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Post by kronzky on Nov 22, 2013 23:11:46 GMT -5
Oh wow, we got a volunteer for a C130 already! That'll be quite a handful, I bet. Does the Captain Sim one have those "booster rockets" the real ones can utilize? You might need them on some of the airstrips! And what about skis? Those would come in handy on this last route!
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Post by bushflyer on Nov 28, 2013 1:44:26 GMT -5
I'm still learning on the JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) on the C130J. The FSX version has JATO, the FS9 version does not. Bummer. No skis on either version, or at least on the one I bought -maybe a ski version is in an extra $$$ expansion pack, idk. Real bummer.
The bad thing about it is (according to the manual), the JATO has to be fired from the co-pilot view. Even with trying to split the views on two screens, I can't set it up to fire correctly. Not good. I like doing takeoffs from spot view. Meaning that I need to practice some more on cockpit takeoffs now...lol
In reality, I don't feel I need the JATO too much. This bird gets off the ground nicely, even on short runways. Landing it should be easy enough, but I'm struggling on this version. More practice should help though.
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Post by kronzky on Nov 28, 2013 8:44:48 GMT -5
Looks like the JATO rockets on the Captain Sim C130 are for looks only. They don't give you any additional boost. But I've discovered this little gem, that can add JATO rockets with *real* boost, to any plane you want: www.flightsimtools.com/stol_kit/ That might be what we need, to get out of some of the tighter spots... Unfortunately, they don't have a demo for it, so I'm not sure if it's worth the money.
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Post by bushflyer on Nov 28, 2013 13:50:13 GMT -5
Hmm. The answer was right in front of me, even before you found it on the CS site: Needless to say, I'm not seeing the switch they talk about here. Again, I didn't plan on using it anyways. Now I def won't even worry about it now. Truth be told, I'm kind of disappointed with this product. The Alphasim, or even the Premier Aircraft c130 is just as good, if not better. Too many negatives that outweigh the positives. Two positives; plenty of planes for both FSX and FS9, and they do pay good attention to detail. And the FS9 version is ready to fly... Some bad things: It starts cold and dark in FSX -hate that. You got a detailed checklist to run through before flying. I get it, that's realistic, but it should have an option to avoid this. I like planes that you can set up as ready to go, like the FS9 one. The manual is terrible. Doesn't differentiate much between FSX and FS9, and you're left guessing what you're reading about. The Aircraft Config Editor isn't much to write home about. Other payware companies do this much better. This one sucks. No CL 130 Float plane -thought it was included. On me, my bad. There is supposed to be a USAF LC 130 ski version for Antarctica-South Pole useage, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe I have to buy another expansion package to get it, idk. Don't matter, I ain't buying no more from CS... Overall, I probably should have done my homework better before buying it. I've since found many bad reviews on this plane from others. Live and learn. I'll probably still use it here for the reverse run, but maybe the FS9 version instead. Might as well use it now, it's paid for.
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Post by bushflyer on Nov 28, 2013 14:19:43 GMT -5
Looks like the JATO rockets on the Captain Sim C130 are for looks only. They don't give you any additional boost. But I've discovered this little gem, that can add JATO rockets with *real* boost, to any plane you want: www.flightsimtools.com/stol_kit/ That might be what we need, to get out of some of the tighter spots... Unfortunately, they don't have a demo for it, so I'm not sure if it's worth the money. Like you said, without a demo, it's hard to tell. Maybe down the road, it might be worth a try. I did see in that link that they attached it to what looks like a C172. That would definitely give that little plane some outrageous get up and go, that's for sure...lol
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Post by kronzky on Nov 29, 2013 20:34:16 GMT -5
The more I'm researching the C-130, the more I like it. It seems more and more like a modern-day DC-3. A real work-horse, with endless versatility and toughness (and living WAY longer than anybody expected).
But it seems to be hard to find a model that is up to the level of the MAAM DC-3 or the Carenado C-185 (my current two favorites).
I think I tried all the freeware C-130s that are out there already, and they all seem to have one issue or another (my favorite is probably the Premier Aircraft one, but it keeps crashing FSX for me). They probably all need to have their flight dynamics tweaked, since none of them come close to what the real-life version can do.
