Jump to content

beechcaptain

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    257

  • Donations

    $0.00 

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by beechcaptain

  1. Posted

    I guess I am fortunate in that all of my favorite aircraft (PMDG, A2A, MilViz, RealAir, FlySimWare, Carenado, to name a few) and scenery work in P3Dv5.3 on my modest system.  i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz oc to 4.0GHz, 32 GB Ram, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB vram, 1 TB SSD, 1 TB HDD, 4 TB extHDD that contains photo scenery (megasceneryearth lower 48). 

    I'm staying with what I have now, unless by some miracle, I can ever afford a new pc capable of running MSFS 2020 + wide variety of addons.  Nuff said. 😉

  2. Posted · Edited by beechcaptain

    Please disregard, unless you too have experienced this.  I simply overlooked the small, one line sub-forum link (MD530F PBR) at the top of Blackbird Sims/Milviz MD530 support forum archive.  There is a link for an updated version for P3Dv5 here:  https://milviz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=230&t=13191 .  That solved the problem.

    My eyes are not as young as they used to be.😵

    Edited to add:  

    I forgot to mention, I flew a quick test flight and man does the MD530 perform well.  Even did a subtle autorotation that resulted in a smooth landing.  Nice whirlybird.  Well worth the price of admission - freebie!! 

  4. Posted · Edited by beechcaptain

    I found this information from RXP and added the "= %" ratios so I could better resize when needed:

    Quote

     

    Gauges Dimensions

    For best legibility we recommend using gauge dimensions which are integral multiples of their native sizes

    when configuring aircraft panels:

    • 7XXX with bezel: 830 x 790 (displays the screen at 1:1 ratio, texture is 2400x2290) = .95 or 95%
    • 6XXX with bezel: 830 x 350 (displays the screen at 1:1 ratio, texture is 2400x1014) = .42
    • 7XX screen only: 600 x 708 (native screen resolution) = 1.18
    • 6XX screen only: 600 x 266 (native screen resolution) = .44
    • 5XXX with bezel: 980 x 714 (displays the screen at 2:1 ratio, texture is 980x714) = .73
    • 4XXX with bezel: 980 x 412 (displays the screen at 2:1 ratio, texture is 980x412) = .42
    • 5XX screen only: 320 x 234 (native screen resolution) = .73
    • 4XX screen only: 240 x 128 (native screen resolution) = .53 

    Hope this helps.

    Glenn

    Edited to add:  the "screen only" ones should be used with the "no bezel" entries, and the "with bezel" are for the popups or when the vc allows for item with bezel, of course.

     

    Quote

     

     

  5. Posted

    Glad you got it working in the Cessna, Richard!

    Yes, it is good to forewarn users not to select the panels which include the wx radar, such as F1_GTN750_650_WX as you mentioned.  I also had ctd when trying to load the Cessna Redux with that panel selected.  I hope other viewers take note and avoid this problem. I even made sure I installed the WX radar version for P3Dv5 that is available on the Blackbird Sims MilViz support forum archives, but still had the ctd.

     

     

  6. Posted · Edited by beechcaptain
    Grammar

    I really like the following aircraft which are now freeware from MilViz/Blackbird Sims:

    Beechcraft B55 / E55

    Cessna 310R Redux

    Piper PA30 Twin Comanche

    To me, these are excellent versions that work well in P3Dv5.3, albeit with a bit of tweaking here or there.  They are a joy to fly with default GNS, RXP GNS & GTN panels.

    I must admit, I had a few head scratchers with the Twin Comanche and after much inquiring, digging through forum archives and some common deduction, I am now quite satisfied.

    I thought I would make these findings known herein so that any potential Twin Comanche pilots can also experience fun flying with minimal, if any, glitches.

    1. The most difficult issue I encountered was not being able to start one or both engines, no matter how many times I tried, following the correct start procedures and even using Ctrl+E autostart function. I must note, I prefer to start from a cold & dark cockpit, so this was almost a dealbuster.

    After much digging, I found this solution:

    Quote

    In the Aircraft CFG:

    [piston_engine] // Lycoming IO-320-B
    -
    -
    normalized_starter_torque= 5  //Starter torque factor

    Changed the starter torque to 6 as follows:

    normalized_starter_torque= 6  // 5 Starter torque factor

    Mine already had 6 as the entry, which apparently in my sim setup didn't work, so I changed the value to 7 like this:  

    normalized_starter_torque= 7  // Starter torque factor

    And now my Twin Comanche starts up from a cold & dark status, every time, as it should.

    So, if you are struggling to start your Twin Comanche from a Cold & Dark state, give this a try, but be sure to make a backup copy of the aircraft.cfg before you do. It should work and get you flying in no time.

    2. It is unfortunate that the Twin Comanche's KAP140 autopilot is useless, with a bug that has never been corrected.  There has been a fix provided, unfortunately it has bugs of its own as it was developed for an older release prior to P3Dv5. I tried the KAP140 fix, but after several flights, removed it.  It allowed the KAP140 to function properly, but because it is based on an older version of the mdl files, caused other issues to appear, such as left landing light being misplaced about a scale foot ahead of the left wing.  Also, the updated Attitude Indicator/Artificial Horizon failed to work.  This required some tweaking to get the original panel cluster restored so it was airworthy.  Then along came another issue, although merely cosmetic, bugged the dickens out of me - diagonal semi transparent line running across the left side of the instrument panel that seemed to render part of the terrain moving past beneath the aircraft.  After weighing the options, I decided to remove the KAP140 fix and uncheck the "KAP140 Autopilot" option from the MilViz MVAMS app, removing the KAP140 from the panel.  Now, I enjoy flying the Twin Comanche with the original panel and rxp GTN 650/750 installed and use a Bendix King autopilot I manually added to the panel.cfg as a popup (I could not find a way to add it to the vc as MilViz tends to hard code them into the model file).  It is a tradeoff that is workable, but most of all, allows me to enjoy flying the Twin Comanche on 1-2 hour vfr & ifr flights. 

    I highly recommend these aircraft, especially now that they are free.  They are great quality ga aircraft, imho.  

    Just my $0.02, of course, but if it helps at least one person come to enjoy the Twin Comanche as much as I have, then mission accomplished!

    Kindest regards & clear skies,

    Glenn

     

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    Like Richard said above, you don't have to log in to the forum to gain access.  I found out the hard way, as I was denied access to the support forums while I was logged in.  It was a head scratcher.  Then, after I logged out of my forums account, there was the access I was looking for.  Go figure, not logged in - you have access, logged in - you don't.

     

  14. Posted

    I recently experienced a problem with my Thrustmaster T16000M HOTAS joystick.  All of the axis controlled by the stick (X,Y & Z - ailerons, elevator & rudder) were suddenly spiking.  The rudder in particular would jump all over the place, even after recalibrating via Windows & FSUIPC. I tried increasing the dead zone and using the filter, to no avail.  I have joysticks turned off in P3Dv5.3.  I could not complete a flight in my PMDG 737NGXu a/c due to the spikes killing the avionics.  Fortunately, I had kept my older T1600M joystick that was a single item purchase, whereas the HOTAS version was a duo pack which included the TWCS throttle.  The throttle still works fine, however.  I believe the problem is with faulty potentiometers.  The older T16000M still works without problems, and most likely was made with better components.

    For me, it seems the newer T16000M HOTAS joystick is plagued with faulty or very cheap potentiometer(s), based on several google searches.

    I guess even the better hardware have their issues with worn/faulty components over time.  Hope you get yours resolved or replaced so you can return to the skies!

     

  15. Posted

    It is bad parking spot positioning in the AFCAD for that airport as mentioned above.  There are quite a few, even payware "enhanced", airport scenery in my collection that I have had to use ADE to readjust the spots to be more accurate.  Also, I sometimes use GSX to fine tune parking spot positioning for proper alignment and stop location for arrival at a particular gate.

    I wish airport scenery creators would take the extra bit of time to at least make sure the parking spot is properly aligned. Of course that would more than likely warrant an increase in price for the scenery.

    • Upvote 2

  17. Posted

    Useless?  A term that has been around the flight sim community for many years now, going back to at least the LevelD 767 or maybe its predecessor - Wilco's PIC.  As previously mentioned, when a new aircraft is being released and the developer classifies it as "study level", most virtual pilots will immediately recognize the likelihood of a very detailed aircraft with a progressive set of preflight and in-flight procedures.

    Complex vs simple.  Many of us prefer the more complex "study level" aircraft, whether GA, Passenger liner or Cargo, where it may take at least 30 minutes to fully preflight the a/c in preparation for takeoff.  Others may prefer to "kick the tires & light the fire" approach to jump in and get airborne asap. We are fortunate to have many choices available for both types of simmers.

     

    • Like 3

  20. Posted

    I just installed KHOU in my P3Dv5.3 using the current P3Dv4/5 installer and have both default and SXAD KHOU visible from top down outside view.  See image in this link:

    https://www.mediafire.com/view/axbvf4yvj2kllom/SXAD_KHOU_Plus_Default_KHOU.jpg

    I used the latest installer provided by simmarket.  Any idea as to why there are both, missing exclude, perhaps?  Also why there is significant offset between the two?

    (I'm having trouble recalling how to insert an image so I had to use the link method instead)

    Any help will be appreciated.

  22. Posted

    Items from respected flight sim developers and vendor sites such as Flight1 are all safe and do not contain viruses as Windows Defender and other a/v software may lead you to believe.  The a/v apps may detect installers and consider them a potential threat if they are not in the a/v providers safe programs database. 

    Do you really believe Flight1/RealityXP would attack you with a virus?  I think not.  Simply tell Windows Defender it is a trusted app, or turn Defender off.  I use Kaspersky a/v and always turn it off before downloading and installing any products such as RealityXP.  Safest and hassle free method, imho.

     

    Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year 2023!

  25. Posted

    I have finally decided to try v5.3 since my somewhat better hand-me-down pc is running v4.5 + numerous addons so well.  I did this previously on my old pc with v3 + v4.  Problem is, I can't recall if there are any special procedures to take when installing FSUIPC6 in v5.3 since it is already installed in v4.5.  I googled and searched the fsuipc forum but didn't get any hits.

    I believe it should be ok, there again memory seems clouded, and it should be a straight install without issues.  I'll wait a few minutes to see if there are any replies before proceeding.

    Kindest regards & Happy holidays! 

×
×
  • Create New...