Is anybody using Jerry Beckwiths Air Wrench programme? Any forums anywhere?This tool looks to me like it could help me to enter the esoteric world of FDEs -- but getting info or finding fellow novice travellers is like trying to find hens teeth.Thanks for any helpBarry

>Is anybody using Jerry Beckwiths Air Wrench programme? Any>forums anywhere?>>This tool looks to me like it could help me to enter the>esoteric world of FDEs -- but getting info or finding fellow>novice travellers is like trying to find hens teeth.>Barry I just registered Jerry's AirWrench. It appears to have quite a bit of potential. One can try it as a 'read only' version and AirWrench will display info on existing FS Aircraft. It plots some graphs: Roll Rate, Rate of Climb, etc. It also displays a CG, CoL, LG diagram. I converted a PA-28 with AirWrench. Have yet to fly it to compare with my hand-crafted original. I expect AirWrench is much better than MS' FSEdit. $18 is a small price to pay to get decent FD's. I think it is based on Jerry '1% Workbook' spreadsheet, but appears to be much easier to use. Check it out at:http://www.mudpond.us/AirWrench_main.htm Ron

> One can try it as a 'read only' version and AirWrench will>display info on existing FS Aircraft. It plots some graphs: >Roll Rate, Rate of Climb, etc. It also displays a CG, CoL, LG>diagram. >> I converted a PA-28 with AirWrench. Have yet to fly it to>compare with my hand-crafted original.>I also have edited the default AI PA28 in accordance with the tutorial on his website. At first , I couldn't get it to work because the demonstration mode has some "conditions" that I couldn't meet. For example, the default AI PA28 is a fuel injected a/c and the demonstration mode will only allow you to edit gravity fed a/c. Afyter fixing that little problem, I discovered that it still would not allow me to enter the edit mode - so I changed the HP to only 80 HP from 180 HP - this then allowed me to enter the demonstration mode and I finally got to be able to carry out the entire tutorial. The a/c then flies quite nicely for me and I can't really tell much difference between it and the Carenado Archer and the Dreamfleet Archer. -- all 180 HP models. I think it also has potential - but it is probably of no real use to me because it seems to me that as a developer you need to have very exact dimensional figures , etc and I don't have access to those. I really like the Carenado Mentor -- but something doesn't feel quite right with it at low speeds - like on approach to an airport. So I am wondering whether the COG is correct or whether the figures entered for various control surfaces are correct. I thought that I might have been able to use this tool to finetune the FDE to my liking -- I have no idea how the real a/c handles. From the limited response to this post , it looks like nobody else has played with it yet.Barry

>> One can try it as a 'read only' version and AirWrench will>>display info on existing FS Aircraft. It plots some graphs:>> I converted a PA-28 with AirWrench. Have yet to fly it to>>compare with my hand-crafted original.>>>I also have edited the default AI PA28 in accordance with the...>flies quite nicely for me and I can't really tell much>difference between it and the Carenado Archer and the>Dreamfleet Archer. -- all 180 HP models. I edited my DF Archer. ;) Some of the distances in Aircraft.cfg may be off. I'll have to try the AI PA-28.>I think it also has potential - but it is probably of no real>use to me because it seems to me that as a developer you need>to have very exact dimensional figures , etc and I don't have>access to those. Well, you need some AC info to model an AC. Wing area, etc. is most important, the tail data can probably be off 10% or so. If the .mdl is accurate, one can scale it. Aircraft Configuration Manager (payware) is very useful for getting this info.>I really like the Carenado Mentor -- but something doesn't>feel quite right with it at low speeds - like on approach to>an airport. So I am wondering whether the COG is correct or>whether the figures entered for various control surfaces are>correct. I thought that I might have been able to use this>tool to finetune the FDE to my liking -- I have no idea how>the real a/c handles. AirWrench works out CG info. However, the wing_apex, etc. has to be set correctly in aircraft.cfg for this to work out right.>From the limited response to this post , it looks like nobody>else has played with it yet.>Barry I think it will become quite popular. Ron