Flying Supersonic. Tu-144 'Charger' v3.5

[delta558]

I'd love to have a go at this - I spent pretty much 2 years just flying the FSLabs Concorde and it would be a great comparison. The gauges / language issue isn't a show-stopper by any means, and having followed the very clear and detailed commentary on how to get the aircraft up and running, it wouldn't be a problem to fly in my opinion. The one thing holding me back is the need to remove all joystick control settings within FSX - that would be a monumental pain in the rear considering the fact that I currently need to use several reasonably advanced aircraft which cope with the FSX-assigned control axes.

I really appreciate the work put into this, but I'm not going to be able to fly it until I have a good few months of clear schedule unfortunately.

 

[SeanTK]

Disabling the controls in FSX does not involve actually deleting assignments and axis settings. You are just unchecking a check box in FSX that activates/deactivates your controls.
I'm still on the road so I don't have FSX for reference, but perhaps someone else can post a shot of the fsx menu.

 

[ce_zeta]

I'd love to have a go at this - I spent pretty much 2 years just flying the FSLabs Concorde and it would be a great comparison. The gauges / language issue isn't a show-stopper by any means, and having followed the very clear and detailed commentary on how to get the aircraft up and running, it wouldn't be a problem to fly in my opinion. The one thing holding me back is the need to remove all joystick control settings within FSX - that would be a monumental pain in the rear considering the fact that I currently need to use several reasonably advanced aircraft which cope with the FSX-assigned control axes.

I really appreciate the work put into this, but I'm not going to be able to fly it until I have a good few months of clear schedule unfortunately.

You do not remove any command within FSX.

When the aircraft is loaded in the sim you use the command 'ctrl+k' to disable FSX joystick config. (disabled, not removed).

When you load another aircraft....again push 'ctrl+K' to enable your usual joystick configuration.

I will post in a few hours, a complete checklist for program the joy with the joystick utility, because the procedure in the manual have little gaps.

 

[SeanTK]

Thanks to ce_zeta and others for providing additional guidance and screens while I'm travelling and away from FSX. Your success reports and personal narratives on what you've learned/discovered are helpful and appreciated.

I will be providing a real-time training session on May 17th (a Saturday). I'll provide additional details in the coming weeks, but in short, it'll involve TeamSpeak and an FSX multiplayer connection.

Let me know if anyone's interested...

Keep the questions coming if you have them, and be sure to check the videos that both I and ce_zeta posted, which may help with learning the startup.
Also take note of my setup guidance for properly loading the aircraft in FSX.

 

[ce_zeta]

Following the VRI (chart/graph as Sean said, for know more about this gauge, read NASA report for know about it) and Sean advices, I made my first supersonic flight. Second Milestone was achieved

Well, about the joystick configuration utility, as I said before, the procedure showed in the manual have little gaps.

Checklist:

Start and detect your joystick:

1. load the Tu-144D with the tips provided by Sean.
2. push Shift+5 for view the joystick utility panel.
3. With the rotary switch [1] in one. move all axis. If in gauge [6] you see a movement of the needle...Dont move [1]. If you dont see movement of the needle, move [1] to the position labeled with two and try to move again.

Picture from the manual:

For the axis:

1. Move the wheel of [4] to select, with the help of the List A, the control to be configured
2. Select with [2] the axis of your joystick. To recognize the correct axis of your joystick, you need see move in the needle of [6].
3. With [12] you can center your axis with the needle of [6].
4. when you locate the axis to be configured, click in [10]. Your axis has been saved, a yellow light shine in [10].
5. Check in VC if the movement of the yoke is not reverted. If is reverted, click in the switch [8].
6. configure dead zone [13] , sensibility [14] and nonlinearity [15?].
7. Repeat step 1 to 6 with other axis.

Never click in [16], only if you like delete your setup.

LIST A

Axis (Traduced and in the correct order):

1. Elevator
2. Rudder
3. Ailerons
4. Throttles
5. Left brake
6. Right brake
7. Emergency brake
8. Turn handle (on autopilot)

From the manual

For the buttons.

1. Choose a command from the list b (below) to be mapped in your joystick moving [5]
2. Click in your joystick the selected button to be mapped and move the wheel [9]. When you move the wheel, the counter [3] moves.
3. When the light [7] is shining, you have been located what is the number of your button in the joystick utility.
4. Click in [11]. Your button has been mapped. A yellow light shine in [11].
5. Repeat step 1 to 4 with for other buttons.
6. Enjoy!

Switch [17] is to fly with a keyboard (Do not touch if you have a joystick/yoke).

LIST B

Buttons (Traduced and in the correct order):

1. AP off
2. AT off
3. ONF down (nose)
4. ONF up (nose)
5. Left brake
6. Right brake
7. Trim RV (?) up
8. Trim RV (?) down
9. Starting brake(?)
10. head movement (side looks?)
11. Emergency brake
12. Aileron trim left
13. Aileron trim right
14. Stick mode "roll"
15. Stick mode "pitch"
16. AP stabilizer "roll" channel
17. AP stabilizer "pitch" channel
18. ZPU (AP Heading mode)
19. AP stabilizer M/Tt (pitch mode hold Mach speed?)
20. AP stabilizer V (pitch mode hold IAS?)
21. AP stabilizer H (pitch mode hold Altitude)
22. Course (ILS lateral channel)
23. Glissade (ILS vertical channel)

From the manual

 

[SH427]

well, I finally got the engines up and running.

