A4 Syhawk Exhaust effects

[gray eagle]

The Virtavia A4 start up exhaust effects (Smoke) looks to be billowing from the wrong location. I've attached a pic of the smoke emanating from midway right fuselage.
After the black smoke clears, the white smoke follows (From same position)

The current settings are:

[smokesystem]
smoke.0= -19.00, 0.00, 0.00, fx_Virtav_A4_exhaust //fx Z offset=0.725

Here is a pic of the current effect circled in yellow.

If I //smokesystem - The exhaust still comes out it the same place. Strange.

Wonder if the recent FDE updates had any effect.


http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18081&stc=1

[gray eagle]

From PHIL I got this second email:

I realise you are referring to the startup smoke, not the exhaust smoke. The startup smoke for the A-4 is just default, there are no custom files for it. The default position is the model origin point, 0,0,0 which is set when the model is built. However, there would likely be smoke from the right side as this is where the APU exhaust port is, so it's possible by luck that the default setting is quite suitable.
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So, is that the APU exhaust smoke that I am seeing? I don't see any engine exhaust smoke or was that not a feature?

1st email below was from Phil with this response (He added a 2nd response ^).

looks like we added a new smoke fx file at the last minute and the Z offset was not entered. You can do this easily by referencing the aircraft.cfg smokesystem section and make a note of the Z offset value shown in brackets. The open the fx file used for the exhaust (fx_Virtav_A4_exhaust) and change the zero value in the Emitter.0 - Z Offset section to the value shown in the cfg. This value is in meters longitudinally and you can experiment with new values if you wish. You will need to restart FSX each time to see the changes.

[Navy Chief]

I didn't even know the Skyhawk HAD an APU. Unless I have read info gleaned from the Internet incorrectly, there wasn't an APU on the A-4 until the "M" model? NC

[gray eagle]

I didn't even know the Skyhawk HAD an APU. Unless I have read info gleaned from the Internet incorrectly, there wasn't an APU on the A-4 until the "M" model? NC

I managed to find this scuttlebutt

http://a4skyhawk.org/2c/a4start.htm


Now according to Phil over at Virtavia, he claims the certain versions of the A4 did have APU's and that is why he created that smoke effect from mid fuselage starboard side,
First black puff then white puff of smoke.

[gray eagle]

I found this nugget of info about the APU on A4's

All US Skyhawks with the exception of the A-4M required an external start cart in order to start the engine. Some of the earliest models also were required to carry a starter probe (http://a4skyhawk.org/2c/a4start.htm) in the rear "hell hole" which was a gear mechanism that was placed in the right wing root in order to turn the engine before adding fuel and then restowed after start. Multiple airplanes could share the same starter. The A-4M had its own starter along with a very small pump handle that had to be attached to the JFS (Jet Fuel Starter) and hand pumped whenever the start was not successful on the first attempt. Some of us had "borrowed" F-16 starter handles that were longer and easier to use.
You have to remember that when the Skyhawk was developed, there was plenty of money for the military, start carts were very common on the first jet aircraft and adding a self start capability always adds a lot of weight, which is a bad idea in any airplane. The decision is always a trade off between convenience, performance, cost and function.


I seem to of remember the starter probe mentioned above and a start cart was also needed or "huffer" as they were called.

[Navy Chief]

Until the F/A-18 came along, I don't remember any carrier-based USN aircraft that didn't require a "huffer". Don't know about E-2s, though. NC

[gray eagle]

Until the F/A-18 came along, I don't remember any carrier-based USN aircraft that didn't require a "huffer". Don't know about E-2s, though. NC

I agree. But I think the folks over at Virtavia seem to think differently. Maybe they know something we don't know.

[Navy Chief]

Hmm, maybe. I will soon be able to confirm or disprove such things though. I go through training at the Naval Aviation Museum tomorrow, and will begin volunteering one day a week in the museum library.

NC

[gray eagle]

Hmm, maybe. I will soon be able to confirm or disprove such things though. I go through training at the Naval Aviation Museum tomorrow, and will begin volunteering one day a week in the museum library.

NC

Wow! That will be great. :encouragement: Would like to know how this all pans out.


EDIT: Found this link about A4M's with APU's. http://modelingmadness.com/review/mod/chladeka4mpreview.htm
Virtavia has made a A-4/F model Here is link to a review of their creation:
http://www.virtavia.com/temp/Review_Virtavia_A-4_Skyhawk.pdf

[gray eagle]

I think the A-4M's aka Skyhawk II had the APU's. The Marines apparently took delivery of them and maybe a few other countries.
Thus the last of the A-4's.

If you look at this video (no sound other then a ticking noise) you will notice that the P/C makes the start motion to the pilot and notice there are no start carts around.
They put more equipment and avionics and other stuff which required a beefier engine to fly it.


First five production A-4M Skyhawks on flight line at Palmdale


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4LCFgnPuxg

[expat]

I watched a crew recently fail to start a restored A-4C because its external huffer refused to huff. No APU on that bird.

[gray eagle]

Received info from Virtavia on how to eliminate that (APU) smoke effect from the A-4E/F startup.
I tried it and it works.

You can remove the effect by adding the following to the Effects section in the aircraft.cfg :

startup = fx_dummy