Mario's freeware Dassault Mercure is finally out!

[Bjoern]

One, if not the greatest commercial failure among jet transports (12 units built), but a failure that paved the way for the Airbus A320 that shook the medium size airliner market some 15 years later.

I've followed the development of this bird on FSDev and Mario really did put in some effort to make the experience as authentic as possible.


Download (scroll down):
https://simviation.com/hjg/aircraft1/dassault/dassault.htm



- Edit:

Since my FSX is down and out due to the current program window bug, I can only dig through the manual, files and look at the model in MCX.
Consider me blown away regardless!


- Edit2:



- FSX native
- 3D Interior
- HUD(!)
- Wipers and icing on windows
- System failures (even hypoxia upon cabin pressure loss)
- Accurate autopilot (no autothrottle for IAS hold)
- All systems simulated
- Switch sounds

This is payware for free, folks!


NOTE: You will need to download and install at least one livery from the HJG page to use the aircraft!


- Edit 2:

Alhthough I can't find any hard numbers, you might want to commit a bit of historical heresy and increase the volume of the Center1 tank by about one third or half in the aircraft.cfg. And/or increase the MTOW by three to five thousand pounds.
By default, the aircraft has very short legs (500 nm with a full load), so the increased tankage will come in handy.

[Naismith]

I agree, it's a lot of quirky french fun. My FSXSE seems to be working now and only crashes if I change aircraft in sim rather than ending a flight and returning to the select screen.

[Bjoern]

Here's the HJG guide to the aircraft, including installation, panel and flying notes: http://tonymadgehjg.proboards.com/thread/8797/amd-mercure-installation-handling-notes

[Postbaer61]

I've just installed the Dassault Mecure in P3DV4

After exchanging the

dsd_fsx_xml_sound.gau
MN_Mercure_dsd_xml_config.gau
MN_Mercure_dsd_xml_config2.gau

against Doug Dawson's 64bit gauges

take off to the first test flight.

It seems that all works.

http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/images/2017/12/08/ScreenShot12-07-17at11.14PM.jpg

http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/images/2017/12/08/ScreenShot12-07-17at10.46PM.jpg

http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/images/2017/12/08/ScreenShot12-07-17at11.19PM.jpg

http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/images/2017/12/08/ScreenShot12-07-17at11.18PM.jpg

[mgchrist5]

I haven't had a chance to fly it yet, but judging from the documentation and screenshots, this one looks like a definite keeper! As a systems junkie, there seem to be plenty of delicious switches to flick and buttons to push. Well done to Mario/HJG for releasing such a labor of love. My FS install is almost totally lacking in French scenery, so this gives me the perfect chance to hunt down some good freeware for short-haul Air Inter flights within her borders.

[BendyFlyer]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Bjoern. Indeed an interesting aeroplane, right aeroplane wrong time perhaps. Very much a French 737-100. What they did build certainly lasted well right into this century.

[ezunino]

Postbaer61: Please what or how to exchange files to work in P3D4?
Thanks
Eduardo

[strykerpsg]

Interesting design indeed, no doubt who it was competing against.

Love the cockpit! Out of curiosity, did the design come with a HUD initially, or artistic licensing applied?

[strykerpsg]

Wow! Apparently when I did a search earlier, it took me to some comparable pictures that were a 737. Here's what I found after searching again:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56219&stc=1

And, to make it even greater, this was included 20 plus years ago....impressive indeed!

[Postbaer61]

Postbaer61: Please what or how to exchange files to work in P3D4?
Thanks
Eduardo


Download this two files

dsd_p3d_xml_config_x64.zip
dsd_p3d_xml_sound_x64.zip

at Doug Dawson's side
https://www.douglassdawson.ca/

then

1.
extract the dsd_p3d_xml_config_x64.zip

file to the Dassault Mecure Panel Folder

and rename dsd_p3d_xml_config_x64.dll

to MN_Mercure_dsd_xml_config.dll

2.
extract the dsd_p3d_xml_config_x64.zip a second time

to the Dassault Mecure Panel Folder

and rename dsd_p3d_xml_config_x64.dll

to MN_Mercure_dsd_xml_config2.dll

3.
extract the dsd_p3d_xml_sound_x64.zip

file to the Dassault Mecure Panel Folder

and rename dsd_p3d_xml_sound_x64.dll

to dsd_fsx_xml_sound.dll

delete or back up the default .gau files.

dsd_fsx_xml_sound.gau
MN_Mercure_dsd_xml_config.gau
MN_Mercure_dsd_xml_config2.gau


That's all.

