taguilo

No, but I have good sources, and I've been working on this Caravan for a while :-)Oh, btw in case anyone is interested, I put sound to all the knobs and switches, thanks to Doug's great sound gauge.Tom

Simly because it's in the PIM. The correct value should be 50-52 % at ISA with the condition lever ("mixture") at low position -which is used for ground operations- and idle throttle. FSX has a fixed value of 62 % and I guess it's hard coded and cannot be modified, unless you tell me otherwise. As I prefer to read a gauge as much real as possible, just made a little change in its code to make it show the proper value. I expect to receive information from my gauges as much accurate as possible, and when .air and .cfg parameters are not enough precise I prefer to program the gauges myself as to obtain the proper values. But honestly, I would prefer much more that Carenado do that job to a product they are being paid for.Nonetheless, I have a list of technical figures for the Caravan that should be corrected-improved-whatever, that I could send you if you agree, providing you are the person who will rework the flight dynamics -.air. and .cfg files-.Tom

1-Not wrong but VERY right. Carenado's 208 gauges show FS variable values taken directly from its .air and .cfg files. No doubt at all, unless you have a different version than the one is officialy published.2-The opposite of this phrase of yours gives a perfect explanation on why companies like PMDG have such a success.3-So what? We are talking about the C208, Carenado version, and in this case a few lines of code can make a gauge behave the same as its real counterpart, and probably would make happy a bunch of virtual pilots (or many perhaps?).Regarding the flight model I agree with you that FS's turboprop isn't bad; in fact I find C208's current version (the one with some user tweaks) very good despite the natural limitations I speak of. Improving it even more, as you probably can do, and programming the engine gauges to show as much real values as possible would be almost the perfect combination, don't you think?Tom

It's And what do you mean by wrong readings? Carenado's main engine gauges -torque, RPM, Ng, etc show default FS data - I mean, direct data from .air and cfg files, which is not correct for the particular case of the Caravan.Examples: - real low ground mixture gives 50-52 stable Ng %, instead of FS's typical 62, and I see no way at all to change this from the .air tables. I would be very happy if you can obtain that without tweaking the gauge itself. The same for FFlow, which should raise to 90/120 pph immediately after moving the fuel level to low at engine start. And there are many more...Tom

I'm afraid very little could be done to improve the Caravan engine model just by tweaking the .air or .cfg files, as it's FSX turboprop model itself which has the limitations. The only way I see it feasible is to work on the gauges, making them show the real data instead of FS's raw.Tom

Yes. You must edit SOUND.CFG, go to [PROP.1.08] -where filename=rpmREV- and change the second value for vparams; use 100.000000, 150.000000 or 200.000000 instead of 50.000000. Do the same in [PROP.1.09] -where filename=xrpmREV for the external sound if you wish to make it louder as well.Tom

Please check your PMsRegards,Tom

1- Obviously2-I can give you more stuff to test as soon I have it ready.3-Maybe you're doing something wrong? When I remove the Wx gauge, what happens is a black area appears where the radar was, but all the textures remain. Do you say that VC textures disappear when you ADD the RXP gauge, or just when you remove the original Wx gauge?Tom

Good news it worked as expected!Answering your questions,1-I think it's still necessary to add the drag factor to reverse in flight, and check the takeoff roll distance; my test gave 1530 feet at full load (8000+ lbs) where it should be around 1400.2-Maybe, but later after the complete overhaul of this great bird is finished. Actually I'm currently working on many systems to make them function as real as it gets, -for example, a rework of engine gauges -ITT, Ng, torque, Fuel Flow (this one behaves really bad on startup) -rework of starter (now it has the three position, and I can make it motor to cool and clean the engine), generator, electrics logic, engine relight at high altitude, etc, etc. Oh, and I've also put sound to all the switches and levers, -don't you think the original is too silent?3-The Wx Radar is mapped on PANEL.CFG, section [Vcockpit04], gauge05. Try replacing that gauge with RealityXP and see what happens.Regards,Tom

Already PM you. Gauge name is DRAG.XML, and is located inside GCCB,CAB file, so you need to extract the CAB into a folder with the same name, and FSX will look for that folder instead of the CAB file. And you can use any XML editor to modify the gauge, its very simple.As for Beta mode, I understand in the real Caravan IDLE position is just ou of Beta, with a propeller pitch of 15,6 º,the upper Beta limit. Spring forcing the lever down, beta is active down to 0 º of prop pitch, beyond that is negative pitch and reverse action. Beta -and reverse as well- are often used on ground to slow down when taxiing to preserve the brakes. The Carenado Caravan has a propeller pitch of 1 º at idle, almost full beta, which is unrealistic, but it's the best method they seemed to find just to let the a/c slow down on ground at idle, otherwise it keeps accelerating and brakes need to be used frequently-something unrealistic also. As a result of all this configuration, propeller RPM go down from 1000 -a Beta number- to 800 as power is applied just out of IDLE, when on real they should go the other way -800 is the IDLE base, and always increases with power. I'm still playing with RPM gauge and aircraft.cfg to bring this as close as real; long time to go though...Regards,Tom

I used throttle control as a reference. Already PM you.Regards,Tom

I've made some changes in the gauge that controls drag on the Caravan. The trick to use invisible spoilers is a good one indeed, mostly because one can play with different flight and ground conditions.In this case, I added a polinomial that controls the increase of drag in a smooth way, taking into account the propeller status -if it's feathered, no drag at all-Also, as soon as the aicraft is landed, spoilers are removed as to extend the landing roll and improve the reverse throttle. On the other hand, a bit of spoilers are added in the take off roll, -up to 60 kias- as to extend the take off as well.All the variable values and triggers were estimated by me, who has no real Caravan flight experience so I'd be glad to send this gauge to anyone that would like to test it and help me find the most accurate behavior.Regards,Tom

Hi Jim, could you please send me your patch for the door's issue? Many thanks and best regards, Tom

Hi, LeftScript and TopScript actually work as you've already noticed. At gauge first load, script expression is evaluated and image placed fixed in accordance, no matter the result of the script varies within the normal gauge's cycle. But you can still use <Shift> on X and Y axis to dynamically move your bitmap.Regards,Tom

As XML vars are not "true" variables, some special characters can be used in their names without trouble -dashes, spaces,underscores, etc. Anyway I agree it's a better practice to avoid using dashes, which may lead to confusion when working in other programming languages, like C/C++ etc.Tom

Actually FS XML team didn't make the choice for rpn just to complicate gauge programmers, but because it's a very efficient way to handle a scriptying system like the one used in XML code. Most of complex arithmetic and logical operations can be managed with a bunch of very simple low level functions that use rpn method, something that wouldn't be possible with the standard infix notation.Tom

Yes it is. There are GPS variables for a selected runway's coordinates, usually taken from its midpoint. Knowing the bearing of each side and its lenght, using GPS dll's azimuth calcs you can determine the coordinates of both thresholds. Rest is known :( Tom

Yep, you have to code all 20...however you can also use a goto routine or something similar combined with array macros to reduce the visual code.Tom

Eric, if you compiled your DLL in Visual C++ you should ask your friend whether he has VC++ or on defect its redistributable (x86) package installed, otherwise your module might work bad or not work at all.Tom

No, it's not possible. It can be simulated in some way using MouseX and MouseY coordinates, though the original area size still applies.Tom

You must use <FormattedText> instead of <Text>, which doesn't support any kind of formatting.Tom

Oh yes, there is quite a difference :( The reason you don't see it clearly is because you're testing with small angles (1-10 degrees), where the values are almost the same because of tg/atg expressed in radians. But as long as both sides of the triangle (altitude/distance) approach to the same size, using tg will tend to show a +-90 deg angle, and using atg will do the same towards +-45 deg angle which would be the correct one. Well, I might agree with you here. Despite it would be technically possible to draw the V profile in XML, the lack of dynamical change in X,Y coordinates would make it a complex and tedious task.. :( Tom

Paul, remember that results from searchs assigned to retrieve data via Facility are asynchronious, then you can't retrieve multiple data in a loop within a single cycle. Tom

Bill, unless I am very out of trigs, the correct formula should be:theta = arctan( b / a )I see in previous posts that you are doing (value1,feet) (value2,feet) / tg rddg , but (value1,feet) (value2,feet) / gives a number, so you are actually calculating the tangent of a number where you should be calculating the tangent of an angle. :( Instead, I think you should use (value1,feet) (value2,feet) / atg rddg; atg is the arctangent of a number that returns its corresponding arc-angle- in radians, which you convert to degrees with rddg.I've used atg in some of my gauges (a steering tiller for example) and works fine.Tom