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Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
DC-4 Skymaster
- Thread starter lagaffe
- Start date
lagaffe
SOH-CM-2026
Thanks for the link to this manual but if you read the post since the beginning I have gave hit in page 2 (Jan 31) and most of screenshot for the fuel management are taken in this manual 
When I work on an airplane, I have a model-making approach and the first thing I do is to gather as much documentation as possible about it. At present, I have more than 830 MB of PDFs and images on my hard drive regarding the DC-4 and C-54.
This manual and a DC-4 manual are provided in this addon since the first alpha version tested
As for the instruments, I have already prepared three virtual cockpits which will be "merged" with an interior model to have as much flexibility as possible in case another variation is created:
The second cockpit on which I will be working next week need to be cleaned up and then the XML code will be written.
It is this one which is planned to be "merged" with the DC-4 "Liner" like DC-4 Air France or South-Africa.
The third one is for now just a rough draft that needs a lot of work to be usable. It will probably be associated with a military C-54 cargo version.
A little trick for developers I found to resolve my issues with the clickable area around the center console.
In the first versions, it was the entire trim that was declared clickable via the associated ModelBehavior, but since the manipulation wheel is very large or even too large, it was very difficult to click on the levers at the back. (tank selection, carburetor control or cross-feed).
The solution is finally quite simple, I separated the trims into two parts:
- the central axis and
- the manipulation wheel.
The wheel was declared as an child object of the central axis and it was the axis that was then declared in the ModelBehavior.
In this way, to act with the mouse, the cursor must be moved on the axis and not on the wheel, which allows for better separation between the various areas on the virtual cockpit.
When I work on an airplane, I have a model-making approach and the first thing I do is to gather as much documentation as possible about it. At present, I have more than 830 MB of PDFs and images on my hard drive regarding the DC-4 and C-54.
This manual and a DC-4 manual are provided in this addon since the first alpha version tested
As for the instruments, I have already prepared three virtual cockpits which will be "merged" with an interior model to have as much flexibility as possible in case another variation is created:
The second cockpit on which I will be working next week need to be cleaned up and then the XML code will be written.
It is this one which is planned to be "merged" with the DC-4 "Liner" like DC-4 Air France or South-Africa.
The third one is for now just a rough draft that needs a lot of work to be usable. It will probably be associated with a military C-54 cargo version.
A little trick for developers I found to resolve my issues with the clickable area around the center console.
In the first versions, it was the entire trim that was declared clickable via the associated ModelBehavior, but since the manipulation wheel is very large or even too large, it was very difficult to click on the levers at the back. (tank selection, carburetor control or cross-feed).
The solution is finally quite simple, I separated the trims into two parts:
- the central axis and
- the manipulation wheel.
The wheel was declared as an child object of the central axis and it was the axis that was then declared in the ModelBehavior.
In this way, to act with the mouse, the cursor must be moved on the axis and not on the wheel, which allows for better separation between the various areas on the virtual cockpit.
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Hollister56
Members +
That is great to here!
lagaffe
SOH-CM-2026
Hello,
In France, we’ve had a "heat wave" since last Saturday and it’s practically impossible to work on the computer from noon onwards (=> 36°C), so I reserve mornings between 7 and 11 a.m. to move the project forward.
Currently, the vintage cockpit of the DC-4 has made good progress: all that remains is to adjust the Sperry and the ATI, which is coupled with certain variables. The other gauges are functional even if some operate with FSX code.
In France, we’ve had a "heat wave" since last Saturday and it’s practically impossible to work on the computer from noon onwards (=> 36°C), so I reserve mornings between 7 and 11 a.m. to move the project forward.
Currently, the vintage cockpit of the DC-4 has made good progress: all that remains is to adjust the Sperry and the ATI, which is coupled with certain variables. The other gauges are functional even if some operate with FSX code.
i fully admit ive only read the 1st page and then this page, page 9, i will come back and read it all, but ,im guessing here, my ADHD/ADD is stopping me,i really struggle to stay on topic. have you made up your mind on if there will be a tanker version? some people like military, some like airliners, some just like the general aviation set... me? i want to fly airtankers. any and all, which is why i want 2024 so bad, but right now my 2020 is still stuck on the updates spinning thingy. and i cant get into the microsoft store to do a reinstall or whatever is going to fix it....sigh
lagaffe
SOH-CM-2026
Yes Dave a airtankercan can be extrapolated from the existing version, because Mike has provide this kind of aircraft in his FSX package and because I thought to use certain scripts I had written for the Canso about water tanks managing.
To continue on the DC-4, yesterday I have begin to work on the Sperry block. But curious I have searched some informations about the Sperry and that it did in the first aircraft where it was used because to model an instrument, you still need to know exactly how it is made and how it works.
At least, that’s how I do it, because even though I love aviation, I try to learn a little more each day about this vast subject ...
First, an anecdote that made me smile about Lawrence Sperry, who is considered to be the co-inventor of autopilot with his father.
Lawrence Sperry, legendary founder of the Mile High Club
It’s hard to go around potential candidates for the first humans to get laid without mentioning the misadventures of aviation pioneer Lawrence Burst Sperry. Especially since he is the father of autopilot, an invention so essential to be able to fully enjoy aerial galipettes, freeing up the hands and attention of the pilot. It seems that, as a great seducer, he himself would have made the most of this advantage of his invention. On November 21, 1916, Sperry flew the Curtis Flying Boat C2 of Mr. Waldo Peirce from Babylon to Lindenhurst (New York) with the wife of the owner of the seaplane, Mrs. Dorothy Rice Peirce, to whom he had taught how to fly and who became the 10th American woman to receive a pilot’s license on August 23 of the same year. While flying at an altitude of about 600 feet, the autopilot was cut off accidentally and the aircraft crashed into the water half a mile from the coast of Great South Bay on Long Island. According to legend, the two duck hunters who came to rescue them were surprised to discover the pilot and his former student in the simplest aircraft. Playboy but courteous, Sperry would then have explained, to spare a scandal to Mrs. Pierce, that they had been stripped of their clothes by the violence of the shock of the accident. Sperry later told a friend that Dorothy was his mistress and that the autopilot system had probably been turned off by an involuntary movement while they were in the heat of the moment.
Legend or not, this story allowed Dorothy and Lawrence to be considered the founders of the Mile High Club, a non-formal club that brings together all those who have made love aboard an aircraft at an altitude of at least one mile, despite the fact that the couple did not fly as high
Then the true story about the sperry block:
The first prototype of an autopilot was created by Elmer Sperry and his son Lawrence Sperry in 1914, who were also the creators of the artificial horizon. Their autopilot is rather considered a flight stabilizer, their system allows to correct unwanted pitch and roll variations. The innovation allows a straight and stabilized flight without pilot action on the control column.
The Sperries installed 4 gyroscopes on a Curtiss C-2, an aircraft of the American Navy. These gyroscopes, which rotate at about 7,000 rpm, permanently maintain their axis. They train a pulley system, which, with each movement of the aircraft, acts directly on the flight control surfaces to correct these unwanted variations. The Sperries demonstrated the effectiveness of their flight stabilization system on 18 June 1914 during the Airliner Safety Competition in Paris. It’s a success, they are acclaimed by a large audience. In the days when airplanes had just been invented, it was unthinkable that a mechanism could control an aircraft. They win the contest and receive 50,000 francs, which corresponds today to the sum of $225,000.
Autopilots work most of the time in this way: an error signal is sent to servo motors (which can be electric or hydraulic, in the case of the DC-3). These actuators act directly on the control surfaces of the aircraft and apply precisely the action to be performed on the control surface. The servomotors send a feedback signal to the autopilot. When the error and feedback signals cancel each other, it means that the action desired by the autopilot has been carried out. Thus, the servomotors are waiting for a new error signal to be corrected.
Automatic pilots have become more complex and diversified over time. In 1935, Douglas unveiled his DC-3, an improved version of the DC-2. This aircraft made history with its unprecedented comfort, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Indeed, the DC-3 offers an autopilot like that of Sperry with integration into the dashboard. It offers pilots the possibility to maintain a slope and a heading given by the pilot. The flight becomes more stable, therefore more comfortable. This autopilot allows pilots to focus on other phases of flight such as radio or navigation, there were only 2 pilots in a DC-3, making it more economical.
The left instrument allows you to select a heading to maintain and the right one, a trim. This simple sentence has already allowed me to understand the meaning of the two dials and the many buttons, something that reading the XML code found in the addon FSX had not really made me understand.
The XML code provided by the FSX addon is a FS9/FSX code and Model Converter X (MCX from Arno Gerretsen - FSdeveloper.com) that I used to port aircrafts has certain defects: particularly if several objects are linked together but animated with the same animation, the program will :
- separate each object and
- assign it the same animation each time, which in the end greatly complicates the result.
PS: there is no point in having 10 objects animated with the same animation, because a parent object with 9 children and an animation on the parent object is more efficient in terms of MSFS calculation time
My workflow consists in trying to group objects with the same animation before thinking about how the code can be transformed to be "more compatible" with MSFS and Model Behaviors.
Asking to an IA engine (Qwant) how a sperry works, i have receive theses points
)
This loop allows the aircraft to maintain :
- a pilot-defined heading
- or attitude,
even in conditions of reduced visibility or turbulence. So it's a basic auto-pilot with only two functions: heading or attitude.
A simple image of the Sperry contains (I have only hidden the boxe around them) to better understand the parts provided by Model ConverterX, the automatic name convention and the pain to compose with all theses "parts" to re-assemble a functionnal gauge ...
Plain axes are the centers of theses parts or Centers of Gravity around parts are moving. Some have the same name but with suffixes differents so it's necessary to link only the right parts together.
To continue on the DC-4, yesterday I have begin to work on the Sperry block. But curious I have searched some informations about the Sperry and that it did in the first aircraft where it was used because to model an instrument, you still need to know exactly how it is made and how it works.
At least, that’s how I do it, because even though I love aviation, I try to learn a little more each day about this vast subject ...
First, an anecdote that made me smile about Lawrence Sperry, who is considered to be the co-inventor of autopilot with his father.
Lawrence Sperry, legendary founder of the Mile High Club
It’s hard to go around potential candidates for the first humans to get laid without mentioning the misadventures of aviation pioneer Lawrence Burst Sperry. Especially since he is the father of autopilot, an invention so essential to be able to fully enjoy aerial galipettes, freeing up the hands and attention of the pilot. It seems that, as a great seducer, he himself would have made the most of this advantage of his invention. On November 21, 1916, Sperry flew the Curtis Flying Boat C2 of Mr. Waldo Peirce from Babylon to Lindenhurst (New York) with the wife of the owner of the seaplane, Mrs. Dorothy Rice Peirce, to whom he had taught how to fly and who became the 10th American woman to receive a pilot’s license on August 23 of the same year. While flying at an altitude of about 600 feet, the autopilot was cut off accidentally and the aircraft crashed into the water half a mile from the coast of Great South Bay on Long Island. According to legend, the two duck hunters who came to rescue them were surprised to discover the pilot and his former student in the simplest aircraft. Playboy but courteous, Sperry would then have explained, to spare a scandal to Mrs. Pierce, that they had been stripped of their clothes by the violence of the shock of the accident. Sperry later told a friend that Dorothy was his mistress and that the autopilot system had probably been turned off by an involuntary movement while they were in the heat of the moment.
Legend or not, this story allowed Dorothy and Lawrence to be considered the founders of the Mile High Club, a non-formal club that brings together all those who have made love aboard an aircraft at an altitude of at least one mile, despite the fact that the couple did not fly as high
Then the true story about the sperry block:
The first prototype of an autopilot was created by Elmer Sperry and his son Lawrence Sperry in 1914, who were also the creators of the artificial horizon. Their autopilot is rather considered a flight stabilizer, their system allows to correct unwanted pitch and roll variations. The innovation allows a straight and stabilized flight without pilot action on the control column.
The Sperries installed 4 gyroscopes on a Curtiss C-2, an aircraft of the American Navy. These gyroscopes, which rotate at about 7,000 rpm, permanently maintain their axis. They train a pulley system, which, with each movement of the aircraft, acts directly on the flight control surfaces to correct these unwanted variations. The Sperries demonstrated the effectiveness of their flight stabilization system on 18 June 1914 during the Airliner Safety Competition in Paris. It’s a success, they are acclaimed by a large audience. In the days when airplanes had just been invented, it was unthinkable that a mechanism could control an aircraft. They win the contest and receive 50,000 francs, which corresponds today to the sum of $225,000.
Autopilots work most of the time in this way: an error signal is sent to servo motors (which can be electric or hydraulic, in the case of the DC-3). These actuators act directly on the control surfaces of the aircraft and apply precisely the action to be performed on the control surface. The servomotors send a feedback signal to the autopilot. When the error and feedback signals cancel each other, it means that the action desired by the autopilot has been carried out. Thus, the servomotors are waiting for a new error signal to be corrected.
Automatic pilots have become more complex and diversified over time. In 1935, Douglas unveiled his DC-3, an improved version of the DC-2. This aircraft made history with its unprecedented comfort, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Indeed, the DC-3 offers an autopilot like that of Sperry with integration into the dashboard. It offers pilots the possibility to maintain a slope and a heading given by the pilot. The flight becomes more stable, therefore more comfortable. This autopilot allows pilots to focus on other phases of flight such as radio or navigation, there were only 2 pilots in a DC-3, making it more economical.
The left instrument allows you to select a heading to maintain and the right one, a trim. This simple sentence has already allowed me to understand the meaning of the two dials and the many buttons, something that reading the XML code found in the addon FSX had not really made me understand.
The XML code provided by the FSX addon is a FS9/FSX code and Model Converter X (MCX from Arno Gerretsen - FSdeveloper.com) that I used to port aircrafts has certain defects: particularly if several objects are linked together but animated with the same animation, the program will :
- separate each object and
- assign it the same animation each time, which in the end greatly complicates the result.
PS: there is no point in having 10 objects animated with the same animation, because a parent object with 9 children and an animation on the parent object is more efficient in terms of MSFS calculation time
My workflow consists in trying to group objects with the same animation before thinking about how the code can be transformed to be "more compatible" with MSFS and Model Behaviors.
Asking to an IA engine (Qwant) how a sperry works, i have receive theses points
PS: on some aircraft the adjustments on the control surfaces are hydraulics and not electrical but this imply that the sperry cannot performs if the Master Battery is OFF (electricity is neededfor the gyroscope animations and to manage servomotors
)This loop allows the aircraft to maintain :
- a pilot-defined heading
- or attitude,
even in conditions of reduced visibility or turbulence. So it's a basic auto-pilot with only two functions: heading or attitude.
A simple image of the Sperry contains (I have only hidden the boxe around them) to better understand the parts provided by Model ConverterX, the automatic name convention and the pain to compose with all theses "parts" to re-assemble a functionnal gauge ...
Plain axes are the centers of theses parts or Centers of Gravity around parts are moving. Some have the same name but with suffixes differents so it's necessary to link only the right parts together.
Last edited: