PSS Dash 8 v F1 ATR-72: a New Year's wish!

[Guest gwi]

Hi:Flight 1 appears to be cornering the market for turboprops, but while their ATR-72 is a brilliant aircraft, I prefer flying the PSS Dash-8. The PSS DH8C is realistically complex, it's got a great panel, everything is easily accessible and the FMC even accepts FS flight plans. A pity therefore that the team has never really upgraded their patch for FS2004 (still less, decided on a full upgrade for FSX). Leaving aside the gripe that I can't bring the prop back to 900 at cruise, my main problem with the FS2004 upgrade is the poor handling on approach and landing. Even using some of the fixes suggested on this forum, the increasingly nose-up attitude of the aircraft as one reduces speed to the +/- 120kts target for the threshhold (flaps 15, torque 35%, rpm 1050) leaves you teetering on the edge of an incipient stall. It shouldn't be impossible to fix this problem: Fanda have certainly done so (though their klunky multiple panel management is maddening)!C'mon guys! You've got a brilliant simulation of a much loved and much flown aircraft. One further patch in the New Year is all it would take to make the PSS Dash-8 everybody's favourite commuter turboprop once again. Here's something to drink to (non-alcoholically of course!). George (EGKA)

[scoob 18]

this thread has some suggestions for a dash8 flight characterists fix. i use this and it fixes the larger problem of nose-up attitude at cruise, decent and approach - http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...ing_type=searchthe negative to this patch is the aircraft doesn't loose airspeed correctly so you need keep further ahead of the aircraft on approaches in order to keep the IAS low.a true fix is a complete edit of the 'air' file (above 'hack' only plays with the aircraft cfg). i've used a hex editor (AirEd) to peak at the 'physics' of the flight model. i am in now way willing to jump in a start changing numbers.what is needed for the dash8 is a 'savior' such as what Bob Scott did for the A330/340s.--

[Guest gwi]

Scoob:Thanks for your message. I found this thread some time ago and implemented the suggested changes. There was a slight improvement in the nose-up attitude, but (as you note) there are still major problems. I'm not a programmer so, unlike you, I can't jump into the numbers. But there's no doubt it can be done as the Fanda/Majestic version shows. As to the market for a revamped PSS Dash, I have no doubt there is one. Flight1's ATR is over-hyped, difficult to land and requires weeks of work to begin to master the systems. PSS's Dash blends realistic complexity and ease of operation admirably. Sadly, though, its flight dynamics (in the FS2004 version at least) are poor.Let's hope somebody can put it right. If you can do so, that would be great!George