Hi

Arguably, the DA 20 has some very interesting features. Unfortunately it is not bug free. I had several problems (not Luc's issue though)and aked for help in the aerosoft forum. The replies that I got were appalling : in a nutshell, I was an idiot, everything was my fault. The forum is not moderated. It is too bad because I really like Marcel Felde's work.

Anyway I've been able to fix most the issues by myself and with the help of friendly fellow simmers here. I still have that strong left veering tendency, even though I've changed the aileron trim settings up to mid range.

Hi Luc, This may sound like a worthless piece of simplictic dribble, but hey...it's worth a try, you've got nothing to lose:

 

Perhaps your initial & subsequent aircraft software downloads became somehow corrupted during the downloads and have left their remnants behind. Try removing the Katana and downloading & installing it again after first searching your system for & removing *any* file that contains the string "DA20" ("*DA20*.*"). This was previously the case, and the solution, for me with regard to another FSX addon download. Rusty

I still have that strong left veering tendency, even though I've changed the aileron trim settings up to mid range.

 

You are sure you're moving the trim tabs in the correct direction? The trim tabs fly the aileron, not the wing, so the directions are reversed from what seems logical. IE, you set the right trim tab down and the left trim tab up to move the right aileron up and the left aileron down to eliminate a leftward turning tendency. I have my payload set to 225 lbs in the left seat, 5 lbs in the baggage are, no one in the right seat, and my fuel tanks about half full and can fly straight and level without any problems in clean air at cruise speed. i believe i have 9 mouse wheel clicks down on the right tab and 8 up on the left tab and typically am doing circuit work at ~1,000 at 20 MP / 21k rpm. YMMV

You are sure you're moving the trim tabs in the correct direction? The trim tabs fly the aileron, not the wing, so the directions are reversed from what seems logical.

 

Sure, this is the strangest thing. Not sure this is present on the RW aircraft, but if so it seems to smack in the face of logic.

Hello again,

 

First things first...

I have had absolutely no problems getting adequate support over at the Aerosoft forums. In fact I hardly have problems anywhere on whatever forum.

Maybe it's because I try to stay polite, knowing that quite a lot of problems are caused by the user....

And I don't want to request a refund because I know It works, it worked before on my pc.

 

The latest suggestion, cleaning the pc of everything related to DA...

Not a bad one and I will try this out later this weekend.

 

Luc Brusselmans

Belgium

You are sure you're moving the trim tabs in the correct direction? The trim tabs fly the aileron, not the wing, so the directions are reversed from what seems logical.

 

 

Sure, this is the strangest thing. Not sure this is present on the RW aircraft, but if so it seems to smack in the face of logic.

 

In this pic.................the right aileron tab is full up. This is forcing the aileron down, which raises the right wing. This pic is from one of my first test flight pics. I had , what is known as a heavy right wing. The right wing would want to drop, if you let go of the stick (although stick force to correct is very light). This was causes by the radious of the left aileron trailing edge being slightly thicker than the right. Just a small amount of squeezing completely cures the problem.

 

If I let go of the stick, the right aileron would actually raise just a bit, which forces the wing down. The tab, as in the pic, is forcing the aileron back to a neutral flying position. Since the ailerons are connected, only one tab is needed. Of course this is a real world example. I don't have the Katana.

You are sure you're moving the trim tabs in the correct direction? The trim tabs fly the aileron, not the wing, so the directions are reversed from what seems logical. IE, you set the right trim tab down and the left trim tab up to move the right aileron up and the left aileron down to eliminate a leftward turning tendency. I have my payload set to 225 lbs in the left seat, 5 lbs in the baggage are, no one in the right seat, and my fuel tanks about half full and can fly straight and level without any problems in clean air at cruise speed. i believe i have 9 mouse wheel clicks down on the right tab and 8 up on the left tab and typically am doing circuit work at ~1,000 at 20 MP / 21k rpm. YMMV

 

hi

 

Of course you are right, I had forgotten that. That is what happens with things you learn and you don't put into practice!!

 

Thank you for reminding me of that technicality. I will change my trab settings and I am sure that it it will work.

Just some quick tips for everyone who may have aircraft issues that often result in lock-ups or crash to desktops.

 

 

1. FS9 / FSX installation location

 

Do not install FS9 or FSX into the default location of C:\Program files (or C:\Program files (x86) for those running 64-bit Windows). The Program Files directory on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 is a 'system directory' that is treated differently to 'basic' user-defined directories. The Windows operating system applies various security restrictions to system folders (read/write access, file permissions etc). This can cause problems with certain addons (especially gauge DLLs and modules). I install all my games and sims to a non-system directory. In my case I have FSX installed to a secondary hard disk at D:\FSX because my D drive is the fastest.

 

2. Anti-virus exceptions

 

Most anti-virus programs allow you to select certain file-types as well as entire directories to be excluded from any real-time or on-demand virus scans. I use Microsoft Security Essentials and in the Settings menu I clicked on Excluded files and locations and added the FSX folder and also folders on my other hard disks where I've installed scenery and aircraft addons. Doing this will prevent your anti-virus from interfering with any executables (gauge DLLs etc). It will should also help improve performance when FS9/FSX is streaming in scenery data because thhe real-time anti-virus features are not monitoring the file access.

 

As a side note I used to have frequent issues when running FS Panel Studio until I added my FS Panel Studio folder to my anti-virus exclusion list. It frequently crashed when it was trying to resolve gauge DLLs but works fine now it's in my AV exclusion list.

 

3. Katana 4X banking to right fix

 

My friend has the Katana 4X and was also experiencing the left bank tendency. We experimented a little and all it took to resolve this issue was to go the the FSX weight / payload options screen for the aircraft and simply add equal weight to the co-pilot / passenger side. With that done the banking vanished. I'm no real life pilot and am curious if this weight imblanance when flying solo causes this much banking tendency in real life?

 

I do not have the Katana 4X because I'm not a fan of VC only add-on aircraft whose design make it difficult or impossible to add all my RealityXP or my other preferred third-party gauges to the cockpit - I much prefer having the 'functional fidelity' of an instrument to the visual fidelity of 3D knobs and controls so I'm happy to have 'flat' texture mapped gauges in my VC :)I

 

I'm hoping aircraft developers begin to design their 3D cockpits so that we can select an option to change the VC 3D modelled interiors to apply 'blank plate' areas for instruments and avionics areas of the cockpit for those of us who prefer to add custom gauges. The ORBX Lancair does a fairly good job here as far as the raios area goes but, sadly, not the other instruments. Also, regarding the Katana 4X RealityXP option, my friend has the GNS530 and added it to the Katana 4X but then ran into issues with the RealityXP click-spots becoming drastically misaligned and / or inactive when viewing the GPS from certain angles.

 

I hope the above tips help some of you.

Beste Luc,

 

Ik heb ernstige problemen met de onlangs (17 juni 2012) gekochte Diamond DA20-100 Katana.

Gekocht bij de LHS te Aalsmeerderbrug te NL.

 

Geinstalleerd op gloednieuw apparatuur, met GTX550 Ti kaart en 10 Gb memo.

Ik krijg geen panel op mijn scherm en het toestel geeft een geweldige rookpluim.

Het toestel reageert niet op de joystick, wil niet landen, vliegt scheef en FSX valt uit na het geven van " reset ".

Ik heb al gedacht aan vervangen van de grafische kaart. Het is toch belachelijk dat de overige aircrafts wel perfect funktioneren en

juist deze Katana niet. Wat een " vreemde eend " in mijn bestand aan toestellen.

 

De door u voorgestelde modificatie haalt niets uit en maakt de Katanasoftware ongedaan in reageren.

 

Met veindelijke groet,

Hemrik, Ossendrecht

Erm, Hendrik, it may be better to post your issues in English. At least in this section of the forums. :Worried:

For those who don't speak or read Dutch, he's basically saying that his Katana displays a big cloud of smoke and that it doesn't fly right and crashes FSX eventually, and that the fixes listed in this thread have not worked.

 

Probeer de vraag hier: http://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/forum/416-diamond-da20-100-katana/

 

Al

Hello Hendrik,

 

For the community, I will post this in English but feel free to PM me in Duych if you like.

Since my last post in this topic, I have 'hangared' my Katana. Whatever I would try, selecting the Katana always results in an error message and dropping out of FSX.

Your problems are different from mine because you get the Katana to load alright.

Selecting the Katana on the runway and getting smoke, it indicates some kind of 'crash'. Have you tried to turn of crashdetection?

And what do you mean with 'scheef vliegen'? Does it bank al the time or can't you get it staying on course?

Banking can be caused by a faulty calibration of your hardware but it is also a normal behavious for all propellor driven aircraft.

This because of the torque of the engine/propellor. Counteract it with ailerontrim...

Or try to recallbtrate your joystick.

 

In one thing you are absolutely correct. It a plane with a number of hickups that are hard to solve.

And since I rather fly than tweak, I have stored my copy in a safe place....There are more than enough planes to fly in my hangar.

 

Luc Brusselmans

Belgium

The big puff of smoke problem I've experience, but may not the same cause.

 

I was using the FSX key sequence Ctrl+E to start the engine. Can't do that with the Katana. You have to actually turn the key! The plane started and even flew, but I had smoke.. lots of it during the whole sequence. Turned the key.. no more smoke.. :-)

 

Ernie

Ernie, that's one of the main features of the Katana. The detail and 'awkwardness' of the systems. If you like to operate her in the easier state, there's an extra mode for that. But the realistic mode will offer plenty of those details like the mishap with Ctrl-E.

Dear Luc,

 

I still have to be familiarized with the Katana DA20-100 aircraft I recently parked in my hangar.

 

I am not the only one to get used to its behavior while starting up (turn the key) and flying away.

 

I discovered a method to get airborn and practize while being in the air.

 

Download in FlightSim.com under FS2004 a set of three available Katana aircraft: 1. DA-40D Diamond Star; 2. Katana. 3. Katana DA20-C1.

 

All aircraft do function perfectly, and you gain a lot of practice in the meantime.

 

You really have to start with an already flying and prepared aircraft ( I normally use a Cessna or the like craft ).

 

Greetings, Hemrik or HendrikSchotan, Ossendrecht, NL