Dave Garwood's Hunters, Two Questions

[nagpaw]

I searched older posts, and couldn't find the information I need. Hopefully the Outhouse will produce the answers!

First, due to an unfortunate update that gacked my joystick setup, I'm finally redoing all my controls through FSUIPC. I've tried to map the Hunter's drag chute to a yoke button, but I can't for the life of me find what the command would be called. Anyone know what to look for? And if there is a way to map the chute to a button, is it the same for both the single and two-seat Hunters?

I think I know the answer to the second question, but I may be missing something. Is the two-seat Hunter able to have the 230-gallon tanks on the inboard pylons? Every time I adjust the .cfg to show either the 230s on the inboard pylons, nothing appears. And when I try to have the 230s on the inboards and the 100s on the outboards, visually all I get is the 100s on the outboards. I know having the 230s and 100s together results in an overweight situation, but is it even possible to have the 230s appear on this model?

Thanks!

[MrZippy]

Got a link or filename for either of those Hunters? I'm willing to install them and help investigate. Was anything mentioned in the Readme about what keystroke popped the drag chute?

[DaveWG]

The dragchute is mapped to the Wingfold command, but if I remember correctly the switch has some extra code to allow arming of the system. I'll have to check as it was ages ago!

The T models can only have the 100g tanks on the inboard pylons.

[nagpaw]

MrZippy...

Yup! Classic British Flight Sim...right here >> https://cbfsim.co.uk/cbfs_lib/index.php?/category/7
I've only recently upgraded to FSX and was overjoyed to find that my old favorites had likewise been upgraded. They're both beauties!


DaveWG...

I didn't realize you were here! Thanks for checking on the chute for me. I didn't even think about wing fold, although I've seen a number of FS models that use that command for various things. But you kind of answered my question in a different manner: I didn't realize you could "arm" the chute. That would greatly reduce the amount of frantic "fumbling" in the cockpit immediately after touchdown! I'll have to give it a try.

That's what I guessed about the 230 gallon tanks, but I was curious. It's not a big deal: I'm really only good for less than an hour flying time anyway!

BTW, thanks for all the great aircraft you've birthed over the years. If I can give you one complement, it would be to say that I've uninstalled quite a number of airplanes from FS over the years, keeping only the ones I fly all the time, those special ones that "speak" to me somehow.

All of yours are still installed

[MrZippy]

I'll confirm the wingfold command. It did, at least, open the chute doors! I'll have to try a few more test flights

[DaveWG]

Thanks for the kind words. I glad they are still being enjoyed.

It was quite a few years ago when I made the Hunter, and I haven't actually flown it myself for quite a while, so I'll have to double check how I coded it!

Apart from a couple of specific instances, the T7/8 Hunters never carried the 230g tanks. It was only later marks of the single seaters that had the flaps modified with a cutout.

[DaveWG]

I'll confirm the wingfold command. It did, at least, open the chute doors! I'll have to try a few more test flights

The chute has a visibility tag attached so it's only visible if the aircraft is moving above a certain speed.

[nagpaw]

The dragchute is mapped to the Wingfold command, but if I remember correctly the switch has some extra code to allow arming of the system.

Holy smokes it worked! I never noticed the “ARM” position of the dag chute switch. Now I can arm the chute before landing and...voila! No more trying to find the switch right after touchdown on a short, wet runway. No need to map it to a button any more. Thanks! (Maybe I should zoom in on the panel a little more often...)

[MrZippy]

I just did a quick test flight and had the switch in the "arm" position. Never saw a chute deployment. I took a screenshot about 30 seconds before landing. The chute doors were open. Shouldn't it act like autospoilers and deploy at touchdown? I downloaded the aircraft from Rikooo and it might just be missing an effect. I'll try the Britsim site.

[MrZippy]

No missing effects. Dave mentioned that the chute will deploy only at a certain speed. What is that speed? Will the chute deployment be seen on "Instant Replay"?
If not, then I'll try landing the aircraft from a locked spot view.

[nagpaw]

That's odd. I can't even get the system to work in flight, so not sure what happened for your screenshot! For me, the chute deploys on ground contact of any landing gear (including the nose gear...don't ask...) at any speed above 40 knots. There doesn't appear to be a maximum speed (yep...drove the poor girl into the runway at 400 knots, and the chute deployed. Oh, and...yeehaw! ) Below 40 knots, the chute disappears and the system resets. I've tried a few times, and the chute isn't visible during instant replay.

Maybe doing repeated tests back to back is messing something up for you? I found that unless you slow below 40 knots on landing, or bounce and become airborne after auto deployment, the chute may not function properly.

[DaveWG]

OK, I've just looked at the code to remind myself what's going on!
The chute doors are tied to the wingfold animation, with the chute itself as a custom animation and visibility code. The chute should only be visible if the ground speed is above 40kts, and the wings are "folded".
When the switch is in the armed position it tells the wings to "fold" as soon as the aircraft touches down. Once the wingfold is triggered the chute doors open and the chute becomes visible and deploys. When ground speed drops below 40kts, the chute hides, simulating dropping the chute, and the doors close resetting the system.
That's how it should work anyway!

[nagpaw]

Excellent information, Dave! Thanks again for the help. I can't believe I never noticed the ARM function of the drag chute. What a life saver!

And thanks once again for such a wonderful and timeless creation. She'll always be one of my favorites!

[MrZippy]

OK, I've just looked at the code to remind myself what's going on!
The chute doors are tied to the wingfold animation, with the chute itself as a custom animation and visibility code. The chute should only be visible if the ground speed is above 40kts, and the wings are "folded".
When the switch is in the armed position it tells the wings to "fold" as soon as the aircraft touches down. Once the wingfold is triggered the chute doors open and the chute becomes visible and deploys. When ground speed drops below 40kts, the chute hides, simulating dropping the chute, and the doors close resetting the system.
That's how it should work anyway!

OK, now my question is why, as my screenshot showed, are my chute doors open before I ever touched down? The switch was in the "armed" position from about 5 miles out. More test flights needed

[nagpaw]

OK, now my question is why, as my screenshot showed, are my chute doors open before I ever touched down? The switch was in the "armed" position from about 5 miles out. More test flights needed

That's strange. The only times I've seen the doors open are indeed when the "wings are folded," which should have caused your jet to stop flying, so that obviously wasn't the case. Had you done any other experimenting before the screenshot flight that may have messed things up?

[DaveWG]

Was that screenshot taken from an actual flight or a replay?
They shouldn't be able to open in flight.

[MrZippy]

Was that screenshot taken from an actual flight or a replay?
They shouldn't be able to open in flight.

The shot may have been taken in Replay mode, I not sure I will do further testing today.

UPDATE: another test flight and this time the switch was armed on my approach to landing. Upon touchdown, nothing happened, no door open or chute deployment. Hitting wingfold key command caused the door to open but no chute deployed. The chute disappeared when slowing past 40 knots.

I deleted the Rikooo download and now downloading from the British Sim site and will try that one.

[MrZippy]

The shot may have been taken in Replay mode, I not sure I will do further testing today.

UPDATE: another test flight and this time the switch was armed on my approach to landing. Upon touchdown, nothing happened, no door open or chute deployment. Hitting wingfold key command caused the door to open but no chute deployed. The chute disappeared when slowing past 40 knots.

I deleted the Rikooo download and now downloading from the British Sim site and will try that one.

Tested the 2 seat version and still no chute door open on touchdown and notice the switch will only go to the arm position and not to stream.
Also noticed in several of the downloads that the PDF listing under Braking Parachute it said "Some models only". Which models are they?

[DaveWG]

That's odd MrZippy. What sim are you using? They were originally designed for FSX-A and haven't been thoroughly tested in FSX-SE or P3d.
Early marks of Hunter up to and including the F6 didn't have a drag chute, hence the "Some models only ".

[nagpaw]

I'm using both single and dual-seat Hunters in FSX:SE and haven't had a problem with the chute. ARM seems to work as it should. Are you sure you downloaded the appropriate FS version from CBFS? Sorry, but Dave's the expert here, and I'm grasping at straws!

[MrZippy]

That's odd MrZippy. What sim are you using? They were originally designed for FSX-A and haven't been thoroughly tested in FSX-SE or P3d.
Early marks of Hunter up to and including the F6 didn't have a drag chute, hence the "Some models only ".

Hi Dave, thanks for the reply. I'm using FSX with SP2 and that might be why no Chute door opening on touchdown or dragchute deployment when activating wingfold.

I may give the FS9 version a try!

UPDATE: Kaplagh (Success) It works on the FS9 version.

[MrZippy]

I'm using both single and dual-seat Hunters in FSX:SE and haven't had a problem with the chute. ARM seems to work as it should. Are you sure you downloaded the appropriate FS version from CBFS? Sorry, but Dave's the expert here, and I'm grasping at straws!

Yep, correct version(s) installed. I think Dave has the answer since I'm using FSX with SP2 and not with Acceleration.