Damage Mod for BN-2 Islander WIP

[Kekelekou]

Hello!

Being a huge fan of Flight1's BN-2 Islander, I am developping a Damage Mod for it from Ismail Hakki Güzel's and Didier Lagaffe's versions.

The following systems will wear out and will be inflicted damage in case of improper use :
- engines
- generators
- propellers
- flaps
- flaps motor
- flight controls
- autopilot
- vacuum
- pitot tubes
- brakes
- structural deicing

Some extra features will be implemented :
- avionics dying if on when engine starts
- blown tires in case of hard landing
- foul spark plug if engine runs at low rpm and rich mixture for too long
- engine dies in case of quick throttle movement with fuel pump off
- door lock and alarm

All extra features were tested and work fine.
System wear and failure gauges were tuned from Ismail's and Didier's work for the Islander, but have not been added to the aircraft nor tested yet.

I have designed an "Inspect & Repair" panel which needs to be tested too.

I'll keep you updated with the progress of the project, but it should be ready by Christmas!

See you then!

[euroastar350]

Looking forward to this. I'm developing the 3 engined brother to the Islander, the Trislander and this is something I want to add to the release version. Interested in implementing that into the Tri?

[euroastar350]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=54496&stc=1

[gray eagle]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=54496&stc=1



Hey euroastar,
How is that Airwolf Bell 222 coming along? I thought you were doing one.
Sorry to hijack this page but I saw you were here and had to ask.
EDIT: This version Bell 222 doesn't work well in P3D V3.4 - It has some limitations on startup. Some of the overhead switched do not see to animate in P3D V3.4 - It will fly when it wants too.

http://eaglerotorcraftsimulations.com/fsx_bell222a.php

[Kekelekou]

Hello euroastar!

I have been a silent follower of your Trilander project on FSDeveloper.
My priority is set on delivering the BN-2 DamageMod, but then why not updating it if time/availability allows?
Adding a third engine would anyway be quite easy.

About the thread hijacking : the DamageMod is the one supposed to blow up parts of the Islander all over the place. So let keep this thread tidy please ;)

[Kekelekou]

Hello!


A quick update about how the BN-2 Damage Mod is coming along. Quite nicely I must say : I have been pretty glad that the maintenance panel code was not too buggy. So here is a link to a video showing the main features on a 2 system test gauge :
- Activation if engines cut and park brake set
- system selection
- system inspection and repair
I have also implemented what I think a big improvement from the existing damage mods : the inspection and repair are not instantaneous (even though I had them pretty short for the video). Fixing a failed system costs you a bit of time, hence teaching you a lesson so that you will not do the same mistake again. What is the whole point about the damage mod : paying attention to the gauges on the instrument panel. If you can fix evreything with one single click, why bother with these darn figures?


I have not been able to embed the video in my message, so please follow the link to watch the video.


The work on the other gauge has been mainly focused on finding a way to "hijacking" FSX logic so that I can model a sluggish, cold engine or the RPM loss on a faulty plug magneto dead cut test. Thanks to Tom Aguilo's XMLTools and Herectic's help, I am pretty close to reaching this target.


See you soon!

Link for the video : https://www.flickr.com/photos/80582198@N05/37648814706/in/datetaken-public#


What's below is a PICTURE, not a video. Click on the link above to watch the video :



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4480/37648814706_e72f1f12c3_z.jpg

[Kekelekou]

So, what's up regarding the Islander?

I have mostly fiddled with the MDL lately.
Thanks to Arno's MCX, the throttle levers' positions are not depending on the A:var anymore, but on a L:var. So now the power loss due to a faulty mag during the dead cut test does not end up in a automoving throttle lever, and power restricted engine can be pushed to 100% without the lever springing back to 50%. It does not sound very impressive, but it's really nice immersion-wise.
One last point being tackled right now is trying to get rid of the overriding joystick's throttle movement : joystick inputs overide all other inputs including L:vars. I have to measure the joystick’s theottle position, but prevent it from being read by the sim. This means SimConnect and the C++ universe that is very, very intimidating. I have managed to compile and run two samples from the SDK so far, and Simon853 gave precious tips on FSDeveloper about how implementing a intercept and mask C++ gauge. So I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Stay tuned for the next updates!

[Anneke]

Lovely, looking forward to this!!

[Kekelekou]

Thank you Anneke! I am really looking forward to being able to publish it too!

Gosh, what a relief : I have managed to code the joystick throttle intercept gauge (thanks to the invaluable resources on FSDeveloper). Tested and validated in game. So now, I can control the engine outputs whetever the throttle inputs are (from the joystick or the mouse in the VC). A failed engine will look much more realustuc from now on! Getting into C++ was complicated and tedious, but it was well worth it.

I switch back to the individual system fail gauges that still need to be tested.

The Damage Mod for the BN-2 is getting.closer and closer to a releasable state! Stay tuned for more.

[Anneke]

Persevere Kekelekou! Would very much like to fly the BN-2 again with some extra ' troubles' :jump:

[Portia911]

I'm also watching with interest. This will add a new dimension to an already enjoyable add-on. Best wishes Kekelekou.

[Kekelekou]

Hello,
Just a little comment about the last developments of the Damage Mod for the Islander with one good and one bad pieces of news.
I am finished with the systems gauges (tested and validated in sim), except the engine ones that are more complicated. The panel gauge will be dealt with later.
The prop pitch levers anim is going to be amended just like the throttle levers with the “Intercept, Mask and Pass” C++ gauge, since a damaged prop will not be able to be set to lower pitch.
The bad news is that my FSX files somehow got corrupted in the last few days, what has forced me to uninstall the sim and reinstall evertything from scratch. I am not done getting everything back to the normal, so my slow development pace is not accelerating much.
I am really sorry about that L
The good news is that the FSCaptain team has agreed to slightly adapt their code, so that failures will be passed from one module to the other! For instance, a wear-induced failed generator from “my” DM will be detected by FSCaptain, and a bird strike in the engine will modify the wear index in the DM.
So, as a former French president put it : “the slope is steep, but the path is straight”!
I wish you a pleasant year, clear skys in sim and in the real life. Stay tuned for the next update!

[fsafranek]

So, as a former French president put it : “the slope is steep, but the path is straight”!
Think of the FSX issues as switchbacks along that "straight" path up the hill. Appreciate your work.
:ernaehrung004:

[Kekelekou]

So, what’s up with the Damage Mod for the Islander?
The engine gauges needed a bit of work to have all the individual failures work together (warming up, wear, dead cut mag test). The missing bits are now ironed out. I have also taken the opportunity to simulate the sluggish response to throttle input of a cold engine.
The Joystick throttle Intercept, mask and pass C++ gauge was cloned to «*hijack*» prop pitch input from an external controller, so that the pitch response test can be fully and accurately simulated.
The Islander VC was missing a switch to toggle structural deice on and off, but such a switch is now standing just left of the airspeed indicator (thanks to Blender and the Blender2FSx toolkit).

Coding-wise, the last task is to amend my test control panel to handle the 36 systems and corresponding buttons. I have not decided yet if I want to include the FSCaptain interface as a default feature or an addon. The timeline for the release of the v1.81 beta will tell!

Releasing the Damage Mod has been so close! So stay tuned for more!

[BendyFlyer]

Take care with the sensitivities on this one. I flew the real aeroplane for over 4 years and never had an engine failure (The company I worked for at the time had 8 of them), the Lycoming engine was a very robust, forgiving and hard to thrash to death. However let me say this, vac pump failures were so routine we carried a spare in the baggage compartments. Generators failed regularly, the micro switches that controlled the flaps played up frequently, fuel pumps failed, prop governors failed and vac driven instruments also failed monotonously. I even had a gen short that burnt the wiring all the way from the right engine to the inverters (those lines went past the main fuel tanks). None of this was particularly life threatening and duplication allowed a lot of latitude except when the were IFR which legally mandated two of this etc to be legal etc. Tyre blowouts were not hard to achieve, just sit on the brakes when you touched down that would do it! Our BN2-B's had weather radar and GPS couple autopilots, there failures were frequent because of the heat they generated particularly the radar, did not like to work too well at 50C.

The door alarm was actually a solenoid on the door jam, when on it shot a pin across which prevented the door from being opened with the engine running, why because from that position you could reach far enough out to get your arms or hands hit by the prop.

If you want any help or information let me know glad to help. As for flying them in the Sim, sorry while I loved them for their STOL capacity, they were noisy, slow and uncomfortable. But for all that a tremendously versatile bush aeroplane with airline standard engine failure performance guaranteed, Oh in real life they had heavy controls pitch and roll and you always knew an Islander pilot because of his well developed arms muscles, you really had to push and shove them to get them to go where you wanted, they were physical hard work in that regard, I would go to the Dash 8 for a stint and it felt like a fighter by comparison and believe me the Dash 8 was decidedly agricultural as well

[Kekelekou]

Gosh, a real Islander pilot showing up! Great news, and thank you for your much valuable input.
To be honest, I have checked that all wear gauges work properly, but I have not flown much with the damage mod on. So I still have to adjust the wear rates, and your comment gives helpful hints about which systems age quicker.
By the way, I have just sent you a PM.

Stay tuned!

[guitar0633]

CANNOT WAIT. Very excited for this mod. I use this baby in the Alaska mountains but have been flying it only rarely just to stay familiar with it because of the anticipation of this mod. There will be a lot of folks who will feel like they have a new bird once this is out.

Thanks for your hard work, it will truly be appreciated.

[Kekelekou]

Thank you guitar0633, I also wish I could get the the mod finished soon. :jump:

A short update to show you the final panel layout. I am pretty pleased with how it looks, but I still have to make sure all lights glow where and when required!



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4624/40173535431_cbe90d9e40_b.jpg


Shouldn't be too long now...

[Kekelekou]

The BN-2 Damage Mod is now in beta status.

[guitar0633]

The BN-2 Damage Mod is now in beta status.

Great to know can't wait!!