I wonder if some of the complaints about pitch sensitivity on some A2A planes during landing might actually have something to do with the drag modelling as it pertains to the rate at which speed bleeds off when you're in a dirty configuration and you've cut, or reduced the power. I'm not claiming that their planes are too slick, I'm just putting the question out there for consideration as a possible reason. The longer somebody has to hold the plane up with their possibly crappy, sticky, controllers, the longer time they have to botch it, and balloon.

I wonder if some of the complaints about pitch sensitivity on some A2A planes during landing might actually have something to do with the drag modelling as it pertains to the rate at which speed bleeds off when you're in a dirty configuration and you've cut, or reduced the power. I'm not claiming that their planes are too slick, I'm just putting the question out there for consideration as a possible reason. The longer somebody has to hold the plane up with their possibly crappy, sticky, controllers, the longer time they have to botch it, and balloon.

 

I think there's some of that and I think it has to do with not feeling control forces in the sim.

 

In real life a Cherokee (or any small GA four seater) starts to feel heavy as you near the flare and you have to apply more back pressure the slower you get going into the flare. You feel that and it helps you maintain consistency in the attitude you are holding before the flare. In the sim you don't have that so people flare early or end up lurching skyward because there's no back pressure to stop them from over-pitching.

 

I think this might be fixed but having a reduced elevator authority at slower speeds above simply Vso or Vsi. Yeah, it's not realistic by the numbers, but it'd be more realistic in simulating the effect of the forces you'd be feeling and how they'd affect your control decisions during a landing.

First flight today! It really feels different, but in a good way. It's quite true that it feels like a muscle car, heavy and powerful. Controls are a bit strange, on small yoke inputs airplane turns just a bit, feels lazy, and if you apply more yoke input, plane gradually start to feels like a sports car - very agile. So, small yoke inputs - lazy plane, big yoke inputs - very agile plane. Never saw that one before, and so far it feels amazingly precise. My settings are full linear, no deadzone, Saitek Pro Flight.

 

By the way, does anyone know what that Soundproofing tape do? I didn't installed it.

 

 

By the way, does anyone know what that Soundproofing tape do? I didn't installed it.

Deadens the sound a bit. Ever put on the virtual headphones? It's a little extra oomph to that.

New update from A2A. 

 

Fix list for Comanche

 

06/19/2015 - 06/27/2015 CHANGES:
GA
- Fixed oil contaminant bug / typo, was getting black too fast
- Increased generator voltage output


Comanche
3rd Party GPS support:
- Mindstar GNS 530 fix
- Fixed COM1 fail with 3rd party GPS.
- 2D Panel, Radios: The panel adjusted for 3-rd party GPS units

- HSI hading selector/gyro drift knob: left click toggles the modes
- Aircraft Configurator: Improved sim recognition logic
- Cig. lighter
- Input Configurator: Landing lights shortcuts
- Added gear rumble
- Restarting the radios when switching GPS, fixes invalid fail state
- The states of the radios are remembered when switching from GPS to NO GPS and vice versa
- Constant speed trim shortcut

Force feedback is one of the major limitations we simmers have to deal with.

 

Honestly, unless we can spend a little fortune in a realistic home cockpit, with the highest grade controllers, the only type of aircraft we will be closer to "real sensation" of feedback are Airbuses, or any FBW aircraft.

 

That's why I am more exigent with these models. I expect maximum plausibility and soundness from an A3XX, B777, B787, B748i flight and systems modeling, because at least they're "free" from the huge limitation of having to deal with the limitations imposed by the diverse hardware used by their customers...

 

Anyway, I recall that indeed both the C172 and the C182 were strange during flare, and even takeoff in FSX... But, even one of my preferred sims can only, IMHO, do a good job when modeling the modern fighters or the helicopters - DCS World - because when it comes to the ww2 modules, those powerfult prop fighters like the P51d, Fw190 and Bf109, it falls short from what I would like to have.

 

Two remarkable exceptions are Aerowinx PSX and IL2 Battle of Stalingrad. Each of this sims has, I believe, captured the subtleties of control feedback / forces even when top FF devices aren't being used.  I take my hat off to Hardy Heinlin and 1C 777 for their remarkable, unique, art of plausibly replicating what is so difficult to achieve in a PC-based sim. Yet another good example which I no longer own ( offered to a great friend ) is ELITE. I am actually still unable to find any Piper, Beechcraft or Cessna in teh FSX or XP10 World capable of coming so close to the real performance of their simulated counterparts in ELITE.

Is there an affordable Cessna style yoke with force feedback?

Is there an affordable Cessna style yoke with force feedback?

 

Risky, but try

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/irisdynamics/affordable-force-feedback-flight-sim-control-yoke?ref=nav_search

In a 172, approach at 55, although 60 won't bite you. But flaring is as much about the power curve as it is speed. You should be at idle power once the runway is made, and you level more than flare. If you've done it right, a stable approach, not too steep, and between 50-55 over the fence, you level to fly just above the runway, and on the back side of the power curve, so you bleed off the remaining speed fairly quickly, pulling back only to keep the plane in the air as long as possible. Then she'll run out of lift and settle.

 

If you keep power down to the flare, you'll have to work more to put her in the right configuration to bleed that speed. The heavier the airplane, the less carrying power to the flare will interfere, but generally, on a stable approach with a good glide slope, you don't need power. If you are dragging it in on a shallow glide slope, you're on the back side of the power curve already and so will usually be fine once you cut it and flare/level.

 

This is good technique for landing any of these A2A GA aircraft in the sim as well.

 

Remember, the back side of the power curve is the area of reversed controls, where lowering the nose gains you altitude, and raising it decreases your altitude, so flaring in the back side of the power curve actually works to settle you some as it transitions you from glide slope to level flight. This settling is important as it counteracts entering ground effect and its increased lift.

 

Keep in mind, we spent two full days at FlightSimCon watching (and studying) lines of customers flying and landing the Comanche, and as an owner and operator of the airplane, I continued to see the exact same behavior seen in the real plane when people land.

 

Gotta tell ya.....I love this plane and the Comanche is the only A2A aircraft that I land really well.  Now I can get me some girls!

Edited June 28, 201510 yr by n4gix
Gotta tell ya... I'm tired of triming the excessive quotes!

I'm hitting every AOPA fly-in with this aircraft

I have just acquired the PFC Beechcraft style yoke,   I've been a happy Saitek yoke user for 6 years.  But if there is one single factor that takes the feel of realism to a whole new level, it is the quality of the flight controller.  The weight of the control inputs is extremely convincing especially when in flight.   This bird is so much more fun to fly with a HQ GA yoke.  

Risky, but try

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/irisdynamics/affordable-force-feedback-flight-sim-control-yoke?ref=nav_search

 

Why risky?

AFAIK, kickstart was finished and now they are selling it.

 

http://irisdynamics.com/product/control-loading-flight-simulator-control-yoke/

 

But for me, it doesn't exactly qualify as 'affordable'  .

Why risky?

   .

 

CEO Left;

 

This http://www.airdailyx.net/fsnewsbreaker/2015/1/27/iris-dynamics-in-trouble

 

No update on their site blog since December (and that was by the old CEO)

 

I've seen enough to know I wouldn't feel comfortable sending any money.

Has anyone experienced any audio volume problems in the VC while using a 5.1 surround system or headphones?

 

Using my stereo headphones everything is good-to-go, but using my 5.1 surround headphones causes a change in volume intermittently from the engine.