A New Take On the CJ2 GTN 750 Integration

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

I have no experience with buttons, but the lvar code above should work regardless.

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

12 hours ago, Novej757 said:

Do you know how @raymar separated the engine gauges from the original MFD?  Or did he just make an all new gauge?

You start with the carenado mfd code, and remove everything that you do not need.

[Novej757 83]

I added some more functionality to my GTN integration here.  As you can see the aircraft checklist can now be accessed via the GTN.  I did not include the preflight, preliminary and external checks as the aircraft would usually be powered down, and the pilot away from the GTN to perform those checks.

So I've

 

Edited March 31, 2018 by Novej757

[Novej757 83]

UPDATE 4/17/18

Hi all I wanted to give everyone an update on this.  As I've told those of you who have PM'd me this was originally just a mod I had done for myself as I really didn't think anybody else would be interested in it.  Clearly I was wrong.  So I will be making this available as soon as I can ensure there's no issues....which I haven't run into so far.

So many of you are wondering why has this taken so long?  Its just a simple resize of the GTN gauge and a tweak of the panel.cfg right?  Well yes but this package is going to give you the end user a little more than that.  First off, I wanted my mod to be closer to how the real aircraft is.  I like the community mod that is already available but I have never been a fan of the engine gauges being where the annunciator panel is.  So I placed the engine gauges designed by @raymar originally used in his community mod, back in the MFD.  As you see I originally had it at the bottom of it, now they are where they belong.....

Pay close attention to this picture there's something else that I've included that we'll get back to here in a few... (Hint.....look at the annunciator panel )

As mentioned above I have also utilized the GTN750s checklist function and added the CJ2's checklist to it.  Now with that being said, this was designed to help the pilot (especially flying single pilot ops) quickly reference the checklist he needs.  So checklist like the PREPARATION Checklist which are done prior to the aircraft being powered on are not included, as are those such as the LANDING checklist that are done as the action is supposed to happen.  Everything needed to fly the plane safely is.

So did you figure out what was wrong in the first picture yet?  The engines are clearly at idle right, so where are all the engine attenuator lights?   WELL there are none.  Why, because this is my SIMULATED CJ2+ cockpit.  As I'm sure you know the CJ2+ does not have the attenuators.  Therefore, it does not have attenuator lights !  The zip file I will send you will include a CJ2 and CJ2+ folder which will allow you to choose one or both for your simming pleasure.  The CJ2+ file will include the updated panel, aircraft.cfg and air files needed to make the aircraft fly AS CLOSE TO THE NUMBERS OF THE REAL AIRCRAFT AS I COULD GET THEM.  So yes you will get more engine thrust (2490lb vs 2400lb of the CJ2) and significantly more range with the CJ2+ option.  You will also have a little bit more payload available with the CJ2+ model.

Guys this is a work in progress.  I'm new to this so there are things you will instantly find wrong.  Know that I will be trying my best to make this better but it will take some time.  Some of the things I can tell you right off the bat are as follows:

• compass on GTN isn't a perfect circle (see pics in this thread)
• CJ2+ engine gauges do not replicate FADEC functionality of the real aircraft....So no thrust gates on your throttles, no thrust selection readout (ie CLM, CRZ, CON etc) on the MFD most importantly it currently still uses the CJ2 N1 engine values!  (So you can still rev them all the way to 102.4% N1 which the real aircraft will not allow)
• Aircraft model thrust attenuators will still work even if the CJ2+ is selected
• CJ2+ still needs some fine tuning to get it to fly closer to the numbers (I know how important that is to some of you.)
• Haven't figured out how to remove the GTN radio menus (if it is even possible)....(see pics)
• No 2D popup of the new MFD

Lastly there are also some added features I'm trying to learn how to do to further enhance the overall simulation of this aircraft.  They include

• Adding an A/C (Air conditioning) sound when the fans are switched on
• Adding an A/C sound when the window bleeds are used (which are supposedly very noticeable in the real aircraft)

So I am a full time Mechanical Engineering student with finals looming first week of May.  We just had a baby girl 10 weeks ago not to mention I have two teenagers who also keep me busy.  I'm also a new painter on a certain 787 forum with a very similar name who has fallen WAY behind on the projects I had planned over there.   So all that to say, I'm not sure when initial release will be but I plan to have it out to you within the next week if possible.  Meanwhile start shooting me a pm with an email I can send it too and as soon as its ready I'll start sending it out!  Oh can't forget to say thank you to @raymar and @Bert Pieke for their help with this!

