Hughes Racer eyepoints

[Eoraptor1]

I downloaded the shined model of Tim Conrad's Hughes Racer last Saturday, installed, and went to free flight. I couldn't se the VC at all. I appeared to be sitting out on the fuselage right behind the engine cowling. Has anyone adjusted the eyepoints so as to place the pilot [ME, not the visual model's pilot] in the cockpit? If so, could you please post the Aircraft.cfg entry? Have I missed something else very obvious? Thanks in advance.

JAMES

[ryapad]

I don't think it has a VC. Just try control+backspace and and enter. If that doesn't do it, it is some combination if control of shift, then using backspace or enter to actually move.

[Eoraptor1]

I don't think it has a VC. Just try control+backspace and and enter. If that doesn't do it, it is some combination if control of shift, then using backspace or enter to actually move.

Thank you for answering. I'll try your fix. I did look at the Panel.cfg file and it does have VC entries. I just thought I did something wrong. Usually when this sort of thing happens, I've overlooked something very basic.

JAMES

[PhantomTweak]

If you want to change the default place where you "appear" in the VC when the plane first loads in, look through the aircraft.cfg file for the section:

[Views]
eyepoint=3.1,0.000,3.25

The first number after the equals sign, in this case 3.1, is the longitudinal position. If you think it's too far forward, make it more negative. So, in this case, change the 3.1 to, JUST FOR EXAMPLE, 2.1. Reload the plane and see where you are now.

I've found that often, IF the [weight_and_balance] section is in any way accurate, look for the "Pilot" entry. In this example, it is station_load.0 = 170, 3.5, 0, 1 // Pilot . I start by copying the position in that entry, the SECOND, THIRD, and FOURTH numbers after the equals sign. I marked them in red.

MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A BACK-UP OF THE FILE FIRST!!!!

Just copy the numbers I showed in red to the [Views] section, reload the plane, and see where you show up. It's a good place to start. It usually requires a little adjustment of the vertical entry, the last number of the sequence, in our example [Views] section the 3.25, to be just right, but it's a good place to start.

If the station_load.0 = 170, 3.5, 0, 1 // Pilot doesn't look at all accurate, or it places the eyepoint off in outer Mongolia someplace, you can also try the entry in the [lights] section for the VC light. In our example aircraft, it would be light.0 = 4, 3.64, 0, 1.99, fx_vclight_grn , . Again, copy the numbers I marked in red to the [Views] section, reload and see what happens. Once again, it may require some fine tuning to show you up where you think is "just right", but it's dandy place to start.

Just a small side note: If you have assigned a key, or joystick button, to the "Reload User Aircraft" function, which I do since it's a fast, easy way to test changes in aircraft without going through a "Load Aircraft" twice or whatever, you must make sure ALL AI sliders are full left. Commercial Aircraft, Ground Traffic, Boats, ALL of them. If they aren't, the plane may leave some *.cfg entries in memory, so you don't get a valid reload.

Hope this helps a little :)
Pat☺

[Eoraptor1]

ATTN: Phantom

That is very clever. I'll try it later today. The pilot in the Racer seems to sit farther back in the fuselage than usual with most of my single engine props, so I anticipate a level of tweaking. Thank you.

JAMES

[PhantomTweak]

IF, notice it's a big if, the W&B section is at all accurate, it will get you close. If not, the vc_light section should be fairly close, especially in longitude. Not perfect, but close. You'll have to tweak it from there.
Good fortune to ya!
Pat☺

[mal998]

This will fix the landing gear stance and height:

[contact_points]
max_number_of_points = 7
point.0 = 1, -16.317, 0, -3.50, 1600, 0, 0.62, 45, 0.25, 2.5, 0.78, 4, 6, 0, 0, 144
point.1 = 1, 1.67, -5, -7.75, 1800, 1, 0.9, 0, 0.35, 2.5, 0.8, 4.5, 6.5, 2, 0, 144
point.2 = 1, 1.67, 5, -7.75, 1800, 2, 0.9, 0, 0.35, 2.5, 0.8, 5, 7.5, 3, 0, 144

point.3 = 2, 0, -15.9, -0.457, 1200, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5
point.4 = 2, 0, 15.9, -0.457, 1200, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6
point.5 = 2, -18.59, 0, -0.0326, 2400, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 9
point.6 = 2, -1.99, 0, -1.81, 2400, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4

static_cg_height=5.4 //(feet) altitude of CG when at rest (altitude when loaded on ground)
static_pitch= 13.8 //degrees (pitch when loaded on ground)
gear_system_type=0

This will fix the eyepoint for the VC which has issues:

[Views]
eyepoint= -5.3, 0, 0

Normally I would tweak the airfile to improve performance but in this case the aircraft is quite old and does not warrant an update.
* A word to the wise the 2D panel appears to be the same one used in MS's 300 racer. If so, this might be seen as copyright infringement. Just sayin'...

[Eoraptor1]

Thank you to all respondents. I deeply appreciate your time and attention. I've got everything working now. What I didn't understand is that there are several different packages floating around flight simulator land using this same model. The one I first downloaded from Flightsim.com, the one with the super shiny textures, does indeed use the Extra 300 panel, and the virtual cockpit, such as it is, sits the pilot well out on the nose instead of the cockpit. Even so, I found the Extra 300 panel inadequate for this a/c. I found what I took to be the original FS9 a/c right here at Sim-Outhouse, which had a more era-correct panel. I found other versions of this same a/c online but some of them lacked the Lockheed Vega gauges necessary to fill out the 2d and virtual cockpits. I found the Vega fairly easily, which was a plus, because I ended up really liking that model as well. I really like vintage aircraft. They're kind of art-deco. It doesn't bother me that it's an old model as long as I still enjoy it. I buzz around in my Dave Copley P-38's and my converted CFS2 fighters all the time; they're like old friends at this point. I believe the airfile I got from sim-outhouse more than the on I got on flightsim.com, the former maxes out at around 350 mph airspeed in level flight, while the latter is much hotter; more 1945 performance than 1935. I like both; they're a lot of fun to fly around my Niagara Falls scenery. The ground handling is tricky with both a/c, but from what I've read about the real Hughes Racer, it was designed to operate from dirt airfields; not modern concrete. It doesn't have a proper tailwheel, but a tail skid, which to my mind tends to support this theory. Anyway, thanks again to everyone. I'm sure I'll be crying out for help again soon.

JAMES

[Eoraptor1]

Hello again. Evidently, Mr. Michael Pook was having some of the same thoughts as I about the freeware Hughes Racer. There's an updated version of the Tim Conrad model with Mr. Pook's tweaked flight model and panel available on FlightSim.com and Simviation which addresses many of the issues I brought up in this thread. I've seen the Aerosoft version on YouTube, and it looks very impressive, but I'm not currently in the market for any more payware a/c. I'm sure I will be in the future, but not this month, and probably not the next either. Other things must take priority. Anyway, for some reason Tim Conrad a/c work very well with my system, and I'm very happy with his model.

Thanks again,

JAMES