Mike Stone's Piper Malibu Meridian.

[CharlieZ 0]

If you have not downloaded this great aircraft, do it now. Great aircraft with a very good panel. My problem is that I can't get it to cruise at over 160kph, and if I get it to go over 200kph on decent it redlines and I get the overspeed warning. I thought it would cruise at 262kph, what am I doing wrong? I certainly do not mean to be critical of this great aircraft which was given to us by the generous talent of Mike Stone. Is anyone able to get it to cruise at 250 or more?CharlieZ

[Guest Daniel Pimentel]

Hi:Maybe you're not doing anything wrong. The airfile seems to be one of the many issues with the bird. I mean, good effort nad all by Mike... It just doesn't cut it for me... Maybe I am crazy BC I dislike the fuselage being red at night... Or the lack of textures in some parts... Plus, I dunno, I think he didn't exploit GMAX to it's fullest. So maybe ur not doing anything wrong... Maybe it's just the airfile. Try contacting Mike on that one. :)Cheers,http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ccb70ab2428a1e1.jpgAA RULES!!! :)______________________________"Whenever you find yourself in the side of the majority it's time to pause and reflect" - Mark Twain

[Guest]

What a dunce I must be. Since I am neither a pilot nor an aeronautical engineer, I'll leave it to one of you professional critics out there to try tuning a turboprop in FS2002 that weighs under 4000 pounds. Good luck. And once your done with that go ahead and fix the other "many issues with bird". After all its a snap, right?. Anyone could do better.So, I'll just wait and see what you guys come up with.Mike StoneWhy do I bother.....

[Guest lawyerpilot]

Mike, don't pay any attention to the overly critical, your forte is visual models---and they are damn good! Personally, I figured you just used the Caravan flight model, even though I haven't looked yet. One suggestion for all of those who want a similarly performing turboprop model-----and it's very close in speed, etc.:get the Pilatus PC-12 available here or at Flightsim and use its flight model!!!! It is excellent, and fluid in its response. It's panel is exactly like FLY II's as well. The developers on that plane really knew their stuff.Mike you deserve a huge amount of credit for all of the hard work you have done, ON SO MANY MODELS!!!!! (AND SO QUICKLY!!) Love your stuff- especially A320's, ERJ's, RJ85's, and L1011's !!!!>What a dunce I must be. >>Since I am neither a pilot nor an aeronautical engineer, >I'll leave it to one of you professional critics out there >to try tuning a turboprop in FS2002 that weighs under 4000 >pounds. Good luck. >>And once your done with that go ahead and fix the other >"many issues with bird". After all its a snap, right?. >Anyone could do better. >>So, I'll just wait and see what you guys come up with. >>Mike Stone >>>Why do I bother..... P4 1.8768 ram 80 gig hardriveVisiontek Ti4 4600CH yoke/pedals19" inch monitor-Soundblaster PCI 512Win XPPrivate PilotAOPALawyerPilots Bar AssociationNTSB Bar AsssociationPIC- Warrior, Archer, 172N-SP, Aztec, Malibu SIC (for fun)- Conquest, King Air c90"Men without dreams are never free, twas thus this way and thus will ever be."

[Guest DaveKDEN]

Hey Mike,I personally find it rather stunning and enjoyable. As we've (unfortunately) seen numerous times in the past, seems we have a bit too many critics of devoted freeware designers freeware contributions. Yet, it seems the same folks who find the time to critique, don't ever contribute.FOLKS, THERE'S SIMPLY NO EXCUSE IN THE WORLD TO CRITIQUE SOMEONE WHO'S GIVING US WONDERFUL ADD-ONS FOR FREE! My motto with freeware has been and always will be "if you don't like - delete."Daniel, while I don't think your post was particularly harsh, If you think designing is so easy, why not give it a go for yourself. That way the only person you'll have to complain to is yourself.Please keep up the great work Mike!Dave PS; I download and install numerous freeware files every week. The one's I don't like, I delete. I'D NEVER CONSIDER PUBLICALLY EXPRESSING ANY DISPLEASURE IN FREEWARE OFFERINGS.

[Guest lawyerpilot]

I agree with Charlie, it is really nice...great for framerates too.Check out www.newpiper.com to see the similarity.

[Shaka 2]

Good work all around, Mike. I personally appreciate the work you do. I think there are maybe 2 or 3 other GMAX designers out there, and some of these are just FSDS aircraft imported into GMAX. I saw another thread critising your work, and I thought I would let it pass, but after seeing this one, I can't just let it go.Good job as always - thank you for your work.- Martin

[Guest]

>PS; I download and install numerous freeware files every week. The one's I don't like, I delete. I'D NEVER CONSIDER PUBLICALLY EXPRESSING ANY DISPLEASURE IN FREEWARE OFFERINGS.

[Guest]

AddendumSteve Okay an example,A while back a Bi-plane (aerobatic) was released (freeware) It had superb visuals and VC the forum raved about it including the flight model.I too raved about the visuals and VC but wasnt at all impressed with the flight model.Should I have written to the Author who would have told me that the majority raved about the flight model or should I have taken it to the majority in the forum for open discussion?I felt that the aircraft had potential to be stunner with some extra work and knew there were serious issues with the FM which needed discusson but what should I do?In the end I decided That I would come across as a "kill joy" and left it but felt I hadnt done the right thing.I am sure Mike is Big enough to take critic as well as praise, either the critic is unfounded where he can discard it or founded where he has a chance to improve his work.Everyone is learning all the time real world flight or in these simulators.The ones who really shine are those who wont accept second best and Mike is one of thosePeter

[Guest]

Mike :)You have created some of the best freeware aircraft around :) Your TriStar is an absolute sensation, so I feel you can use GMAX pretty well! ;) ;) :DI have downloaded your latest gem, and I'll try it later :)

[Guest]

I normally try to be diplomatic and sensitive but sometimes in the course of my writing the "it sucks" implication eventually pokes it's head out and scares away the author. :-bluegrab It just takes so long to get the point across in the midst of stating how "Every other aspect is good expect this one" or "I'd really enjoy it but this one problem is holding me back" or "It would really be better if you did this... not that it wasn't good already no sir-re-bob!" or "Thank you o so very much for blessing us with this fine piece of mana from heaven. But forgive me father for I have sinned. I've done some prelimenary testing by decompiling your code and I think that with a few of my small suggestions it will achieve an even greater level of perfection." :-bigangel Sometimes I feel that the author really doesn't appreciate such "buttering up before letting down" (I know I wouldn't) and that he would like things in a more straightforward manner such as "The roll rate is a bit off" or "The textures could use some work" or "It doesn't achieve it's rated speed" or "There is no antenna where you put one on the model", but it's really hard to guess which will work on which person unless you knew them well. :-hmmm Perhaps there are some of us with enough literary skill and authority to be able to critique anyone without offending, but what happens to all the normal Joe's who have legitimate problems with the add-on that they cannot fix on their own but can't express them without staring down the barrel of a flamethrower? :-newburn Suggesting an improvement to an author's work whether through e-mail or public forum has become too much of a hit-or-miss thing for me. I've pretty much avoided it already.Personally, if I somehow found out that out of the thousands of people who downloaded my last sound package only a handfull of them were actually using it, I'd really like to know what went wrong.-Leon Medado

[Guest]

I am thinking of changing my name to MIKEFAN cos Mr Stone may not be the Most Real to life as real life planes butHe captures the one thing most miss and that is the Spirit of the aircraft he modelComplicated is not always better ,Mike Stone aircraft are all I use because they are the caracters of the planes I love, You can: 1.repaint them how you like (they have two sides)2.They work as AI with wheels3.they is So lifelike4.they is low frame rate/Small file size5.Fun to fly6.FREE7.Numerous8.Look BrillientWhat others have all this ? Mike I wish you to Know I really apreciate what you do and Thank you for making my flight sim "Great"MY critisim are :1.not enough of them :-)BIG lots of Love,Anniette xxxxxxxxx