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by Novej757

[gregmorin 199]

Thanks for your work. PM sent.

Greg

[Ralvarez232 15]

Hi Jevon, seems to be a very complex work. Thanks! I've PM you before, anyway I'm sending you again the PM with my email address.

 

Best Regards,

Roberto

[Novej757 83]

UPDATE 4/23/18

Hi all just wanted to give you guys an update on where I am with this mod.  Good news I have control over the thrust attenuators.  So I can now turn the external models on and off for those wanting to use the simulated CJ2+  (Unfortunately they are still there as they are apart of the 3d model ) See.....

 

 

She's sitting at idle in both pics, no (external model) attenuator activation (and no lights on the annunciator panel as I pointed out in my last post) whoo hoo!   Even more excitingly, I've also been in talks with @raymar who will be graciously providing me with a copy of his CJ2+ performance data.  The GTN mod itself is working flawlessly for both mods here, the delay is coming from the constant testing of the performance data specifically the CJ2+.  I'm currently very limited in my data to model its performance against, so the info that @raymar will provide will be extremely helpful.

I have AirEd and can see all the thrust tables that I need to edit within the airfile.  However, for some reason I can't actually edit them.  Does anybody know how or of any other program (freeware preferred) that will allow you to do this.  Without it I am very limited in how much "tweaking" I can do.  The biggest thing I want to do is remove the 102.4 max N1 rpm for the simulated CJ2+ fadec.   All my time has been spent tuning and testing the CJ2+ So far I'm pretty happy with where it is.  I'll be able to compare better once I get that data.  If it gets to complex I may just leave it as it is......Trust me the CJ2+ is a little rocket in real world ops and she is here too !  I'm trying to get it as close to book values as my extremely limited skills can so please forgive me if she doesn't fly by the book perfectly.

Lastly, so Raymar is out of town and says he can't get that info to me until he gets back in about a week.  Furthermore, I have tests like crazy this week and Finals next week.  I have received everyones PMs who read the last post (thank you for the interest and to those who have not sent me a PM, if you are interested in getting this mod shoot one over to me). You all will obviously be the first to receive it when its ready.  Thank you for your patience I hope its worth the wait.....SN  Tell Carenado we need a CJ4 LOL!

Edited April 23, 2018 by Novej757

[Novej757 83]

MAJOR UPDATE 5/2/18

Coming Later today............

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Novej757

[Novej757 83]

 

UPDATE 5/2/18

So I just can't stay away from this bird.  I've been studying like crazy for my finals this week, but during my breaks I find myself toying around with this project.  Well that toying around paid off.  Before I continue, thank you to all of you who have shown interest in this mod so far.  EVERYONE THAT HAS SENT A PM SO FAR, I HAVE RECEIVED IT.  Sorry I haven't been able to respond to tell you.  So  that's why I'm taking this time to do it now because I don't want any of you to think I'm ignoring you (some people sent two PMs LOL).  If you are interested in this mod once I'm done please shoot me a PM with an email for me to send it!

OK back to this update I can't wait to show you guys.  First  and foremost @raymar bombarded me with all the CJ data I could ever use then some LOL.  My last final will be tomorrow evening so after that I'm diving headfirst into improving this FDE.  So thank you @raymar!!!  I have very limited coding experience in fact Qbasic in highschool and Matlab in my current engineering school is really the only experience I have.....if you want to even call it that.  However I have always liked to tinker with things so I decided I try tinker with a certain few .xml files just to see if there was anything I could maybe...........tinker with.  Lets go take the CJ2+ up so you can see what I did........

 

 

Look at that temp, sheesh its really cold outside today.  (Yes that says -1 deg C) 😰........