[AusWilko]

I haven't had a chance to fly it yet, but judging from the documentation and screenshots, this one looks like a definite keeper! As a systems junkie, there seem to be plenty of delicious switches to flick and buttons to push. Well done to Mario/HJG for releasing such a labor of love. My FS install is almost totally lacking in French scenery, so this gives me the perfect chance to hunt down some good freeware for short-haul Air Inter flights within her borders.

I am in the same boat, for whatever reason I have not got any French scenery so it will be a chance to correct that. I wonder what is available?

Thank You Mario/HJG for this

[simtech]

Just D/L this jewel. She definitely is a labor of love. Extreme amount of system detail to enjoy while also having an expedient path for a quick jump in and go. She's very demanding and requires constant attention, but will reward you with a great sense of accomplishment when you're finished. Excellent work..Great job, Mario and company.

[Naismith]

I am in the same boat, for whatever reason I have not got any French scenery so it will be a chance to correct that. I wonder what is available?

Thank You Mario/HJG for this


http://www.freewarescenery.com/fsx/france.html

[AusWilko]

http://www.freewarescenery.com/fsx/france.html

Thanks for that Naismith

[scotth6]

I am in the same boat, for whatever reason I have not got any French scenery so it will be a chance to correct that. I wonder what is available?

Thank You Mario/HJG for this


:france: Not to toot my own horn, but.......


http://aussiex.org/forum/index.php?/topic/25250-france-photoreal-scenery/


The thread also includes a lot of links to some great freeware autogen, 3D models, and airports.



Thanks for the heads up Bjoern. It does look like a fascinating aircraft, and one which I wasn't aware of.

Cheers,

[gribouil]

Many thanks for this HU!!!
Brings me back several years ago... when I was six...
Cheers,

Stéph.

[mgchrist5]

I am in the same boat, for whatever reason I have not got any French scenery so it will be a chance to correct that. I wonder what is available?

I just combed through freewarescenery.com, as Naismith noted. I also looked at some old Air Inter timetables from the '70s-'80s (http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/it.htm) to get an idea of the hubs/routes/destinations served by the carrier, then just worked backwards from there trying to find some decent FS examples.

[ezunino]

Thanks a lot posbaer61
Eduardo

[Stefano Zibell]

Wow, what a gift. Such a great jet. I kinda like the short legs too, quick flights are all I can do now.

It looks good too, doesn't it?

Many thanks for the heads up.

Edit: Just did a clumsy first flight from Denver to Las Vegas, from cold and dark to the gate. The auto pilot needs some getting used to, but everythings seems to work fine, it's a very impressive freeware!

[William Njurmi]

Sincere thanks for an excellent add-on.

[Bjoern]

Finally had some time to test this one.

First, altering the tank volume is not necessary to increase endurance. Just increase the MTOW by 10000 pounds as this is its most restrictive characteristic. Imagine having an aircraft with the capacity of a 727 (170 seats, 190000 lbs) with the maximum takeoff weight of a smaller 737-200 (120 seats, 128000 lbs). Not a great combination.

Second, the aircraft makes a great impression inside and out. Yes, the interior textures could come with a higher resolution, but who cares when this thing has brains!?

Third, I love the cockpit caution and warning sounds. Distinctly different from the klaxons in the US counterparts.

Fourth, I don't think that the autopilot performs as it's supposed to. Airspeed hold hardly works (if at all), NAV/LOC mode more often than not deviates from the set course and snakes around the signal and altitude select mode just nails the vertical speed at +/- 1000 fpm instead of leaving the vertical speed to the pitch or IAS hold modes. Fortunately...

Fifth, the airplane is an excellent hand flier.

Sixth, the HUD is really cool!

Seventh, you can get rid of the fixed paths for the sound gauge and subsequently install the plane in any folder you want. Copy dsd_fsx_xml_sound.gau from "panel" to "sound" and alter the panel.cfg line to point to the new location like this:

gauge31=..\sound\dsd_fsx_xml_sound!Sound, 1053,930,20,20, Mercure_sound.ini
Then open sound\Mercure_sound.ini and get rid of any instance of "./SimObjects/Airplanes/Mercure MN FSX/sound/" in the [Sounds] section. The resulting lines will look like this:

Sound00=GPWS/10.wav
...
Sound33=Mercure_APU_start.wav

Eighth, add the following to the end of the sound.cfg to get rid of the annoying fuel pump sounds:

[fuel_pump]
maximum_volume=3000

Ninth, some fictional liveries of U.S. or international carriers would be cool, in case somebody has an urge to paint it.

Tenth, the dynamic checklist is awesomely helpful!

[alpha charlie]

Yes, the interior textures could come with a higher resolution, but who cares when this thing has brains!?

This aircraft is absolutely brilliant but IMHO the VC interior and overhead panel are terribly lo-res even for a freeware model. The systems programming is very impressive. That's true.

[gribouil]

To me, it is a very nice model built by a one-person team...

[blanston12]

I do have to say its a very nice looking model with lots of nice animation. My first three test flights I could not get her off the ground or if I did could not gain any altitude or speed before falling back to earth. Finally figured that out, by default she is loaded with full fuel and full payload and is very over weight. So dump all the cargo and 34 of the 162 passengers and finally airborne. I experienced some of the autopilot issues others have reported, I tried a simple KSFO to KLAX flight settling in at FL260 on autopilot, not paying attention by the time it was ready to start the descent I noticed I was at FL390 (oops).

My biggest problem was getting her to land, I tried four attempts to land, it seamed no matter what I did I could not get it to slow down enough to settle on the runway, 0% throttle, gear down, full flaps and spoilers and still would not slow down enough, finally had to call it quits.

One thing that did annoy me about it was at start up it was neither cold and dark nor ready to fly, I wish they would pick one camp or the other, and preferably options for both.

While its a very nice model with many excellent features, and my collection has very few french airliners in it, I don't think I will keep this one in the hanger.

[Flapsfull]

Joe,

there is a part of the panel with buttons where you can switch the states between cold&dark and ready to go.( right of the landing gear lever )
Take a deeper look at the manual , its in there with an explanation. From the top of my head , I think it #s the "0" and "I" buttons, ( on the panel , not your keyboard!)

Hope this helps a bit ,

OLiver



I do have to say its a very nice looking model with lots of nice animation. My first three test flights I could not get her off the ground or if I did could not gain any altitude or speed before falling back to earth. Finally figured that out, by default she is loaded with full fuel and full payload and is very over weight. So dump all the cargo and 34 of the 162 passengers and finally airborne. I experienced some of the autopilot issues others have reported, I tried a simple KSFO to KLAX flight settling in at FL260 on autopilot, not paying attention by the time it was ready to start the descent I noticed I was at FL390 (oops).

My biggest problem was getting her to land, I tried four attempts to land, it seamed no matter what I did I could not get it to slow down enough to settle on the runway, 0% throttle, gear down, full flaps and spoilers and still would not slow down enough, finally had to call it quits.

One thing that did annoy me about it was at start up it was neither cold and dark nor ready to fly, I wish they would pick one camp or the other, and preferably options for both.

While its a very nice model with many excellent features, and my collection has very few french airliners in it, I don't think I will keep this one in the hanger.

[Bjoern]

What Oliver said.

A stuck autothrottle is a favorite cause for not wanting to slow down enough.
Can't imagine that Mario screwed up the FDE in that regard, seeing that there even are non-standard engine tables.

[Stefano Zibell]

Fourth, I don't think that the autopilot performs as it's supposed to. Airspeed hold hardly works (if at all), NAV/LOC mode more often than not deviates from the set course and snakes around the signal and altitude select mode just nails the vertical speed at +/- 1000 fpm instead of leaving the vertical speed to the pitch or IAS hold modes. Fortunately...



That's a relief, I thought I was just a little too dumb to operate it without reading the manual.

[blanston12]

What Oliver said.

A stuck autothrottle is a favorite cause for not wanting to slow down enough.
Can't imagine that Mario screwed up the FDE in that regard, seeing that there even are non-standard engine tables.

OK I retract my previous statements. I found the 'Ready to Go' button, and after doing a test flight with zero payload out of PHNL where I went out 20 nm and came back lined up on the ILS beam of 8R but not using auto pilot or auto throttle I made a perfectly normal landing, it must have been a stuck auto-throttle.

[Bjoern]

OK I retract my previous statements. I found the 'Ready to Go' button, and after doing a test flight with zero payload out of PHNL where I went out 20 nm and came back lined up on the ILS beam of 8R but not using auto pilot or auto throttle I made a perfectly normal landing, it must have been a stuck auto-throttle.

When landing with autothrottle, you need to make sure that the commanded speed is set to the correct Vref value for your current weight and the desired flap setting. AT and AP are disconnected at minimums (200 ft radar altitude) and you'll land the aircraft manually.
Autoland is available on this aircraft, but again, you'll need to come in at the correct Vref for the aircraft weight and flaps.




That's a relief, I thought I was just a little too dumb to operate it without reading the manual.

I didn't read it either, but the XML code for the AP clearly shows what is and isn't done.

[Bjoern]

Spent a bit of time with the Mercure and managed to cure the abyssimal heading hold.
VOR/LOC hold is quite iffy though and won't manage to stay on a given radial.
Implemented my PID airspeed controller which improves things.
The other vertical modes are still untouched though.

The flight dynamics might cause many of the autopilot issues. No way is a commercial airliner that unstable in even a slight breeze.

[Bjoern]

Calmed the aircraft down by brute force ( roll_stability = 2.0 ) and with a dead centered CDI needle, the aircaft will now fly to/from a VOR without going left and right of the signal.

Next stop: Adding a mach hold mode to the ALT SEL mode since pure IAS hold wouldn't make sense in the higher flight levels. And fixing ALT SEL mode.


I also did a bit of rough number juggling again regarding available range. A Mercure goes as far as a DC-9-50, but not as far as a standard 737-200 (the Advanced model goes much farther).

[mgchrist5]

Calmed the aircraft down by brute force ( roll_stability = 2.0 ) and with a dead centered CDI needle, the aircaft will now fly to/from a VOR without going left and right of the signal.

That calmed down the NAV hunting on mine. Thanks for the tip.

[Bjoern]

Can you also test the auto approach/autoland behavior with that fix? I'm a bit too holed up in other things to do this.

[mgchrist5]

Can you also test the auto approach/autoland behavior with that fix?

It appears to work pretty well. Apologies beforehand if the following is too verbose. Just trying to give as much detail as possible in case someone else has different results:

I flew four ILS approaches to autoland using the stock FSX Philadelphia KPHL 27R - winds 0. Two of them at 109,000lb (just below max landing weight) and two at 97,000lb. Two were straight-in intercepts from about 15nm out & 3,000ft, the other two were 30 degree intercepts also at 15nm & 3,000ft.

In all scenarios the plane was stabilized with flaps 7 - autothrottle 180 KIAS and autopilot ALT hold prior to attempting to intercept the localizer. Playing it safe with plenty of room. Once the localizer came alive, I armed ILS approach mode. Regardless of whether it was straight-in or 30 degree intercept, the plane still hunted a bit as it tried to capture the localizer (maybe +/- 7 degrees), but it wasn't as aggressive as previously, and it stabilized completely by around 6-8nm from touchdown. Glideslope capture was fine. Flaps/gear were deployed on schedule - flaps 25 max for autoland according to Mario's notes - and autoland armed. In each scenario it performed an embarrassingly nice autolanding.

Other people's mileage may vary depending on weather, etc but using the general scenarios above the approach/autoland is much less mercurial (!) than before. The other AP vertical modes (IAS & VS) are still wonky, but that's for another day. Still a fantastic plane with plenty of potential. Thanks.

[Mariopilot]

Just look who pops in here!
Thanks all for the kind comments! Very much appreciated!

I'll try and clarify some of the autopilot woes here:

IAS Hold: this is NOT auto-throttle! it will hold on speed by altering throttle. may oscillate around if given an untrimmed aircraft. generally dampens out. Does NOT enjoy gusty winds or sudden changes of throttle.
NAV VOR mode: tends to oscillate around a bit as the PIDs were tuned fro auto-land precision...
A/THR is up to 250 KIAS and meant for auto-approach use only. You will have to manage thrust manually!
ALT SEL mode does not do anything for pitch. you can add to it any other vertical mode until it "engages" 300 ft prior to target altitude. Generally you will:
-set climb power according to tables
-climb slowly on basic mode until desired speed (250KIAS below 10K ft, then accelerate to 300 KIAS). "basic mode", eg AP engaged but no MCP vertical mode added, equals "ATT hold".
-engage IAS, without altering throttle.
-engage AT SEL (could have been done before)
-within 300 ft of target altitude, any vertical mode will disengage (IAS mainly) and shortly after ALT SEL will switch to ALT HLD.


in basic pitch mode, the aircraft is in attitude hold to alter pitch, use pitch wheel in AP panel OR FS trim controls (yes, joystick buttons will do).


Not able to slow down? it is a somewhat low-drag aircraft. you may need to level off with idle thrust. once flaps or gear is out, no big issue!

The "less stable" behavior is the result of "realistic" aero derivatives in the flight model. The aircraft feels a lot more "mushy" than standard FS stuff because of this. Indeed the Fs AP struggles a bit with this.... all aero parameters were computed with standard aero engineering methods...

Any other questions feel fre to ask. Keep in mind that "official support" for this aircraft is over at HJG forums, where I will respond your queries as weel, an likely more quickly :)

Cheers,

Mario

[BendyFlyer]

One quick comment for those who like the detail on some things, on any high performance jet or turboprop or piston - WITH NO SPEEDBRAKES OR SPOILERS, the standard technique was to plan for a short level segment on descent at about every 10,000 ft to let the aircraft slow down to the next speed step. This can take up to 30 secs or more dependant on the drag/airfoil configuration. Hope this helps.

[Bjoern]

...

Thanks for the report! Saved me a bit of testing. :)





Any other questions feel fre to ask. Keep in mind that "official support" for this aircraft is over at HJG forums, where I will respond your queries as weel, an likely more quickly :)


That's good to know. Wanted to post there anyway once I got something drawn up for the AP.

[Bjoern]

Poured more work and test flying into the bird. ALT Select and ALT Hold are now working as they're supposed to.
Had to upgauge the pitch_stability to 2.0 for ALT Hold though since the aircraft started to oscillate at low weights.

Reversion to ATT/HDG hold also works much better. Without any specific AP mode set, it will fall back to these (HDG Hold only conmtrollable from turn knob, otherwise HDG Preselect is required).
ATT Hold, in conjunction with the speed brakes, is useful for slowing down during descents.
And speed brakes may now be controlled with the keyboard (in 5% increments).

The "F/S" indicator on the ADI will now display deviation from target speed/mach or acceleration. The latter is useful for trimming the throttle for a certain speed when in ALT Hold mode.

Still need to fix the altitude selector display. No matter what I do and how often I check the underlying code, it is always off by 100 feet. :dizzy:


The fuel logic also needs a minor improvement. So far, all tanks will be used when all pumps are running. For drawing from center only, the wing tank pumps need to be switched off.
But at least in all aircraft of similar tank configuration (737, A320, DC-9, etc.), the center tank pumps deliver more pressure than the wing tank pumps and combined with check valves, this ensures that center tank fuel is consumed first when the tank is full and the pumps are running. The status of the wing tank pumps doesn't matter for that to happen.
I'd be very, very surprised if the designers of the Mercure did it any differently.



P.S:
I've also tried the autoland functionality. Worked like a charm and the test sequence after switching it on looks pretty damn cool!

[Josh Patterson]

Been having a bit of fun hand flying this around. The only problem I've had with the systems I've used is getting the engines to start. When I mouse over the starter switches on the overhead, they are acknowledged as my pointer goes from arrow to the hand, but I can't do anything with them. I have to start the engines with a keyboard command. Is this a bug, or did I just miss something?

[Josh Patterson]

Been having a bit of fun hand flying this around. The only problem I've had with the systems I've used is getting the engines to start. When I mouse over the starter switches on the overhead, they are acknowledged as my pointer goes from arrow to the hand, but I can't do anything with them. I have to start the engines with a keyboard command. Is this a bug, or did I just miss something?
Nevermind, I got it. Just had to get the bird to a cold and dark state. Everything works great when starting fresh! Would love to see a Caravelle this good!

[Bjoern]

The dynamic checklists also help.

[vonstroheim]

This is really a lovely aircraft (https://simviation.com/hjg/aircraft1/dassault/dassault.htm). It deserves more screenshots.... Here's one:

https://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/567678mercure.jpg

[Jafo]

Is there a paint kit? ...;)

[Bjoern]

Finished the fuel system. It's more in line with the behaviour exhibited on similar aircraft now.
Also revised the starter logic since in-flight starts didn't really work for me.
As a gag, the APU now requires and consumes fuel.

And thinking about implementing an aircraft manager for fuel, payload and panel load/save.

I've also talked to Mario about the mods. He's going to look at them and maybe implement them into a possible update. Good riddance!




Is there a paint kit? ...;)

Funny you mention that, as I've just asked Mario about one today.
According to him, there's a paintkit, but he's is on holidays for now and can't dig it out. He's going to send it over or upload it once he gets back.

A prime candidate for a what-if livery is Eastern, since they were interested but were committed to the DC-9-50 instead.
Or how about all the regional carriers from back when. PSA, Hughes, Southwest, maybe even Frontier. Or virtually any west-central european carrier for the other side of the pond. Lufthansa, SAS, Swissair, Austrian. Japan might also work.

[Stefano Zibell]

Sorry to bring this back but since last December there has been an update that addresses many things discussed here. It's surely a permanent dweller of my hangar now.

[gastonj]

Hi,
Sorry, but where can I find this model? The link does not work for me.
JMC

[Bjoern]

http://simviation.com/hjg/aircraft2/dassault/dassault.htm

(Scroll down for the FSX version.)

[gastonj]

Thank's! The link works fine.
JMC