F.A.Q.'s and KNOWN PROBLEMS |
F.A.Q.'s and KNOWN PROBLEMS Model, Aircraft.cfg, FDE, Animations,
Lights, Documentation: 1. RED GLOW: The
first time you use the "L" key to turn on all lights, a red glow appears
on the left side of the aircraft. Simply hit "L" twice to eliminate
the red glow. 2. FOWLER FLAPS: The Dash 7 flaps extend to 15, then 25 degrees with the
leading and trailing edge aligned with each other. On 45 degrees,
the trailing edge flap drops 20 degrees alone. Because of a gauge
programming issue, we had to fold the trailing edge flap during the 15/25
cycle for the gauge to read correctly. Hopefully we can correct this
in the next release. 3. COCKPIT NIGHT LIGHT: If your light does not show, open you Flight Sim, go to
Options/Settings/Display/Aircraft and change LIGHTS to 8. 4. ALTITUDE SET GAUGE: We are using a modified default gauge for setting the altitude
for the AP. If when scrolling you notice that the 1000's/10,000's
digits roll up on 6-7 versus 9-0, this indicates you have gone negative in
your altitude setting. Correct this by scrolling in a positive direction
until the problem disappears. If you need help determining correct
setting, switch to the default Mooney which shows a negative sign, if
negative. 5. CRASHING TO THE DESKTOP:
If you are having this problem, reload the gauges
from the zip to the FS2002 Gauges folder. 6. ATC RECOGNIZING THE GRONLANDSFLY
LIVERY: Open the aircraft.cfg and
change atc_airline=Greenland Air to atc_airline=GREENLANDAIR in the
Fltsim.0 section. Also be sure you have a flight number(you
can choose any number) (for example: atc_flight_number=621) or ATC will
only refer to you by tail number. PANEL: 1. GPWS: The sounds
on the GPWS can get annoying. If you would like them turned off, do
the following. In your FS2002 Sounds folder, find and rename the
following files that to quiet down that GPWS: toolowflaps tolowgear whoop terrain1 terrain2 dontsink glideslope pullup 2. OIL PRESSURE/TEMP GAUGES:
These gauges seem to react differently for
different systems. They sometimes show no movement, sometimes they
are pegged at max readings. For me, if I open the default Cessna 172
and then the Dash 7, they work fine. We have not pinpointed the
problem as of yet. We will keep after them though. 3. CLARITY: Very
nice readability above 1024X768 SOUNDS: 1. LOUDNESS OF ENGINES: Some testers reported that engine sounds are too loud.
(Remember you have 4 turboprop engines within 24 feet of your ears).
Our Dash 7 Pilot says the engines are so loud in the cockpit, you cannot
hear anything else except the clunk of the nose gear when fully retracted,
and the Idle Gate throwing upon touchdown. We tried for a balance of
realism and a simming experience that allows other things to be heard
though more in the background. Adjust your Options/Settings/Sounds
sliders to your liking. 2. POPPING AND CRACKLING IN SOUNDS:
Five reports of this issue so far. Check this link
to see if your system fits the description: TEXTURES: 1. BLURRIES:
If you experience this problem with the DXT3 textures as you first pan
around the aircraft, try this workaround. Zoom tightly toward the
aircraft all the way, then zoom out. The textures should now be
crisp. If you still have problems, try setting texture size to
MASSIVE for 1024 textures. If you still have problems, make sure
that you are running Directx 8.0 or later. If you are still having
problems, download the optional 8 bit or 16 bit textures. If you are
still having problems, ensure you have the latest drivers for your
card. You do have at least 32 meg of memory on your video card,
don't you? … and your CPU is 450mhz or faster? If you really want
beautiful textures without the blurries and do not want/need reflective
textures, try the 256 color optional texture download. 2. BLACK TEXURES AND VOODOO
CARDS: If you have a VOODOO video card,
download the optional 8 or 16 bit textures from AVSIM to correct the
problem. File names are: dhc78.zip and dhc716.zip. 3. REFLECTIONS: If
you running the DXT3 standard textures and see no reflections, ensure you
have Reflections turned on in your Options/Settings/Display area of
FS2002. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(FAQ's) 1. Q: Why can't I request a livery from the
Dash 7 team? A: We have a project plan with a limited
time schedule. We have six liveries planned. We have made a
Re-Paint Kit available and encourage re-painters to help paint every
livery ever flown on the Dash 7. 2. Q: I have a problem that I can't
fix. Can you guys help? A: We hope that with the problems
listed above and the question/answers listed below that your
question/problem will be resolved or at least understood. If not,
and you can not find help on the forums, then you may contact us about the
issue. This may not be the fastest resolution method available
because of our mail volume, and we would hope that other avenues of help
would get you going sooner. Check the AVSIM, Flightsim, and
Simviation forums for a faster response. The Dash 7 Members will be
in and out of those forums frequently. 3. Q: When the Dash 7 loads, it takes
a second for the textures to paint in. Is this
normal? A: Yes it is. We have tried to
provide a high-quality product throughout the Dash 7 model, panel, sounds
and textures. This puts more demand on your computer but creates a
much more pleasing end product. We hope the tradeoff of instant load
for a high quality product is worth the load time. You can also try the
optional 8-bit textures. Except for reflectivity, you will not notice a
difference in color or detail, but the smaller size will run much better
for you. 4. Q: The Dash 7 is advertised as a
Short TakeOff and Landing (STOL) aircraft. What are the
landing and takeoff runway length limits? A: Avoid sidewalks and alleys …..
:-) … and runways shorter than 900 feet. Once skilled at
flying the Dash 7, depending on weight, you will love the challenge of the
1200-foot runways. Trying to land and takeoff in 1200 feet without
backing up is quite difficult. :-) 5. Q: The Taxi Backward works great
(holding down F2), but when I come out of that, the Dash 7 lunges
forward. How can I better control that situation? A: Pull your throttle, prop, and Idle
levers back and hold the brakes until the engines spool
down. 6. Q: What exactly are the flap
settings and Vspeeds for the Dash 7? A: You'll find them by weights listed
in the reference text. 7. Q: What are the ideal trim
settings for the Dash 7 for takeoff and cruise? A: Depending on weight distribution,
set elevator trim to zero to -2 for takeoff at 15-degree flaps.
After liftoff and positive rate of climb, retract gear then flaps, and
begin rolling trim downward toward -5. Initial climb out at 1280 RPM
and 100% torque. Then, reduce RPM to 1210, torque to 92%. To
level out, reduce power to 80-85 % and set trim around -6. Normal
realistic climb-out is at 1900 FPM at 110 KIAS. Expect cruise at
180-185KIAS below 8000 ASL. See reference check list in Flight
Sim. 8. Q: I get up to -10 degree nose
down attitude on approach. Can this be right? A: You bet! That's the Dash 7
way, designed for 7 degree/1000FPM descents. Try the London City ILS
approach. Watch your flap deployment speeds, keep the power on
(30-50%) as you go 25 and 45 degrees cause it will slow quickly.
Final approach speeds over the fence should be around 90 KIAS and
touchdown at 85 KIAS. See the reference for details based on weight
and flaps settings. 9. Q: How do I open the passenger
door? A: Shift + E 10. Q: Before I land, I set
AutoSpoilers on, but they do not deploy upon landing. What am I
doing wrong here? A: Be sure to hit F1 to set to idle
before touchdown and the spoilers should deploy. 11. Q: I know that my approach was at
45 degree flaps, but when I look in spot view after landing, they are set
at 25 degrees. What's going on here? A: The Dash 7 automatically retracts
flaps to 25 degrees upon touchdown to reduce lift for more effective
braking. 12. Q: I see spoiler lights flash
when on the ground but never in the air. Why are the roll spoiler
lights not working when I see the spoilers functioning in spot
view? A: The spoiler lights are designed to
function only when on the ground. 13. Q: What is that little flap on
the fuselage tail of the Dash 7? A: Tail bumper. 14. Q: Your 3D transparent cabin
windows look great. Why are there no passengers? A: What? Mess up the new
carpet? LOL How many simmers want to give up 10FPS for 50
passengers and 50 seats? The next version will include cargo and a
few passengers. 15. Q: Why did you decide to do
Gronlandsfly instead of a more popular airline? Why
Tyrolean? A: Gronlandsfly color scheme on my
favorite aircraft is what inspired the project. They were also
instrumental in allowing us to get detailed reference pictures for the
project. Our Dash 7 pilots who provided technical input and support
flew Dash 7's for Tyrolean which also had great paint schemes.
:-) 16. Q: Greenland Air has cargo doors
on the port side. Where's yours? A: Release 2 will have a large cargo
door on the front port side. 17. Q: I have a mid-range computer
with an older video card. Will I be better off with the 16-bit
textures? A: Hard to say, but you have two
options to try. Download and install the 16-bit textures. Save
the standard DXT3 textures beforehand just in case. If that is no
better, then try the optional 8 bit textures. This will
significantly reduce memory and video card requirements. 18. Q: The roll spoilers work great,
but why are the dump spoilers activated with them in a
turn? A: There are no animation tags that
differentiate the spoilers unfortunately, so for now, we live with
them. :-/ 19. Q: Why do you have lights inside
the engine nacelles? A: I don't. Unfortunately, Fsim
does not differentiate a textured side as being inside versus
outside. Therefore, you will see sunlit internal textured
surfaces. 20. Q: Will you do a B777 or A380 for
me? A: AFK BRB 21. Q: What aircraft are you doing
next? A: There are no plans to do another
aircraft. 22. Q: Would you mind if I suggested
some improvements? A: Yes, very much so. There
will be no changes made, no new liveries painted, and no requests
honored. The next release is planned, in progress and will be done
per the plan. We hope you enjoy the end product of our labor and try
to accept it as is. If you are not happy with our 2000 hours of
development and testing, please do yourself a favor and delete the Dash
7. It would make me sick to think that you have more anxieties over
a freeware product than we had in 6 months of development.
:-) 23. Q: When starting the engines or during
shutdown, the props seem to stop for a few
moments. Why is this? A: In prop animation, there are three
sequences: Still (stop or very slow movement). Slow (slow spin transition
to Blurred or Still), and Blurred (fast take-off, cruise speeds) typically
a mesh. The stopped moment you see is the wagon wheel effect in concert
with your refresh rate. 24. Q: Your props look great! However, I
notice that the writing is backwards on one side. A: Great observation. You passed the
details test! :-) Explanation is, I have only one useable bitmap for the
prop, one side. The leading edge of the prop is different from the
trailing edge. To place the bitmap properly on both sides, one side had to
be reversed, therefore backwards writing. 25. Q: Why is there no virtual cockpit in
the Dash 7? A: Because to do a VC of quality will
require another 300-500 hours of work. The VC is a project within itself
and requires the same level of detail and commitment as the aircraft
package did. We thought we should share the Dash 7 sometime before 2004
arrived. :-) The VC is planned for the second release, hopefully in
December 2002. 26. Q: My textures come out black and I
have a very nice Voodoo III Video card. How come? A: I do not know, but if you download
and install the 8-bit or 16-bit textures, they should work
fine. 27. Q: Why do you offer optional texture
sets? A: Not -required … these are for
those who do not want the standard packaged DXT3 with reflec
tivity or folks with
low-end systems who need less demanding textures, or those who want
the best detail and
reflectivity available. Differences are detail level (8-bit offers less
detail - all others same), size of
textures (noted in matrix), reflectivity control (32-bit has various
reflective shades with some strong
localized reflections, DXT3 has one shade for all), and
trueness/richness of colors (without
reflections give best color vividness). Best detail and color with
reflectivity is the 32-bit set. DXT3 as
the standard set offers the best compromise with reflectivity/glossiness
and color and the size
is just slightly larger than the 8-bit
textures. |
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