 

 

Whoa look at that snow!!! We're sitting at KBWI on March 21, 2018 @ 0813.   This was a real snow storm that went through this area on that day.....Thanks ASN Historical mode!

Anyways I had a long night hanging out at the Inner Harbor eating crabs having a good time......I'm from Florida (not really)......so who needs anti ice in conditions like this????? 

I clearly didn't make use of my nifty checklist on the GTN.....I'm just ready to get out of here before this airport closes and we're stuck here indefinitely......so off we go....

 

 

 

Uneventful takeoff,......but wait climbing through just 1800ft out the corner of my eye I see an annunciator light lightup.......😲

 

How could I be so stupid!?  I immediately turn on the left and right wing/engine engine ice and automatic tail anti ice systems......

 

 

By time we're climbing through 3000ft the "Icing" warning has turned off, our anti-ice systems are working as advertised...Crises averted!!!

 

We finally get out the cold soup at 10000ft.....anti ice systems powered off.......

 

I always hated how crossing that -10 deg C temp barrier the CJ would always give you a caution light that could only be turned off by turning on your anti-ice systems or pressing the caution light.  Once the systems were powered on there was no indication that they were on other than the switch positions themselves. Being the forgetful pilot I am, I've landed in places like Phx with them still on.   In the picture below notice how I have the left anti-ice selector in the wing/engine setting, while the right side is just on the wing setting.......

 

And here you can see the appropriate annunciator lights will now light to show you when they are energized!!!!

 

If you can't tell I am quite proud of this modification.  So far I've only tested the ice detection system in both stock FSX snowy weather and ASN snowy weather and its worked wonderful.  If you're not in conditions to warrant ice accumulation on the aircraft the ice detection system will not light the annunciator light.  There is also a delay sometimes when flying in these conditions so just like in the real world you may not get an indication right away.

I borrowed this system from Carenados amazing Premier 1a.  The real CJ2s do not come with this type of ice detection.   I believe I read the annunciator lights for the anti-ice systems stay lit until the ice is removed but don't quote me on that.  I personally think this is cooler anyways!  What do you guys think???? Let me know.....

I'm slowly learning this .xml game but this modification opens up a whole slew of features I plan to impliment on this bird to improve the immersion aspect a bit!   I think she will be worth the wait.  Lastly, sorry the wait has been so long.  This is my last week of school before summer break.  So I will be completely devoted to finishing this up after.  I still do have to go through all Raymars data....maybe I'll put that out as an update later on.........Stay Tuned and thanks for your patience.......

[gregmorin 199]

Jevon,

Thank you for your hard work! I am looking forward to your mod. I am glad you are putting school first, that is very wise.

Greg

 

[vcarlo 529]

Thanks for your work, Jevon.  Hope everything went well with your studies.  "May the fourth be with you", and may you have a great weekend ! 😁

[scottb613 1,188]

Hi Jevon,

Wow - awesome - great work - and the annunciator panel is back where it belongs... Woohoo... Best of luck on your exams - given your attention to detail showcased here - I'm sure you'll breeze right through them even if it is for an engineering degree... Best of luck !!!

Regards,

Scott

Edited May 4, 2018 by scottb613

[Novej757 83]

UPDATE 5/11/18

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the comments on school.  I was able to finish the semester with one C (fluid mechanics) and the rest were As (to include DYNAMICS) Whoo Hoo!  But that's not what you want to hear about right LOL?!  As you all know I really have tried to attack this project on my own.  However, some of the coding to achieve what I wanted was a little bit above my limited experience. So when you feel like your being outflanked, you bring in the big guns.  @rcbarend is that big gun and I can't thank him enough.  With his help the Air conditioning system can now be heard when the main switch is activated in either the auto or fan position.  Using that as my blueprint, (I just reversed engineered what he did and added some particulars I need) we will also be able to hear the windshield defog bleed air when activated.  From my research these are two of the very few complaints real world pilots have with the aircraft, basically how loud these two systems are LOL!

Speaking of real world pilots. the majority of my time has been spent trying to get the cj2+ to perform not so much to book values anymore but more by word of mouth.  What do I mean?  I've been searching various internet forums and have compiled some interesting info on the way the plane flies.   Here are just a couple examples of really good information I was able to find....

Aviation Week CJ2+ Operators Survey

Cj2+ Real World Performance Numbers As seen by Pilots

You may have noticed a CJ2 pilot also gave a good little tidbit of information in that last link too!  So what have I learned, and am trying to model:

• Cessna under rated its cruise speeds in the tables
• At MTOW the CJ2+ can climb to FL450 in about 25 mins  (28 mins posted in the manuals) using the standard 230/.55 climb schedule
• Some pilots prefer to climb at faster speeds (.58-.60) as mentioned in the second link.  This lengthens the time to FL450 by about 5 mins.  This is done to help overcome the Cj2+ EXTREMELY SLOW acceleration to cruise speeds at FL450 especially in higher ISAs 
• FL410-430 gives the fastest cruise speeds but FL450 gives the best range (eg lowest fuel burn)
• DEPENDING ON CONDITIONS  she will do anywhere from 370-405ish kts TAS at FL450.  Again this is very ISA/wind dependent

In order to test this I have to completely clear my weather, take off at MTOW from an airport at or near sea level (KBWI in this case) and climb direct to FL450 (to time how fast she gets there), what speed she settles at once she is up there, and what is the maximum range she can do at that height.  This can easily be a 30 to 40 min process (not even taking into account the tweaking that has to be done in order to set it up for the next test.  If I like where we are in CAVU (Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited) conditions, then I rerun the test in real world conditions.  (Hey Im going to be an engineer what do you expect? LOL)   So it should be easy to see one  thing...........................................................................THIS IS WHAT IS TAKING ME SO LONG LOL!!!

So what Problems Have I run into?

I've gotten the climb times pretty close to published data and Pilot witnessed.  Fuel burn is also pretty much on par with the real aircraft.  However, as this CJ2+ model is based on the Carenado's CJ2, the range is where the issue is.  Basically, Carenado was generous with the CJ2s range which means the CJ2+ is even more so.  According to published data with a 1720lb payload, I shouldn't be able to fly to much past 1000 miles......as of last night in real world conditions I was able to fly almost 1200 and it may have been more if I turned real weather off.  

The next problem isn't really a problem, but its something I really want to incorporate.  From what I read I may not be able too though.  I love love love the pulsing landing light effect such as.......

Carenado has incorporated it on the Hawker, and the piper meridian.  @rcbarend is currently helping me try and figure out a way to use the taxi/recognition setting of the landing light switches for this.  However, from what I'm reading this may be something that requires a controller placed in the gmax model too soo......................

Lastly, in the last update I showed off the awesome ice detection system I put on the CJ2+.  Well it didn't occur to me that I would not be able to do so for the regular CJ2.  The annunciator location I used for the "Icing" light is where the thrust attenuator lights of the regular CJ2 are located.   So I'm going to have to figure out a separate system for it.

 

Whew....is this long enough yet? hahahaha  Guys I am very particular like I've said over and over I was originally building this for me, I will not allow you to download something that I myself would expect more from.  So just stay patient with me.  It seems like a lot but we really are close.  There is one last thing that might cause a small delay, I'm going to have to make a good installation manual for this hahahaha!   Thank you to all the people who have sent PMs requesting the finished product, if you haven't and would like one just shoot me a PM.  I may not respond but I read everyone I get!  Thanks guys and continue to stay tuned more to come really soon.................

Jevon

[Ralvarez232 15]

Hi Jevon. First of all I'm glad that everything is goig well with your studies. Congratulations! You are making an outstanding job of investigation and hard testing to get a reliable and realistic CJ2+ model that are you are also willing to share with all other simmers, and I'm sure it will be a great one. Patiente will pay off and I am just waiting to have that bird on my fleet. I have already PM you, so let's wait for the good stuff. Thank You very much for Your hard work!

 

Ceers,

Roberto

[Novej757 83]

UPDATE 5/20/18

Hi all!

