DHC-3 Otter

[BendyFlyer]

A great product and a very nice rendition of this venerable and classic aeroplane. Well done.

A few things;

1. I find the flap setting indicator very difficult to see in normal VC view without zooming in all the time is there any way to increase the colour of the red pointer or make it stand out a bit better?
2. For some reason activating the hydraulic flap lever handle also activates the flap lever and I find it difficult to determine the number of pumps required to move the flaps up or down. It seems easier to use the standard key commands.
3. Ground control, wheeled and amphibian versions, the wheel braking seems to light and at times ineffective and ground control using differential braking seems slow and ineffective unless the engine RPM is at or above 1200 RPM, same with the amphibian no directional control until 1200 RPM achieved with water rudders down and the turns are not smooth but appear to jerk the nose about to me.
4. I do not have a mouse with a centre button how to do I get to switch the magnetos to OFF?

[Edward54]

A great product and a very nice rendition of this venerable and classic aeroplane. Well done.

A few things;

1. I find the flap setting indicator very difficult to see in normal VC view without zooming in all the time is there any way to increase the colour of the red pointer or make it stand out a bit better?
2. For some reason activating the hydraulic flap lever handle also activates the flap lever and I find it difficult to determine the number of pumps required to move the flaps up or down. It seems easier to use the standard key commands.
3. Ground control, wheeled and amphibian versions, the wheel braking seems to light and at times ineffective and ground control using differential braking seems slow and ineffective unless the engine RPM is at or above 1200 RPM, same with the amphibian no directional control until 1200 RPM achieved with water rudders down and the turns are not smooth but appear to jerk the nose about to me.
4. I do not have a mouse with a centre button how to do I get to switch the magnetos to OFF?

I'm noticing the same as indicated by 1, 2 and 3. Ground control is almost impossible unless, as you said, engines are at or above 1,200 - 1,500 RPM, which you can do accelerating the aircraft and then going back to lower taxiing settings, but this operation we could assume is not real/adequate and something should be wrong (probably a lack of hyd pressure?). As for your observation 4, I suggest trying to set a keyboard or joystick key for your magneto to OFF.

In addition:

1. If using the recommended flap TO position, the takeoff performance is quite strange. It lifts up suddenly at 40 knots.
2. The "reds" are toggled OFF on ground and then go back to ON in flight by itself.
3. Abnormal pitch attitude when climbing with flaps in climb position (pitching down too much) with AP in ON (400 FPM climb). Posted in another thread here.


This is what I've seen after just three short flights. Hopefully MilViz could take a look on this.
Ed

[Edward54]

As for the tail wheel steering, in page 41 of the flight manual there is the explanation on how to operate the ground steering that resolves the issues, at least for me. There is a three position switch that should be turned ON while taxiing to allow to proper ground steering and maneuvering (there are two lights, the left one should be illuminated).
One lesson learned: Read the Manual!.
Ed

[Chuck Jodry]

Thank You for the observations , the flap handle pumping action is automated as its not easy to see the handle , clicking the lever sets the degree of up / down action , as to the attitude when flaps are set I recall its Pilots saying that was what it did , He our FDE author may well have some clarification to offer .

Best CJ

[Taguilo]

Flaps operation:

There are two elements:

1) Flaps selector: is the small lever that slides over the pilot's seat frame. Clicking on that moves the lever up or down.
2) Flaps hydraulic pump: is the large lever located almost under pilot's seat.

To operate flaps using the flaps selector:

1) Click on that lever, up/down as many times as positions you want to select. There are 8 in total. Flaps won't move yet.
2) One to three seconds after selecting a flaps position (with the flaps selector lever), hyd pump lever will move up and down to simulate pilot's action; at this moment flaps will also move to the selected position.
3) There's no need (and it is not recommended) to click on the hyd pump directly.

To operate flaps using the typical keys (F5-f8):
1) Simply press proper key for up-down-inc-dec. This will make flaps selector handle move to the selected postion, and after a second or so hyd pump will activate, moving flaps accordingly.

Tomas

[Taguilo]

4. I do not have a mouse with a centre button how to do I get to switch the magnetos to OFF?

You will have to configure your mouse's buttons to simulate a center click. Many laptops have this option available IIRC.

Tomas

[dizzyflores]

As for the tail wheel steering, in page 41 of the flight manual there is the explanation on how to operate the ground steering that resolves the issues, at least for me. There is a three position switch that should be turned ON while taxiing to allow to proper ground steering and maneuvering (there are two lights, the left one should be illuminated).
One lesson learned: Read the Manual!.
Ed

Actually It says that to avoid undue wear the power steering should only be used during strong winds. It also says on page 42 that in the off position that the tail wheel will caster freely though 360 degrees. I also find it hard to taxi with the system off and don't seem to have enough differential brake power to swing the plane around with power steering off.

[Edward54]

As for the tail wheel steering, in page 41 of the flight manual there is the explanation on how to operate the ground steering that resolves the issues, at least for me. There is a three position switch that should be turned ON while taxiing to allow to proper ground steering and maneuvering (there are two lights, the left one should be illuminated).
One lesson learned: Read the Manual!.
Ed

Actually It says that to avoid undue wear the power steering should only be used during strong winds. It also says on page 42 that in the off position that the tail wheel will caster freely though 360 degrees. I also find it hard to taxi with the system off and don't seem to have enough differential brake power to swing the plane around with power steering off.

That's correct. The only way you can taxi at all is with the power steering ON, even if there is no wind.
Ed

[Taguilo]

Differential braking:

In normal, free castor mode, tail wheel is active when rudder has authority, above ~6 knots. To make 360 deg turns, diff braking must be used once the turn is started, braking and releasing timely to avoid stopping the aicraft.

In tw locked and ground steering, diff braking works like regular brakes, with a bit of turn action expected, as tw rotation is limited to 0 deg (tw locked) and 28 deg (gs).

System works like the real, so it's a matter of practice.

No problem to use ground steering at low speed if necessary, for example when taxiing out of an hangar. What is strongly not recommended with Ground Steering ON is to move the tail wheel with the aircraft totally still.

Tomas

[Krazycolin]

In other words, inertia is the problem.

As far as making the flap indicator more visible, you’re welcome to make change yourself. Find the map it’s on and change the color.

[Edward54]

In other words, inertia is the problem.

As far as making the flap indicator more visible, you’re welcome to make change yourself. Find the map it’s on and change the color.

Not only him, but also myself. It wouldn't be easier if MilViz does the requested change in a future patch that will surely will have to come out sooner than later?.
Ed

[Krazycolin]

Here's the thing... in the real aircraft, that's how it is. If we changed it, it would change for all and then, it wouldn't be realistic. I.e. like the real deal.

Sorry but it stays the same.

I MAY take the time tmrw to make one especially for you two because you asked so nicely...

c

[Krazycolin]

Here's the file that should fix the not so visible flap indicator. Note... Usage of this file will mess up your night lighting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9xt9i0tqqfug ... 2.zip?dl=0

[Fliger747]

The (real) Otter flap pump handle moves the flaps in the direction selected some small amount with each stroke. With the plane on the ramp maybe 5-6 seconds of very rapid pumping would bring the flaps fro up to down. In flight with some air load more pump resistance is encountered and it might take longer. One gets a feel as to how the proper selection feels in flight and knows about how much pumping, backed up with the gauge. In the sim we of course lack this seat of the pants sensation and rely more on the gauge. The sim does not allow us an infinite number of flap positions as the plane has so we have a discrete number of F6-F7 key strokes available that move the flaps between pre determined positions. From flaps up on the ground, six punches of the F7 key will get takeoff flaps.

Liftoff at 40 knots with a real jump off the ground might happen at a light weight. With any airplane, but particularly this one, the weight has a dramatic influence on performance. At very light weights you might try a lesser flap setting. It is typical of the DHC STOL products, including the "Quad Otter" which I also flew, to have a very level initial climb attitude. If it is actually slightly nose down too much flap for the weight or speed. On climb out and acceleration use the pitch attitude as a clue to when retract flaps incrementally.

As to ground handling I think Tomas and company have done a great job with simulating the tailwheel in locking, castoring, and steering. The real system is a PITA to some extent so you get the flavor of the real thing. Fortunately our motors have a better reliability factor. It is necessary to have a little speed when using differential braking to get the tail to start swinging, inertia to overcome inertia! These things are a little hard to learn to ground handle, but sort of a source of pride to conquer it!

Cheers: Tom

[CAPFlyer]

Guys, I can confirm what is being seen with the tailwheel steering. In the "OFF" position, the tailwheel is locked and not castoring UNTIL you switch it to "ON", move, and then move it to "OFF". Even then, after you stop, it will sometimes lock up again. This is contrary to the manual or actual handling. There is something going on in the gauge that isn't working as intended. I tested this at several different speeds, from a standing start, and rolling.

Also, it would help if the manual actually pointed out where the power steering panel is. It's not clear by the description and the actual labels on the panel are a tad confusing since it has nomenclature about the floats on it that has nothing to do with the tailwheel system (which the real one has too, but again, the manual I'm sure highlights where the panel is located).