Basler BT-67 Turbo Conversion DC-3 released

[raymar 969]

Can't you just hit A a couple of times?

 

Al

Yes, I can, That is exactly what I have been doing. I would just like to not do that as I have a hardware cockpit and I don't have the 'A' keyboard key mapped to my yoke, but I do have F9.

 

Ray

[CoolP 283]

There are a lot of camera definitions in that aircraft.cfg and if you look for the line HotKeySelect=1 you'll have your F9 target. Disable that line by // or move it to the view you like to be the F9 related one. I haven't tried so far, but it should work.

 

It's currently definied for multiple views in that wheelcam section. That's what mixed up EZCA or me I guess.

 

Regarding Alan's story, I guess that's what I would call an approach with the bells and whistles.

[Chock 17,769]

Bit of a faff to make your own paint kit, but at least it has my VA identity now. Sticking with my tradition of naming my aircraft after pioneering women in aviation, I christened this this one for legendary Tuskegee aviatrix, Willa Brown:

 

 

Al

[Daniel_CSR 29]

1st Bug Fix:

- RPM and NG-indicators

- correcting tooltips for Engine 2

- correcting views (F9/F11)

 

-> GET FIX HERE <-

 

btw nice livery ^_^

[Chock 17,769]

Cheers for the heads up, I could live with it the way it is, but that makes getting a stable approach a bit easier.

 

Al

[RWFeldman 159]

Thank you for a beautful aircraft. Does it seem the HSI, VSI, Radar Alt and VOR indic are not in the correct/ normal positions, at least compared to the RW Basler or standards? Iv'e tried changing them but the VC model contains the bazels. Thanks again.

 

RW Basler

 

 

FSX Basler

 

Any future considerations for such an option? SAEGM/Garmin Configuration

 

[Chock 17,769]

Yup, they are not in the basic blind flying six pack layout first formulated by the RAF in 1937, later amended in the fifties and then adopted pretty much worldwide, but that is merely the most common layout, and is not actually a requirement to have the instruments laid out that way, even though it is fairly sensible since most people follow a standard IFR scan and are used to it. Thus there is more than one cockpit layout for the BT-67, depending on the customer choice. The pic you show is indeed a real world BT-67, but it is merely a customer's Bendix/King option. You can have all kinds of other options, even a Sagem glass FMC set up if you want and have the cash for it.

 

It actually says this on the BTC website: 'Avionics Packages are configured to the customer's specification.' and I suppose if you are paying six million quid for a souped up DC-3, you can ask them to put the altimeters on the floor if you like. I'm therefore presuming the developers looked at one laid out the way it is depicted.

 

Al

[raymar 969]

In the credits from the FSX development group there are a lot of 'thank you' folks listed for tours of real world aircraft and photo ops so I would say this one is based on a real world aircraft, just like Chock says, a different one than you happened to pick.

 

Ray

 

Not meant as negative, but did you notice how much sharper the flight instruments in the FSX version are than the instrument gauges just to the right of them? Very noticable to me. Gotta remember it is freeware and these are the sharpest flight gauges that I have seen in any freeware.

 

What is really noticable is when I added the Reality XP530 to the VC how it looks in comparison to the stock 430 underneath. Big difference. I also u/g the autopilot and that worked just fine in the VC panel.

 

I like the Twotter 300 sound package with the BT-67. All it takes is a one liner for the alias provided you have both.

 

Ray

[raymar 969]

Textures are on their way, those will follow the next weeks!

I'm sorry, I need to recover. Lost my 4 wisdom teeth on monday, still looking like a hamster ^^

And we're hosting the worlds biggest triathlon this weekend here, I'm an assistant so there's less time!

Pictures can be found on Facebook!

 

If anyone got some pictures of the exterior versions that can't be found on the internet -> mail at: cheese-strike@gmx.de

 

Liveries to follow (call signs).

C-FMKB, C-GVKB, C-GJKB, C-GHGF, C-GEAI, C-GEAJ, N707BA, N932H, N142Z, PNC-0213, PNC-0258, C-FTGI, N845S, 5T-MAH, N40386 (Basler Turbo Conversions), TZ391, N36AP (bare metal), maybe Enterprise Air but they don't fly anymore ...

 

Greetings, Daniel

 

Do you have a FedEx and UPS livery in your lineup? I would like to see either or both and maybe a USCG would be slick. Thanks. Good luck with the dental recovery.

 

Ray

[Chock 17,769]

With regard to the Sagem/Garmin glass cockpit, the difficulty there is that those are not simple gauges by any stretch of the imagination, and this after all is a freeware aircraft, excellent though it may be, so they'd either have to create such gauges themselves, and give them away for free, or make a version which had the option to include some payware ones, which would then limit who could use it and it'd be a tricky choice of which one to go for.

 

One thing I do know, is that if I'd gone to the trouble of creating a realistic glass layout for FSX, I sure as hell wouldn't be giving it away for free, frankly, I think they should have made the steam gauge version which we have now payware, as it is certainly good enough. I've paid 30 quid for FSX aeroplanes which this one puts to shame.

 

But, if you have FS Panel Studio (which is excellent, and recommended) and you have some aircraft which does have the glass (FSD's Piper Saratoga for example), then you could certainly knock up a 2D glass panel for it with relatively little effort by using those gauges, although the problem is that such glass cockpit layouts are often customised to the aircraft itself in regards to things such as rates of climb, cruise speed etc, so you would run into potential problems if you opted to use perhaps something from Flight 1's Cessna 182T or Mustang Citation. But of course the other side of the coin is that since the BT-67 is very much a tailored aircraft, you can go mad and put whatever the hell you like on a 2D panel, and nobody could say it was 'wrong'. I've stuck a weather radar and an ACARs in mine LOL

 

Al

[RWFeldman 159]

It just "normal" at a glance and trained that way in a Cessna to quick glance the six pack config. I find myself fumbling for the HSI HDG and CRS knobs. As far as the EFIS, I understand its not something that happens over night and as nicely done as the panel is, iy would be a nice "future" project.. There are freeware versions of the Garmin out there.

 

also be nice to be able to use the Reality XP GPS's is the VC also. They'll go in there but loose their knob functionality.

[raymar 969]

 

Also be nice to be able to use the Reality XP GPS's is the VC also. They'll go in there but loose their knob functionality.

 

Not in the popup, they don't lose anything.

 

Ray

 

I know what you mean about expecting an instrument to be in a certain plane in the panel. Here is a bit from the Avsim Legacy review from a few days ago. . . .

 

An item that always bugs me is the non-standard placement of instruments by the various manufactures and therefore the developers. These are usually innocent enough looking designs but really distracts from enjoying a nice day of flying. I hate to have to look around a panel to find the altimeter. Other examples are the flap actuator switch hidden behind the mixture levers and the Gear Up/down knob placed near your knee along with the 3 green lights totally out of view when descending or on approach. The Avionics Master switch placed in the middle of the switch panel along with the light switches or down by your ankle. Another is the engine monitoring gauges and instruments strewn all over the panel with the manifold pressure gauge not adjacent to the tachometer. My last complaint is the game they play where you try to find where the Nav/GPS switch is hidden. Whew, got that off my chest.

 

It is like Sean took my list from above and one by one checked off each one just to make sure I got a perfect panel layout.

 

The layout has the “standard six” gauges directly in front of the pilot within the normal view in an array that is easy to see with the ever useful VOR2 head mounted down and to the left of the ‘six’. On the lower left of the panel are the switches for battery, lights, pitot heat, fuel pump and spoilers with the Avionics Master directly to the right of the Master switch. At the lower center are the throttle, prop and mixture controls in the standard horizontal single engine arrangement with the fuel selector and the aileron and rudder trims slightly lower. These trims are easy to use by clicking the left and right portions of the switches with the left mouse buttons, and a right click anywhere on these switches will return the trims to zero. The no-brainer fuel tank selector position is easy to check with a quick glance and super simple to operate.

 

Finally someone gives us a real TAS band on the Airspeed Indicator. I don’t know why it has taken so long for the developers to get around to adding this really nice feature. This is only the 2nd one that I have seen, Baytower Studio’s VAN’s RV-7 also has a working TAS feature.

 

[CoolP 283]

-> GET FIX HERE <-

That's a fast service. Thanks for the fix.

 

I've collected some items on which I'm not sure about. Perhaps the other BT-67 flyers can help.

 

I may be extremely wrong, but I think we are looking at an airspeed indicator being made for a piston plane, hence the yellow arc range up to VNE. Nothing wrong with the green one or the red limit when it comes to the colours, but I think the yellow range won't be there on the turbine.

 

On the speeds itself, I'm a bit puzzled by the placard speeds. Sure about the VMO and the (very low) VA? That's nitpicking of course. The DC-3's VA is higher if I remember correctly, but that's without the mods. Although there may be some extra turbulence penetration speed defined somewhere which should be higher too. I just want to avoid slowing down to near 107 kts in bad weather.

 

Back on the airspeed indicator, I'd expect the green range to end at the VMO with the red stop. So if the placard is correct, that's 170 kts for the barber pole.

Edited. The C208 offers a variant without the yellow range and a proper barber pole placement. See the difference? I've edited the panel.cfg.

 

I think the range of the fuel flow gauges is too limited with the 500pph maximum. You max them out most of the time and even the cruise throttle reduction has a very limited effect. Well, the tooltip is always happy though, it shows 0. I knew she was a green plane.

One can look up the FF on the control panel of course (which is very nice), but since you can get her into 700+ ranges, maybe the needle gauges could go up to 1000 or so.

Edited. I see where the limitation comes from. The C208 also runs those 500 max. on the needle gauge. Nitpicking item. I took the gauges from the default King Air. See the outcome.

Works.

 

The manual on that ship is superb. I really like the detail on the clickspots and the methods to activate items like cold&dark startup or the AP modes. However, one section describes the possible errors on the engine management and I'm not sure if we can 'flood' those PT6 turbines. Means that ! WAIT – FLOODED warning.

 

Most of all, discussing those items just shows how good that plane is. Once again, thanks for bringing her to FSX.

[raymar 969]

Al, I have the TSS sound set and aliased the Twin Otter to it. They do replicated the PT6 sounds extremely well. I'm not saying its perfect, but it's a lot closer than most, and frankly a lot better than the default King Air (although it's not horrible).

 

Just a by-the-by here (speaking of sounds) I've aliased the Carenado 208 to the default Caravan sounds. The default Caravan has a bit of a distinctive sound from inside and the default sounds are dead on (or as close as FSX will allow). MS actually did a very good job with some sounds, the Beaver being the other that I know personally very well. It's dead on in all respects.

 

Hope that helps.

 

I'm using the Twotter 300 sounds and they are fine by me. I read a few days ago that Aerosoft is going to stick with the existing sound pack and use it for their new Extended Twotter X that will probably be on the streets in a couple of months. Mathjis basically said that sound packs are expensive and he hasn't heard anything that is enough of an improvement to warrant a change in the Twotter X Exended.

 

Ray

[CoolP 283]

If you folks are interested in the ASI and FF edits from above, here are the few steps.

 

The Basler's panel folder is at \SimObjects\Airplanes\Basler_BT67\panel. Make a backup of the panel.cfg. All edits can be achieved with opening the panel.cfg file via a text editor.

 

ASI from the C208. Leads to the intentionally missing yellow range and the proper VMO mark.

Scroll down to [Vcockpit02] and find the gauge07=Cessna208B_Basler!asi, 226,2,132,132 entry which you have to comment out by adding // in front. Looks like this.

//gauge07=Cessna208B_Basler!asi, 226,2,132,132

 

Then use this line instead.

gauge07=Cessna208B_XML!airspeed, 226,2,132,132

 

Now go to \SimObjects\Airplanes\C208B\panel and copy the Cessna208B_XML.cab to the Basler's panel folder as noted above. Save the panel.cfg and check if the new ASI shows up in the sim.

 

 

King Air fuel flow gauges. Leading to a larger gauge display range.

Go to [Vcockpit01] within the Basler's panel.cfg and find gauge13=Cessna208B_Basler!fuel_flow, 430,254,67,67. Comment it out with // in front so that //gauge13=Cessna208B_Basler!fuel_flow, 430,254,67,67 exists.

 

Now add the following line.

gauge13=KingAir!FuelFlow1, 430,254,67,67

 

Then scroll down to [Vcockpit02] and find gauge11=Cessna208B_Basler!fuel_flow2, 398,185,67,67. Once again, comment it out with // in front so that //gauge11=Cessna208B_Basler!fuel_flow2, 398,185,67,67 can be read.

 

Then add this line.

gauge11=KingAir!FuelFlow2, 398,185,67,67

 

The King Air gauge files are accessible from within the gauges folder of FSX, so you don't need to copy any files for this edit. Save the panel.cfg and check if the new FF gauges show up.

 

That's all. Thanks to the folks around Daniel for the work on the plane.