Seagreen

Had a little smile at the topic of the new Carenado Citation XLS 560 with regards trying to control the speed in cruise detent to avoid overspeeding. Input from a RW pilot clarified that it was very rarely and only under certain conditions would the plane behave itself in the setting. I remember the old Eaglesoft Citation x had the same problem. It sort of reminded me of the clip from "Spinal Tap" when the guitarist was boasting about how his amp's volume knob went up to 11 as opposed to the normal maximum of 10. The interviewer then asks "why not make ten louder"? It begs the question Why not make cruise detent slower like a "nine"?

Hi I wonder if anybody feels like sharing what their "go to plane is and why they choose that particular one. At the moment I am getting used to RealAir's incredible Turbine Duke so that is mine as I find it a pleasing challenge although I hope the real plane is a little more forgiving as RA's, no doubt accurately, tends to overstress the minute you neglect for an instant. I believe it is due to that fact that it is an unnatural entity since the Turbine is after market. In the past, it was the Leonardo "MadDog" which is a wonderful plane .They had this selectable and brilliant teaching system whereby the start up procedure was indicated by a pointer which moved to the next part of the process. You could easily memorise it. I wonder if they have copyrighted it as it seems so obvious a thing for the others to follow yet I can't remember seeing one other aircraft that employed it. If not it should be standard.

Just throwing this out there. There is a great short trip from Saltzburg (LOWS) to Innsbruck (LOWI) which takes you through the mountains and into and along a valley. Great for VFR flying, sitting at about 3000ft. 😎

Great input, cheers everyone. Will absorb the advice. Rmeier, I remember a RW pilot, of which you may be one, talking about they have a saying, when all else fails "Fly the plane". (your advice) It may mean different things to different people but it seemed to be their mantra.

Great video. I was trying to have the autopilot take it down to just above the runway so that is a "no no". I was also killing the engines as I was almost on the runway and you must keep the power up. Practice makes perfect as long as you are not practising mistakes.

Thank you, never occurred to disconnect the autopilot that early and as I said I can land it manually but would probably be lynched by the passengers most times so I will take your advice on board.

Thanks to one and all for your really interesting input. I may have mislead at the start as although it took me ages, I can now fly it fine using vnav etc. and I can land it manually albeit by the seat of my pants, usually with the stall warning blaring away. It was trying to configure it to land an Ils approach on auto pilot, at least down to 100 ft, and it doesnt seem to grab the GS that well and I know it is not their magnificant coding to blame. MLW is not the issue. I am now looking, as someone suggested, at my speed bugs. It really is something else, stunning.

Will do.👍

As a qualified C172 MS2004 certificated or should that be certified pilot, I do feel I speak with some authority.😃 I once had the same problem with the B747 years ago crashing to the runway until I checked my MLW.

HammSammich, I believe you have hit the nail on the head. It will be a problem with landing weights etc. Like a few people in Prepar3D, I am having problems setting it up from the Cpan. My point about the wings still stands though. Cheers.

Ironically, I find the B777 and Airbus 320 etc. too easy (you know what I mean) in that once you learn to set up the FMS, they do it all for you including landing and you are basically a passenger. I have gone back to twin propellers for a little more involvement and was really just making the point that I am surprised that from my research the Dash 8 is a little difficult plane to fly no less because of its wing design. I am not sure a plane that is "unforgiving of poor technique" should be awarded a safety certificate.

I can fly it fine it, landing it is the problem. May I point you to this excellent article, somewhat in my defence. "pilots find the Q400 hard to land. It is absolutely unforgiving of poor technique. The other half of the reason people find the Q400 hard to land is that they try to correct excessive sink rate with pitch." Written by a Q400 Captain with 5 YRS Q400 experience. http://www.majesticsoftware.com/mjc8q400/resources/LandingTheQ400.pdf

The Majestic Q400 dash 8 is a masterpiece, of that there is no doubt, however trying to land the thing is something else. I approach at 120 knots with full flaps and it rises above GS so I use some flap relief to 15 and it still struggles. Flaps 10 seems to work best but it tries to race and while it is exciting to fly in Prepar3D it must be terrifying in the RW. Looking at the manual and the various "heads-up" to pilots you wonder if they should have gone back to the drawing board. Warnings like best to "fly it on to the runway" as plopping it down will send horrendous vibrations throughout the cabin. There are so many it might have occurred to them to start again. Are the wings too narrow for example? Are there any airbrakes apart from those on the ground when the throttles are pulled back.The main plus seems to be it is extremely economical which is probably what they were going for. It is some ride though and any tips would be greatly appreciated

This reminds me of an incident in the comedy "Frasier" where, along with his brother. he returns from dining out and when asked how it was, replys, "perfect but with one tiny flaw we can pick at all night" to which the inquisitor retorts " Oh!. Just how you like it". I remember there was a real and personal reason why RealAir had to stop but given Robert Young's astonishingly cultured, informative and reasoned reply to the initial query, I wonder if he "can be got at" and if enough people could persuade, cajole, bully, force, blackmail, stamp our feet, scream, petition or whatever it would take to make RealAir get back together and create a private jet along the lines of a Lear or Challenger etc. I know Gulfstream have banned any attempts at modelling their products so that is out. Look at the quality of Sean's Diamond! Can you imagine that attention to detail and love these guys put into their work, the clarity of the guages and the unsettling realism of their sounds of, say, the "Legacy", put into a jet? There isn't a company to touch them. I think God in His heaven is wondering the same thing and would go as far as to say should they not, they will have to answer to Him! Perfection is their calling and duty! I am getting on and hope to see it in my lifetime.