TDS Aircraft downloads, having trouble with Auto Spoilers not deploying?

This has been a "head scratcher' for me for a long time. Boeing 787-8 aircraft auto spoilers refused to deploy. Works fine manually!

I read in several places, what activates the auto spoilers is when the aircraft makes contact with the runway. Okay, I would watch from an outside view, tires appear to be down and rolling on the runway? NOT! No matter what you think you are seeing, the aircraft doesn't see it as touching down! Confusing? Yes, was for me too, but here is what I tried and it WORKS now! I am running FSX, but this may work for FS2004 as well, give it a try before giving up!

In the aircraft.cfg section, go to Contact Points and look for the aircraft's Static Height assignment!

AAL aircraft download, Static Height originally was 18.0275, I lowered it .50, new assignment is now 17.5275!

United aircraft download, Static Height originally was 19.0275, I lowered it .50, new assignment is now 18.5275!

Just a small adjustment, a "shot in the dark" try on my part, and "IT WORKS, BOTH AIRCRAFT ARE FINE!" Just that small of an adjustment made the difference!

You might wonder, and I also did, why did both 787-8 aircraft originally have different static heights assigned to them? I think it may have to do with all the contact points assignments having a bearing on what the final static height assignment is given. I did not fool with any of the contact points, only the Static Height assignment for each aircraft. It worked, and that is all that matters to me now!

Now, I have a Lear 45 that also has been giving me a fit, let me try this on that aircraft to see if I have the same success!

Enjoy and good luck! Rick :cool::cool:

Is a "Spoiler" the same thing as a "speed brake?"

also,

In the aircraft.cfg section, go to Contact Points and look for the aircraft's Static Height assignment!

Aircraft.cfg section sounds interesting. Where does one find that ?

And yes, some refer to the spoilers as speed brakes because they serve the purpose of slowing the aircraft in the air as well as on the landing roll out!

aircraft.cfg folder of your appropriate aircraft you're looking at. Here is a portion of my contact points for the Boeing 787; I have indicated the line that I revised with

[contact_points]

static_pitch = -1

static_cg_height = 18.5275 //19.0275

tailwheel_lock = 0

gear_system_type = 1

max_number_of_points = 28

point.0 = 1, 54.75722, 1.2825, -18.5, 1100, 0, 1.66, 70, 1.0, 2.07021, 0.85, 10.0, 13, 0, 270, 285

point.1 = 1, 54.75722, -1.2825, -18.5, 1100, 0, 1.66, 70, 1.0, 2.07021, 0.85, 10.0, 13, 0, 270, 285

point.2 = 1, -17.4028, -18, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.0207, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.3 = 1, -22.6639, -18, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.4 = 1, -22.6639, -14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.5 = 1, -17.4028, -14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.6 = 1, -17.4028, 14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

point.7 = 1, -22.6639, 14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

point.8 = 1, -22.6639, 18, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

point.9 = 1, -17.4028, 18, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

This changed worked for me in correcting 2 Boeing 787 downloads, and if you are having a similiar problem with a TDS aircraft, this might be something for you to look at! :rolleyes:

Rick :cool:

And yes, some refer to the spoilers as speed brakes because they serve the purpose of slowing the aircraft in the air as well as on the landing roll out!

 

aircraft.cfg folder of your appropriate aircraft you're looking at. Here is a portion of my contact points for the Boeing 787; I have indicated the line that I revised with

 

[contact_points]

static_pitch = -1

static_cg_height = 18.5275 //19.0275

tailwheel_lock = 0

gear_system_type = 1

max_number_of_points = 28

 

point.0 = 1, 54.75722, 1.2825, -18.5, 1100, 0, 1.66, 70, 1.0, 2.07021, 0.85, 10.0, 13, 0, 270, 285

point.1 = 1, 54.75722, -1.2825, -18.5, 1100, 0, 1.66, 70, 1.0, 2.07021, 0.85, 10.0, 13, 0, 270, 285

point.2 = 1, -17.4028, -18, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.0207, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.3 = 1, -22.6639, -18, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.4 = 1, -22.6639, -14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.5 = 1, -17.4028, -14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 1, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 2, 270, 285

point.6 = 1, -17.4028, 14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

point.7 = 1, -22.6639, 14.1335, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

point.8 = 1, -22.6639, 18, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

point.9 = 1, -17.4028, 18, -18.9, 1100, 2, 2.05, 0, 1.9, 1.13289, 0.95, 9.9, 13, 3, 270, 285

