Update Douglas_C-47_Beta_V3.14 feedback and support topic

[doc289456]

2D panels are tiny on resuming a saved flight - P3D4.1

I have a problem that for a number of add-on planes (Manfred Jahns c-47, A2A comanche & connie & the FS2crew panel for q400) if I save a flight with a 2D panel open and then exit P3D and then reload the save, any 2D panels that were open end up tiny. So tiny that they can barely be seen.
And sometimes with Manfred Jahns C-47 i get a really big 2D panel
Here are some images, the first before exiting and the others after exiting and then re-loading a save.
Any ideas on how to fix?

 

[mjahn]

Haven't seen that but perhaps try 'reloading' the plane - it's a settings option which you can link to a key - I use '0' (zero) for that.

As for the pilots' banter I suppose we could have a political correctness switch blocking the lesser correct sound bites.

 

[Ramjett53]

Thanks for the reply about the "banter" Manfred. I don't think there's any need for a "political correctness" switch. I enjoy the back and forth conversations. I'm always listening for something new I haven't heard before, so makes the flights more interesting for me...I'd really like to see the "girl in 3A" But it really doesn't answer my original post.

Other than Ernie's checklist responses and startup responses, is there anything in the "banter" that should make me be concerned about the way I have the aircraft "set up" during flight? I know when Ernie says "the engines are sure running hot" that I need to throttle back, or open the cowl flaps a bit, or make some adjustment to cool the engines, but I can also see that on the gauges and on the "Shift 4" monitor because CHT will be in red.

The "banter" that I heard was, as I said in the original post, the skipper saying "What's going on, Ernie" to which he replied "I don't know Skipper." Another time Ernie said, out of the blue, "I keep hearing a strange sound, but I haven't figured out what it is." Nothing in red on the monitor and, as far as I could tell, nothing wrong with the way the aircraft was set up for flight. Both times, for the rest of the flight, I was panning about the cockpit more frantically looking for a problem, one that perhaps wasn't there at all, just "banter".

Randy

 

[MrZippy]

Thanks for the reply about the "banter" Manfred. I don't think there's any need for a "political correctness" switch. I enjoy the back and forth conversations. I'm always listening for something new I haven't heard before, so makes the flights more interesting for me...I'd really like to see the "girl in 3A" But it really doesn't answer my original post.

Other than Ernie's checklist responses and startup responses, is there anything in the "banter" that should make me be concerned about the way I have the aircraft "set up" during flight? I know when Ernie says "the engines are sure running hot" that I need to throttle back, or open the cowl flaps a bit, or make some adjustment to cool the engines, but I can also see that on the gauges and on the "Shift 4" monitor because CHT will be in red.

The "banter" that I heard was, as I said in the original post, the skipper saying "What's going on, Ernie" to which he replied "I don't know Skipper." Another time Ernie said, out of the blue, "I keep hearing a strange sound, but I haven't figured out what it is." Nothing in red on the monitor and, as far as I could tell, nothing wrong with the way the aircraft was set up for flight. Both times, for the rest of the flight, I was panning about the cockpit more frantically looking for a problem, one that perhaps wasn't there at all, just "banter".

Randy

It's just the "girl in 3A" joining the mile high club! Nothing to panic about

 

[doc289456]

Haven't seen that but perhaps try 'reloading' the plane - it's a settings option which you can link to a key - I use '0' (zero) for that.

As for the pilots' banter I suppose we could have a political correctness switch blocking the lesser correct sound bites.

Yes reloading the plane does fix. but sometimes by doing that the shift + 2 (or 3,4,5 etc) stops opening any panels.

Seems best solution is to try to remember to close panels before saving.

 

[mjahn]

Hi All,

As much as I enjoy all the comments, no one has answered the question I asked in my post I think because it was the last post on the previous page and people are just going to this new "last page" to read comments and don't see my question, a question I'd really, really like the answer to.

To repeat that question from the previous page, once airborne and at cruise with the aircraft set up properly, do the interactions between "the Skipper" and Ernie mean anything as it relates to the aircraft itself and the various settings or switches?

I know when Ernie says the engines are getting a little hot I need to open the cowl flaps a bit, or throttle back a bit, or make some change to reduce CHTs. What I don't know is when Ernie tells "the Skipper" (me) that he keeps hearing a strange sound should I, the "Skipper", be looking at the instruments to find a source for the "strange sound" (I always do and everything looks and sounds normal) or is this just part of the "cockpit banter" with no relationship to what is happening to the aircraft at that particular moment?

The one that prompted this post happened yesterday with the "Skipper" saying "What's going on, Ernie?" and Ernie replying "I'm not sure, Skipper." I looked and looked and listened and listened and nothing seemed "out of normal", but I kept looking anyway all the way to my destination. I felt like I was in the movie "The High and the Mighty" as John Wayne's character or rereading Ernest K. Gann's book "Fate is the Hunter".
Randy

Randy, as far as I can tell, by looking at Daniel's KeyEvent_SND_C47.xml script, the soundbites involved are labeled AD-18 to AD-31.wav (you can check by playing them separately), and as far as I can see from the code (the section is labeled "Nancy and Ernie's inflight comments") they are called purely randomly. Hope I am getting that right.

BTW, this allows for various ways of tweaking, such as commenting out the passage in question, or of silencing items that may strike users (parents) as unsavory.

 

[Paughco]

P3D v4.1 and the Shift+2 panel

Guys: I fly my MJ C-47 in P3Dv4.1 and I'm lovin' it. Ernie and Nancy are my pals. I do have this one glitch, which is that I cannot change fuel and cargo load using the Shift+2 panel. I used to be able to do that in P3Dv3, but now with P3Dv4 I have to go to the heinous hassle of going to the fuel and weight menu in P3D. No biggie, but it would be nice to have everything working just so.

Maybe the next update could have the pilot (me) whistle the "High and the Mighty" theme after Ernie does his version of Teterboro Tower. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x37f-_XrMJ0

Getting my C-47 ready for the GAAR 2018 http://bluegrassairlines.com/operations/gar_gp/2018/index.html

Seeya
ATB

 

[mjahn]

A recurrent question ... If you install Doug Dawson's dsd_p3d_fuel_dump_x64.dll gauge and let it replace its current 32-bit equivalent via the panel.cfg then, in the Monitor panel, you can quickly dump or add fuel and adjust weight that way.

Hansjoerg, the original author of the Status and Control panels is no longer available, so it's unlikely we'll be able to update their simconnect bits (battery recharge, t/o trim etc) to 64 bit.

 

[Bruce66]

Guys: I fly my MJ C-47 in P3Dv4.1 and I'm lovin' it. Ernie and Nancy are my pals. I do have this one glitch, which is that I cannot change fuel and cargo load using the Shift+2 panel. I used to be able to do that in P3Dv3, but now with P3Dv4 I have to go to the heinous hassle of going to the fuel and weight menu in P3D. No biggie, but it would be nice to have everything working just so.

I have the same issue Paughco and there was a thread dealing with it elsewhere.

Despite lots of suggestions and help from others the glitch remains on my system so I have no answer for it. I am glad to see at least one other person has this glitch though.

I am running FSX SE on W7 with several addons including REX softclouds, Active Sky Next, some ORBX and GEX/UTX sceneries as well as several free and pay aircraft. I have no idea what is causing the glitch as i tried turning all my addons off to see if it worked in stock FSX SE but the glitch remained.

 

[ncooper]

You might like to try installing the legacy simconnect versions that come with FSX-SE.

What follows is the reason why the Status panel no longer works as it did in FSX:

Changing the fuel and cargo weight requires an interaction with the simulator using simconnect.
As there is no one now to amend the files to be compatible with the latest P3D v4 version
(and possibly the FSX-SE version too) of simconnect, the Status panel will not work in respect of
adjusting fuel and cargo weight.

This is the only feature that does not work, which is itself a testament to the skill of the developer, Hansjoerg.
The status panel continues to monitor and display current fuel levels and responds to the changes in fuel and
payload made with the P3Dv4 drop down menu.

You can still set the batteries and pumps and change the trim using this Status panel.
You can even change the fuel levels using the Monitor panel, the fuel level changes in the two tanks that are not selected.

This situation is unlikely to change.

 

[rmsjr1974]

Hi, all! I'm brand-new to this forum, but I see a few familiar faces from the VATSIM forums. Hello friends, old and new!

First, I can't believe I'm so late to this party. I've been flying the "enhanced panel" modification to the FSX DC-3 made by Dutch, and loving it. But this, this masterpiece is a sight to behold. Dutch's work on procedural accuracy is of course phenomenal, but combined with the absolute jaw-dropping photo-realism of this cockpit, and I'm just completely floored. I can't believe it runs as beautifully as it does on my very average machine, and most of all I can't believe it's completely free software! Incredible. Utterly amazing.

I've made a list of a few items I noticed while flying it. Some have been brought up before but maybe my insights help; some maybe haven't been brought up before (but RELATED ones have), and maybe one or two of these are new. Or maybe they were brought up in threads I didn't see -- I tried to read them all but it seems they're a bit spread out, unfortunately. However, I don't want this list to be interpreted as criticism. They are very minor issues. If none of these ever get addressed, it's still an AWESOME product just as it is, and I will enjoy it no matter what!

FYI, I'm on FSX-Acceleration on Windows 10 Home, and this is version 3.1406 (downloaded .1405 with "Fixes" patch applied).

• the "sticky chocks" thing -- from what I can tell, the chocks can be set and un-set as many times as desired, UNTIL the sim re-loads for ANY reason. Change in location, change in date/time/season -- those are the key culprits. Anything that forces a re-load of the scenery seems to end chock functionality, from what I can tell.
• is it correct to say that the electrical system isn't fully working yet? voltmeter doesn't seem to work, and, even in the monitor panel, battery seems to hold steady at 24 no matter how many accessories I run with plane shut down and on internal battery (master switch in DOWN position). This was AFTER a flight was completed and I was parked and shutting down; got curious how long the battery would last, and it seemed to be indefinite.
• I know there was a patch applied to make the various radio knobs tune-able even when the radios don't have power (being mechanical as they are). this still needs to be applied to the transponder and ADF.
• also with the transponder -- it seems like turning it off blanks the dialed-in beacon code to 0000, and turning it back on resets it to 1200. I don't know if that's intentional but I'm guessing it's not?
• while I know the authentic autopilot is a work-in-progress, I am having an issue with the makeshift one that makes it unusable in certain phases. when tracking a radial outbound, and engaging navlock mode, it automatically flips the VOR1 OBS to the reciprocal and starts 180-ing the plane. There seems to be no way to track a radial OUTBOUND other than using heading mode and making periodic manual adjustments according to the CDI. (oh well. flying /A was never supposed to be an exact science anyway. LOL!)
• the manual says that when the radio altimeter range is set at 10x, the radio height alert horn should also sound at 10x the dialed-in altitude. The behavior I am seeing is that the horn sounds at 1x the selected altitude regardless of which range the radio altimeter gauge is set to. (NOTE: I BELIEVE THIS IS A DOCUMENTATION ERROR, NOT A GAUGE IMPLEMENTATION ERROR -- but having never used the real-life version of that alert horn dial, I can't swear to that!)
• even with the captain, first officer, and stewardess callouts OFF, pulling the mix to idle/cutoff triggers the "see you later, Ernie" sound clip.
• the checklist "cold-and-dark" auto-reset feature fails to reset cabin lights, prop or wing de-icing, aux hydro pumps, or the radio altimeter power knob.

Finally, one quick note on the nature of the banter between captain, first officer, and stewardess -- I personally found it funny, but I definitely see some of it is a bit PG-13. What the developers might consider is overwriting the "sensitive" clips with duplicates of the more innocuous ones, but then offering the originals in a separate folder to be moved into position and overwrite the duplicates, by those who choose to do so. A few years ago I was an "iRacing.com" member and there was an add-on "spotter pack" compiled published by another member, which contained real-world radio transmission clips between a race driver, his crew chief, and his spotter. And there was some coarse language in some of the clips. The developer basically offered up two versions of it -- one with all clips included, and one with the more questionable ones omitted. Just a thought.

Thanks again for a wonderful product. I kid you not -- seeing it appear on my screen and not only function on my PC well enough to fly, but to fly SMOOTHLY and not laggy and just so physically beautiful -- I welled up with a couple tears of joy, I swear it!

 

[Bruce66]

You might like to try installing the legacy simconnect versions that come with FSX-SE.

Thanks for the suggestion but I am afraid I do not understand it (probably lack of knowledge on the topic on my part).
As far as I understand simconnect is used by programs such as Active Sky and as that works perfectly I am reluctant to mess with things. Would a 'legacy simconnect version' would be an older version? Would other addons then miss the version they are set up to it use?

 

[mjahn]

Hi, all! I'm brand-new to this forum, but I see a few familiar faces from the VATSIM forums. Hello friends, old and new!

First, I can't believe I'm so late to this party. I've been flying the "enhanced panel" modification to the FSX DC-3 made by Dutch, and loving it. But this, this masterpiece is a sight to behold. Dutch's work on procedural accuracy is of course phenomenal, but combined with the absolute jaw-dropping photo-realism of this cockpit, and I'm just completely floored. I can't believe it runs as beautifully as it does on my very average machine, and most of all I can't believe it's completely free software! Incredible. Utterly amazing.

I've made a list of a few items I noticed while flying it. Some have been brought up before but maybe my insights help; some maybe haven't been brought up before (but RELATED ones have), and maybe one or two of these are new. Or maybe they were brought up in threads I didn't see -- I tried to read them all but it seems they're a bit spread out, unfortunately. However, I don't want this list to be interpreted as criticism. They are very minor issues. If none of these ever get addressed, it's still an AWESOME product just as it is, and I will enjoy it no matter what!

FYI, I'm on FSX-Acceleration on Windows 10 Home, and this is version 3.1406 (downloaded .1405 with "Fixes" patch applied).

• the "sticky chocks" thing -- from what I can tell, the chocks can be set and un-set as many times as desired, UNTIL the sim re-loads for ANY reason. Change in location, change in date/time/season -- those are the key culprits. Anything that forces a re-load of the scenery seems to end chock functionality, from what I can tell.
• is it correct to say that the electrical system isn't fully working yet? voltmeter doesn't seem to work, and, even in the monitor panel, battery seems to hold steady at 24 no matter how many accessories I run with plane shut down and on internal battery (master switch in DOWN position). This was AFTER a flight was completed and I was parked and shutting down; got curious how long the battery would last, and it seemed to be indefinite.
• I know there was a patch applied to make the various radio knobs tune-able even when the radios don't have power (being mechanical as they are). this still needs to be applied to the transponder and ADF.
• also with the transponder -- it seems like turning it off blanks the dialed-in beacon code to 0000, and turning it back on resets it to 1200. I don't know if that's intentional but I'm guessing it's not?
• while I know the authentic autopilot is a work-in-progress, I am having an issue with the makeshift one that makes it unusable in certain phases. when tracking a radial outbound, and engaging navlock mode, it automatically flips the VOR1 OBS to the reciprocal and starts 180-ing the plane. There seems to be no way to track a radial OUTBOUND other than using heading mode and making periodic manual adjustments according to the CDI. (oh well. flying /A was never supposed to be an exact science anyway. LOL!)
• the manual says that when the radio altimeter range is set at 10x, the radio height alert horn should also sound at 10x the dialed-in altitude. The behavior I am seeing is that the horn sounds at 1x the selected altitude regardless of which range the radio altimeter gauge is set to. (NOTE: I BELIEVE THIS IS A DOCUMENTATION ERROR, NOT A GAUGE IMPLEMENTATION ERROR -- but having never used the real-life version of that alert horn dial, I can't swear to that!)
• even with the captain, first officer, and stewardess callouts OFF, pulling the mix to idle/cutoff triggers the "see you later, Ernie" sound clip.
• the checklist "cold-and-dark" auto-reset feature fails to reset cabin lights, prop or wing de-icing, aux hydro pumps, or the radio altimeter power knob.

Finally, one quick note on the nature of the banter between captain, first officer, and stewardess -- I personally found it funny, but I definitely see some of it is a bit PG-13. What the developers might consider is overwriting the "sensitive" clips with duplicates of the more innocuous ones, but then offering the originals in a separate folder to be moved into position and overwrite the duplicates, by those who choose to do so. A few years ago I was an "iRacing.com" member and there was an add-on "spotter pack" compiled published by another member, which contained real-world radio transmission clips between a race driver, his crew chief, and his spotter. And there was some coarse language in some of the clips. The developer basically offered up two versions of it -- one with all clips included, and one with the more questionable ones omitted. Just a thought.

Thanks again for a wonderful product. I kid you not -- seeing it appear on my screen and not only function on my PC well enough to fly, but to fly SMOOTHLY and not laggy and just so physically beautiful -- I welled up with a couple tears of joy, I swear it!

Excellent error report this, I'll copy it to the team's forum folder so that we can use it once - that's if and when - we are going to get at it again.

There are rwo items I can comment on directly, I believe.
First, battery not depletiung could be an indication that realism settings are all OFF or partly off. It depletes alright on my setup.

Second, VOR navigation. Yes, it will circle a VOR unless you select the next one in line before overflying one, OR you can click 'navlock' again to select the backcourse (note tooltip and direction of angular bracket).

Thanks again!

 

[alpha charlie]

First, battery not depletiung could be an indication that realism settings are all OFF or partly off.

It may be caused by the FSUIPC setting as well.

 

[rmsjr1974]

battery not depletiung could be an indication that realism settings are all OFF or partly off. It depletes alright on my setup.

DD'OOOHHHH!!!! You're exactly right. In fact it was a previous DC-3 iteration, Dutch's "enhanced DC-3C panel," that caused me to need to activate this (the FSUIPC "extend battery life" option). The DC-3C battery was fine (under groundpower, for example) but the FSX default electrical system battery would deplete, cutting power to the avionics inappropriately. Using that setting overrode the FSX electrical, cutting avionics power only when the DC-3C battery went low. I'll un-tick that and I'm sure it will be fine!

Yes, it will circle a VOR unless you select the next one in line before overflying one

... not the proper way to track an airway, really...

OR you can click 'navlock' again to select the backcourse (note tooltip and direction of angular bracket).

... ah, okay, I think I gotcha. So there's some method on the monitor panel to specify locking on in TO or FROM mode, as indicated by the ">VOR" or "<VOR"? I'll give that a try on my next flight. Thanks!

 

[rmsjr1974]

It may be caused by the FSUIPC setting as well.

Yep yep yep. Exactly what it was. Whoopsie! Thanks!

 

[rmsjr1974]

Just to update my bug list from before -- as you suggested, you can strike both the battery level and the VOR tracking off the list. I do believe the battery gauge is inop, but, the level as reported in the monitor panel seems to work as it should. (Don't know if that qualifies as "bug" or "haven't gotten to it yet.")

One more to report, though -- an addendum to the report about the "see you later, Ernie" sound clip being triggered by pulling the mix to zero even when F/O callouts are turned off -- it's not actually the mix lever that triggers this (as I'm sure you well know), but ANYTIME one of the engines cuts off, even if unintentional. This includes failed start attempts and loss of power due to carb icing, and the dialogue doesn't make sense for either situation. Perhaps consider redirecting the triggering action to turning both mags off?

 

[speedy70]

What about the Sperry update by Dutch.Did that finally get sorted.

If so can we expect an update?

Cheers Chris

 

[mjahn]

Just to update my bug list from before -- as you suggested, you can strike both the battery level and the VOR tracking off the list. I do believe the battery gauge is inop, but, the level as reported in the monitor panel seems to work as it should. (Don't know if that qualifies as "bug" or "haven't gotten to it yet.")

One more to report, though -- an addendum to the report about the "see you later, Ernie" sound clip being triggered by pulling the mix to zero even when F/O callouts are turned off -- it's not actually the mix lever that triggers this (as I'm sure you well know), but ANYTIME one of the engines cuts off, even if unintentional. This includes failed start attempts and loss of power due to carb icing, and the dialogue doesn't make sense for either situation. Perhaps consider redirecting the triggering action to turning both mags off?

Yes, the see-you sequence is played when both engine rpms reach zero. Agreed, mags turned off or reaching the last item on the checklist shutdown page might be a better solution.

Sorry, don't know the state of the Sperry mod.

 

[mjahn]

FWIW here is a small fix that corrects the see-you greeting as discussed above, and also gets rid of a minor syntax error reported elsewhere.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w2iffbevz72cjsp/C47greetingfix.zip?dl=0