Finn 873 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Things doesn´t stand still just because we had a rather smooth release of the Bronco... We got new more detailed info about the hydraulic and electrical system. This means that the hydraulical system has been reworked and a new sound for hydraulical pump has been made. On the electrical system a few items has been moved around between the various electrical supply busses. Fueltype in the release version was set to avgas (on which the Bronco also can run), but that would be an expensive solution in reallife, so we changed to the more realistic jetfuel. Minor adjustments has been made to the fuel quantity. A few very minor tweaks and fixes has benn made. Right now we just added a new feature called "Accumulative engine wear". This feature is disabled by default but can be enabled on either the checklist gauge or the electrical debug gauge. With this feature enabled engine operating time will be recoreded and saved inbetween flights. As wear accumulates the engines will go from Excellent ->Good -> Ok -> Poor -> Inop. This will happen exponentially, meaning that engine wear will go faster and faster. When reaching "Inop" state the engine(s) will stop functioning and will need repair. Repair / service can be done at any time - resetting the engine hour counter and bringing it back to "Excellent" state by clicking on a "Wrench" icon. On the real Bronco TBO (Time Between Overhaul) is 1600 hours, which even has been increased to 3400 hours on some Broncos. Though the Aerosoft Bronco is a nice aircraft, we realy doubt that anyone would reach that figure, so we use 160 hours instead. 160 hour are still alot of hours to fly, so this can be speeded up to 2x or 4x faster (80 or 40 hours) before the engines reach Inop state. The engine hour counter though will count actual hours run - it is just the "Inop" state that will be reached 2 or 4 times faster. Those times will only be reached if the engines are not pushed above their limits i.e - not overtorqued or overheated. If overtorqued or overheated the engines will wear down much faster as a function of how long and how much they have been run over their limits. The challenge is to get as close to 160, 80 or 40 hours as possible before the need for overhaul (Clicking the "Wrench" icon). This is how the Electrical debug gauge now looks: An engine in excellent state will not reach it´s TIT/EGT limit before appr. 17.000 ft under ISA conditions, but if the engine has degenerated it will start running slightly hotter. This means that TIT/EGT limit will be reached sooner. On this screenshot engine no.2 has reached Poor condition while engine no.1 is in excelent shape. As can be seen the TIT gauge for engine no.2 is slightly higher as engine no.1 and the TIT light is allready indicating overheat and that by 12.000 ft: Because we know that not everyone will like features like this, we decided to have it disabeld by default. Simply select wether You want it to be Disabled, 1x, 2x or 4x and it will be stored for the next flights. BTW: The "Wrench" icons will also repair failed engines and restore the fire detection and extinguisher system also when the feature is disabled. Please feel free to comment Finn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epikk 1 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Great news. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddeuce 14 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Perhaps you should also overhaul the checklist to optimise startup procedure, in the current release if an individual follows "BY PROCEDURE" protocol, he must run preflight check.... and then upon reaching pre-start checklist he must complete items he accomplished during preflight.... in order to lessen this function... 1st protocol is "THE WALKAROUND... then pre=operation systems check... then=pre-start..etc..etc.. to make it a more procedural checklist... you must avoid redundancy. this is the reason for the checklist to begin with. ACCURACY not redundancy. In short an individual who utilizes the checklist must first to become accurate enough to know that when he pulls himself up onto the gunwale of the aircraft JUST by sense is able to know when something was completed improperly during the aircrafts previous flight.... It never shocked me that in MOST slip seat Broncos were shutdown without the props being unfeathered (bypassing) procedures of the checklist. also I noticed in your Bronco, NO CHIPLIGHTS, chip lights were on when an ignition was on while the engine was off.... light would go off after the engine reached 40% rpm active... also active system test lights were not necessary seeing as how when the aircraft was connected to external power or when going thru active pre-start check ALL CAUTION SYSTEMS (warning lights) were on.... Being accurate is far more important than being real. Ask ANY pilot who is a private owner, I guarentee you, he can tell you EXACTLY the position of each switch in his pit before he re-enters the aircraft. also I offered assistance to you, of which you have declined, based on source. If you needed my credentials, perhaps I could have forwaded them to you. But at this point, your minds have been made-up... and all you will be releasing is another version of a european aircraft, not realising it will be totally exempt of North American style i.e. Check what your Altimeter says in the small window, america still today runs on SAE, not metrics. So you will have probably already decided to finish what you have started. so beit... Not reducule, but fact. You gentlemen have done an excellent job on the Bronco... and I commend you. sincerely John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhawka4m 5 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Heck all I want is a paint kit....lol......and more models! Keep up the great work and looking forward to the update this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn 873 Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Both checklist and general system behaviour IS taken from real life. Maybe not a US checklist, but still a checklist that has been used on daily basis in the real world. As I have told before - any changes MUST be backed up by hands on information from flight manuals, maintanance handbooks etc etc.. We had real ground crew helping us on this, who work with this aircraft in real life as well as numerous flight manuals both from Germany and the US. Regarding developing the update, nothing will be postponed due to added features. Note we are more than one working on it. Main focus is the introduction of new models. Since that requires almost no work from my side, I got pleny of time playing with this new feature. Whether this new featrure will be added in the update partly will be determined by customer input. If a large number of customers say "unusefull feature", then it will be removed offcourse. Though it´s nice to see that alot of repaints has been made, just note that these are until now beeing made for the wrong model. The update will come with right models for both other military variants as well as the CDF version. It´s a bit frustrating to read one sentence telling how nice and dandy our Bronco is, and then in the next read how wrong it is - I don´t get it. We never promised that each model will come with it´s own 100% correct VC, cause that won´t happen. Infact hardly no two Broncos where equipped the same way. The VC for all versions WILL be the one You se now with no alterations. The problem here is that we never will be able to please every one - regardsless how much time we put into it. This is not a Level-D simulator of the Bronco. Like many other FSX addons, this is a highly realistic aircraft addon for entertainment use only - sorry to be an immersion killer. Finn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolP 24 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Great ideas on the extra features and very good explanation. The engine condition and the speed up value are particuly nice ones and I'm really looking forward to those. The fuel type fix sounds reasonable. Since the model is to be revised, is there a chance of seeing the new style landing lights? On GA planes, they really add something in my eyes. I'll leave that as a wish, same goes for a popup on the GPS gauge (I'm cheating with EZCA though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deputy Sheriffs Eric Bakker 736 Posted January 8, 2012 Deputy Sheriffs Share Posted January 8, 2012 Right now we just added a new feature called "Accumulative engine wear". [...] Because we know that not everyone will like features like this, we decided to have it disabled by default. Simply select wether You want it to be Disabled, 1x, 2x or 4x and it will be stored for the next flights. BTW: The "Wrench" icons will also repair failed engines and restore the fire detection and extinguisher system also when the feature is disabled. Please feel free to comment I like your ideas, persistent wear and damage that needs repair brings the aircraft to life. Are there other systems besides the engine that you are thinking of to add for wear? (thinking of the Katana 4X) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snave 466 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Dunno whether persistent wear other than for declining engine efficiency is really that appropriate for this class of aircraft? OK they led/lead a hard life, but an entire team of ground-based crew (usually managed by a miserable old sod like Ddeuce!!) whose pursuit of accuracy, diligence and expert work probably meant that only in the absence of the parts themselves would an airplane be sent off with something not working. While the ongoing decline certainly matches the profile of the typical club GA aircraft, I'm not so sure it's as relevant in this sector, although the idea of differential engine wear certainly IS a fine one! Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn 873 Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 The idea is not to make a similar complex system like on the Katana, though I like the Katana very much, I also find it to be somewhat overcomplex, but certainly has it´s place in the FS community. The idea was merely to add some consequence to manhandling the engines other than make them fail if operated outside their limits in an excess way. I agree with Snave that in real life the engines would never be allowed to reach Inop state - nor do they need to do so here. The Sevice/Repair icon can be clicked at any time, restoring the engines to excellent state. But if You do nothing they will reach that state at some point. CoolIP... The special landing lights You know from the Airbus X will not be added to the Bronco, simply because they wouldn´t work well on an aircraft flying low to the ground in mountain terrain - I´m sure You would not like it. Finn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliksimpie 14 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 First off, Thank you very much. looking forward to more refinement. I am happy but how about loosing the GPS. Make it selectable if you want it or not selectable if you dont want it displayed as part of VC panel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymar 4 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Good idea on making the GPS selectable. I would like that a lot. Would also be nice as a popup feature. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymar 4 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Finn, Will the new military model have the static missiles and rockets? Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk83 7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I really like the idea to have a wear and maintenance feature in the update. Gives you a reward for flying the aircraft properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private-Cowboy 3 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Those ideas are great and remind of the underappreciated Dimona. I bought the Dimona a while ago and was torn aport between getting the Dimona or Katana. I went with the Dimona and have enjoyed her ever since. All the realism that is as exiting as watching an excel spreadsheet full of number increase until they reach a certain threshold is worth little if not backed up by a proper flight model. Unfortunately the Katana falls short in that department and can't even spin properly like the real Katana can. The Dimona on the other hand has a superb flight model and backs it up with some nice engine management and wear over time. You have to fly her by the numbers too if you don't want to break her but up where she belongs - in the air - she gives you much more enjoyment than the Katana that primarily focuses on ground operations like refilling oil. I wished the teams would have joined forces because either plane could use a portion of the other but generally I wan't to fly a plane realistically withing its limits with all the maneuvers possible. And reading about the plans for the Bronco it seems she will strike that same perfect balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhawka4m 5 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 GPS visability selectable I think is the key. I would like to have the GPS available for all variants...but have it selectable as far as visibility in the cockpit would be best. I know htere was some research being done on the HUD....will that be part of the military aircraft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prozac 18 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Finn, I understand why you only want to do one cockpit, but I'd like to add a big "2" to dduce's request for a kollsman window callibrated in inches. It makes life much easier for those of us operating in North America. Does FSX even give the option of having altimeter reported in HPa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddeuce 14 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 No Aerosoft follower here has or will redicule your work,,,right or wrong.. it is a simple thing.........you asked, we responded... What your supporters want to know are the simple things, added extras should remain surprises (sort of like going to a movie you've seen before) simple things what models, what stores, what paints ? this would answer 197% of their questions... I do the paints only because God has given me the ability, I bring kids onto my ranch every summer to share my livestock with (horse, goats, racoons, skunks..etc...etc.. and every now and then some child sees photos of my aircraft on the wall, and then it becomes an all day conversation, and a lot of times.... a yougster goes from animals and things kids like, and they become future aviators.. Out of around 850 5th and 6th grade kids in the last 10 years, I can give you 5 names that have had their solos in the last year.. MAKES YOU PROUD. GOD BE WITH YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddeuce 14 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Snave my friends are my ground crew, between my son and myself, we have a 1947 Navion in War Colors, We have a 1990 Piper Aztec, About the only thing we pay for is metelergy, The reason is that both airframes are available to our extended family anytime they require it, Checkrides, joyrides, business, etc, etc. please excuse my spelling, some days i am sharper than others. Finn I am not being negative of what your team has accomplished, quite the opposite... Ya just need to remember the K.I.S.S. principle... believe it or not, what you build here today reflects on our leaders of tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snave 466 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 When I owned my own Europa XS it was kept in immaculate condition, maintained by just the two of us who'd built it. By contrast the PA28's the club owned had various levels of love bestowed upon them ranging from cosseted to neglected, to the point of mushrooms growing under the co-pilots seat in one case (door not closed properly in the rain, cover left flapping in the breeze, aircraft not required again for several weeks, water gets in past the seals... ...you get the picture! . And it has been my experience that the state of the aircraft has nothing to do with leadership, only the diligence of the owner, user and maintainers. One of the prettiest 182's I ever flew in was owned by the scruffiest git I think I've ever known - looked like he got his clothes from scarecrows-r-us! But he had more (old) money than Midas, and employed a most fastidious detailer and valeter, and had three maintenance staff keeping it sharp and pristine all the time. I've actually watched the detailer taking the wheel fairings off to clean and polish the insides... after the aircraft hadn't been flown, just taxied across the airfield! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddeuce 14 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 My son just purchased a second Navion for parts, unkempt, unclean...looked like something from a junkyard, but the maintenance log was in wrose condition.... had an extra fuel tank in the baggage area, corrosion galore, but the power plant was immaculate, frame spars clean no corrosion, so it is in the shop now having all the corrosion removed... a second Navion... ? 7 years ago My son and I had a shot at a Bronco out of Buenos Aieres, 4 blade Lycomb engines 1150HP ea. US refused to let us import..... what a loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigsaw 20 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Sounds like an excellent addition. Thank you! Just to be on the safe side for the purists I'd also include a real time life cycle with the full 1.600 hours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn 873 Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Sounds like an excellent addition. Thank you! Just to be on the safe side for the purists I'd also include a real time life cycle with the full 1.600 hours. Hmmm. 1600 hours thats flying everyday for 4 hours more than a year. The degeneration from Excellent to Good would then happen after half a year. Sure You really want that ? BTW: I just added inHg to be shown when units are imperial in the General setting and Hpa when set to either imperial/millibars or metric. Just note that readout for 1013 hpa will show as 2992 with imperial selected (no dot) the text on the gauge just above the readout will still say "Millibars" though You must zoom really close in to be able to read it. Finn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigsaw 20 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Sure You really want that? Not me, but someone might. I recently checked and the FSX logbook says I flew a bit over 1200 hours over the period of two years with all my aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn 873 Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Lol - Reaching that many hours in the Bronco alone probably means time for FSX re-install or new PC - consider that an overhaul Finn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prozac 18 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 BTW: I just added inHg to be shown when units are imperial in the General setting and Hpa when set to either imperial/millibars or metric. Just note that readout for 1013 hpa will show as 2992 with imperial selected (no dot) the text on the gauge just above the readout will still say "Millibars" though You must zoom really close in to be able to read it. Finn Thanks for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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