Sorry it's been a minute since I've updated this thread, but I think today's update will show that it was worth the wait.  I now have such an appreciation for the Carenados, PMDGs, Qualitywings, Flysimwares, Majestics etc etc who provide such realistic amazing aircraft for our pleasure.  There is a reason that some of the best ones literally take years to be released to us.  Since I finished finals I have had two jobs.  The first, Daddy Day care for my 14 week old baby girl while momma is at work (shes a Physician Assistant so those are 12 hour shifts).  The second is working on this.  The last update I gave you all I gave a shot out to @rcbarend for the help he'd given me with some coding issues I'd ran into........Well folks a shot out is no longer enough.  This man has helped me realize exactly what I was trying to achieve with this bird and I think you all will be very pleased to see what we've been working on.  So before I go on....Why don't you take a peak at this little video (No seriously please watch it, I bought FRAPS just so you guys could see where the "CJ2+" is now.....😳)     *I don't speak in the vid because I hate how I sound recorded*

 

 

So what do you think?  The rudders jerking around is a result of me using the tophat on my logitech 3d nothing with the jet itself.  Guys I wish I could show you the back and forth emails @rcbarend and I have with one another.  He even created test gauges to help me figure out what I had wrong, and to test what we got right.  I could not have done the AC sounds, Window bleed operations and sounds, or pulsing landing lights without him.  Hes amazing!  I would also like to take this time to thank @raymar for the wealth of CJ2/CJ2+ data he's provided me and to his team from the original community mod for the gauges I've implemented in this one.  Finally to  @Bert Pieke for all the initial help he gave in the very beginning.  I think you guys will agree they have all helped me transform this bird into something special!

 

So the million dollar question.....When will you get your hands on her?  Well honestly I'm not sure.  I've tried to be as transparent as I can with this project as I appreciate when the big companies do that for me as a consumer.  So I'm going to keep it real with you.  As far as the special features she's where I always intended her to be.  The CJ2+  flight performance is very close to where I want it to be.  However I've kind of accepted you're gonna be getting about 100-200 additional nautical miles in range over the published data.  There's just no way I can keep the fuel burn figures, and actual fuel weight the plane can carry, while maintaining the range that she sees in the real world.  In the sim she'll just simply fly further..........Mind you its important that I point out that I test here in as close to the published conditions as I can get.  So no wind, ISA temps etc etc......I've had little time to test her with integrated weather...BUT I WILL and I suspect she'll fly closer to her numbers with the weather LOL!

The two things that are going to slow me down (other than finishing flight tests on the CJ2+),  Is  the regular CJ2 and packaging this up for download.  What do I mean by the regular CJ2?  Well as she sits the CJ2 only has the GTN750 integration.   I'm going to need to implement the features you see in the video above into her too, with the exception of the ice detection system (at least not in the way its implemented here.)  You see the ICING light on the CJ2+ annunciator panel is where the Thrust Attenuator lights are for the CJ2.  So that means I'm going to have to figure out a way to implement the icing detection differently on the CJ2.  

Once I get that figured out, and I've included all the other features you see here (that part shouldn't be too hard)....then I have to package all of this up and make the dreaded INSTALLATION DOCUMENT.  Sounds easier than it is especially considering how many different gauges and xml's I have pieced in this package to achieve what you see here.  On top of all that I'm running Daddy Day Care too LOL!   It seems like a lot because it is, but like I've said I'm not going to release to you, what I wouldn't even be happy flying.  I have not completed a complete flight in her since I started this endeavor so that should tell you where I'm at.

LASTLY, thank you to each and everyone of you who have sent PMs showing your interest in getting this.  I HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF THEM.  Some of you have sent 2 or 3 PMs and that's my fault I've been too busy to respond to you.  So I'm responding now, if you sent me a PM requesting a copy of this before you started reading this update, I have gotten it and when she is ready you will be receiving a copy of the download to the email you provided!  If you are interested in receiving a copy and HAVE NOT ALREADY sent me a PM, shoot me one with the email you want me to email the final copy to (again once shes ready LOL)......  

 

Well like always this has gotten super long.  If you guys have any questions or comments please feel free to say something here in the thread.  I love reading what you guys have to say!  Thanks again and stay tuned..........

Edited May 21, 2018 by Novej757