Golden Age Simulations Stinson SR-8 Reliant

[FleetingThought]

Which texture file in the Milspec model is the black panel insert, would like to put that in some of the others, also is there a way to get a all black panel inplace of the wood?

I much prefer the wood, I just wish the edges could be a little more smoothed; the hint of the polygons behind them breaks the fantasy a bit for me, at least. Otoh that would probably mean a much higher-mesh object, which equals bigger footprint in memory, etc. etc..... it's always a balancing act. Ditto the metallic knobs and such in the cockpit, to further niggle... in some lighting situations they look great! Dawn, dusk, but with sun directly on them they lose something. Sorry to play digital art connoisseur.

 

[Spad54]

Which texture file in the Milspec model is the black panel insert, would like to put that in some of the others, also is there a way to get a all black panel inplace of the wood?

The file you may want is the SR_panel.dds. That has the textures for the wooden panel and insert

 

[Reddog]

The file you may want is the SR_panel.dds. That has the textures for the wooden panel and insert

ok will try that again, it didn't work the 1st I tried that, maybe also need the model.milspec assigned in the cfg file.
I had copied over the Northren Transport one(NC1162) to a wheel version and added milspec to the model= in the cfg file and now have it with the spinner and smooth cowel so I'd like to put in that panel too.

 

[Reddog]

That sounds a little more ambitious than I'd want to be, taken as I am with the many, subtle mysteries of FSX..... is the LHC Tri-Pacer freeware?

If not, if it works at least it's hopefully a clue and we can all go from there.

no the LHCTri Pacer is payware. However u can try this:
engine_generator_map=1
copy and paste it in the electrics section just above the electrics always on= line and see if that helps.

 

[Reddog]

ok will try that again, it didn't work the 1st I tried that, maybe also need the model.milspec assigned in the cfg file.
I had copied over the Northren Transport one(NC1162) to a wheel version and added milspec to the model= in the cfg file and now have it with the spinner and smooth cowel so I'd like to put in that panel too.

ok it worked this time, so now have that plane on wheels with the smooth cowl and spinner and the black insert panel.

 

[FleetingThought]

no the LHCTri Pacer is payware. However u can try this:
engine_generator_map=1
copy and paste it in the electrics section just above the electrics always on= line and see if that helps.

Thanks, will try that, am also reviewing the data at the MSDN page on aircraft.cfg (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx#mozTocId245287) to make sure I can try to understand what I'm doing.

Ok tried that... no joy... but I did notice on the 8B that the pitot_heat is set to a different bus from the one it's on in the 8E; changed it to mirror the 8E and.... seemed to work, more testing needed (forgetting whether both should be on bus 0, main bus, or bus 1, avionics bus, I'd guess bus 0 as having the pitot heater on the avionics bus wouldn't make any sense, would it?!).

 

[Spad54]

Thanks, will try that, am also reviewing the data at the MSDN page on aircraft.cfg (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx#mozTocId245287) to make sure I can try to understand what I'm doing.

Ok tried that... no joy... but I did notice on the 8B that the pitot_heat is set to a different bus from the one it's on in the 8E; changed it to mirror the 8E and.... seemed to work, more testing needed (forgetting whether both should be on bus 0, main bus, or bus 1, avionics bus, I'd guess bus 0 as having the pitot heater on the avionics bus wouldn't make any sense, would it?!).

For all his work and determination FleetingThought will be impressed into testing for future GAS projects. I like the fact that he raises concerns respectfully,enjoys what we do appreciating its difficulty and offers solutions.

 

[Reddog]

Thanks, will try that, am also reviewing the data at the MSDN page on aircraft.cfg (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx#mozTocId245287) to make sure I can try to understand what I'm doing.

Ok tried that... no joy... but I did notice on the 8B that the pitot_heat is set to a different bus from the one it's on in the 8E; changed it to mirror the 8E and.... seemed to work, more testing needed (forgetting whether both should be on bus 0, main bus, or bus 1, avionics bus, I'd guess bus 0 as having the pitot heater on the avionics bus wouldn't make any sense, would it?!).

ok after I installed the milspec it had put the cfg back to default so had to reenter all I had added but forgot to redue the electric section and of course after a few minutes of flying out goes the electrics. I added that line to it and haven't had a problem since, so far that is.

 

[Reddog]

I also have to say that all my flying has been in 8E,wheels and floats.

 

[FleetingThought]

For all his work and determination FleetingThought will be impressed into testing for future GAS projects. I like the fact that he raises concerns respectfully,enjoys what we do appreciating its difficulty and offers solutions.

Thank you, always glad to help! I do have to throw a tantrum first with every new acquisition, as I have deep respect for my inner 2-year old child, but I calm down quickly enough, and then it's all just a question of puzzle-solving... will keep looking into this and see what I can find.

I remind all as I remind myself, frequently, that these things are amazingly more complex than you'll ever know.

Always respect the challenges add-on developers face; they do a fantastic job with astonishingly small teams and small budgets.

 

[FleetingThought]

I also have to say that all my flying has been in 8E,wheels and floats.

Are you by any chance on Windows 8?

 

[Reddog]

Oh H#ll no, still running XP

 

[FleetingThought]

Oh H#ll no, still running XP

Lucky dog!

Ok so that's not a consistency, too bad; I was hoping I could blame the concatenation of Windows Insecurity Measures for shorting out my radios.

 

[flaviossa]

Finally bought the plane and made many flights thru Caribean waters today. Thanks GAS for another beautiful plane!

 

[FleetingThought]

Hooray! I think.....

I swapped out a 20 amp fuse in additional_system in the [electrical] section of the Reliant tonight for a 2 amp fuse... and I _think_ this has cured my electrical problem! (0, 2, 17 instead of 0, 20, 17) (bus, max amperage, minimum voltage)

If any one else is having this (problem is that you have to reload the aircraft to get it started), try editing aircraft.cfg and make this change (make a // note beside the line so you can change it back if it causes any problems), and see what you get.

I'm not sure what additional_system does in the Reliant, so I may see smoke, we'll see.....

Best,

Your Friendly Local Classic Aircraft Electrical System Restorer :isadizzy:

p.s. for reference again: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx#mozTocId245287

 

[flaviossa]

@FleetingThought: I just need to send you a big thank you! You nailed all my start issues that i was having with this plane and the previous package, the Air Racing Package. Just changing a little value and now, everything works perfectly. Thanks :salute:

@Spad54: Hi! Mr. FleetingThought must enter the debug team as quick as possible. With one little fix he nailed all the problems that i was having with GAS planes since the Air Racing Package (Remember the private conversation that we had?). So, the fix he provided above works for all the planes in the Air Racing Package too. Now, everything works as it should for me in here. Even ctrl+e for all the planes with a Cold&Dark c172 default flight.

Thanks guys!

 

[FleetingThought]

Hi flaviossa,

You're welcome; I hope the changes fix everything for you.

If not: I've continued to experiment, and changing a few values in aircraft.cfg in the [electrical] section will keep everything running and the battery won't wimp out:

max_battery_voltage = 24 (defaults in my install to 12)
generator_alternator_voltage = 28 (defaults in my install to 14)
max_generator_alternator_amps = 150 (defaults in my install to 60)

I'm not sure of the actual voltages and amperage in the SR8B/8E, this just keeps things working for me. You'll notice that the value you put in max_battery_voltage will show up on the Volts gauge in the cockpit. I'd imagine if working properly that this would run down over time without the generator switched on.

The Amperage meter with the above settings doesn't show much action when you switch things on and off.

Again, if I had the stats for the actual SR8 electrical system, and understood how this section of the aircraft.cfg worked better, I could probably tweak it more to get both Volts and Amperage showing up right, in response to various actions (switching on GPS, lights, etc.). On the other hand, I've heard repeatedly that the FSX battery is an old, run-down beast that'll drain at a moment's notice, so looking for accuracy in this system is probably on the road to hell and frustration. I've set it to what works, above (I've also reduced all the amperage figures below from 17 to about 9, and the max volt draw to from .4 to .9, depending on the system, just out of curiosity to see what happens).

I suspect if I upped the amperage values for all the subsystems, eventually I'd be back where I started, either unable to start or with my GPS conking out on me in-flight. Having that all work and the Amperage gauge being basically dead in the cockpit is a preferable option for me at this point, since I'm operating on the patient with a fork and kitchen knife while trying to do a gall bladder removal.

Interested in this plane, I really enjoy flying it. You might also want to consider reducing the elevator_trim_effectiveness a notch, it seems to be kind of heavy in effect at its current setting (just as the same value for the Alabeo Staggerwing will have you trying to push the stick deep into your chest to pull up at its default setting).

Hey... nothing's perfect! Contented now. And, I learned a little bit about the FSX wonky electrical system, and my OCD is now unfortunately intrigued, though I don't know how to find out more.....

Best,

Steve

p.s. note: when I originally purchased the software from Flightsimstore.com, the file date on the executable inside the .zip file was 5/25/2013.
I re-downloaded it tonight and the date on the file was 5/27/2013, plus the number of KB was different for the file. Now I'm not sure whether I have latest release purchased.....? I did install the patch and military expansion offering, but just mentioning this as a possible factor in my odd mystery. The latest download still had the things that caused my original set of problems, fortunately I saved my aircraft.cfg so it's all good.

 

[Spad54]

@FleetingThought: I just need to send you a big thank you! You nailed all my start issues that i was having with this plane and the previous package, the Air Racing Package. Just changing a little value and now, everything works perfectly. Thanks :salute:

@Spad54: Hi! Mr. FleetingThought must enter the debug team as quick as possible. With one little fix he nailed all the problems that i was having with GAS planes since the Air Racing Package (Remember the private conversation that we had?). So, the fix he provided above works for all the planes in the Air Racing Package too. Now, everything works as it should for me in here. Even ctrl+e for all the planes with a Cold&Dark c172 default flight.

Thanks guys!

Trust me he's on the testing team from now on :salute: