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Virtual-Chris

Kodiak vs Caravan

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Regarding the Amphibian Kodiak, only a small number of issues remain to be fixed. We are going to get those sorted in the last week of August, along with SU10 testing. The plane has been sent to Daher, to be checked by their hydroplane pilots. An interesting feature that we added to the Kodiaks for the next update is real beta range. Doing some in-depth research and making use of new features in SU10, the Kodiak will be beta range capable without using any “black magic” solutions such as invisible spoilers. Additionally, the propeller has been tuned so that full reverse power will no longer over-rev the propeller. Instead, it will peak at 95% RPM Np, just like the real PT6A works! This was supposed to go from the PC-12 into the Kodiak, but it seems to have come the other way around! Lastly, we have done some bug fixing in our failure system and added some extra safeguards to prevent failure issues like those reported by some customers. We will run it through tests and hope to have seen the last of it. That was it for this week. We wish you a good weekend and see you on the 17th!

 

Edited by Waldo Pepper

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13 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Also, the standby instrument is an FPS killer... that's just a horrible implementation on SWS part. Thankfully you can kill this instrument via the circuit panel, but my gosh, how did that even get in there like that? 10FPS for one instrument, when you're only getting 50FPS in the first place is just ridiculous.

If you would like to replace this gauge by a simplified version (same visuals), send me a PM.

As for the cockpit layout.. well that is how the actual airplane is delivered from the factory.. I actually quite like it, but then again, I was flying it in P3D, so it seems familiar.


Bert

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14 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

One annoying thing about the Kodiak cockpit layout, is that the AP is below the MFD which is less convenient than the Caravan that places it above the MFD. The light switches are also way down low in the Kodiak which is not as convenient as in the Caravan.  

I guess I’m a bit torn, and not sure where all the enthusiasm for this aircraft is coming from. It’s got some better things (interior config and load/balance) but ergonomically it’s not as ideal with some important controls way down low, and that giant A pillar blocking a good part of my view which is probably the worst thing about it.  

In defense of the Kodiak... To me the Caravan feels like driving a minibus.. functional, yes, but exciting, no.

The Kodiak is a really interesting aircraft, and it feels that way in MSFS as well.. attached is my cockpit view with the autopilot in plain view..

Zf5qGJt.jpg


Bert

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25 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

In defense of the Kodiak... To me the Caravan feels like driving a minibus.. functional, yes, but exciting, no.

The Kodiak is a really interesting aircraft, and it feels that way in MSFS as well.. attached is my cockpit view with the autopilot in plain view..

Zf5qGJt.jpg

Don’t get me wrong… it has some interesting elements. I particularly like the interior config options. What do you like about the Kodiak?

I think the cockpit designer at Quest missed out on placing the AP module above the MFD. It would have improved the ergonomics. The light switch placement is also not as ergonomic. That standby instrument is taking sone prime real-estate when it will probably never be used, whereas the light switches are used once or more every flight. I’m no cockpit designer, but I would have done things a bit differently. The guy who designed the Cessna Caravan cockpit nailed it in my opinion.  If I was buying an aircraft like one of these in real life, these kinds of design decisions would play an important role. And why shouldn’t that carry over to the sim? It will affect my choice in what I fly when. The Caravan’s unobstructed view will be my top choice for sight seeing for sure. 

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3 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

The Caravan’s unobstructed view will be my top choice for sight seeing for sure. 

The Caravan has a nice wrap around windshield.. I fully agree 😉

But if sightseeing is your goal, why not fly the RV14A?   OK, high wing vs low wing...

Each airplane has its own characteristics, and you should indeed evaluate carefully..

Luckily, we have all these choices available 🙂

Edited by Bert Pieke

Bert

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1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

What do you like about the Kodiak?

This:

 


Bert

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And some more background..

 

 

Edited by Bert Pieke

Bert

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1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

The Kodiak can’t compete with this unobstructed view…

spacer.png

In real life you can adjust sit elevation. I always do in most aircraft  I fly. Here is similar shot of Caravan forward view 

unknown.png?width=2136&height=1202


flight sim addict, airplane owner, CFI

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Forward view in the Kodiak isn't quite as good, but the side view is massively better.

The Cessna with the mod is very good though, so like and fly both! Think the Kodiak just pips the Cessna on the fun factor but YMMV...

 

G


Gary Davies aka "Gazzareth"

Simming since 747 on the Acorn Electron

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2 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

I think the cockpit designer at Quest missed out on placing the AP module above the MFD. It would have improved the ergonomics.

Are you talking real world or flight sim ergonomics. 

It seems to me in the real world placing the glass closer to eye level and the switch gear lower and closer to the yoke and your hand is actually more ergonomic.  How may cars do you see with switches on top of the dash and speedo and gauges down low ? There are not very many.

Maybe in a flightsim having the switches up where you can see them is better, but not in the real world. 

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8 hours ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

Are you talking real world or flight sim ergonomics. 

It seems to me in the real world placing the glass closer to eye level and the switch gear lower and closer to the yoke and your hand is actually more ergonomic.  How may cars do you see with switches on top of the dash and speedo and gauges down low ? There are not very many.

Maybe in a flightsim having the switches up where you can see them is better, but not in the real world. 

I was talking real-world. I’m no cockpit designer, but there’s probably a reason that most (all?) airliners have the AP on the glare shield. Maybe it’s less important in a small plane, but having those AP indicator lights and knobs at eye level would seem better than having to look down, in my humble opinion. Certainly for monitoring what the other pilot is doing, having it up high ensures it’s a more obvious gesture to adjust something, making it more overt to both crew members. The Quest designers clearly think differently though - maybe most Kodiak are flown with just a single pilot and your AP status is all at the top of the PFD anyway. Interestingly, there appears to be obvious space for the AP module above the MFD in the Kodiak, but for whatever reason (maybe as you suggest) they placed it below. 

And in my opinion, the Caravan placement wins for most from a sim ergonomics perspective as it’s much easier to adjust your view to the bottom of the PFD/MFD for maximum effectiveness but I have a Xtouch so it’s less important to my simming experience where it’s located. 

Edited by Virtual-Chris

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I have the Kodiak and enjoy it from time to time but.....the elevator twitchiness is a real pain. It could be my setup because I know other folks don't seem to have the issue but it seems highly unlikely to me that the massive "over steer" on the vertical axis is in any way realistic. Every other AC I have seems to be fine on that axis. My Controller is the Saitek x52.
I still fly the Kodiak but the Caravan seems pretty good for a stock plane. 


i7-4790k @ 4.4ghz for the moment. Asus z87-k mobo. GTX 1080, 32gb ram. couple of SSDs....Saitek X52

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