Two Duke questions...

[cmooring]

I purchased the Duke. It is a wonderful addon. It is not as complex as the F1 Mustang, which I also have. But it is just as fun. I like their VC and the way the instrument nobs are turned. The flight dynamics seem very realistic. I especially like the pre-stall stutters. And I find it pretty easy on frame rates. I think my system handles it easier than it does the FSX SF260.But I have 2 questions. First, the panel has a wing ice light; but I cant find it on the outside of the aircraft. Has anyone found it?Second, I seem to have problems getting the props to feather; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. I noticed in the manual that it says to pull the prop pitch lever all the way back and then pull it again. It may be that I am not pulling it a second time. Is anyone else having a problem with Feathering the props?Their implementation of the FSX gps is good and I really dont have a lot of problems with it. I dont know if I will spend more money for the third party version they are planning to support.

[Geofa]

I purchased the Duke. It is a wonderful addon. It is not as complex as the F1 Mustang, which I also have. But it is just as fun. I like their VC and the way the instrument nobs are turned. The flight dynamics seem very realistic. I especially like the pre-stall stutters. And I find it pretty easy on frame rates. I think my system handles it easier than it does the FSX SF260.But I have 2 questions. First, the panel has a wing ice light; but I cant find it on the outside of the aircraft. Has anyone found it?Second, I seem to have problems getting the props to feather; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. I noticed in the manual that it says to pull the prop pitch lever all the way back and then pull it again. It may be that I am not pulling it a second time. Is anyone else having a problem with Feathering the props?Their implementation of the FSX gps is good and I really dont have a lot of problems with it. I dont know if I will spend more money for the third party version they are planning to support.

Re: the prop feather-I had troubles too. Looking at the panel-even though my hardware was fully feathered I noticed the left prop whose engine I failed was not all the way back. I used the mouse to pull it full back-that caused both props to feather...Something perhaps that needs to be looked into. I still can't get the prop to unfeather for re start up.

[Arklight1]

Re: the prop feather-I had troubles too. Looking at the panel-even though my hardware was fully feathered I noticed the left prop whose engine I failed was not all the way back. I used the mouse to pull it full back-that caused both props to feather...Something perhaps that needs to be looked into. I still can't get the prop to unfeather for re start up.

Geof, I could be wrong, but I think right-click-drag selects just the one lever while left-click dragging selects both simulataneously. I thought I read that in the manual, but I am not sure.

[rodger]

Geof, I could be wrong, but I think right-click-drag selects just the one lever while left-click dragging selects both simulataneously. I thought I read that in the manual, but I am not sure.

that is correct

[virtualstuff]

Geof, I could be wrong, but I think right-click-drag selects just the one lever while left-click dragging selects both simulataneously. I thought I read that in the manual, but I am not sure.

Yep thats correct

[robert young]

Hi Chaps,That's why we say in the manual: pull back then pull back again. The prop lever has to be fully back right at the end of the red zone for the props to feather. If you do this it will never fail, at least hasn't in about 200 test goes at it! Feathering action is tied in to FSX's requirement that the prop levers are registering absolute zero. If it is not zero nothing will happen. Regarding unfeathering, Geofa, if you are expecting to see the prop windmilling again after unfeathering, I doubt whether FSX is capable of showing that, at least on the Duke props, but I stand correct if another aircraft can do this. Although I haven't tried a 280 knot dive to see if the airstream finally "unsticks" the props!Cheers,Rob Young - RealAir

[Geofa]

Hi Chaps,That's why we say in the manual: pull back then pull back again. The prop lever has to be fully back right at the end of the red zone for the props to feather. If you do this it will never fail, at least hasn't in about 200 test goes at it! Feathering action is tied in to FSX's requirement that the prop levers are registering absolute zero. If it is not zero nothing will happen. Regarding unfeathering, Geofa, if you are expecting to see the prop windmilling again after unfeathering, I doubt whether FSX is capable of showing that, at least on the Duke props, but I stand correct if another aircraft can do this. Although I haven't tried a 280 knot dive to see if the airstream finally "unsticks" the props!Cheers,Rob Young - RealAir

I was speaking of visually seeing the prop going back to high (unfeathering accumulaters). I have seen that on other fs aircraft I think-but I will have a look at some others and report back when I get a chance.

[Sean Moloney]

I was speaking of visually seeing the prop going back to high (unfeathering accumulaters). I have seen that on other fs aircraft I think-but I will have a look at some others and report back when I get a chance.

Hi Geoff,The Duke we modeled doesn't have accumulators at least as far as I could tell. The B60 operating manual has a fairly detailed description of the propeller operation and makes no mention of accumulators. I have seen Dukes for sale that have them fitted but I assume they were retro-fitted. So what you're seeing is quite deliberate and required a bit of custom programming to simulate.Sean.

[Geofa]

Hi Geoff,The Duke we modeled doesn't have accumulators at least as far as I could tell. The B60 operating manual has a fairly detailed description of the propeller operation and makes no mention of accumulators. I have seen Dukes for sale that have them fitted but I assume they were retro-fitted. So what you're seeing is quite deliberate and required a bit of custom programming to simulate.Sean.

Perhaps it was a factory option-all the Dukes I pulled up for sale have them. My Baron has them-and they were not retro-fitted but I know some do not.In any case, thanks for the answer-I just wanted to know if it was this way by design. Congratulations on the fm-it flies just like a Beech!

[Chalkman]

Since both the RealAir guys are here, just wanted to say to you guys directly how wonderful your new addon is. Thanks.

[robert young]

Since both the RealAir guys are here, just wanted to say to you guys directly how wonderful your new addon is. Thanks.

Thank you. We appreciate that!Rob - RealAir

[robert young]

But I have 2 questions. First, the panel has a wing ice light; but I cant find it on the outside of the aircraft. Has anyone found it?

I forgot to answer this one. The wing anti ice lights are there, but they are necessarily quite subtle. The effects engine in FSX is not good, and has a lot of bugs. Lights which are not like nav lights are difficult to keep still. As you pan around the aircraft they can look like they are shifting. Also over-bright surface lights can ruin the bump mapping effect so we kept the anti-ice lights quite dim, and I believe they are not exactly bright on the real aircraft either.Kind regards,Rob - RealAir

[Bert Pieke]

Since both the RealAir guys are here, just wanted to say to you guys directly how wonderful your new addon is. Thanks.

Ditto! As by now, expected from RealAir, total perfection!Really love the plane :(

[rodger]

Ditto! As by now, expected from RealAir, total perfection!Really love the plane :(

Same here, it's been a pleasure to buy and fly Rob's and Sean's aircrafts since the good old FLY1 days :)Rodger

[Virtualwombat]

Another 'me too' here. Terrific plane guys! The sound is incredible and the frame rates outstanding, particularly considering that it is a twin. And slips and spins! You guys are off the scale!Cheers,Noel.