Changing Aircraft.cfg

[PingPong 60]

Hi everyone, quick question, I want to change the speed settings in the Carenado Piper Cherokee (clean and dirty stall, cruise, glide etc...)to match the ones in the plane I am doing flight training on, do I simply change the values in the aircraft.cfg?Can I make an additional iteration of the plane that appears in the aircraft list so I can label it TRAINER.Thanks

[Highmike 68]

To quote the FSX SDK in terms of the reference speeds listed in the aircraft.cfg file, "The values given in this section are mainly for reference, as the performance of the aircraft is held in the .air file."There are .air file editors available, such as the one available here, which you can experiemnt with. Remember to backup before you hack.Adding another fltsim.n entry in the aircraft.cfg file is a simple matter. Just copy an existing entry and amend as necessary. If you happen to have the Deluxe version of FSX then you can install the SDK which will provide you with more information.Good luck.

[Guest napamule]

There is a lot you can do in cfg to change stall, glide, and cruise speed. Stall involves the lift AND drag of flaps (in (Flaps)) and efficiency (Oswald_factor) (in (Aircraft Geometry)) of wing. Glide is also a matter of weight (gross, which includes fuel and passenger load). Cruise speed has 4 or 5 adjustments in Gen Engine and propeller sections. And since one interacts with other settings, you will have to do lots of trial and error.The way I do it is to start sim, choose aircraft, then set to windowed mode (Alt+Enter). Minimize (-) sim and go open cfg and make adjustment(s). Minimize cfg and go re-load (select aircraft-it's already picked, so just say 'ok' to re-load) to see changes. Repeat as necessary. After 3 hours take a break. Make notes of changes or put cursor next to = and enter new value, then put // and leave old value (will be to right of the //. Go 'File' then click SAVE (not SAVE AS). It's a pain due to air file 'influence', but using another cfg as guide (put half size cfgs side by side on screen) will help. The air file has brake strength, flap lift and drag and pitch, gear and fuselage drag, wing center of lift, rudder effect on roll, yaw stability, pitch stability, prop type, etc which adds/subtracts from total performance (1101 flight dynamics). AirEd is good program, which I use (for FS9 too). Trial and error is only way, as there is no 'manual', just an ini for guide. But if you know some flight dynamics (physics) then you can get a/c to do what you want, with work, a little luck, and lots of persistance. Being doing it for 10 years now and I am still learning.Chuck BNapamule

[Taildragger 2]

Have a look at the AirWrench utility, here:http://www.mudpond.org/AirWrench_main.htmIt's a great help in editing the air file, as it provides some insight into the meaning and proper choice of all those cryptic settings. Takes a lot of the guess work out.For example, it gives an estimate of stall speed, max speed, and rate of climb, calculated from the variables you select. Or inversely you can specify the performance values and AirWrench will adjust the variables as needed.For the problem you described, the free demo version should work fine.Also grab the user manual and tutorial from the web site.John

[Guest napamule]

You are going to force me to say that I don't like AirWreck. I don't. I usually re-do 90% of cfg made with airwrench for aircraft to fly right (not 'real', as that suggests that THAT can happen-it can't). It is a good 'guide', but the final tweak is done afterwards, if you care enough. Trouble is, this gives modelers the excuse they need when their model act like a flying frisbee with lead for ballast. Not my cup of tea. You go ahead and use it, as I assume you accept their profile, where I myself would rather just start with the Cessna 182S file and change it as needed. Have you compared an airwrench to a 'basic' cfg/air set? No thanks.Chuck BNapamule