Druine D31 Turbulent for FSX/P3D

[DaveB]

Hmm.. lots of do's and don't's there Mike Interesting those certification notes say that most are fitted with tail skids and weight is so critical that its often the case they can only be flown by small folk with minimal fuel. Suddenly.. I don't feel so safe anymore

ATB
DaveB

[Dev One]

I'll look at the pilots notes a bit later, but last night I did some changes to the .air file but only flew the changes in FS9 as for some reason FSX wont load!!!!! I did find that the FSX model/.air file is tricky to fly & for some reason can fly at quite an alarming positive angle of attack in the cruise so becomes very draggy....or is it my FSX?
Don't forget that one tries to simulate tyre deflection by letting them sink into the ground a little Mike - maybe its a bit too much at the moment.
I must also look at the C of G & I must send copies to Bernard. Will keep you posted.
Keith

[DaveB]

Rgr that Keith

Btw.. they're not Pilots notes mate.. they're certification notes giving points for an examiner to look out for. You may find some bits useful though

ATB
DaveB

[emfrat]

Keith, Dave - It does need a light touch, and trim is critical. Several times I thought I had made a nice steady take-off (it's not much of a climber) only to find it rearing up about the 50' mark and slamming onto the ground. Also, it really can drop out of a steep turn - I was making a procedure turn back for downwind at the chateau, having slowed to about 80kmh (50mph) and the nose began dropping. Top rudder didn't help, and there was not enough power on hand to drag it round with the elevators, so into the forest I went.
Druine 9, Ghanpa 0. I found a couple of accident reports which made me feel better - I'm not the first to be caught out by the stall.
This is a freeware plane with a few idiosyncrasies and I'm having lots of fun with it. No need for a lot of fuss. I appreciate what Bernard has given me. The real plane seems to have been quite a challenge too.

ATB
MikeW

[Dev One]

Update on my experiments with the .air file & .cfg in FSX.
DaveB had a look at my mods & the results were not too good - curates egg in a way! Thanks Dave.
After reading Dave report, I revisited my original download & killed all the weather (I think that clouded my original opinion - no pun intended!) that was in FSX & the end result is that the original files are very good, with only the tailwheel needing 60° of freedom (zero is set originally). One must though resist the temptation to use elevator trim - there is no lever to use, so presumably none is fitted in the real thing. One will then find that it will cruise level, with zero trim at 2700 rpm. What one must be very careful of is in the approach as it seems to get very draggy on the flare & speed drops very quickly - so dont try to extend the glide without a fistful of power!
For FS9 users: the original is not so good - its a backwards compatibility problem - i.e. the FSX model came first - I need to revisit the FS9 files, but I think Bernard has updated these on his website in November.
I think one cannot fix the C of G problem as I think the model uses the Leading edge as the datum, not the 25% chord as recommended for the placement in Gmax etc.
Keith

[emfrat]

Thanks Keith!
I applied those revised settings and very nearly got in to the driveway at the chateau!
I don't use any weather software, but FSX had laid down some snow since last week, which added to the fun.

In this first pic, I had just 231' to lose, but I misjudged the slope and actually landed short, on base.



These two give some idea of the sloping terrain:





The pics are full-screen, for detail. Clicking the thumbnail should give you a medium-size pic, and below that there should be a link to go full-size

ATB
MikeW

[DaveB]

Bless your efforts Mike. Despite the Druine looking for all the world like it has good short field performance, it's not as good as you'd imagine is it. Perhaps with a reasonable headwind applied, you'd make that without too much difficulty

ATB
DaveB

[emfrat]

We'll get there...the high end of the driveway is 3736'. I was aiming to come in level on 3800' or so, turn final and drop down - I have found you can actually brake quite hard without tipping - but I was too slow getting the power up to turn final, and lost height on base.

Cheers
MikeW

[DaveB]

Yes.. a few kts below 40 and you're in the mire. Is that default scenery? I'll have to try it

ATB
DaveB

[emfrat]

Dave - The Chateau itself is freeware, but the mesh and textures are NZ VLC payware. (well under GBP30, and IMHO worth every penny)
These are for FSX - I have the equivalent in my FS9, but the Red Baron 20m mesh & topo is no longer available.
VLC also provide some excellent freeware airfields and enhancements - in fact there is a lot of NZ freeware which is up there with the best.
I see no need to change to Orbx NZ.

http://www.fs-creations.org/Freeware-Scenerys.php
http://www.vectorlandclass.co.nz/

Cheers
MikeW

PS: Don't tell Mrs B where I live