Now, after taking off I'm noticing a weird trend. The aircraft tends to want to bank to the left (correctable with aileron trim) and there's an oscillating yawing motion that starts and does not stop.
is this a typical thing, or is it something off that I can fix.

 

[SeanTK]

That's a new one for me.
What's your weight/balance and fuel situation like?
Also, how do you have the fuel pumps set on the engineers panel?

 

[SH427]

I think the problem is purely hardware. The stick I'm using is a few years old and it's due to be replaced.
the gentlest touch tends to make the a/c roll left. doing calibration tests, the stick tends to lean left and show far faster than the right, so I'll tune down the sensitivity. the yawing seems to be a response to the SUPER sensitive stick twist. I'll have to crank the sensitivity way down there too.

Mystery solved. The big one for me is that the engine start usually requires me to ctrl-e after the instruments are set up. I'm gonna try a couple things and go from there

 

[ce_zeta]

Sh427 in which position you have the wheel labeled with [7] in the AP panel?

When I load the aircraft always I found this wheel in the left from the center position. For this reason, when I activate the ABSU bank, the aircraft turn to the left forever.

 

[SH427]

I actually checked it and it might have been a shade to the left

 

[ce_zeta]

Does anybody know how to connect the ABSU to the VOR I and II? And how to operate the Autothrottle?

 

[SeanTK]

I'll look into it. I always fly with manual throttle control, and I also manually track my navigation beacons just because they change so often (and the aircraft hand-flies well...at least for me), so I haven't looked into extensive use of the AP for authrottle purposes or beacon tracking (though I do use it for climb, alt hold, descent, and turns to headings).

 

[SeanTK]

Sorry to dredge this back up, but since we had a couple of outstanding questions, here's the answers (or non-answers) and additional info:

Ce_zeta,

While you can fly an AP coupled approach once established on the localizer and glideslope, I have not yet uncovered a way through experimentation nor documentation to track VOR signals with the autopilot. Additionally, I'm still trying to determine how the get the AT to work, as the switches seem to be there, but I'm not sure on an on/off or how to activate it. There seems to be limited documentation in that regard. On a personal note, I have always preferred manual control of the throttles (in the 154 too) once you figure out the ideal N1 percentages to use for various flight regimes. I'll continue trying to figure this aspect out.

All,

With the acknowledgement that some aspects like the above are still a mystery (assuming they are even possible) I would still say that I can at least provide interested parties here with useful advice when they are first exploring this addon. With that being said, I'll be hosting an online (via Teamspeak and FSX multiplayer) lesson of sorts for those wishing to learn how to use this addon. This lesson will occur twice to cover multiple timezones:

1st lesson = Friday, May 16th at 2100 US Eastern Time (to accommodate those parties who have expressed interest here and elsewhere in the Asia/Pacific region)
2nd lesson = Saturday, May 17 at 1300 US Eastern Time (to accommodate everyone else).

Both lessons are the same, so you only need to attend one (if you are interested) though feel free to attend both if you wish. The lesson is estimated to last approx 2.5 hours, and I'll post a "lesson plan" if there is interest closer to the date.
I will post further info on the server to use closer to that time as well.

It is expected that those participating in this lesson will have read through this thread, as well as downloaded and installed at least the basic 3.5 package into FSX. The lesson will start off with installing the updates prior to even starting FSX, and then proceed from there, concluding with a short full-flight from two airfields.

 

[ea2000]

Tu-144D 3.5 Manual (English translation)

Hi all,
First of all I'd just like to say this is one of the best FS add-ons ever. I've flown the FS2004 version and this one looks even better. Sadly, I don't know russian so I can't read the manuals. That is why I decided to start translating them. Let me reiterate, I know ZERO russian, so I'm relying on Google translator to do this, while trying to maintaing the overall format of the original PDF. I've also tried to leave any labels or button names in russian to be easier to find on the panels. There are some words that were not correctly translated by google, they were probably mis-spelled in russian, I have no idea.
Here is the first file I've completed:
View attachment ÍÏÊ-144.pdf
Here is the next file:
View attachment Îïèñàíèå ìîäåëè_FSX.pdf

 

[Anneke]

AlthoughI don't use this aircraft, it's admirable that you took the effort of translating the manual and sharing it with the community. Kudo's!

 

[Naismith]

must have taken you a while - thank you

 

[SeanTK]

Looks great, thanks!
This'll help me figure out the flight computer system, and hopefully can help others who may be interested in this aircraft.

 

[ce_zeta]

Thank you very much! Ea2000

 

[ea2000]

Tu-144D 3.5 Startup Procedure

I put together this very basic start up procedure for anyone having trouble getting off the ground (myself included). Most of this is from what has already been posted and from that Russian guy's YouTube video.
This will allow you to start the engines and take off, but not much else.
Feel free to update this as you see fit.

 

[ea2000]

Does anyone know how to disable the joystick hat switch in the Shift+5 utility? It is conflicting with EZdok.