The Captain Sim one sure does look nice, but it may be a case of all looks, but no brains... Like the JATO rockets that don't provide any additional boost (only visual effects), and from what I've read, their J-model (which is supposed to have a stronger engine), is actually using the exact same performance data as the other variations. So — while they do have float and ski versions in their expansion packs, I'm not getting my hopes up too much, about them having anything close to realistic behavior. Perhaps if CS has another $9.99 sale (as they seem to do on a regular basis), I'll grab the all-in-one pack, even if it's just for the models, while using the configuration files from somewhere else.
But in the meantime, I'm not quite sure what to fly. Or whether it's worth it to try to tweak one of the freeware versions. Guess I'll have to do some more testing...
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Post by bushflyer on Nov 29, 2013 23:27:16 GMT -5
A day ago, I was swearing at the CS. Today's a bit different, but I'm not quite ready to swear by it yet though. I go into detail with my experience with the CS C130 in my "Bushflyer Imitating DS" thread tonight, but at least it's more flyable now 'cause I figured out the 'cold and dark' BS boondoggle. Still a pain i t a procedure, but flyable (now landing it on ice for me, a different story...lol)...
If you know how to config or tweak this CS one (and something tells me you do...lol), that might be all it needs, because the plane isn't that bad. Not great, but not bad. It's certainly not on FSD's or Carenado's level, for sure, but on the other hand, those two payware makers are quickly becoming numbers One and One-A in my book, with me leaning a bit towards FSD as #1... (What am I saying, it's a coin toss...lol)
If there's anything I can do to help with my CS C130, please don't hesitate to ask.
I'm still gonna use it on this "Reverse" scenario, but I was thinking of subbing it with a C123 Provider on some legs, or just using the C123 altogether. Can't make my mind up. I go into detail on it too in the "Imitating" thread.
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Post by kronzky on Nov 30, 2013 10:11:56 GMT -5
I did a few test landings with the freeware C130s, and they all seem to stop WAY to slowly, compared to the real thing. (This may explain your failed attempts on the ledge.) If I'm REALLY lucky, with an empty plane, I might be able to stop within 700ft or so, but when they did the aircraft carrier tests IRL, it took them about 300ft, in a loaded plane! I don't really know anything about tweaking flight behavior (editing the .air file), but some of the more obvious parameters in the aircraft.cfg file can already have an effect. So I guess I'll play around with the brakes (as none of the planes can be kept standing under full throttle — which should be possible), and perhaps with the reverse thruster power. Then, since those planes also seem to be very vulnerable to bumps on the ground, I might try tweaking the contact points. But whenever I did that in the past, things normally went from bad to worse, so I'm not getting my hopes up too much... I'm still not sure about buying the CS, as their latest policy change of not allowing new members to post questions on their forum is really a deal breaker for me. Perhaps, once it's on sale for $9.99, I'll go for it, but with support like that I won't spend the full price.
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teson1
Commercial Pilot
Posts: 243
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Post by teson1 on Nov 30, 2013 16:03:04 GMT -5
... If I'm REALLY lucky, with an empty plane, I might be able to stop within 700ft or so, but when they did the aircraft carrier tests IRL, it took them about 300ft, in a loaded plane! 700 ft doesn't sound too shabby to me... On the carrier tests they probably were taking off and landing into a >40 kt headwind or so: 20 kts wind speed + 20 kts carrier speed steaming into the wind. Try landing into such a head-wind - landing distance should be more to your liking .
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Post by kronzky on Dec 8, 2013 19:06:16 GMT -5
Yeah, it looks like the 300ft landings were all done at that strong headwind (plus, the ship was moving at another 20kts or so, so that gives you another advantage). I first interpreted the note about the headwind as only affecting the "first" landing, but it seems they were *all* done that way. Anyway, after some further tweaking I think I got the performance pretty close to the real 130J, so I've started my attempt in that REAL HEAVY now. And boy, what a difference... That thing flies SO FAST (330kts - no sweat), you have hardly any time to react, and then, on the other hand, you have reaction times (especially engine spool up/down) that are "glacial", compared to the Cessna, or even the DC-3. But with enough white knuckles I was able to bring it down a few times now. The first landing at 33AK was probably harder than even the rescue mission on the ledge, as there was absolutely no room for error. You had those big "bumps" right in front and right behind the runway, so there's no coming down early or touching down late. Either way, you're gonna hit those bumps, and if they don't kill you outright, they'll throw you in the air, and then gravity will do the rest... Leg 1:With that big bird there was, of course, no way to start either at the village strip, or even on the main road, so I had to take off from the PATK airport. Still pretty foggy for most of the way, which isn't that much of a problem, but it's still quite dense when you approach Nugget Bench. It sits in a depression, and then you have the fog blocking your view. Not the best of combinations for a Hercules (which also has the tendency to sink and crash if you get off the runway a bit).
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Post by kronzky on Dec 8, 2013 19:12:23 GMT -5
Leg 2: This one should've been easy, but during my test runs I had several occasions where the plane crashed due to overstress. I don't really know why, since I wasn't doing anything crazy, so this had me a bit worried. I was hoping that it might've been since FSX sometimes gets confused when you fly at accelerated speed (4x), but I nevertheless treated her really gentle during the run, so she would stay intact. Oh, and revere thrust comes in real handy on a glacier! It probably took me less time to stop than it did in the Cessna!
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Post by kronzky on Dec 8, 2013 19:24:25 GMT -5
Leg 3:I first thought this would've been the killer leg for the Hercules, but once you get the right approach angle, you actually have quite a smooth and long slope, and, due to the incline, it's hard to actually run out of space. Of course, with everything being white, and no shadows or objects for reference, judging your altitude is a bit trickier, but I just took it real easy, and took advantage of the whole snow field, to get down as carefully and smoothly as possible. Of course, with all the other crashed or stranded planes up there, it did get a bit crowded there, but I did still find a spot to park...
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Post by kronzky on Dec 9, 2013 19:18:16 GMT -5
Leg 2c & 3:Well... just like I had hoped, this is turning into a real adventure... While the landing on the ledge worked out fine, getting off it became the real challenge. When I had landed, I had stopped the engines, but now, when I tried to restart it, the plane would just slid all over the place, rotating wildly, due to the uneven thrust coming from one side. Brakes didn't do anything, and once the 1st engine was running, the plane was uncontrollable. So, what to do??? After a few dozen experiments I finally found a way of somehow getting off that ledge. This involved starting ONLY engine #2 & 3, and as quickly as possible (since they were more to the center of the aircraft, and didn't flip it around as much), kicking the flaps down at the same time, and trying to steer towards the steepest edge. Once there I was of course still way too slow to take off, so I had to take a steep plunge down the cliff, and then start the other engines in the process. Then try to level off as gently as possible once I had some power, to not overstress the plane. I'm not sure if Helga considered this rescue much of an improvement over her previous situation, but at least I got off than damn edge! As you can see, I was so slow getting over the edge, that Duenna only kicked in, once I was already dropping! My original plan had been to land at the start position, to fill up my fuel again, but I guess that steep drop sucked all my blood out of my brain, and I figured I would just continue right away towards the next leg. Except — I didn't have enough fuel left for it! Once I was halfway there I heard some sputtering, and that was the end of powered flight... Which wasn't so much of a problem by itself, only that I then couldn't use any reverse thrust when landing, so I had to pick a landing spot that would go uphill a bit, if I ever wanted my sledding party to stop. And the Hercules isn't very good at rolling over rough terrain. You can easily break your engines that way, so this was not something I was looking forward to...
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Post by kronzky on Dec 9, 2013 19:34:04 GMT -5
Leg 4 & 5:Unfortunately, due to my stalled engine I had to restart them again for the next leg, and had the same issue with the plane going out of control. So again, I had to start with only #2 & 3, and then start the others in the air. Therefore I had to take it easy on my climb out, doing some looping around, to get up to height. I didn't bother with the extra landing after circling Mooses Tooth, and went straight for Talkeetna. I hadn't bothered doing any test landings beforehand, so this was total improvisation now... While I nearly stalled during the approach, I did finally get it down in one piece. I think that Hercules is really growing on me. It's pretty impressive what that big bird is able to do, and you definitely have to get creative with it!
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Post by bushflyer on Dec 10, 2013 18:02:54 GMT -5
You done good K, nice flying. Sounds like you're getting to know this bird better too.
That ledge landing thing is getting me (or should I say killing me...lol) every time...
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