IDG PA28 Development

[unrealaviation]

Rudder turns the wrong way in the external animation and the nose wheel is buried up to its hub. Minor issues which I'm sure you'll fix soon.
Glass could be er, 'glassier' in the external views...
Overall, so far it is absolutely stunning. I love the FDM and the excellent panel. This has become my default 'go for a bimble' aircraft.

P.S. Hate the black menus. Sorry.

[Octal450]

Hi there!
As I said the "3d" branch is still under development. The gears will be fixed as soon as my 3D guy puts his newest model up to git. The rudder is now fixed, sorry! That must have happened when I made the new system for animations over MP. I deeply apologize for not checking it closer!
I'll pass the glass feedback to the 3D modeller
I'm glad you like the FDM! It is tuned to match the real plane as much as I could!

We have found that the majority of users say they much prefer the black menus, so we are keeping them. I'm sorry you aren't a fan. Just delete the it-gui.xml file from the IDG-PA28/gui folder, but be aware that some dialogs may not display correctly!

Kind Regards,
Josh

[unrealaviation]

Oh I understand the black menus are a bit of a 'trade mark' so I am going to learn to love 'em.

[Octal450]

Well... I'd say the Aircraft Config Center is more of an IDG "trade mark" than the black menus, but yes, I am the only one to do so.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[tdammers]

Personally I don't care for the dark menus at all, I'd prefer if there was a setting to revert them to normal. And then maybe a straightforward way to theme FG itself, regardless of aircraft model.

The "Config Center" is kind of alright, though from a UX perspective, it's still kind of bad that things are in different locations for these aircraft.

I'd much prefer if these improvements happened in FG core (or fgdata, as the case may be), rather than aircraft developers doing it on a per-aircraft basis.

[Octal450]

I disagree.
The Config Center only works because the aircraft was specifically programmed with it in mind. Settings are saved and shared between -set files for each aircraft folder. It offers to fix your rendering settings if ALS lighting won't work and explains why and how. Panel states set every single switch and button to the right position. It is far better than a simple autostart. You can't just plug it into other things. And I'm sorry but you are in the minority. When I introduced ACCONFIG, the response was overwhelmingly positive. If you don't like it, click the do not show this screen in FG startup box, and you'll never see or hear from it again.

In my opinion, specifics are always far better than generics.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[unrealaviation]

Agreed. I LIKE the config very much.
Found another minor bug - the propeller turns the wrong way.
Been doing some long flights to check things like fuel consumption etc. Every bit as good as my first impression. A delight to fly in every respect.
Forgetting to switch tanks after flying for two hours is um, very realistic when you disconnect the autopilot. Is my face red?

[Octal450]

Found another minor bug - the propeller turns the wrong way.

OOPS! Thanks for finding that! Fixed now!


Gear are fixed now.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[Octal450]

Today I rewrote the electrical into JSBsim, more realistic. I also hooked up a few circuit breakers (Alternator Field, Fuel Pump, Electric Trim, Autopilot, Transponder), but note that they will get some modelling corrections shortly.

I will begin the NSA360 HSI simulation soon, which will (hopefully) simulate it properly, and allow its breaker to work also. I am also looking into adding a Garmin G5 Panel to the list of panel configurations

The GNS530 will be a challenge. I'm not quite sure how I'll tackle it yet, but I'll start with the radios section, so that I can get it into master. I can't have a master if the radios cannot be used.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[unrealaviation]

<Excited>

[Octal450]

Fuel system now reworked.
Electrical and Fuel Failures are once again working.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[Octal450]

Now circuit breakers have correct 3d and the NSA360 breaker is hide in the DG. G5 Panels. A G5 breaker appears when in G5 panel.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[Octal450]

I decided to merge 3d into master. enough is working. The only thing not is the COM1/NAV1 which you can set from the dialog. They will work soon as I get time to work with the GNS530. NAV/COM 2 is available in the panel.

Kind Regards,
Josh

[Octal450]

Some aero updates for landing/stall behavior, and fixed the trim behavior

Q/A:
Q: The IDG PIPER PA28 WARRIOR II is hard to flare! Why?
A: As you idle the throttle over the numbers, the aircraft slows. Less air flowing over the stabilator means less authority. In real life, we sometimes could have near full aft yoke before touchdown if we "float" it.

Q: The yoke in the cockpit moves when adjusting trim. Why it does this???
A: Due to the way controls work in the sim, we cannot properly simulate the force on the yoke. In real life, you trim until there is no force on the yoke while holding your desired attitude. I have simulated it in a way that does not remove authority from the stabilator like some other planes!!!!! However, like other planes, the yoke still needs moves so that the center of your joystick is always the "no-force" position of the yoke. Hence, unlike some other planes which factor the trim incorrectly, in the IDG PIPER PA28 WARRIOR II, the yoke "no-force" position is affected when trimming, instead of just adding a bias to the stabilator removing authority from the pilot!!!!!

You have more questions? Please write below and I will answer instantly! Thanks!

Kind Regards,
Josh