Virtavia A-4E-F Skyhawk FDE Update

[mal998]

Here is the first installment of updated flight dynamic files for the Virtavia A-4E/F Skyhawk. These 2 zips include files for the #0-1 Clean aircraft and the #2-3 Adversary aircraft. They should not be used for any other models as they were constructed specifcally for only the stated types. As usual backup the original files. If you have added additional textures make sure you copy and paste the new textures information into the files I have provided.

These files were built using the Realism slider turned full on (right). Hopefully you will find them to be an improvement over my original work. If you have questions or comments feel free to let me hear your thoughts, as my interest revolves around improving flyability while attemting to capture some sense of how the aircraft actually behaved in the real world. Having said that, most of us are keenly aware of the restrictions and limitations posed by FSX.

As I complete new files I will continue to post them up here at SOH. Thanks to Wings of Gold for checking these out and giving me the thumbs up.

As a side note for all those who have contributed to help keep SOH up and running, thank you. For those who have not yet contributed please give what you can, when you can.

Thanks,
mal

[flaviossa]

Thankssss!!

[Duckie]

Very much appreciated mal998.

[gray eagle]

+3 thanks, Now I hope I can correctly install these new files.

[fsafranek]

+3 thanks, Now I hope I can correctly install these new files.

Well, it would be a no-brainer if the two zip files had been named to exactly match the folder names created by the Virtavia installation.

After you download them rename them before unzipping...

Rename "Virtavia_A-4E-F_Skyhawk_0-1.zip" to be "Virtavia A-4 Skyhawk 0-1 Clean.zip".

Rename "Virtavia_A-4E-F_Skyhawk_2-3.zip" to be "Virtavia A-4 Skyhawk 2-3 Adversaries.zip".

Then when you unzip them that will create the correct folder names. Those two folders can then be dropped into the "FSX/SimObjects/Airplanes" folder. Say "ok" when prompted to overwrite.

Other alternative is to unzip as is and copy the aircraft.cfg and *.air files from the two folders to the similarly named folders in "FSX/SimObjects/Airplanes".

Not important but the "*.air" files have been renamed from the originals but that is reflected in the new "aircraft.cfg" files.

However, if you have installed any third party repaints you'll need to edit the "aircraft.cfg" file to add them back in and note the change in the "sim=" line.

It all seems complicated but it really isn't.

[Sundog]

Thanks Mal, I've been looking forward to these updates.

[flaviossa]

Tested here with the clean version and found it fantastic. The plane is very stable now. My only question is about the climb rate. The plane is very powerful now. O got in FL220 in seconds! Is this correct? Obviously i don´t know the real plane performance.

[glh]

Thanks, Mal. I was wondering what had happened to you. Thought you might have gone over to the dark side with TrainSim <grin>(grin).</grin>

[StormILM]

Tested here with the clean version and found it fantastic. The plane is very stable now. My only question is about the climb rate. The plane is very powerful now. O got in FL220 in seconds! Is this correct? Obviously i don´t know the real plane performance.

I didn't have that issue(overpower). The Thrust & Drag seem about par with NATOPS.

MAL, here's a couple of minor issues, the roll rate on the clean variation seems a bit slow(which is easily adjusted). I wouldn't change the roll rate on the variants with tanks and ordy. I am using a Saitek X55 that is set very sensitive with high throw rate and the A-4 clean as we know had a high roll rate. The tricky part about this is that different users may have different roll rates depending on their controller hardware and set up so I'd strongly suggest against an internal FDE change as the roll response feels very smooth(I would not risk upsetting that). The other and bigger issue is that on landing approaches(low and high weights), the approach speed too low as there is a bit too much lift. I was consistently able to maintain stable approach AoA right at the full flaps stall speed and land 15 to 18 knots below that with a stall warning at 68 kias. So yes, if possible, that is one area I would suggest refinement. As to the rest of the FDE, it flies exceptionally well and I say it's a job well done!

[mal998]

Regarding the new file names, just unzip each zip file and either copy, or cut and paste the 2 files from that zip into the corresponding A-4 folder. They are all numbered (0-1 etc), unless Phil changed the folder names for the release version. Someone please post a pic of the folder's hierarchy in Windows so I can make sure I am using the correct names.

I may not be using the release version.

Regarding the roll rate, I've gone back and forth about setting the roll rate and chose to tamp it down a bit. The aircraft becomes very squirrely in the sim when you increase the roll. If you want more roll rate you can increase it a bit by turning up the aileron response and turning off the null setting under Settings-Controls. Also make sure you have the Realism slider turned up.

Concerning aircraft lift on approach, are we talking about flaps up or down?

[fsafranek]

Here is the folder hierarchy...

[mal998]

OK, thanks for that Frank.
I have the correct names.
But for the sake of keeping the air file names simple I will continue to name them with only the model numbers rather than the whole name which would make them too long.

[gray eagle]

Has the invalid license popup ever been fixed. I was using an authorized patch that would bypass that invalid license popup.

Have they fixed that permanently and if so, is that fix in the newer downloads?

[ejoiner]

Has the invalid license popup ever been fixed. I was using an authorized patch that would bypass that invalid license popup.

Have they fixed that permanently and if so, is that fix in the newer downloads?

Thanks for this. I always found this to be an irritant with this aircraft. Not a big deal, but glad its fixed!

Eric

[gray eagle]

Thanks for this. I always found this to be an irritant with this aircraft. Not a big deal, but glad its fixed!

Eric

Not sure that is has been fixed. That is what I am trying to find out.

The "patch" didn't seem to work either.

[mal998]

Unfortunately I have no ability to get rid of the pop up banner. Phil is the only one in a position to eliminate that annoyance. All I can do is make the jet fly better (hopefully).

[gray eagle]

If I \\ gauge 36 then, I don't get the pop-up message. If I take out the \\ then it comes back

I didn't notice any differences in the cockpit.

I have flown this bird with the gauge 36 snubbed out and I haven't seen anymore license pop-ups.

[Vcockpit01]
file=$vpanel01.bmp
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=512,512
visible=0
pixel_size=512,512
texture=$vpanel01

gauge00=Virtavia_Skyhawk!HDG_window, 11,9,62,18
gauge01=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Gear-L, 98,9,33,33
gauge02=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Gear-C, 136,9,33,33
gauge03=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Gear-R, 173,9,33,33
gauge04=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_FuelCtrl, 211,9,33,33
gauge05=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_SplrArm, 251,9,33,33
gauge06=Virtavia_Skyhawk!SplrArm, 1,1,1,1
gauge07=Virtavia_Skyhawk!GenSwOn, 1,1,1,1
gauge08=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Radios_ADF, 296,44,103,20
gauge09=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Radios_COM_Act, 406,2,103,20
gauge10=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Radios_COM_Stby, 406,23,103,20
gauge11=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Radios_NAV_Act, 296,2,103,20
gauge12=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Radios_NAV_Stby, 296,23,103,20
gauge13=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_PP_Lat, 292,66,72,15
gauge14=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_PP_Lon, 367,66,72,15
gauge15=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_D_Lat, 292,84,72,15
gauge16=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_D_Lon, 367,84,72,15
gauge17=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_MagVar, 442,46,63,24
gauge18=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_Spd, 451,74,41,23
gauge19=Virtavia_Skyhawk!NavComp_Dir, 441,103,64,22
gauge20=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Drift, 250,45,33,33
gauge21=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Drift_Spd, 373,98,63,27
gauge22=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_LowOXY, 251,81,33,33
gauge23=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_RadAlt, 251,117,33,33
gauge24=Virtavia_Skyhawk!AOA Indexer, 79,46,50,108
gauge25=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_APC off, 133,46,27,85
gauge26=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Wheels, 164,52,83,28
gauge27=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Obst, 164,82,83,28
gauge28=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Fire, 164,113,83,28
gauge29=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Gunsight, 279,224,220,240
gauge30=simicons1024!ATC Icon, 375,130,19,19
gauge31=simicons1024!Radio Icon, 397,130,19,19
gauge32=simicons1024!GPS Icon, 419,130,19,19
gauge33=simicons1024!Map Icon, 440,130,19,19
gauge34=simicons1024!Kneeboard Icon, 463,130,19,19
gauge35=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Stick Icon, 484,130,19,19
//gauge36=Virtavia_Sound!DeadPixl_XMLSound, 0,0,1,1 <<<< \\ out this gauge and it should squelch the pop up.
gauge37=Virtavia_Skyhawk!Smoke, 0,0,1,1
gauge38=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Fuel, 287,103,33,33
gauge39=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_SpdBrk, 366,155,68,19
gauge40=Virtavia_Skyhawk!WarnLts_Spoilers, 439,155,68,19
gauge41=Virtavia_Skyhawk!BuNoSwitcher, 439,178,68,16

[StormILM]

MAL, it's the Full Flaps Down Approach/Landing configuration.

[gray eagle]

Anybody out there notice a strange brake noise in cockpit view when braking above 25 knots or above on runway?
If you stop at a slower speed that strange sound is not there.

Wonder if there is a substitute J52 P8A/B sound
Looks like it was also in the A6. I tried using the Razbam A6 for the A4 and it's not too good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_J52

[flaviossa]

gray eagle, that´s the same gauge that makes the A4 CTD in P3Dv2:
//gauge00=Virtavia_Sound!DeadPixl_XMLSound, 0,0,1,1

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...irtavia-A4-CTD

[gray eagle]

Here is the first installment of updated flight dynamic files for the Virtavia A-4E/F Skyhawk. These 2 zips include files for the #0-1 Clean aircraft and the #2-3 Adversary aircraft. They should not be used for any other models as they were constructed specifcally for only the stated types. As usual backup the original files. If you have added additional textures make sure you copy and paste the new textures information into the files I have provided.

These files were built using the Realism slider turned full on (right). Hopefully you will find them to be an improvement over my original work. If you have questions or comments feel free to let me hear your thoughts, as my interest revolves around improving flyability while attemting to capture some sense of how the aircraft actually behaved in the real world. Having said that, most of us are keenly aware of the restrictions and limitations posed by FSX.

As I complete new files I will continue to post them up here at SOH. Thanks to Wings of Gold for checking these out and giving me the thumbs up.

As a side note for all those who have contributed to help keep SOH up and running, thank you. For those who have not yet contributed please give what you can, when you can.

Thanks,
mal

MAL998,

Curious as to what these FDE updates correct/improve. The headers from the previous aircraft.cfg fdes noted the corrections:
So is it Ver 2.7 that is the latest and greatest?



// A-4E/F Skyhawk Flight Dynamics Ver 1.0 by mal - CLEAN Aircraft
// 4-22-2012
// 5-17-2012 ver.1.1
// 5-20-2012 ver.1.2
// 5-29-2012 ver.1.3
// 6-05-2012 ver.1.4
// 6-08-2012 ver.1.5 Near Completed Flight Model
// 6-16-2012 ver.1.6 New Models added to Cfg.
// 6-18-2012 ver.1.7
// 6-21-2012 ver.1.8 G models added
// 6-27-2012 ver.1.9 Cleaned up descriptions & misc. items
// 6-29-2012 ver.1.9 Clean Aircraft CFG.
// 7-31-2012 ver.2.0 FD Completed
// 9-11-2012 ver.2.1 Flight testing completed - remembering 9-11
// 21 Oct 2012 ver.2.2 : new lts sect, fuel dump & exh fx, AP bank, wingfld/tailhk, thumb UI.
// 11-29-2012 ver.2.3 Updated lateral stability, COG, yaw moi. h-tail incidence, launch bar lug
// 12-04-2012 ver.2.4 adjusted h-tail incidence, decreased flap lift & pitch, lowered fuel gain, reduced elevator effectiveness, reduced pitch stability, decreased oswald efficiency, modified (404) stall characteristics, lowered vert. inertia, lowered elevator control factor.
// 12-06-2012 ver.2.5 increased yaw stab2
// 12-07-2012 ver.2.6 decreased aileron & rudder effectiveness, increased yaw stab 1 & 2
// 1-06-2013 ver.2.6 out for testing
// 1-08-2013 ver.2.6 test results positive
// 1-22-2013 ver.2.6 ver.2.6 fine tuned - 2.6 release candidate
// 1-30-2013 ver.2.6 decreased yaw stability, increased aileron response, increased elevator response
// 12-27-2014 Ver.2.7 FDE Update mal

[fsafranek]

OK, thanks for that Frank.
I have the correct names.
But for the sake of keeping the air file names simple I will continue to name them with only the model numbers rather than the whole name which would make them too long.

I think that's a good idea.

[mal998]

gray eagle,

The files I just posted are the newest and reflect the latest changes to the A-4. Those changes are numerous and would only bore you if I listed them all. Suffice to say they were extensive and there will probably be more in the future.

As a matter of fact I have been in contact with a gentleman who has made some recommendations which I will most likely put into practice. So the files will change again.

It was unusual for me to list all those changes in the first place. Normally you would not see that kind of info in most aircraft.cfg's or airfiles.

What really matters is this; does the aircraft fly OK in the sim and do most users have an enjoyable experience?

Hopefully the answer is yes on both counts.

[gray eagle]

The Virtavia A4 start up exhaust effects (Smoke) looks to be originating from the wrong position. 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 hash out the smokesystem, The exhaust still comes out it the same place. Wierd.

[gray eagle]

gray eagle,

The files I just posted are the newest and reflect the latest changes to the A-4. Those changes are numerous and would only bore you if I listed them all. Suffice to say they were extensive and there will probably be more in the future.

As a matter of fact I have been in contact with a gentleman who has made some recommendations which I will most likely put into practice. So the files will change again.

It was unusual for me to list all those changes in the first place. Normally you would not see that kind of info in most aircraft.cfg's or airfiles.

What really matters is this; does the aircraft fly OK in the sim and do most users have an enjoyable experience?

Hopefully the answer is yes on both counts.

Yes and Yes