Help with Q400

[Rocky_53 1,579]

Not the same one, don't mess with the Q400 :(

 

Ah OK. I've sent you a PM with my email address. Cheers mate.

[WotanUK 289]

 

 

I would set the Q400's turbulence scalar to something under .5.

 

They changed the response to Turbulence in V1.10 i think.  Before that it was pretty awful, mild turbulence felt like extreme turbulence.

 

Like David said, i wouldn't mess with the Q400 config, once you get used to it's quirks it's actually quite pleasant to fly. 

 

Rudder trim is the way to go, not sure if it's the right way of dealing with it, but on take-off i apply 3 trim units on the right, on climb, usually needs about 6, in cruise back to 3.

 

The other major point is power management, it's better at speed control than the NGX 800-WL, that aircraft just won't slow down; but it does tend to speed up and slow down quickly.

[KingGhidorah 209]

Rockliffe, don't change the Propwash to 0, you're gutting the essence of the airplane when you do that!  Just my strong opinion

[untoweechja 35]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned thus far:   Null zones, particularly on the rudder axis, make the Q400 almost impossible to control.  I got rid of the null zones on all my surface controls and it helped immensely.

 

It's an absolute must, in my opinion, to have all of the trim commands mapped to a control on your joystick, especially the rudder trim as you have to use it in every phase of the flight.  But even when you've got it trimmed out, this bird is a handful.  I don't even try to hand fly during cruise, and I'm only starting to master the climb without the autopilot.

 

I mention these last two only because I'm famous for forgetting them myself:  Make sure your fuel's not off balance and that you're not icing up.

 

[Edit:  My 100th post!!]

[Nurmblitz 59]

The "post-hype" thread down at the unofficial majestic forum is good reading concerning the FDE. All opinions are represented.

 

Scaling down the turbulence effect makes the plane much more plausible. My point at that above mentioned discussion was that one should ask if the modern airlines and airline pilots would fly such a beast that cannot fly straight without a fight? Nobody would have bought it and nobody would travel in it.

[bjratchf 80]

Having a few thousand hours in the real bird, she is a handful to fly- but a lot easier when you're operating a control column that has weight, and rudder pedals that have true feel. In FSX, this Q400 is spot on- but it sometimes takes a bit of tweaking to get that "feel" translated into  our sims. As suggested above, try reducing the turbulence effect. You WILL still need to trim quite a bit when level, both rudder and elevator- as the plane speeds up the effect of torque lessens due to the airstream flow. And keep some basic numbers in mind- they're slightly higher in the sim Q400 than my experience but provide for the correct pitch attitude: 15-20% TQ for a flaps 15 landing will give you a good Vapp+10, 25% TQ when you're flaps 35. If you let the speed die down you'll be on the reverse side of the power curve and will sink. 

[Boeing or not going 578]

My Nephew is a Dash-8 Pilot/Instructor with one of the Majors and they do the initial climb out by hand but will use the automation to maintain altitude and to handle both climbs and descents.

It's quite interesting watching some in-cockpit footage of Takeoff's/Landings and the most common call-out is "Alt Sel"  as each new Altitude setting is dialled in and then again as the 1000 to go alert sounds.

He also described the Dash-8 as "it lands like a shopping trolley" but only in the Dry! when the runway is wet landings are much smoother.

They also lower the gear at the same time as they dial in the first level of flaps on landing because the dash has no speed breaks sticking a ton of steel and rubber out into the wind help to keep the speed in check.  

 

No major flies the Q400. I think you mean a regional airline.

[BrianT 54]

No major flies the Q400. I think you mean a regional airline.

Thanks for the contribution

[Rocky_53 1,579]

Some really great advice here.

[martin-w 3,234]

Here's an interesting story...

Recently, at EGBB, a one armed Q400 pilot had a rather embarrassing incident. During the flare, his artificial arm became detached. So there he was, with one arm on the yoke and no way to power back. [thought that might surprise you] The aircraft floated, bounced, followed by a very heavy landing. The incident was attributed to the inability to reduce power for the landing.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/pilot-lost-control-flight-birmingham-7610562
 

The report went on: “He did this, but with power still applied and possibly a gust affecting the aircraft, a normal touchdown was followed by a bounce, from which the aircraft landed heavily.”

 
The above, sort of brings into question the notion of power on for landing the Dash. However, there are one or two Q400 videos on YouTube where the pilot can be seen powering back slightly prior to touch down.
 
So it's seems it's not always full power left on for landing the Dash, a slight reduction in power is commonplace. Not much though, with those huge props blowing air directly over the wings, any power changes will directly effect sink rate.
 
For those having difficulty with the propwash effect, it can be disabled in the ini file. I fly this way, it's far easier when using a joystick. Not as realistic of course, but sometimes we have to make allowances for our personal sim setups.

 

I'm using a turbulence scalar of 0.75 which I find acceptable with ASN.


 

They also lower the gear at the same time as they dial in the first level of flaps on landing because the dash has no speed breaks sticking a ton of steel and rubber out into the wind help to keep the speed in check.

 

 

 

That surprises me given the impressive deceleration rate when the power is brought back to idle, as a result of the considerable drag from those huge prop discs.

[ckyliu 1,749]

Most things I would have said have already been mentioned, but one key point I would like to add regarding the "floaty" feeling that OP gets is that the props push a helluva lot of air over the wings, so every time you adjust power you are also adjusting lift immediately. You need to bear that in mind, particularly during the approach and when trimming (consequently it really helps to keep on top of the trim otherwise you can start running out of elevator authority)

[Boeing or not going 578]

Thanks for the contribution

 

If you were an adult you would say "Thanks for the clarification"

[BrianT 54]

And if you had anything useful to contribute then we wouldn't be having this conversation. I think between us now we've managed to ruin what was a perfectly good thread. I'll not bother with anything further.

 

My apologies to you Howard. 

[martin-w 3,234]

Come on lads, don't ruin an interesting thread by being so oversensitive.

[Rocky_53 1,579]

Come on fellas, kiss and make up :wub: