V1.2

[Goran_M]

If any of you who have bought the Duchess come across anything else that might need fixing after the V1.1 update, please list them here.

A couple of things have been fixed already.

Engine now goes to full 2700 RPM on the ground with full throttle and brakes applied (as is with all constant speed props)

(Thanks to "lis" for the following 2 fixes listed below.)

Control Surface deflection adjusted.

Added phase-out figures to eliminate "porposing" effect when Autopilot is on and aircraft is at low speeds.

The "cobwebs" running between the 2 overhead spotlights will be looked into and fixed.  It looks like a corrupted mesh export that was overlooked.

[sgabriel]

Seems to me that the instrument and overhead light functions knobs are reversed.

[sgabriel]

The centre of gravity adjustment is very coarse!(!)

Could the text labels on the autopilot control be clearer? They seem to be fuzzier than the other panel labels.

[Goran_M]

Try a reinstall of the aircraft.  I tested the lighting and it works fine.

I'm a little confused by CG figures being coarse.

What problems are you having with the CG?

All lettering in the cockpit has been textured on a 2048 x 2048 UV map.  It is impossible to get it any clearer from a developers end.  Try to increase your Anti Aliasing/Anisotropic filtering in your X Plane settings and see how that goes.

Hope this helps.

G

[-TheoGregory]

I can confirm that turning up your AA to 4x will make it easier to read. I can read easily with 2x but i have a large wide-screen monitor.

[sgabriel]

CaptainG37:

By "coarse" I mean that the CG setting in Aircraft/Weight and Fuel goes into the thousands of inches in either direction, and even moving it the slightest bit, it will jump by 5 or 10. The normal range of CG adjustment lives in about the innermost 2% or 3% of the slider, I would guess.

I'll try reinstalling to see if this re-reverses the lighting knob assignment.

(I'm on a Mac, 24" with the latest system update, 3.06 GHz dual core, 4 GB RAM,  512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS.)

[sgabriel]

I have reloaded the latest Duchess update and can confirm the following:

1. The CG adjustment goes to around 1200 inches is both directions. (Just for fun, I loaded it to max aft CG to see what would happen... X-Plane hard-crashed with a screaming sound until I force quit it.)

2. The control labeled "Instrument Flood" controls the post lights and instrument back-lighting.

3. The control labeled "Post Lights" controls the flood light.

4. Flight controls take 1.5 seconds to displace fully, which I find very unnatural and sluggish.

A final comment/question: I regularly see over 2000 ft/min in climb at max gross on a standard day. Does the real Duchess climb this well?!

Thanks for your continued support of this excellent product.

[Goran_M]

I have reloaded the latest Duchess update and can confirm the following:

1. The CG adjustment goes to around 1200 inches is both directions. (Just for fun, I loaded it to max aft CG to see what would happen... X-Plane hard-crashed with a screaming sound until I force quit it.)

There are a few different ways to get the correct CG figures.  I use a somewhat unorthodox method (using the Duchess original CG figures from the AOM) but it is proven to work and allows me to make adjustments quite easily using a certain calculation method.  There is also another reason why I use an unconventional method but that's my little secret.

2. The control labeled "Instrument Flood" controls the post lights and instrument back-lighting.

3. The control labeled "Post Lights" controls the flood light.

I'll check this.  

4. Flight controls take 1.5 seconds to displace fully, which I find very unnatural and sluggish.

Adjusted.  The response time the aircraft has to the controls is actually accurate.  But the control deflection time and phase out have been adjusted.

A final comment/question: I regularly see over 2000 ft/min in climb at max gross on a standard day. Does the real Duchess climb this well?!

Yes, the Duchess is quite a powerful little aircraft.  I have a few hours in one and it handles quite well in the climb.  I remember doing power-on stalls in the Duchess, and as I pulled back, I would regularly hit a high VS until the stall point.

Always remember, small movements and corrections.  (I'm quoting my flight instructor.  He constantly said that)

[FLHTC10]

Is there a release date planned for V1.2 in the near future? I have read the DIY Update from Dec and the other various posts, and would prefer to purchase the Duchess when Version 1.2 becomes available.

Thanks.

[Goran_M]

Is there a release date planned for V1.2 in the near future? I have read the DIY Update from Dec and the other various posts, and would prefer to purchase the Duchess when Version 1.2 becomes available.

Thanks.

We're neck deep in Saab development at the moment so everything is on hold until that's out.  Once that's done, we only have 1 or 2 animations to do, fix a portion of the 3D mesh on the roof of the cabin and add the flight model.

If all goes to plan, the updated version should be out by end of this month or early next month.