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Diamond DA20-100 Katana


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Attitude Indicator and GPS Failure:

I made a possible fix for this problem available: Downloads

It would be great if those who are experiencing this bug could try this out and report if it is of success. Thanks in advance!

One user reported that the problem was solved after he deleted the FSX.cfg and made a new startup situation.

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4X_DA20-100_ELEC_FIX.zip

This corrected the issue I appeared to be having with what appeared to be a loss of electrical power to some aircraft systems after approximately 10-15 minutes of aircraft use. I believe the underlaying problem is/was being caused by my default flight that was supposedly in a cold & dark situation. The problem could also be overcome by pressing the ctrl+e conbination which I assume turned the relevant system(s) back on during flight.

The above file does indeed fix the problem though and I would assume having a normal default flight file would also overcome this issue, hence the reports of having FSX build a new fsx.cfg file also eliminating the problem. Thanks for the quick fix. ;)

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Thought: It wasn't a nearby aircraft by any chance? I, er, did have a problem once where I complained about the nonsensical engine sounds in a (non-Aerosoft) model, only to belatedly realise the incorrect turboprop sounds for the little GA were actually caused in my sim by the AI C208 starting up two parking bays down... :blush:

No.

The issue also occurred when setting idle power in flight.

Also, the sound really faded away itself, it wasn't overpowered by the engine sound.

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Attitude Indicator and GPS Failure:

I made a possible fix for this problem available: Downloads

It would be great if those who are experiencing this bug could try this out and report if it is of success. Thanks in advance!

One user reported that the problem was solved after he deleted the FSX.cfg and made a new startup situation.

Hi Marcel,

Unfortunately I can only confirm that this fix breaks the GPS completely, RXP at least. With the new panel config applied, all click spots for the GPS are gone, and it will not power up.

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Unfortunately I can only confirm that this fix breaks the GPS completely, RXP at least. With the new panel config applied, all click spots for the GPS are gone, and it will not power up.

Thats right. I had commented out the line for the GPS. A new file is available under Downloads, now with the GNS. ;)

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The fix work for me no electric issue on a 30 minutes flights (I used to have the bug before)

One think I notice, in the Setting menu, the Avionics always come back to realistic even if I set it to simple. Other option are properly saved.

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Try to click the side faces of the knobs, not the front face which is the push function. ;)

Yeah the larger knobs are no problem, but it's the smaller knob that has a very small clickspot.

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DA 20-100 Katana: Why is the prop not visible when the engine is running ? Is this realistic ? And there is no back lighting for the gauges ??? I'm guessing it's not certified to fly at night ???

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The propeller is pretty transparent when the engine is running. I like some visible prop too as you can see on videos. But it was complained that you won't see the propeller with your eyes in reality so I made it nearly unvisible.

Gauges don't have backlighting. There is just the floodlight.

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DA 20-100 Katana: Why is the prop not visible when the engine is running ? Is this realistic ?

The propeller is pretty transparent when the engine is running. I like some visible prop too as you can see on videos. But it was complained that you won't see the propeller with your eyes in reality so I made it nearly unvisible.

1

This is actually one thing I really like. In reality you can't see much of the prop as it is moving. At very low RPM and lights in front of you you'd see it, but not nearly as clear as most products depict it.

=> Thanks!!

2

On another note:

I can't get the trim tab setting for the rudder to work. No matter how I bend it, I always get a little yaw moment to the left.

I've tried full deflection to the left & right, with no difference at all. The aileron tabs work, but I always "over-compensate"...

Could you maybe:

- add a button on the config panel to reset the tabs to neutral

- add buttons to set the tab to correct for forces at 55, 65, 75% (I think that's the maximum anyone flies in cruise regularly). => I know this isn't realistic, but the process of finding the right settings is annoying, on the other hand having that constant yaw moment so the plane won't fly by itself for 20 seconds is, too!

3

Btw, can we get an ADF in the empty spot in the VC?

4

How does the Katana know something is broken? Is it simply an index (starting with 100 points) with points being deducted for each damage?

Because sometimes I'd like to know what is wrong with a part... I keep needing to repair my flaps, sometimes with flap motor (my guess: too high extension speed, darn Diamonds =P )

Thanks again for this lovely plane!!

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1: Agreed, in the real bird there is very little distraction caused by the prop. The greatest cause of distraction is the distortion caused by the compound curves of the bubble canopy and the odd reflections and refractions you can get. It's a noted `corner of the eye` airplane, to the point where specific reference was made to it as part of preflight checks by the instructor who taught me (ex-Harrier jockey, same problem there!).

`Motion blur` is a camera effect, not a human eyeball experience.

2: Yaw moment not caused by trim - guess you're flying solo? That should be the clue, but trouble is unlike in the old FS2004 Katana I don't think you can have the weight evened out without displaying it too - perhaps this could be looked at as there ought to be scope within the existing clickspots in the Payload menu to have optional display as well as optional presence of the mass?

3: ADF option wuold be nice - especially as there is no pop up option in the default GPS so you have to lose spatial awareness to access the menu, whcih is the other place to find an ADF reference.

4: There is a clear WHITE band on the IAS. Flap limiting speed for the Katana is 81 knots, (LIMITATIONS manual, page 2, it's as clear as the nose on your face)) and it is entirely realistic that this bird will not `go down and slow down` at the same time. Rotax has no shock cooling issues, so carb heat, throttle back, then raise the nose to bleed the speed until Vfe, then drop the nose. Conversely, with landing flap extended you may need to add power to balance the drag.

There might be a teensy-weensy issue with the ground effect of the flight model at the moment - even with full flap the Katana is notoriously `floaty` on flare unless the speeds are bang-on, but I haven't played around with the weights and CG yet to see if it's consistent. As it is, there's a good compromise with low-speed crosswind performance and the loss of elevator effectiveness at just above stall (a first in FSX for me, not even Accusim gets that right!), so it might be best left alone given the inter-connectivity between the two.

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The propeller is pretty transparent when the engine is running. I like some visible prop too as you can see on videos. But it was complained that you won't see the propeller with your eyes in reality so I made it nearly unvisible.

Gauges don't have backlighting. There is just the floodlight.

That totally kills the immersion fator for me. I have about 40 hours in a 172 and you can see the prop at especially at lower RPMs and less of it at higher RPMs but it's not totally invisible. How many people complained that are real pilots ?? I never really gave it to much thought when I was flying a real plane but I will check next time I go up. Correct me if im wrong.

I notice the plane doesn't slip very well either ?

Regards........

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1: Agreed, in the real bird there is very little distraction caused by the prop. The greatest cause of distraction is the distortion caused by the compound curves of the bubble canopy and the odd reflections and refractions you can get. It's a noted `corner of the eye` airplane, to the point where specific reference was made to it as part of preflight checks by the instructor who taught me (ex-Harrier jockey, same problem there!).

`Motion blur` is a camera effect, not a human eyeball experience.

2: Yaw moment not caused by trim - guess you're flying solo? That should be the clue, but trouble is unlike in the old FS2004 Katana I don't think you can have the weight evened out without displaying it too - perhaps this could be looked at as there ought to be scope within the existing clickspots in the Payload menu to have optional display as well as optional presence of the mass?

3: ADF option wuold be nice - especially as there is no pop up option in the default GPS so you have to lose spatial awareness to access the menu, whcih is the other place to find an ADF reference.

4: There is a clear WHITE band on the IAS. Flap limiting speed for the Katana is 81 knots, (LIMITATIONS manual, page 2, it's as clear as the nose on your face)) and it is entirely realistic that this bird will not `go down and slow down` at the same time. Rotax has no shock cooling issues, so carb heat, throttle back, then raise the nose to bleed the speed until Vfe, then drop the nose. Conversely, with landing flap extended you may need to add power to balance the drag.

There might be a teensy-weensy issue with the ground effect of the flight model at the moment - even with full flap the Katana is notoriously `floaty` on flare unless the speeds are bang-on, but I haven't played around with the weights and CG yet to see if it's consistent. As it is, there's a good compromise with low-speed crosswind performance and the loss of elevator effectiveness at just above stall (a first in FSX for me, not even Accusim gets that right!), so it might be best left alone given the inter-connectivity between the two.

@2: I tried adding the weights for a second person and added an equal amount to the right seat. While the plane sits more level on the ground, it doesn't change the behavior in flight.

I also removed the pilots weights (so 0kg payload in total) and it was still the same.

Setting the tabs on the aileron (as mentioned) has a pretty big influence, so much though that I didn't get it to stay level so far.

==> Maybe you could add a different way of adjusting the tabs, so that you can set the angle directly in a textbox (say you could set it in 0.1° steps - which would enable you to "copy" working angles for a certain setting from other pilots here).

Then you could create a small table for different payloads and power-settings with the appropriate tab angles.

@3: yes definitely. Especially as this could make this plane perfect for all sorts of instrument training, you've get everything you need... =)

@4: I know. This is more about whether it would be possible to add details to the errors occurring. If this works "simply" on a scale - as described above - this is of course not possible. If there is a more detailed method in use, maybe you could add a little description to yellow/red items (e.g. "There seems to be some wear on the flap hinges. Try to stick to the published flap speed limits..."

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That totally kills the immersion fator for me. I have about 40 hours in a 172 and you can see the prop at especially at lower RPMs and less of it at higher RPMs but it's not totally invisible. How many people complained that are real pilots ?? I never really gave it to much thought when I was flying a real plane but I will check next time I go up. Correct me if im wrong.

I notice the plane doesn't slip very well either ?

Regards........

Well, in reality at high RPM (2000-2500) you can make out the prop most of the times only because you see a tiny little difference at the prop tips. At lower RPM a sort of flickering sets in, but this is still pretty "faint". If you lower the RPM of course (from around 1800 to idle - depending on the prop and how it is colored) you can definitely see it clearly.

However, I really prefer this way, as most of the planes out there have a way too strong effect shown. You won't see a dark circle where the prop turns, especially since most props nowadays are painted "sky-like" on the side facing the airplane, so that there is very little contrast to the sky in front of you.

This is also why in contrary you can see the prop from the front, as it is mostly painted in a stronger color, especially so that by-standing people notice it and don't just walk into it.

I'm going to check this out in the model later, but I like it so far... ;-)

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That totally kills the immersion fator for me. I have about 40 hours in a 172 and you can see the prop at especially at lower RPMs and less of it at higher RPMs but it's not totally invisible. How many people complained that are real pilots ?? I never really gave it to much thought when I was flying a real plane but I will check next time I go up. Correct me if im wrong.

I notice the plane doesn't slip very well either ?

Regards........

Slips exactly like the real one for me. FSX Settings mebbe? Hardware? How much time in a Rotax-engined Katana do you have?

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  • Aerosoft

That totally kills the immersion fator for me. I have about 40 hours in a 172 and you can see the prop at especially at lower RPMs and less of it at higher RPMs but it's not totally invisible. How many people complained that are real pilots ?? I never really gave it to much thought when I was flying a real plane but I will check next time I go up. Correct me if im wrong.

I notice the plane doesn't slip very well either ?

Regards........

I am correcting you because I believe you are you are wrong, sorry!

Have flown a good number of hours in the Katana and the prop is really hardly visible in flight. That's partly because of the canopy that looks great but is not the most practical with it's curves that make less transparent then for example a C172 window. I also flown a good number of hours in the C182 and I also hardly have any recollection about the prop being visible. I find the effect way overdone in most aircraft, one of those things sim pilots have started to expect that do not actually have to be realistic. Could very well be that we look at different things or that our eyes are different in perception.I was one of the people who complained and others who were real pilots found the same. I am sorry it 'totally kills the immersion' for you. You got very high standards there!

And because of the configuration the Katana is rather balanced in corners (remember, it was designed as a first flights trainer!) so it was designed to prevent slips as much as possible. It's not a C172 that you are accustomed to. Same with sideslips, those are not the most comfortable in this aircraft. But so are most low wing aircraft.

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Found another bug:

English cockpit:

Carb Heat and Cabin Heat are swapped.

The controls work as in the German version (left: Carb, right: Cabin), but the label says left: Cabin, right: Carb)

Should be easy ;-)

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Hi Guys,

first of all - phantastic product. Love it and cannot wait for the Porter!

I am still having one big problem though.

I loaded the aircraft first time and found the GPS (RXP) did not work.

It seems to have power in that the lighting of the background subtly changes but no luck switching it on though...

I tried the elec fix and the little reset utility (I never had the other elec problem though, only the GPS would not work).

That made FSX crash on selecting the Katana.

I then reinstalled the aircraft and tried again with the new elec fix.

As discussed by others the first fix disabled clickspots on the RXP unit.

Still, I cannot get the GPS to work.

Everything else is fine and I do not get the 'loss of elec' problem for anything else.

When I move the cursor over the clickspot on the RXP unit the tooltips show me the on/off caption but alas no luck in turning it on.

I am quite lost as to what to do now (I tried all the other suggestions mentioned here - ctrl E, running the RXP configurator first, etc.).

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Anton

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Hi and thanks for a really nice plane!

Just a couple of things.... firstly how do you tune to something like 123.675 on the comm radio, I getr as far as 123.67 but can't do the last 5, and FSX's ATC doesn't seem to recognise that as the same frequency, had to switch to simple mode to get those ones! Also I agree with other users comments that the clickspot for the khz is too small, sometimes have to pause the sim to get it! Any chance it can be made a little larger?

And the other thing is..I couldn't get rid of the dead fly on top of my panel, even after hoovering the whole inside of the plane!

Other than that, I've had a great time in the Katana! :D Thanks again!

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