I've heard the 180 is a beast.

Regards,

Elmer

Keith,

I've compared the settings in the aircraft.cfg file of the Spartan to the one in the Cub. Nothing obvious jumped out at me.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Thanks, Hans.

Quite so. And even though I knew that from reading the "Flying Taildraggers" treatise, I still had trouble.

Actually, with the Spartan, I found the "wheel landings" easier. When I did the three point landings, I had a small window in the bottom right corner with a view from the spot plane, to see what was going on. No matter how gently I touched down, it would bounce, even if only a few inches.

I've been doing some more experimenting, and it turned out that I had complicated the issue by using the wrong computer, wrong settings, wrong stick, and wrong plane. I've adjusted the settings, stick, and plane to the Piper Cub, which is what I ought to have started with in the first place. It's not as "bouncy" as the Spartan Executive. The Spartan is particularly bouncy. I'm getting much practice.

It's like they say, when asked, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" Answer: "Practice, man. Practice, practice, practice".

Regards,

Elmer, J. Fudd

I recently installed Golden Wings, where most of the aircraft are taildraggers. I wasn't particularly fond of the available selection of aircraft, so I downloaded Milton Shupe's Spartan Executive (spartan.zip). Since I have zero taildragger time, my landings were not up to my usual standards. I read the Learning Center section on "Flying Taildraggers", but it hasn't helped much. After dozens of landings, I've managed to have exactly one which didn't bounce.

I suspect that the tendency to "bounce" is perhaps a little bit exaggerated in FS9. I'd be curious to know if any pilots out there with taildragger time have any thoughts on that.

Elmer J. Fudd

I recently installed Golden Wings. I kept getting the dreaded "Microsoft Flight Simulator has encountered a problem, and needs to close..." pop-up window. When I installed the Silver Wings, the readme.txt file stated to be sure to have "render to texture" enabled. Since both Golden Wings and Silver Wings were done by the same party, I reasoned that "render to texture" should probably be enabled for Golden Wings also. While "render to texture" is usually enabled by default, I had unchecked it, as it had caused some problems with some add-on planes (the Cessna Citation, for example).

Enabling "render to texture" solved the problem, or seemed to. I was able to fly for more than a few minutes. But yesterday, after flying for 2.5 hours, I got the dreaded "Microsoft Flight Simulator has encountered a problem, and needs to close..." window again.

Does anyone know the cause of this in Golden Wings?

Elmer J. Fudd.

Keith,

I appreciate the treatise, but most of what you've written is above my pay grade. I'm a pilot, not an engineer. I use AirEd to modify .air files, and it has its limitations. A lot of parameters are just marked "unknown".

At any rate, by reverting back to the original .air file, I've got it working properly.

Regards,

Elmer J. Fudd

Adjusting the htail_incidence in this aircraft did not work. I had used the Caravan .air file, because I could not get the engine to run when I used the original .air file, despite adjusting every engine related parameter I could find, in both the .cfg and .air files.

I ultimately scrapped the idea of using the Caravan .air file, and reverted back to the original .air file. I just kept copying more engine related parameters from the Caravan .air file, including the "unknown" ones. I finally got the engine to run, and the plane flies normally now.

There is still a bit of difference in the angle of the dangle between FS8 and FS9, but aircraft sometimes fly differently in these two sims, even if they are identical aircraft. There are some other differences as well, particularly with residual thrust at idle, (more in the FS8, even with the piston C206, which is inexplicable).

At least now, there is no difference between the two aircraft WITHIN each of the sims, and I'm happy now. At least the tail no longer looks from the spot plane view as if it's dragging its tail through a bog, and I see better in VC view.

Thanks, for the help, guys.

Elmer J. Fudd