Goran_M

This has been my job for over a year. I make add ons full time.

Very unlikely the -400 will be ready by Christmas. It has a crazy amount of programming involved. Not to mention a manual that will probably turn out to be about as thick as a Harry Potter book. The -200...I'm optimistic. Once Theo and I get through our current workload, we're going nuts with the -200. I've got my documentation from the UK, finally, and once the Saab is done (by the way, we're adding some custom programming to it using Gizmo!), we're rolling into the 747 and Hawker 4000 stuff.

I was looking through my old renders of the 747 and realized I had quite a few that I hadn't posted. Seeing as it has been quiet around here lately, I thought I might throw some up.

Wow. Love it! Love that song at the end too. Takes me back to my teenage years. All the dance music of the 90's. Keep it up Simon!! Goran

Very funny! But not for G. Isn't it going to be the first " pay per flight" plane, adding that extra level of realism? Do I take her up or do I eat lunch.?! Pay per flight? You get airline food for your lunch.

Yeah. freeware. Sure. 18 months development all for the taking. Cameron...the comedian. No. This is payware. Absolutely no chance this is going to be freeware. Way too much work involved as well the cost of getting all the documentation.

To avoid icing from cruise to descent, the pilot must always "cycle" the engine (push the throttle to full power for about 5-10 seconds then bring it back to descent speed) every 1000-2000 feet. Of course, it's not a bad thing to fly the aircraft from circuit height to the runway with carb heat constantly on but always turn it off when you land. Just don't leave the carb heat on for more than a few minutes. If you go through your checks for landing, carb heat should always be off when on final.

Another few days for the updates. What I have done so far: Aileron trim added (due to popular demand) Some technical specs added and tweaked in the flight model Completely re worked a section of the interior Fixed the texture problem with the circuit breakers What we have yet to do: Paint kit Tutorial Texture the new section of the interior that I have modelled Fix 1 or 2 panel region issues Clearer gauges I do apologize for not addressing these things before we made the Sundowner available. However, we plan on making this the 2nd and final update to the Sundowner.

Could you upload that to the org for others to download. I love that eclectic stuff.

I like that one. Very nice!

Hi Steve Very unusual problems you are having. I cannot replicate these problems you are having. Theo, Cameron and I have all gone through these manipulators and made sure they work properly. We did have more for the gauges but there were problems with them that we couldn't iron out so we left them as click spots. Those manipulators that do work, were left in. We'll go through them again and see if we can find the same problem with the lighting.

We're re doing a few things on the Saab. Theo is adding a lot more detail in the textures and some of these things require re-baking. To give you an idea of the detail... We're looking at having the Saab done and finished by the end of July or earlier. We're adding quite a few new things which we discovered while making the Sundowner. I'll throw up some more screenshots soon. Goran

Very nice screen caps! We're actually having a big discussion about the aileron trim. On the one hand, we want ultimate realism. On the other hand, we want to make sure people "enjoy" their Sundowner experience. We'll get to a decision very soon. The fixes are nearly done. Goran

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value=" &hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" &hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Goran

Like I said, there are Photoshop users and there are Photoshop Artists. Theo is definitely in the latter category. I actually do like the choice of music. It has that old, rustic sound to it which suits the Sundowner very nicely. Need I ask you to keep 'em coming?

WOW!!!! I'm sure I speak for Theo when I say thanks for that Simon!! It kind of looks weird to see our project on someone else's computer seeing as I spent so much time with her. But it definitely puts a smile on my face seeing other people flying her. That was AMAZING. Goran

That's definitely something on your end. I have flown the Sundowner today in order to make my tutorial and after taking off and reaching about 1000 feet, I hit hdg hold with the aircraft trimmed and it turned to capture the heading but continued the climb. Once I hit my desired altitude (6500 feet), I pressed the alt hold button (yes, without trimming for straight and level flight :-[ ) and it pitched down to capture the altitude. Can I ask what version of x plane you are using? Any plug ins that may be conflicting with the Sundowner? Did you change anything in the acf file in Planemaker?

The way the autopilot was modelled at first was with an alt select button. I didn't want to have that much functionality in an autopilot for a GA. So I told Theo to map only an alt hold function. I saw the panel regions and it is definitely the alt hold switch being used. There is absolutely no alt select function. After testing it now, it still works only as an alt hold function, however, I do not have any of the flight controls that others have so that may be your issue.

There will be a paintkit made available very soon. Just don't drink and fly.

Ok, I've been going over some of the issues mentioned in the forums here. We're going over these things in the package and in the process of fixing them. Here's what has been fixed so far. -Viewpoint adjusted -MORE accurate engine specs (SFC) -Circuit breaker textures -Manual amendment What is being worked on -Clearer gauge displays (apologies for this one as I have a 24" monitor and could see them) -Flaps power (I MIGHT make an electrically powered flap system with flap indicator.) -DG power -More repaints -POSSIBLY adding an aileron trim

I had a look at the Nav radio problem you are having issues with. What you are seeing is most likely 2 verts with an edge (most likely left over from a delete but wasn't selected) and that has actually been mapped unknowingly to an older version of the radio knob when we exported the panel regions. I'm thinking it's 2 verts with an edge because it is so small. Fortunately, it has no interference with the actual button. Many apologies for this oversight.

Ouch! I'm normally extremely anal about my grammar and spelling. I bet you can't find any other errors though. Ok, I am working on the tutorial as I type this. It should be done in the next few days. I'll get the flaps fixed asap. There are also 1 or 2 other small, unnoticeable tweaks I have added to make an even more accurate flight model. I got my hands on some extra tech data. Purely engine specs. I'll look into the DG power issue. If it is what I think it is, it's a 2 second fix. Now THAT'S unusual. Everything with the radios worked fine during testing. I'll look into it.

Very nice!

No problem at all, Markus. I'll talk to Theo about possibly making the gauges with a higher resolution. I'm actually working on a tutorial right now with my old flight instructor to get people familiarised with the Sundowner. It'll be ready very soon. Hopefully it will shed some light on a few things.

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. 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 (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. 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. 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