I've done unspeakable things to the R4D-6

[Chairman 8]

and now it's fighting back.It started a while ago when I decided that (a) my enjoyment of the sim was spoilt because I couldn't get my head around that horizontal heading indicator and (:( I've never seen one of those in a cockpit photo, so in a fit of bravery I made my first ever panel mod and replaced it with a modern HSI. All was good and I spent several happy hours flyng before temptation struck again.If I'm going to modernise it, I thought, especially since it's going round the world soon which will involve long oceanic legs, I'd better do something about the navigation and the autopilot. So the sperry gauge was unceremoniously deleted from the panel and replaced with a Flight1 bendix autopilot and the RealityXP 530 GPS and a right little cracker it looks.Then I took my first flight, in real weather. It wasn't that windy but watching in spot view there was obviously plenty of turbulence, the plane seemed to be permanently slightly banked to the right. I ducked into the virtual cockpit to check that the GPS was working in there too (it was) and noticed that george had the left pedal up by the firewall and the wheel constantly over to the left. In 6 knots of wind on the starboard bow. Is that believable, or is removing the sperry a bit more complex than simply deleting a line from the panel.cfg and the 'turbulence' was actually the sperry fighting the bendix ?I would experiment but my alarm is about to go off and I have to get up in 11 minutes so I'm afraid I've run out of time.ThanksGary

[Dark Moment 0]

<<<<>>>>Oh, it's there all right, Gary! Production spec, no less.<<<<>>>>Having spat out my whisky in shock and horror I shall now try to gather my thoughts, count to ten, walk around the room twice and calm down. Ah that's better .. now, where were we ... ah yes, deletion of the Sperry ... let's see:1. Did you delete it both from 2D and 3D panel entries?2. I'm not familiar with the Garmin 530 (other than freeware versions such as the one fitted in my own MAAM-SIM panel modification, DCAMAAM4.ZIP) or the Flight1 Bendix Autopilot. Does the latter have special install instructions concerning changing parameters in the AUTOPILOT section of the AIRCRAFT.CFG file?Simply removing the Sperry should not cause the problems you describe, to answer your question. But fitting such equipment has to be your lookout, really, Gary, as this support forum is for the MAAM-SIM products as delivered and you'll forgive us if we don't get into trying to work out what individual modifications have done to the aircraft. In any case, most of the C-47s and DC-3s that have travelled around the world - such as the hundreds delivered in wartime to Europe, the Far East and the Pacific from factories in the US - navigated there with Sperry and sextant. Colleague Dave Bitzer and I have made you a sextant for FS9, available in the Avsim library. If you're off around the world, surely that is the way to do it?! And for real WWII period authenticity, delete the VOR and DME gauges .... there were no such navigation aids available at the time ...MarkMark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]

[Chairman 8]

><<<<>>>>>>Oh, it's there all right, Gary! Production spec, no less.I quite believe it, I just haven't seen any cockpit photos taken in the last 20 years that have included it. (I believe this is the bit where you gently cough and post a link to a cockpit photo of the MAAM R4D-6, taken in the last 20 years, with the gauge in question quite obvious ...)>Having spat out my whisky in shock and horror I shall now try>to gather my thoughts, count to ten, walk around the room>twice and calm down. Ah that's better .. now, where were weNot surprised you had to count to ten and walk round the room twice - spitting out good whiskey indeed, what a terrible waste. No wonder you got upset.As for my wanton panel vandalism, you'll be at least partly glad to hear of the latest changes. I had removed the sperry gauge from the main panel and from the 3D panel, but I found another instance of it on the co-pilots panel. Once I commented that out too the turbulence suddenly smoothed, the plane began flying in a proper flat attitude, and george has finally allowed the rudder pedals and yoke to centre. Thanks for starting that train of thought ...This morning the new GPS looked cool in the top centre of the panel. Tonight it looks, well, tacky. Exit stage left 1 GPS. As a navigation device it is no longer a going concern. It is an Ex-GPS. >In any case, most of the C-47s and DC-3s that have travelled>around the world - such as the hundreds delivered in wartime>to Europe, the Far East and the Pacific from factories in the>US - navigated there with Sperry and sextant. Colleague Dave>Bitzer and I have made you a sextant for FS9, available in the>Avsim library. If you're off around the world, surely that is>the way to do it?!Oceanic navigation by bubble sextant sounds like a fine idea so that instrument has been downloaded and installed and pops up upon request just like the instructions said it would. I presume that was the easy part. I am reluctant to remove the bendix autopilot and put the sperry back in there for one specific reason. As I understand it, the sperry maintains an attitude not an altitude.Most of the C-47s and DC-3s that have travelled around the world - such as the hundreds delivered in wartime to Europe, the Far East and the Pacific from factories in the US - ( ;-) ) navigated there with people awake in the cockpit. Mine won't. I want to get a sense of how long it takes so the flights will be happening, and they will happen in real time, but I won't be sitting there for 6 or 8 or 10 hours watching the waves and clouds float past and adjusting the sperry every time the pitch of the plane changes. I will, more than likely, be asleep. I don't dare leave the sperry alone for 8 hours, I'll either come back to find that the plane has crept up so high that everyone on board has died of anoxia or down so low that they've all drowned. Hence my desire for an autopilot that will hold an altitude.If you can suggest a way I can achieve this with the sperry, then the bendix autopilot can also become an ex-gauge and your whiskey will be safe until I decide to add an FMC or something else to the plane.

[Guest erahmig]

>If you can suggest a way I can achieve this with the sperry,>then the bendix autopilot can also become an ex-gauge and your>whiskey will be safe until I decide to add an FMC or something>else to the plane.Hi Gary,You can try using the default FS autopilot keys for Altitude select and Altitude hold (CTRL+SHIFT+Z and CTRL+Z I think). These should allow you to hold an altitude instead of an attitude.Before Mark spits out more of his whiskey I should mention that this is *not* the way the Sperry was designed to work in FS. Ideally you should trim the plane for straight and level flight on your desired heading, then configure the Sperry to those same settings, then turn it on.There are three fine adjustment knobs along the bottom of the Sperry. The right-most one will help you fine tune your attitude settings.In case you haven't already, check out SPERRY.HLP in the Gauges folder. I'm not at my FS PC so I can't double check the name of the help file but I believe it's correct.Eric

[Chairman 8]

> have made you a sextant for FS9, available in the vsim library. > If you're off around the world, surely that is the way to do it?!Silly questions time ...It sounds like I will need a paper chart to work on. Can I use FSNavigator for that ? I really don't have room to work on a huge paper chart of the Pacific ocean ... (plus I don't actually have a huge paper chart of the Pacific ocean)CheersGary

[Dark Moment 0]

Everything is explained in the included manual, Gary. No, you don't need a huge paper chart of the Pacific Ocean!MarkMark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]

[Chairman 8]

Thanks, I just had a glance through it and it looked like I needed a paper chart. I'll have a crack at it for real tonight and see how badly I can get it wrong :-DCheersGarybtw will ctrl-Z for autopilot alt hold work ? If so then I'll put the sperry back where it belongs. I draw the line at deleting the VOR/DME gauges though :-)

[Dark Moment 0]

>btw will ctrl-Z for autopilot alt hold work ? If so then I'll>put the sperry back where it belongs. Haven't a clue, why not try it tonight while you sleep? I don't use key commands much personally, relying on my skill, dexterity and thorough knowledge of the aeroplane to fly a steady course. Which is why I can't either.I do take your earlier points about the lack of co-pilots in FS. It's rare to find a GPS in a real-world DC-3 (except the occasional hand-held, now that they're becoming so prevalent) but the very reason I don't object too much to most panels including the option to call one up (even in ours, shudder shudder) is that it can be used to enact the role of co-pilot while you pee/drink/sleep/carouse/watch old Monty Python movies.So give it a go and report. Your guess is as good as mine, right now, but it does seem to make sense that it would work. Then you really can be done with that Whizzywobbly GPS thingimajig.Mark"This GPS is dead"."No it's not"."Yes it is. Dead. Gone"."No it's not. It's ... resting"."RESTING? It hasn't worked in a week"."It's still upright ....""No it's not ... it's nailed to its perch!"Etc. etc., with apologies to Monty Python's Flying Circus. Or in this case, non-flying Parrot.Mark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]

[rambow 0]

Hi Chairman. You may re-install the Sperry(s) and use the default auto-pilot keys, as suggested, but remember to turn all three of the adjustment wheels down to zero first. Z turns on the AP, Ctrl + Z holds the current altitude and Ctrl + H holds the current heading. You will still be able to adjust the heading by placing the cursor on the Sperry's gyro adjustment knob and rotating your mouse wheel.Now put my lovely, cranky old Sperry back in the panel and quit wasting Mark's good hootch! ;-)Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/maamsim_neon.gif

[Chairman 8]

>Now put my lovely, cranky old Sperry back in the panel and>quit wasting Mark's good hootch! ;-)Done. :9 Thanks to all for your help on this. Now to try my luck with the sextant ... Gary