 

 

This changed worked for me in correcting 2 Boeing 787 downloads, and if you are having a similiar problem with a TDS aircraft, this might be something for you to look at! :rolleyes:

 

Rick :cool:

Contact points represemt some developers idea of `accuracy`. Not REAL accuracy.

It would be beneficial if any `incorrectness` could be brought to the public attention and corrections made.

The inaccuracy of the Boeing 787 is a case in point... But it's probably waaay to late for FSX!

Contact points represemt some developers idea of `accuracy`. Not REAL accuracy.

It would be beneficial if any `incorrectness` could be brought to the public attention and corrections made.

The inaccuracy of the Boeing 787 is a case in point... But it's probably waaay to late for FSX!

Okay, here are my thoughts on freeware downloads. I have many freeware aircraft and that is not without saying, many have "incorrectness" as mallcott has pointed out!

As I stated early in this thread, I had a very nice flying TDS Boeing 787-800, that required only minor tweaking, BUT, the item that irked me the most, I couldn't arm the spoilers and get them to deploy upon landing. I tried several variants of the TDS 787-800, and most all TDS 787's ran true to form. Neither of them would deploy the spoilers!

I had 2 loaded in my inventory, and decided to do some research and some trial & error on several things ,concentrating on getting one download fixed and then trying the fix on the second aircraft. When looking thru this site's library, all the Boeing 787-800 seem to be mirror images on how each aircraft is configured, BUT, differences can and do exist. In my example, I have 2 TDS B787-800, and they are configured close, but definitely not identical to one another. The static height is different by 1' when making a comparison between the two! I remember reading somewhere, that the thing that activates the auto spoilers is 1) Have the spoilers been armed? 2) If they have, then the aircraft wheels (mains supporting the aircraft's weight upon touchdown) when making contact upon landing SHOULD deploy the spoilers! In my case, NOT! Spoilers worked fine manually, but that is not enough for me!

Let's look at the static height on aircraft #1, and try lowering the height in small increments to see if any positive results have been made. On the first adjustment. I lowered the static height by .5' as indicated above (doesn't sound like much, but I would later find that's all that was needed) !!

Lo and behold, this first and only adjustment worked like a champ and I now have Automatic Spoilers!

Mallcott, I have brought to the public attention of what worked for me. In my case, lowering the static height by a mere .5', worked for me in both aircraft. Had I had another TDS aircraft, it might have required more or less of an adjustment, but the small adjustment worked well in my two aircraft.

You've been doing this for quite some time, I am sure you have had your fair share of "head scratchers" that play hard to get, making for a hunt and peck method of resolve. Sometimes you don't find resolve. These developers give us nice aircraft and a little effort on my part to get it to 100% is not asking much! I do appreciate their efforts and when trying to find solutions, I am learning in the process! I threw this out there in the event anybody else might be having the same issue! There are many many 787-800 aircraft out there, so the best I can do, is point others in the right direction and it's up to them to find what works for them on their particular aircraft!

In my case, I wish someone had found a fix, long before I had encountered the issue on my downloads! It would not hurt my feelings to do a forum search and find someone who had a fix!

Anyway, I usually do provide tips that could be useful to others. That's what I like most about this

forum site!

NOW, what did you mean by saying "it's probably waaay too late for FSX?" Someone out there probably made the same comment about FS9 when FSX came out! I am very satisfied with FSX and I'll be gone long before FSX becomes history!:rolleyes:

Rick :cool:

Just noticed, in my last post, I kept referring to the aircraft in question, as the Boeing 787-800, but my aircraft is the 787-8. Now I have to research to find what the difference is if any? See, still learning! :rolleyes:

Well, technically, it appears there is no difference from what a Google search shows, one article mentioned the possibility of wing size might be different in one vs the other. SO, just so I am being politically correct, my 2 downloads that I had issues with, were the Boeing 787-8 TDS downloaded from this site's library! Forget any references made to the B787-800, "My Bad!"

Rick :cool:

And yes, some refer to the spoilers as speed brakes because they serve the purpose of slowing the aircraft in the air as well as on the landing roll out!

If I recall correctly while they do serve a *tinyyyyy* role as speed brakes on the ground their primary function after landing is dumping lift from the wings (spoiling it) to bring the airplanes weight on the wheels ASAP so the wheel brakes can bite effectively. A more accurate term for them on the ground therefore would be Lift Dumpers :) But lets get real..."spoilers" sounds so much cooler!

If I recall correctly while they do serve a *tinyyyyy* role as speed brakes on the ground their primary function after landing is dumping lift from the wings (spoiling it) to bring the airplanes weight on the wheels ASAP so the wheel brakes can bite effectively. A more accurate term for them on the ground therefore would be Lift Dumpers :) But lets get real..."spoilers" sounds so much cooler!

But they do `spoil` the lift from the aircraft wing, do they not..?

Worked again for me today, 12/30/20. TDS must re-use the same contact points over and over, so the problem will show up over and over! This works for me, maybe you will have luck with it also!

Rick :cool::cool:

Great advice Rick, thank you for posting - I do think this thread should have come with a "Spoiler Alert" though!

I'll get my coat...

Great advice Rick, thank you for posting - I do think this thread should have with a "Spoiler Alert" though!

 

I'll get my coat...

More like a "mike drop"..........;)

Thanks Tim and Charlie!

Rick :cool:

Rich - Sorry to say, thought I had a fix for most anything with TDS spoiler problems, but just lately had a couple that my fix didn't work, I tried everything and I think I found something that kicks those spoilers into working. it's called the panel entry for the B737-800 speed brake arming:

B737_800!annunciator_speed_brake_armed

Add the entry to your panel.cfg (you will need the B737_800 cabinet folder for it to work. place the annunciator wherever you have room on your panel. I was leary, but thought I'd give it a shot, and, IT WORKED! Sorry for the confusion, thought I had a long time fix, but wasn't meant to be, this might only be a short time work around, but hey, the aircraft that I am trying to fix are well worth it! The lowering of the Static heighth was probably still needed, and this new trick might be just what was needed in the event the first fix didn't solve the issue. I just don't know, it won't whip me much longer, that I do know!

Boeing 787's have tested my patience! Haven't given up just yet! Maybe the best advice I could give you, is STAY CLEAR OF THE TDS BOEING 787's!! :rolleyes:

Any questions or help needed, PM me and I will try to help!

Good luck, Rick :cool:

Okay, I quit, giving up on the TDS 787, auto spoilers not working, I have tried every thing I can think of, had some slight sparks of hope, when out of the blue, things I had done, looked like they were going to work, but it was only short-lived, and with that, I am saying goodbye to TDS aircraft! I have too many aircraft out there that have worked as they are intended to work!

Sorry for any additional confusion that I have created in my posts! Yes, I feel like the mad scientist at this point, and I refuse to do it any longer! :mad:

Have a nice day! 2021 does show signs of being a better year, I hope so! :cool:

Rick :cool::cool:

Thanks Charlie, I pretty much gave up on the TDS 787. However, I did take a trip over to Simviation and found a TDS download that Chris Evans put together, an American 787-8, that I downloaded with doubt, BUT, have only taken one flight with it and it actually flew as it should, spoilers worked, but I will hold my breath for awhile, until I have the chance to fly it so more! Why TDS has to make it so difficult?

Anyway, Happy New Years to you Charlie! We survived another year and hopefully 2021 will be our year to get our lives back together! Now, when are you going to get your new computer going?

Thanks Charlie for all you have done for us all year and have a super day today!

Rick :cool: