T-45C 2.00 Beta version released!

[Dino Cattaneo]

Should anyone want to give it a try, a public beta version of my new T-45C Goshawk is available on my blog.

http://indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com/2011/06/open-beta-release-placeholder.html

Please follow the instructions and report bugs or suggestion through my blog. Although I check-in at SOH quite often, I'd like to consolidate the feedback in one place. Thanks!

39709

[Lenop]

Thank you so much, Dino! Downloading now.

[Tartuffe]

Many thanks, Dino !

Downloading...

[txnetcop]

Ditto...hope I can be of some help...downloading now Dino

[Ferry_vO]

:applause: :applause: :applause:

[trisager]

Very impressed with the documentation - much better than you get with most payware. This is going to be fun.

[skyblazer3]

Roger, Wilco.

As always, thank you for all of the work you do. Your airplanes always put a smile on my face; I'm sure this will be no different.

Congratulations on the Beta.

Cheers,

Chris

[Bruce Thompson]

:applause::applause::applause:

[peter12213]

Thanks Dino!

[skyhawka4m]

I love it.....only one thing.....having seen and photographed a bunch....it seems to be sitting a little high....since this is a beta I thought I'd throw this out there. Other than that....she's awesome! :salute:


39716

[skyhawka4m]

39717

[GB]

Thanks very much Dinno for the high quality plane given as a present to the FS community.Although I'm trying hard I can't find any flaws.:applause::applause:

[skyhawka4m]

looking forward to some awesome paints!!

39718

39719

39720

[papab]

Thanks Dino!
Will look it over the next several days....

Looks fantastic:applause:
Rick

[Ferry_vO]

First quick test flight; so far it looks like a Hawk, sounds like a Hawk and flies like a Hawk!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/Flightsim/fsscr029-1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/Flightsim/fsscr031-1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/Flightsim/fsscr034-1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/Flightsim/fsscr035-1.jpg

[Roger]

Looks great and although it's a beta I think it deserves a stickie:applause:

[Bruce Thompson]

Oh Yes!

[BrittMac]

Wow, this is one of the best freeware planes I have ever landed on a carrier. Caught the wires on the first and third attempt and only missed the second because I started running my mouth on TeamSpeak and got a hair high so I went around.
VC looks great, she flies great, and has a great temperament on approach. Some brake hanging out, a bit of throttle, and she settles nicely for approach. Very nice Dino! If this is a beta, I can't wait to see the even more finely-tuned product.

Can't wait to see some of the fantastic repaints that will come out of this release. CoNA repaints are a must!
Thanks again!

[Dino Cattaneo]

All,

Once again, thanks a lot for your appreciation and support!
I am receiving a lot of positive feedback...and a lot of bug reports - will work on the fixes next week.

@trisager
Good to see that someone has appreciated the documentation!

@skyhawka4m
I know it is sitting high... can't promise a fix, as previously it had different gear settings that made it sit lower but created some animation problems.

@BrittMac (& others)
Unfortunately CoNA repaints (as well as other "special" ones) may be difficult due to texture layout... They are not a priority for me at the moment - but I'll have a look at them later on.

[MikeH]

Congratulations Dino,

This is without doubt some of the highest quality work I have seen (& that includes payware).

Stunningly detailed manual, VC and exterior and an absolute pleasure to fly. Will let you know if I find any bugs - none yet.

Many thaks

Mike

[Bob.sc]

Haven't installed yet.

THANKS DINO!!

[Aircanuck]

Terrific Work once again !

Quick question .... If I'm not mistaken Mr.Cattaneo you commented ( on your website ) about running with the actual sounds from a production T 45 ?

Is this still a possibility ?


Cheers for now



Aircanuck :jump:

[MenendezDiego]

Great Stuff Dino! Love the HUD!

Do we have ILS/TACAN capabilities yet? Or am I just not doing something correctly ;)

Regards, Diego

[wilycoyote4]

Great Stuff Dino! Love the HUD!

Do we have ILS/TACAN capabilities yet? Or am I just not doing something correctly ;)

Regards, Diego
Hi Diego, :guinness::icon29::guinness:
Yes, I've made several manual ILS runway landings using HUD "needles", and a back approach, but haven't used AP yet for such a landing so I'll give it a go soon.
Choose the HSI page on the menu, then choose ILS on the left, and your HUD is ILS.
:guinness::running::icon29::running::guinness::run ning:

[Walter]

I'm liking it a lot!!! :applause:

[MenendezDiego]

Hi Diego, :guinness::icon29::guinness:
Yes, I've made several manual ILS runway landings using HUD "needles", and a back approach, but haven't used AP yet for such a landing so I'll give it a go soon.
Choose the HSI page on the menu, then choose ILS on the left, and your HUD is ILS.
:guinness::running::icon29::running::guinness::run ning:

You know what? I was using the freq. and tacan that I set for the VRS F/A-18E. That was the problem.

Thanks!

[MIKE JG]

Good gawd that looks amazing!!!

[MenendezDiego]

Damn...57X and 112.0 didn't work...something must be up with my carriers...damn!

[wilycoyote4]

1st, I wrote manual runway for ILS.
2nd, as far as I know, the HUD of this basic Goshawk is the same, more or less, as the default Hornet so carrier ops are not as complex as the freeware HUD which can be added although testers reporting directly are not to modify the beta. Check the manual, eh.

Correct me if need be, you're buying.
:guinness::icon29::guinness::medals::running:

[dvj]

Hi Dino,

Another fantastic effort. Regarding the Beta few things to look at:

- animated head movements of the pilot and co-pilot seem too fast
- too few polys on the tires. They need to look smoother

regards

dvj

[skyhawka4m]

if only.....

39895

[skyhawka4m]

39896

[skyhawka4m]

39897

[skyhawka4m]

this looks cool with the MARINES on it like the old TA-4's used to do also....and bombs racks. Will we see the bombs racks ewetually? the centerline tank?

39898

[Walter]

THIS IS AMAZING!!!! I had it four feet off the deck! (Not easy to do without crashing on my computer).

[Walter]

Outside picture!!

[Walter]

I'm having waaaaaaay too much fun with this! :jump:

[LouP]

LOL I think your tail is all wet :icon_lol:

LouP :wavey:

[Walter]

Haha! I have no clue as to what you are talking about.... :icon_lol:

[LouP]

Maybe I need to clean my glasses because I thought the tail of your T45 was actually in the water lol.

LouP :icon29:

[Walter]

Oh, no. It WAS in the water! I was just joking. Sorry about that. :mixedsmi:

[rvn817j]

Dino's work is fantastic and I would like to try out this beta, but I don't like providing my cell number to D/L it. Is there any way to get it without giving out this personal information (even if it involved paying a couple $$). Thanks.

[kilo delta]

Dino's work is fantastic and I would like to try out this beta, but I don't like providing my cell number to D/L it. Is there any way to get it without giving out this personal information (even if it involved paying a couple $$). Thanks.

??

The download is a Mediafire link...no need to provide ANY details! :)

[rvn817j]

When I went from Dino's site to the D/L link it asked whether I want slow or fast (pay money, and not U.S. $, so it then costs me an extra 'exchange rate' charge). I pick "slow", so it then asks me for my cell number and I exit the site. I'm not making this stuff up.

[kilo delta]

When I went from Dino's site to the D/L link it asked whether I want slow or fast (pay money, and not U.S. $, so it then costs me an extra 'exchange rate' charge). I pick "slow", so it then asks me for my cell number and I exit the site. I'm not making this stuff up.

Don't worry..I'm not accusing you of making it up! ;)
You might be getting a pop-up on your browser. This is what I see in Google Chrome when I click on the link...39972

[rvn817j]

I will try using Chrome when I get home from work this evening. (Perhaps my home browser has been hijacked!) Thanks for trying.

[kilo delta]

I just sent you a PM :)

[Dino Cattaneo]

@rvn817j

Sorry to hear that you had probelms with Mediafire.
No personal details or money is needed - and surely I do not want anyone to do so.

I thought that Mediafire was a well known service - yes, it tries to have your subscription and pay money for it, but the free service is good and fast enough and it very easy to do on my side (and never had a problem with IE9)....

[rvn817j]

Thanks for your great, great work. No need for you to spend time on this issue because you spend enough time on providing me great FSX aircraft. I will sort out the issue (it may be malware on my computer) and report back if it is something of a more general nature. Thanks again...your stuff is fantastic and appreciated on several continents!

[skyhawka4m]

Dino....first off thanks for the chance to fly the BETA version. Very cool!!

Will there be other models with various loads? such as bomb racks? centerline pod?

[Dino Cattaneo]

4000040001

Here are the first two repaints.
Alternate models are not confirmed yet. I'd like to do them but it is hard to find the time...

[skyhawka4m]

Great work Dino! Bring on the paints!!

[Walter]

Hello, I have been flying this plane and I have noticed only one issue. Every time I come in for a landing, the landing gear sinks through the ground and does an extended gear belly landing. Is it that I'm coming in too fast and setting it down too hard?

Otherwise, It's great! :icon_lol:

Walter

[fleurdelys]

Hello, I have been flying this plane and I have noticed only one issue. Every time I come in for a landing, the landing gear sinks through the ground and does an extended gear belly landing. Is it that I'm coming in too fast and setting it down too hard?

Otherwise, It's great! :icon_lol:

Walter


Hi Walter,

Had the same problem happen twice !
The first was as bad as your pics and the landing had been rather hard... :kilroy:
The second was only with wheels burried halfway and the landing had been better than the first but still hard.
Isn't there a setting somewhere to manage this ?

Anyway, I've not encountered the problem since and this plane flies and lands rather well, considering that I'm really not into jet flying usually...

Thanks again Dino :medals: :icon29:

[dougal]

This is one of my all time favorites, thanks Dino.

My only issue, and I guess it's more about personal taste than anything...

The HUD. Seems I have to have a MUCH closer view point in the VC than I normally use, otherwise much of the data presented on the HUD disappears off the sides.

I only have a 19" 4x3 monitor. Using the the HUD 'pulled back' to view all the data, means everything is too small to read.

What settings do other 19" users have it set at?

Thanks

[rvn817j]

This is one of my all time favorites, thanks Dino.

My only issue, and I guess it's more about personal taste than anything...

The HUD. Seems I have to have a MUCH closer view point in the VC than I normally use, otherwise much of the data presented on the HUD disappears off the sides.

I only have a 19" 4x3 monitor. Using the the HUD 'pulled back' to view all the data, means everything is too small to read.

What settings do other 19" users have it set at?

Thanks

First, thanks everyone for helping me solve my D/L issue. It appears, after some research on another computer, that the mediafire link works just the way KiloDelta said it should. (So, I D/L'd the file and installed it.)

Dino, I noted the same issue as dougal95. I do not seem to be able to get sufficiently back from the panel without the HUD information becoming extremely small. It is not bad enough to not allow me to fly this beautiful bird, but for comfort and being able to see a sufficiently large piece of the panel, an enlarged HUD would be preferred.

Thanks again (and again) Dino for this great performing airplane.

[Dino Cattaneo]

All, thanks for your appreciation - some miscellaneous answers:

- Models with external stores: I could reuse the pod and racks from the previous model... will give it a try - but I cannot promise anything.

- Instructor cockpit: at the moment I had to drop it due to lack of time. Once the student cockpit is debugged, we will see... or it may come later on as an update.

- Sinking gears: I set a lower damage threshold than other carrier planes in order to force the user to smoother landings... I will probably rise the threshold as the new approach dynamics I am working on have may result in steeper landing.

- Small HUD: the project is likely to get a completely new HUD... although it will not be bigger... sorry.

[delta_lima]

@Dino - Fantastic. Hoping for some USMC paints at some point - but so far, the beta looks superb. One thing I found odd was the buttons on top/center instrument cluster was a bright white colour - like in Ferry's shot, only in mine, they were almost dazzlingly bright white.

@ Walter and Fleur:

You guys must really be coming down hard .... :) I've not had issues with this plane, but on others I have, and on carrier planes, I don't mind having a stronger gear for the higher sinkrates on carrier landings.

In the aircraft.cfg, look for this section:

//----------GEAR POINTS
point.0 = 1, 15.5, 0.000, -5.92, 1200.000, 0, 1.0, 60, 0.19, 4, 0.6, 5, 5, 0, 0, 320 //----- Nose Gear Compression from 3D model Max -1.82 Min -1.55 Delta 0.27
point.1 = 1, 0.300, -6.700, -6.1, 1200.000, 1, 1.3, 0.000, 0.36, 2, 1.2, 5, 5, 2, 0, 0 //----- Left Gear Compression from 3d Model Max -2.00 Min -1.45 Delta 0.55
point.2 = 1, 0.300, 6.700, -6.1, 1200.000, 2, 1.3, 0.000, 0.36, 2, 1.2, 5, 5, 3, 0, 0 //----- Right Gear


The values I've highlighted represent the failure threshold for gear failure, in fpm. In other words, as Dino has set it up at present, if the VSI reads over 1200 fpm on touchdown, your gear will fail. Personally, whilst I respect what Dino is trying to achieve with making us better pilots, this is a carrier trainer, and I have to believe it's higher than that - my guess would be around twice that. I'm sure bone, flieger747, and other pilots amongst us can comment on the accuracy of that guess on my part.

Regarless, this being a sim, it can be adjusted. Simply change the highlighted value to a higher number (2000.000, etc.) and you should be fine.

Dino, I read on your page that you didn't want people to "modify the file" - the way it reads on your page, it seems to refer to paint/model alterations. My post here is to help these guys with a generic landing gear issue that may help them enjoy the plane more - not trying to cause any problems. If this is an issue, I apologize, and will remove post.

Again - superb work - have enjoyed your F-14 and earlier T-45 immensely (didn't think it needed improvement! :icon_lol:) so this is most appreciated for us hard-core naval aviation fans. :guinness:

dl

[fleurdelys]

@Dino -
@ Walter and Fleur:

You guys must really be coming down hard .... :) I've not had issues with this plane, but on others I have, and on carrier planes, I don't mind having a stronger gear for the higher sinkrates on carrier landings.

dl

Thanks Delta !

I knew there was a setting somewhere to harden the landing gear although, as I mentioned earlier, it has not happened since I learned to make the "pussycat" landing with this baby...

I leave no footprints in the flowerbed and it has helped my purrrring a lot since...

Fleurdelys

[Walter]

I think that my issue is that I come near an airport, dive down from 5,000 feet, and put the gear, flaps, and speed break all the way out in order to keep a decent speed. That way I'm lined up with the runway and I try to land. The issue above is that I had kinda floated the last 5 feet to the tarmac and it still sank. It's probably just pilot error.

Thanks for the help and the great plane! :wiggle:

Walter :icon_lol:

[dougal]

I'd be very grateful if some of you guys could post pics of your NORMAL view positions in the VC . Especially on final approach.

I'm really having difficulty actually using the HUD without zooming right in.

Are you all using big, widescreen monitors?

Ta!

[Dino Cattaneo]

@dougal95

FYI, development has been done on a 23" 16:9 monitor at 1920x1080 res... and HUD is always readable. In fact I usually fly with the VC completely zoomed-out to see as much of the panel as possible... However, as I mentioned, the HUD is being changed as I write...

[Stickshaker]

Fantastic plane, Dino! What strikes me is how docile she is on approach to the carrier. I can imagine that she gives trainee pilots confidence; she seems to be easier to make a precise approach than with the VRS F/A-18E where small errors give larger deviations from the correct flightpath (as should be the case with a strike fighter I suppose). I never flew a real Hawk but I did fly a jet trainer years ago and your Hawk reminds me of it. Very nice skin, too.<o:p></o:p>
Will the new HUD be collimated? I now ignore the flight path marker when aiming for the landing spot on the deck.

[Walter]

Is this what you wanted? :icon_lol:

Walter

[wilycoyote4]

http://youtu.be/NLW80u6z-QA

I can't figure out how to embed this 18 second video. I'm very confused, I mean, more than usual, lol. :guinness::icon29::guinness::guinness:

[dougal]

Okay guys, thanks.

Guess I'm asking too much of my setup then, 'cos this is what I like to fly with...

40084

[skyhawka4m]

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Pilot suffers minor injuries in Navy jet crash

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By: The Associated Press (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/people/associated-press) 06/15/11 6:25 PM
The Associated Press

A Navy training jet crashed in a remote South Texas field, but the pilot ejected safely and suffered only minor injuries.
Naval Air Station Kingsville spokesman Jon Gagne (gahn-YAY') says the pilot was alone aboard the T-45 Goshawk jet when trouble developed 10 a.m. Wednesday. He tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that there was no immediate word on what caused the jet to go down about 80 miles south of San Antonio in McMullen County, about 55 miles northwest of Kingsville.
The pilot's identity hasn't been released.
The newspaper reports the $17 million jet was part of Training Air Wing 2, to which about 200 flight students report each year for training.






Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/06/pilot-suffers-minor-injuries-navy-jet-crash#ixzz1PPbEzodg

[Stickshaker]

Dino, I was wondering whether the idle power of the engine is not a bit too high. If I don't use airbrakes I am almost on idle power on approach. Is this correct? It is not a big problem and the airbrakes solve it, but it seems a bit odd to me.

[wilycoyote4]

35,000 feet over Oahu, 242 KIAS

[Dino Cattaneo]

All,

should anyone want to download the Beta, please do so within today (European time) -my current build has been significantly changed and the Beta is no more representative of the project, so I will remove the download link soon.


@ stickshaker (& others)

Approaches - Yes...carriers landings are quite easy...well, I should say they "were" easy. I've tweaked the approach dynamics a little so that the landing speeds and AoA are closer to the real one... and this resulted in slightly harder approaches.

Collimated HUD - Neutrino is working on a custom HUD for the new T-45 :-)

Engine dynamics - they have been revised to lower power at idle - in real life, many Goshawk landings are done with speedbrakes extended...but this is also because you can control the speedbrakes extension quite accurately (while in FSX the speedbrake key extends it completely)...

[jetstreamsky]

All,

.......................in real life, many Goshawk landings are done with speedbrakes extended...but this is also because you can control the speedbrakes extension quite accurately (while in FSX the speedbrake key extends it completely)...


You can in FSX too, simply assign the spoiler axis to a rotary or slider control. It's very useful for glider spoilers and works with airbrakes on all other aircraft.

[heywooood]

Piglets awesome Skyraider has an adjustable speed brake also...the lever is on the left side , just below the cowl flaps switches

[Stickshaker]

Thanks for these clarifications, Dino. Looking forward to the next version but this one is already very good.

[rvn817j]

You can in FSX too, simply assign the spoiler axis to a rotary or slider control. It's very useful for glider spoilers and works with airbrakes on all other aircraft.

I was flying this wonderful, speedy T-45 last evening and noted that Dino has implemented an indicator for both the speed brake (always lit when speed brake extended to any degree) and, below that indicator, a speed brake "full" indicator (only lit when speed brake fully extended). Certainly makes sense to assign the axis to a slider or rotary because you have that extra "full" indicator (and, of course, more speed control for those carrier (or any) approaches).

[Walter]

Super slow pass.

[Dino Cattaneo]

I have to confess I did not know you could map the speedbrakes to an axis... unfortunately my stick does not have enough of them!
I knew you could map it to a VC object...but I did not as it would not be usable (in the plane the speedbrake is a rocker-switch on the throttle)...

And the speedbake light is not my idea - it is the way it works in the real thing :-)

Anyway, I'm getting rid of most of the bugs (and just finished the "retro" CoNA paint schemes)... If everything goes as planned the 1.00 version will be ready by the end of the month.

PS - I will remove the d/l link to the Beta soon - I planned to do so last week but had no time so far...

[Dino Cattaneo]

4045740458

Centennial of Naval Aviation "retro" special color done - will be part of the initial package!

[skyhawka4m]

they look great Dino!

[swimeye]

This package is becoming more and more impressive. Good job Dino, those paints looks great!! :jump:

[spatialpro]

Will the rear cockpit be modelled?

[wilycoyote4]

Will the rear cockpit be modelled?

reply #57 of this thread--Dino writes--
"- Instructor cockpit: at the moment I had to drop it due to lack of time. Once the student cockpit is debugged, we will see... or it may come later on as an update."

[LouP]

Will there be a link to the second beta or should we just wait for the final version?

Thanks again for the awesome work.

LouP

[BrittMac]

4045740458

Centennial of Naval Aviation "retro" special color done - will be part of the initial package!

Those look GREAT! I love just about anything CoNA, and these look awesome.
I got a buddy of mine to d/l your Goshawk and he agrees that it one of the best, if not the best, freeware plane he has ever seen.
Love landing this thing on a carrier.
Thanks again Dino.

[Dino Cattaneo]

All,

as always, thanks for your appeciation.

I've disabled the download link for the Beta, as it is no more representative of the current status of the project.

As of today, I am not planning a Beta 2 release - and, most probably, will go straight into the "gold" release. ETA end of June.

[cortomalteseit]

All,

as always, thanks for your appeciation.

I've disabled the download link for the Beta, as it is no more representative of the current status of the project.

As of today, I am not planning a Beta 2 release - and, most probably, will go straight into the "gold" release. ETA end of June.

:salute:
Good job, Dino!
happy to hear that this project is running fast to the final release.
Thanks for all your efforts, we really enjoy your works! :applause:

[Dino Cattaneo]

42202422034220442205

Well, I planned to release the Goshawk this weekend but I could not for several reasons - mainly because of the lack of time and also because I've been experimenting with some features that were not planned originally.


Unfortunately, there is no way for me to add the instructor virtual cockpit, at the moment - as it would take too much time. Maybe I'll include that as an update later on this year.

On the good side, the model has now a refined flight model and several enhancements to the 3d models (including cosmetic bomb racks and baggage pod), and a better virtual cockpit - which now sports a fantastic (and very accurate) custom collimated HUD by Neutrino.

I am not sure when I will be able to release it - I hope within few days, but this will be a very busy week for me, so I can't tell for sure...

[skyhawka4m]

:applause::salute::wiggle:

[Daube]

Take your time Dino, and thanks a lot in advance for this release ! :ernae:

[skulleader]

Hello guys :salute:

Dear Dino your Goshawk is a real masterpiece, as say Daube "Take your time"...
Congratulation once again for the quality of your creation.

Best regards, Skull.

[n4gix]

Dagnabbit! I downloaded the Beta a few weeks ago, but work on the T-38A kept me so busy I never had time to install it and take a peek...

...now that I had a few hours to play, I accidentally fat-fingered an entire folder full of "untested stuff" from my sim machine...

...and because I did this from my dev machine across the LAN, there's no chance to recover anything... :gameoff:

[wilycoyote4]

oh no, that's a tragedy, so sorry to hear it
Bill, my full sorrow

[n4gix]

Well, stuff happens! I'm sure I'll live long enough for the Gold Release of the T-45! :ernae: