Bugs, suggestions and impressions from me

[MatzeH84]

Hi,

first of all, the Beaver truly is a great addon; it looks and flies really great!

However, I stumbled across a few things during my first flights I like to hear your thoughs of as well.
I hope I can sort these somehow:

[Bugs]
Lighting:
*The wing nav lights have no glow.. ok in daytime though!
*The tail nav light is going on and off when the beacon is on, is this intended? Also, during daytime it is way too bright.
*The beacon is much too bright, especially during daytime. Also, it more behaves like a modern LED beacon instead of a good old rotation one I would have expected on an aircraft like this (regarding its overall model).

Engine:
*Currently the startup is rather buggy. If you do it by the book, the starter won't turn the engine- well it does, but with 4 revolutions per minute with all lights flickering. Sometimes it seems help to use the wobble pump once more or flick on the mags to make the engine turn freely as it should. You should give the engine some rotations without the mags btw to provide proper lubrication and fuel distribution for starting.
*The mags switch produces click sounds also when it should not; for example you click the mags 'up' R-L-BOTH, and if you keep clicking the selector it will produce further click sounds, even if the lever can go beyond the BOTH position, obviously.

Propeller:
*Viewed from the side, the 3D modeling is inverted; fine pitch and the prop will appear thicker, coarse pitch and the prop appears thinner. It should be the other way around.
*The prop pitch can be changed when the engine is off. This is completely wrong, as we have a constant speed, not a variable pitch prop. The prop lever does not influence the prop pitch directly, it commands the governor to maintain a certain RPM. Depending on the prop type there are different governors: From what I know the Hamilton Standards use oil pressure to drive the pitch to coarse and fine. So if you stop an engine with such a prop the pitch will be the one that existed when oil pressure was lost. The Hartzell ones use counterweights towards coarse and oil pressure towards fine. So this ones you should always see in coarse with the engine off (which is also the reason why you start the engine with the prop lever back, as you want the oil to go into the engine first and not into the governor).

Flight model:
*In the amphibian version I can only get elevator response once the plane is above 90MPH. Below, there is no reaction to elevator inputs at all. This applies to water and ground ops.
*When the plane is standing still with the engine off, the airframe rattles the same way as if the engine was running, only much less. From the outside this is barely noticable noticable, but in the VC it really is.
*The doors can be opened in flight and are not blowing towards closed. Looks quite odd..
*The tail wheel is steerable within 25° with the rudder. However, I guess it should be free castoring beyond 25°using differential braking, because the way it is now a DC-3 can turn in a smaller diameter than the Beaver. This really is a problem to turn on tight runways or taxiways.

Systems:
*The timer/standby freq field is inoperable.
*The Garmins (speaking for the 750 in my case) do not have a clickspot to enlarge/ undock the unit
*The GTX only displays pressure alt and OAT when in ALT mode
*The font of the units is way too large and interferes with other announciators like 'AP' in the AP module
*The inop flag on the turn coordinator is black instead of red. Also, sure that no other instrument has inop flags?
*HSI: I guess the one you simulated here is a free gyro; in this case it has to be matched to the compass on a regular basis due to the gyro drift. However, there is no knob to adjust the gyro, only the HDG knob. In case it is a slaved type using a flux gate, the external switch to change it to free gyro including the knob to adjust the gyro is missing
*In the manual, there is a cage knob menshioned for the artificial horizon. this one is missing, however.

[Suggestions]

Modeling/ Texture:
*Modeling of summer/ winter muffler (switchable)
*Currently the winter muffler is simulated. However the hose guiding the warm air from the shroud into the cabin is missing. => https://youtu.be/xTyf6huPUJo?t=15m30s
*The deviation table above the compass is not filled out. Maybe fill some things in here to make it look more realistic.
*Glass textures with more wear, slight scratches and/or dirt, optionally via the configurator
*How is the cargo secured in the freighter model? It looks like it is only places there.. some belts, straps etc would look far better regarding flight safety.
*Make chocks and anchors single options; when you park it somewhere, you might only like chocks (loading cargo/ pax etc).
*Include a power setting table and checklist as a popup window
*With the weather radar, it would make sense to add an external pod to the wing to facilitate the antenna.. as.. no antenna, no radar
*Would be great to have the weather radar also with the GTN units

Systems:
*Providing a GTX while having a GTN 750 makes not really sense, as the transponder is already included in the GTN. Instead of this, a second COM set would be the more realistic option.
*It would be great to have a decent gyro spool up/ spool down sound. Currently the sound is just 'there' when you flip the battery on.
*The oil/fuel pressure and generator lights should have a push-to-test function
*While the airframe is shaking nicely when idling on the ground, the needles are just straight pointing toward their fixed value. To have the needles also shaking a bit would add a lot of immersion.
*Major point: Nearly no key assignment are working the Beaver. It would be nice to have all the important functions programmable to support external hardware inputs. Speaking of lights, engines starter, mags, to name to most important ones. Flaps could use a key to select up, one to select down, and one key to hold down for pump operation.

Engine:
*CTRL+E starts the engine (while I recall Colin saying in the preview on Twitch, you can't do that.. ) without the mags on.
*Engine sound would need some adjustment.. when going from 30" to 20" in a descend the sound just exactly stays the same. While the prop indeed turns at the same RPM (though with a different pitch), you have a lot less fire going on in front of you, but you just don't hear it. One would have to make engine and prop sounds completely independed.
*How are we supposed to lean the engine? IRL, you would use the EGT gauge or your ear: Lean until engine gets rougher, then smooth it and then a bit more on the rich side. In the Beaver we can't do both. So how do we know how to lean?

Propeller:
*While it's not a bug itself, in my eyes the propeller needs most attention for a future update. Its reaction to prop lever inputs is instant and abrupt, which kills a lot of immersion. With the prop lever you will give a command to the governor, which then gives more (or less) oil pressure to the piston driving the blades.. this all takes a bit of time and is far from instant. Also, a destinctive prop sound is missing, especially when the prop is going to coarser pitch. You just cannot 'feel' (by ear) the blades biting the air.
*Are there any differences in 3-blade or 2-blade model? From what one can read in the RW forums, the 2 blades are much more prone to vibration and also noisier, would be great to have that in the sim, too.

And no, I don't think this is a bad addon or something. It's great! But it has so much more to give.

Regards,
Matthias

Edit: Forgot my specs.. FSX-SE with DX10 and Steve's Fixer, Win10-64. Download and install as instructed.

Edit 2: It would be a cool addition if the fuel pressure light would start flickering (and the fuel pressure start bumping up and down) shortly before the tank is fully empty. This would give you the chance to switch tanks without running the engine completely dry.

[Krazycolin]

Thanks for these points. They will be considered.

[Chuck Jodry]

A well considered report , Many Thanks for your input , we should have you on a beta crew .

Best CJ

[MatzeH84]

Thanks! I'm already working as a Beta for Flysimware and we worked out quite a lot of improvements on the Lear.
I recall hearing this suggestion when I wrote a similar essay on the 732 when it came out and still had some corners to round up. But I am not that into the military sim side of MilViz.. even though the Phantom looks truly amazing on those Youtube videos!

[MatzeH84]

Additionally to the point I already edited into the first post, here is another

[Bug]

Electrical system:
*The Alt Warn light does not illuminate although the alternator isn't charging the battery at low RPM, as can be seen on negative amps on the ammeter. It only lights up if the alternator is switched off, which is wrong.

[Taguilo]

Currently the startup is rather buggy. If you do it by the book, the starter won't turn the engine- well it does, but with 4 revolutions per minute with all lights flickering.

That should not happen. Normal prop rpm at startup should be near 40-50. Could you tell how are you loading the Beaver.? Variant? Platform? etc.

The mags switch produces click sounds also when it should not;

Fixed for the next SP.

CTRL-E start procedure keeps Magnetos in OFF position

Fixed for the next SP.

*The prop pitch can be changed when the engine is off.

That will be addressed in a future SP.

It would be a cool addition if the fuel pressure light would start flickering (and the fuel pressure start bumping up and down) shortly before the tank is fully empty.

Will be included in a future SP.

The Alt Warn light does not illuminate although the alternator isn't charging the battery at low RPM, as can be seen on negative amps on the ammeter. It only lights up if the alternator is switched off, which is wrong.

Not a bug. In this Beaver version, the Alt Warn light is tied to the Master Alternator field switch, not to the voltage regulator. When the MA is On, checking the Voltimeter and/or Ammeter is the only way to know if the alternator is powering the DC bus, which happens at ~1100 rpm and above.

Tom

[Krazycolin]

Its important to note that you should NOT be looking at any other manual for the Beaver than the one that shipped with the product.

We had to make some changes to the product due, not only to FSX limits, but also to the fact that the manual is wrong. Yes. Wrong. Tom F, who has actually flown beavers, knows a thing or two about them and we decided to go with his direct knowledge rather than a POH that's over 50 years old...

[MatzeH84]

Allrighty, the alternator light is fine then!

I usually use the standard wheel variant using the cold & dark startup. Standard flight is the trike with everything off.
Then I choose the starting airport, choose the Beaver and start the flight.
As stated, Win 10-64 and FSX-SE, DX10 with Fixer.
Here http://milviz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=137&t=7613 is exactly how it looks on my end.
However, if you just keep the starter cranking, at some point the engine seems to 'break loose', starts to turn as expected and then fires as intended. There seems to be a variable influencing this, maybe related to priming as a wild guess? I usually use 3-4 strokes on a cold engine.

BTW, out of interest.. on the website I see the Beaver is referred to as the 'standard edition', is there some kind of extended edition, 'nerd version' or something planned? Would be happy to spend another 30 bucks for a really in-depth experience with all bells and whistles of this magnificent plane!

[Simdad]

Prop pitch animation reversed when the engine is running

As Matthias pointed out, there is a second issue with the prop animation. When the engine is running, viewed externally, directly side on, the prop pitch should be course when the prop lever is fully back and fine pitch when forward (as it is currently, when the engine is not running). It is reversed at present.

I know that the prop animation when the engine is not running is to be addressed in an upcoming update, but hopefully that doesn't mean that the animation when the prop is running will also be removed.

Gary
Running v 1.170529

[MatzeH84]

..while this is only half the truth, as the prop lever commands RPM, not pitch. Theoretically, you could go all the way from high to low pitch with the prop, regardless of the prop lever position, by just moving the throttle and the governor just keeping the commanded RPM from lower to upper governor limit.

[CAPFlyer]

Actually, the Prop Lever commands neither. Not to be picky, but it's important to understand that on the vast majority of constant speed props, the lever only positions a plate or rod which affects the spring pressure on the fly weights. The weights then "command" a change in pitch to reach equilibrium again. This will result in a similar RPM each time you move the lever to the same position in travel, but it won't result in the exact same RPM because changes in spring wear and oil viscosity will affect what RPM actually results in equilibrium of the fly weights.

When you "command" a setting, it will return the EXACT same result every time. An excellent example of this is the analog temperature datum computer which runs the Allison 501D / T56 turboprop engine. The Power Lever graduated into degrees of travel. When you move the Power Lever, it commands a specific Turbine Inlet Temperature via the TD computer, which interprets the exact position of the lever to a desired temperature based on an internal logic. Thus, every time you move the throttle to a specific point in its travel, it will always give you the exact same TIT. If you want to read more, start on page 15 of the following - http://lessonslearned.faa.gov/EasternEl ... ew7572.pdf

Anyway, it's important to note that you are adjusting, not commanding, the engine controls with the Beaver. As such, different conditions will require different adjustments and is why it's important to read the gauges for these adjustments.

[MatzeH84]

I'm absolutely with you. I fully understand what's going on ' behind the scenes', however english isn't my mother's tongue so maybe I wasn't as precise as intended. As far as I know, the Beaver props both use oil pressure 2 blade and 3 blade), though in a different way depending on the prop.
Within FS, I guess we could agree that the prop lever sets a certain RPM to maintain, within the governor limits. I guess very few devs simulate the actual oil pressure, influenced by temperature and viscosity, going into the actuator piston and working against a spring with a defined rate, while moving the blades to a certain angle against aerodynamic forces to achieve a balanced system. Or the actual dynamic calculation of flyweight actuated props. Though it would be cool if everyone did it..
And please, be picky. I'm always happy to learn new cool stuff.

[CAPFlyer]

Actually, the A2A Accusim and Captain of the Ship aircraft all simulate prop operation properly, including the lag.

Also, in all cases, the oil pressure is always affected by flyweights. The difference is how the flyweights are adjusted and where they are located. Some, like the T-6, have externally mounted flyweights. Others, like the hydromatic prop, has flyweights located within the governor housing or the prop dome. The other variation is how the speed spring is modulated. Some aircraft it's done directly with a pushrod or cable. Others, it's done with an electric motor (as on almost all propliners built in the 1950s that were powered by the R2800, R3350, or R4360).

Oddly enough, in FSX, the default system does pretty well approximate how the system works either way, it's all in how you code prop type in the flight model. It will actually simulate pretty closely both types of oil-adjusted props (electric or mechanical), and will do both mechanical variable pitch and hydraulic variable pitch props. But you've gotta code it right.

[MatzeH84]

I know it can be done, as I'm also a fellow customer at the other company (don't know about the forums policy here regarding the competition).
However they have done extensive work with their external engine, which now they can profit of in any new prop.
Milviz is more diverse and not as focused.
Of course I would love to see some more competition in the high end market, and the demand is there I guess.