[Guest]

My brother has a Malibu Mirage and while I have no basis to compare it to the Meridian, I can provide some insight into the Malibu itself. I used to fly with my brother all the time when he had a Grumman Tiger and lived on the east coast. Now he lives in Las Vegas and I flew in his Malibu for the first time just a few months ago. After several years of flight sim experience, including a brief stint with the Fly! Malibu, and a few dozen hours in Cessnas, I really thought I knew what to expect.Well, first, the cockpit isn't at all like I expected. The Malibu Mirage is very utilitarian looking. His shows some wear and tear - certainly more than we see in sims but I don't know if it has more wear than other Malibus. The gear lever, flaps switches and throttle quadrant are all very cheesy looking/feeling. The flaps switch is not much beefier than the one on my CH Pro yoke - really! It feels like it would break off if you put too much weight on it. The throttle quadrant is small and hangs off the panel like it pretends to be a pedestal but it's not.As for performance, I think the numbers you state for Mike's plane don't sound far off (at least for the Mirage). It's certainly a decent climber and cruises at a good altitude but its airspeed is not that impressive. Two things I noted that were really interesting relative to flight sim had to do with the autopilot. Remember how poorly the autopilot in FS2K and earlier versions controlled altitude and nav tracking? Well, that's actually more like reality than the new FS autopilot. I was surprised to see my brother throttle back several hundred feet before intercepting the altitude. Why? Because the plane will blow through the altitude unless you do so. Also, he uses the heading bug to guide the AP because the plane weaves back and forth in nav mode - just like FS used to (and sometimes still does!).Last interesting thing of note - when he throttled back to descend to KSMO (Santa Monica), we found the cabin depressurized. As long as power was applied the cabin pressure remained habitable. He quickly concluded the the door hadn't been latched completely. He put the gear down and did a rather quick power-on dive that was exciting to say the least. I wasn't that impressed with the plane, as you can probably tell. Fortunately, he's trading up to a TBM700. Now that looks like a cool plane!David

[Guest Daniel Pimentel]

Hey:Seems like I was misunderstood... Again. :( What I mean is the bird has a problem, that's all. Mike, I am a designer, I know what you're going through with finding 3-views that are accurate, and doing all the mumbo jumbo related with designing a plane... I am still kinda beginning, but I am slowly getting the hang of it. Now, I think there's one thing wrong here. I am pointing out mistakes, which even I can and WILL make as I design... I know it's hard. I paint too, and that's not too easy either. Now, I am not DEMANDING those to be fixed, note that in my post. I just said what I dislike. If there's no attention to it whatsoever, fine, as someone said it's free. I am thankful that I get a model for free, but that doesn't mean it's exempt of being judged, for I use freeware as much as payware. I do not demand that Mike fixes it, because it's free, it's a gift. But I don't think pointing out something I consider wrong bad... Sorry if I hurt feelings, didn't mean to.I annex a shot of my work so far, which I know still kinda sucks... But it will get better. :) Cheers,http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ccb70ab2428a1e1.jpgAA RULES!!! :)______________________________"Whenever you find yourself in the side of the majority it's time to pause and reflect" - Mark Twain

[Guest]

Well boyz, IMO this is a stupid thing to get caught up in. Mike, you make good airplanes at the right price :7But why say, "why do i bother?" when critcism should be expected, whether it be good or bad. Like I said before though, you make nice planes, especially the L1011! It's a freakin hobby, and I think too many people take this too seriously. Hobby's are for SELF enjoyment not to please everyone around you. That doesn't mean you can go off exploiting others, and mouthing off to people. "Kindness is a language the deaf can hear, and the blind can read." -Mark Twain. Enjoy this for yourself, and be nice to everyone around you. Criticism can be bad sometimes, but if it is constructive, then I think it can only be of value. Keep working at it...daz all i gotta say.