• There seems to be an uptick in Political comments in recent months. Those of us who are long time members of the site know that Political and Religious content has been banned for years. Nothing has changed. Please leave all political and religious comments out of the forums.

    If you recently joined the forums you were not presented with this restriction in the terms of service. This was due to a conversion error when we went from vBulletin to Xenforo. We have updated our terms of service to reflect these corrections.

    Please note any post refering to a politician will be considered political even if it is intended to be humor. Our experience is these topics have a way of dividing the forums and causing deep resentment among members. It is a poison to the community. We appreciate compliance with the rules.

    The Staff of SOH

  • Server side Maintenance is done. We still have an update to the forum software to run but that one will have to wait for a better time.

Revisiting Milton's Twin Commanders

E

expat

Charter Member
Got them all out of the toy box and enjoying them as much as ever. With so many cool projects coming out of the Shupe & Co Skunkworks, it is entirely understandable the portover update and redux on the 680 Super model had to be put to one side for a while, but in the meantime does anyone know where to find the WIP files Milton kindly shared in post #49 in the thread below?

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?73520-Aero-Commander-680-Super/page2

 
I truly enjoy flying your Aero Commander, Milton! As a side note, my ex father-in-law was a corporate pilot for a time, and flew Aeros. Said they were his favorite of all..... NC:encouragement:
 
Thank you NC, et al.

The AC680S revisit I posted is still a WIP but haven't touched it since Nigel lost his solar batteries back in 2014 and then later his PC.

Since we are now wrapping up all the projects that have been in limbo for the last few years (Grumman F7F series, Harpoons, Lodestars. Venturas, Rockwell Commander 685, and the Mallards), maybe I can revisit this one.
 
I worry you do too much but then you seem to thrive on this and, goodness gracious, such productivity! And also what a truly talented project manager you clearly are. Anyway endless enjoyment from your efforts are appreciated by all of us.
 
expat said:
I worry you do too much but then you seem to thrive on this and, goodness gracious, such productivity! And also what a truly talented project manager you clearly are. Anyway endless enjoyment from your efforts are appreciated by all of us.
Click to expand...

By nature, and my career in IT Development, I am an impatient man. Being retired leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. More time to develop and if I were not busy with multiple projects, I would be stir crazy awaiting things from other contributors to these projects. I take lots of breaks for RW things and family, but when I sit down here, I am ready to be creative and productive. So, having lots of things to do is a blessing to me. And there are always things to do. :wiggle:
 
Milton
I´ve been flying your AC for 10 years or so and I still do. I had my favorite, the Beech D18 up for a swing all dressed up in Spantax livery this morning. Many expensive payware AC have been deleted and forgotten, but a handfull of old freeware AC are still alive and the majority comes from your hands, so I consider myself a fan of the aircraft that you and your gang made.

I have one question about the Aero Commanders and its about crosswind takeoffs and landings.
I have tried 3 or 4 different versions over the year in different sims and they are all very difficult to land and takeoff in crosswinds. Rudder imput hardly changes anything.
The only way I know to deal with them is by using different powersettings on the two engines, but thats really difficult in complex weather.
Is that correct or is there something I´m missing here?
DB
 
I have corrected the engine MAP gauge issue.

Open your panel folder, delete the ST_560.cab

Unzip the attached and copy the ST_560 folder to the Panel folder.

I did not "cab" this up but the folder will work fine.
 
I do not know Sir. I would have to go back and do some reading in the original project data as to what the crosswind limits are for takeoff. I think its usually 12-15 knot crosswinds winds. And the aircraft and sim responses will be different in FSX than FS9. It could very well be that the rudder needs more authority.

EDIT: You can tweak that yourself in the Flight Tuning section with this parameter:

rudder_effectiveness=1.000 //Increase of .1 = 10% added authority so adjust upwards until you feel its right for you.

Differential power is the common technique for crosswind takeoffs.
 
Having been in a mini Milton Commander-Fest the past couple days, some research indicates that IRL 12-15 knots crosswind recommends differential rpm +1-200 rpm on the leeward side . .
 
Thanks Milton
I have already tried tweaking the aircraft.cfg Rudder effectiviness and even rudder size in the geometry section. It doesnt really change much.
If I compare the Commanders to the D18, the D18 is a LOT more responsive to rudder than the commanders and can be flown in much higher crosswind situations.

Maybe its just me. Wouldnt be the first time. :snowman:
 
donnybalonny said:
Thanks Milton
I have already tried tweaking the aircraft.cfg Rudder effectiviness and even rudder size in the geometry section. It doesnt really change much.
If I compare the Commanders to the D18, the D18 is a LOT more responsive to rudder than the commanders and can be flown in much higher crosswind situations.

Maybe its just me. Wouldnt be the first time. :snowman:
Click to expand...

I'll take a look at the yaw damping and other related factors today; maybe she's just overly stiff.

You are flying in FSX, right?

BTW, are you using rudder pedals, and have you checked pedal sensitivities?

EDIT: Well, maybe someone else needs to test this for another opinion. I have tested in FS9 and FSX with 16 and 24 knot 90 degree crosswinds and had no problem on takeoff or landing other than normal expected aircraft reactions. I did not use differential power, just rudder and occasional differential braking on the 24 knot crosswind.
 
Last edited:
Hi Milton:wavey:

I've just downloaded the FS9 model from the library and dropped it into FSX then dialled in a 24kt crosswind and took off. A little bit leery from time to time as you'd expect but on my rig at least.. it handled the crosswind very well. There's more than enough rudder authority to kick off drift. No diff power used either.
I don't use my pedals anymore.. just a trusty old MS Sidewinder Pro.

I'd forgotten just how nice this model is:encouragement:
ATB
DaveB:)
 
I use rudder pedals and the input works fine in other AC including other Milton AC like the D18 and the Lodestar.

I use FSX-SE but I had the same problem with all the Aero Commanders in FS9.

Dont worry, just forget it. I fly something else when its windy. Thanks for trying out things. Its appreciated.
DB
 
Just having a wonderful time with this all round great aircraft. Enjoying some minor mods - some interior and exterior decorating - tweaking others' textures. Some different carpets, gauges, a chrome spinner. Delightful!



upload picture



 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top