Welcome

[Goran_M]

First off, THANK YOU!

Well, it's been a year since I started add on development and here we are...FINALLY!

Please post any tech issues you may find.  

However, we're sure there won't be many...if any.

;D

[RealScenery]

Awesome! Best of luck with it, Goran!

[Simmo W]

Yes congrats again Goran (and Robin, your trusty texturer). $25 sounds great, when I get to my pc, I'll be buying. An investment in you, a downpayment for the 742!

[Goran_M]

Thanks gentlemen.

BTW, Simon, it's Theo.  Not Robin.  Although I do wish I was Batman sometimes.

[Simmo W]

Thanks gentlemen.

BTW, Simon, it's Theo.  Not Robin.  Although I do wish I was Batman sometimes.

that was a deliberate joke Batman!

[woweezowee]

got it! looks beautiful! but I will have to wait until after work to take the sundowner for it's first flight. grrrr 

[Goran_M]

lol Simon.  I thought as much.

Please enjoy it, gentlemen. 

Both Theo and myself have enjoyed making it AND flying it.  It really is a fun little aircraft to fly.

[Jacoba]

Sweet!

[YYZatcboy]

Downloading it now. Won't get a chance to take it for a spin till friday though. Congrats Goran. Bet this makes the wife happy

[Simmo W]

Got it, but at great cost, wife tore strips off me for getting on pc on a weeknight!

Seats look great! Do u need 9.5, coz the engine kept cutting off?

[Goran_M]

The Sundowner has a carburettor powered engine.  It sucks fuel instead of fuel being squirted in by fuel injectors.  Which means rough idle at high altitudes and cold temperatures.  Always have the throttle pushed slightly forward either by the manipulators on the throttle or the joystick throttle.

It also depends on pressure altitude.  The higher you are, the more chance there is of the engine stalling unless the mixture is set accurately.

It's a balancing act.

The joys of carb reciprocating engines.

AND, apologies to the wife for me, Simon.

Tell her to blame me.

[LionKing]

Hello again.

How can I buy it if I haven't got paypal account? Is there another way?

[Goran_M]

Hello again.

How can I buy it if I haven't got paypal account? Is there another way?

When you get to your shopping cart, you can click on "checkout".  After that, you can select the credit card option.  However, you must have an account with x-aviation.

Hope this helps

[LionKing]

The problem is that I haven't got a card at the moment...

[Goran_M]

I'll let Cameron help you with your situation then.  He should be on in the next few hours.

[LionKing]

Thank you.

[Simmo W]

The joys of carb reciprocating engines.

AND, apologies to the wife for me, Simon.

Tell her to blame me.

Thanks Goran, wow so detailed. Carbys, reminds me of my old Ford Escort...with retreads. Will try again on Sat, when I'm permitted  >

[Zach Decou]

When looking at the screen shots of the panel, I see some things that are missing that are covered with caps. Things like gear handle with annunciators, flap handle, etc. I also notice the gear is down in all of the exterior images. I know everything you have done is purely intentional and this aircraft is largely based on a real world aircraft. Could you outline breifly what works and what has been "disabled" in this aircraft?

Zach

[Goran_M]

When looking at the screen shots of the panel, I see some things that are missing that are covered with caps. Things like gear handle with annunciators, flap handle, etc. I also notice the gear is down in all of the exterior images. I know everything you have done is purely intentional and this aircraft is largely based on a real world aircraft. Could you outline breifly what works and what has been "disabled" in this aircraft?

Zach

Sure Zach.

The Sundowner I have based this  one on is VH-WMI.

The Sundowner, when built, was built with a fixed tricycle gear configuration.  It has wheel fairings that are streamlined to minimise drag and is non retractable.  However, it also has "options" for advanced features.  Such as electric trim, electric flaps, retractable gear, etc...

When Beechcraft made the Sundowner, they allowed for these modifications to be installed by the owner/operator should they choose to do so.  Otherwise, it is left in its factory configuration.

Now when I say this aircraft is based on the real Whiskey Mike India, I don't mean it is loosely based.  This is an extremely close replica to the real aircraft in its functions and performance.  The only things that are obviously different are the repaints.

Check out the photos below that I personally took of WMI.

I hope that somewhat answers your questions.

[MdMax]

I also notice the gear is down in all of the exterior images.

Hi Zach ! I guess that's just because the real one has a fixed landing gear. According to Wikipedia, only the Model 24 Sierra has a retractable landing gear:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundowner_(plane)

[Maxime]

Goran,

Do you know if the sundowner is an FPS killer?

I use a iMac 2.1 GHz Power PC G5.

Best,

Maxime

[-TheoGregory]

Well I fly it at about 20 frames a second and ive got a 1.8ghz G5. W/ Pixel shaders on etc.

[Maxime]

Thanks!!!!

Best,

Maxime

[woweezowee]

I just had my first 50nm flight from 0S7 to S97. Bad weather for sure, however here is my first impression:

– very nice exterior model, very nice and detailes texturing

- the instruments: While they appear very sharp when looking at them from near, the become more unsharp every inch one moves the view away until unreadability. I used a field of view of 52 and had a hard time figuring out the numbers. The instrument lights made it worse when turned full on.

- no aileron trim? that's intentional? of course also because of the wind I constantly had to fight a left roll tendency.

- the sounds: they are way too silent. Did hardly hear the engine and nothing of the flaps flying through the rain.

- it's a very fps friendly plane

- personally, I found the viewpoint to be very low. I found myself adjusting my seat up a fair bit.

- I had a hard time on approach and landing (but I made it!):

a) with the recommended 1800rpm the plane did not go low enough to start lowering the flaps

the impact, going down, with the flaps set was immense. You recommend to not touch the trim anymore. impossible.

- a pilot figure sure would be nice

- I'd love to open the doors or lower the anti-glare shield.

- climb out: could not reach the 2500 rpm. may be weather related.

That's what I have in my head now - maybe more when I have the next chance to fly the Sundowner. Overall: Thumbs up and congratulations again on your first finished model!

[Goran_M]

I just had my first 50nm flight from 0S7 to S97. Bad weather for sure, however here is my first impression:

– very nice exterior model, very nice and detailes texturing

- the instruments: While they appear very sharp when looking at them from near, the become more unsharp every inch one moves the view away until unreadability. I used a field of view of 52 and had a hard time figuring out the numbers. The instrument lights made it worse when turned full on.

Perhaps an AA and/or AF issue.  At worst case, it may be a graphics card issue.  I can see by your screenshots, you may be using a lower resolution set up in your sim settings.  Make sure they are on EXTREME RES. 

I have my FOV set between 50 and 65 (depending on what I want to see) and everything is readable for me.

- no aileron trim? that's intentional? of course also because of the wind I constantly had to fight a left roll tendency.

The Sundowner, unfortunately, does not have aileron trim.  The constant bank is a result of a single GA's propellor torque.  I did manage to reduce the bank tendency quite substantially in the acf file, but I could not eliminate it without ruining the flight model.  To compare, the Falco has the same effect.  If enough people would like an aileron trim added, I could easily do that.

- the sounds: they are way too silent. Did hardly hear the engine and nothing of the flaps flying through the rain.

- it's a very fps friendly plane

- personally, I found the viewpoint to be very low. I found myself adjusting my seat up a fair bit.

- I had a hard time on approach and landing (but I made it!):

a) with the recommended 1800rpm the plane did not go low enough to start lowering the flaps

-The (engine) sounds, from what I can gather, are what one would expect to hear while flying with a headset on.  The flaps are not electrically operated.  They are operated by the handle located between the seats and they are constructed of a cable linkage system.  Which means no sound when extending the flaps.

-thank you.  I worked hard on the mesh to make it fps friendly.

-the viewpoint was replicated by me sitting in the actual plane when I took photos of it.  I took a photo out of both sides and the front of the aircraft to use for reference while sitting in the pilots seat.  Of course, the actual Sundowner has a seat adjustment to go back and forth.

-I plan on explaining the approach with a tutorial.  This will explain the 1800 RPM and trim.  When you approach the runway (in a Sundowner anyway) the nose will almost never be pointing down.  At an approach power setting, the aircraft will be level with the artificial horizon but the AoA will be greater than normal.  What you have to remember, flying an aircraft involves a ton of reading.  But every single pilot will tell you, "study, but at the end of the day, when you are flying, simply FLY THE PLANE".  It's ok to go out of the bounds of the text as long as you land safely.

the impact, going down, with the flaps set was immense. You recommend to not touch the trim anymore. impossible.

- a pilot figure sure would be nice

- I'd love to open the doors or lower the anti-glare shield.

- climb out: could not reach the 2500 rpm. may be weather related.

I've flown the x plane sundowner many times.  Please make sure your approach speed is correct.  The Sudowner is quite a heavy plane and will land hard if your touchdown speed is too low.  Even if it is still in the white band.  (I know this from real world experience.  My instructor was not happy)  I did mention in the manual that you should not have to touch the trim until the "flare".  That's the absolute latest point you can fly without touching the trim.   It's generally not advisable to completely disregard the flight controls.  While descending, always keep 1 hand on the controls and 1 hand on the throttle console.  If the aircraft is properly trimmed, you should only need to adjust your power settings.  Again, it's ok to go below the 1800 RPM but carb ice will most likely occur.

The door animation will be added.

We have a half built pilot figure (strangely enough, it looks like Theo) and will be added soon.

On climb out, the Sundowner will never reach it's 2700 RPM and will rarely hit it's 2500 RPM mark.  It will usually sit around 2300 to 2400 RPM, as you say, depending on weather conditions.  As mentioned before, it is a heavy aircraft.  It's like a car going up hill in 4th gear.  Once reaching cruise, it will easily hit 2500-2700RPM.

That's what I have in my head now - maybe more when I have the next chance to fly the Sundowner. Overall: Thumbs up and congratulations again on your first finished model!

Thanks heaps for the feedback.  I will never reject justified critiques.  The Sundowner is kind of a unique aircraft and may take a bit of getting used to.

Even Theo had an unusual experience with it because it wasn't something he was used to.  The very first time I landed a Sundowner, it felt very nose heavy as the airspeed dropped.  Almost like the CG was moving with loss of airspeed.  I also found myself adjusting throttle input, at times going down to idle.  It's ok to do this, as long as you land safely.

Please note, I do say "you should not have to..." at some points in the manual.  On a perfect day with perfect conditions, it will be more textbook flying.  

I will definitely be writing up a tutorial to give people clearer guidelines on what to do in certain situations.

Goran