Flight Simulator 2004

[Ian]

I've finally ordered FS2004, and I'm looking forward to playing it after hearing everyone's comments on it so far

Are there any good places to download extra aircraft, and does it give values for Drag CoEfficients etc... in flight? (This is just because it would be handy for stuff on my course, but if not, not to worry!)

 

[Matt Jason H]

www.flightsim.com is pretty cool.

I don't think it gives technical values like that though, think you'll have to stick with www.x-plane.com for stuff like that.

 

[ChristopherP]

Hey there Mr. Cunningham

There are 3 decent places i know of to download new things for it and to be honest, those 3 are so big that you will not need to use any others!

I can reccomend aircraft to you as have tried out the majority of them and there are some seriously good ones out there - some tested by real pilots.

the 3 places i use are...

<< Simviation (or Simaviation) .com >>
<< Flightsim.com >>
<< Avsim.net >>

I personally usually use Simviation for a few reasons - you dont need to register unlike the other two, the site is basic and easy to navigate and there is a list of the days new files. The aircraft are also catagorised into what type of plane (civil, prop, miltary etc) and also which version of Flight Sim they belong to. Pictures are provided by the descriptions too and you do not need to open a new page to download a file like you do in Avsim.

As for your Drag CoEfficients, everything that affects the handling of an aircraft is in its "CFG File" - this is a file that you can open in notepad and is specific to the type of plane its pinned to. If you want to be clever you can edit things to change the way a plane flies but i havent done so. Looks easy though.

It looks like this - this is a small part of the CFG for the AN124:

;Moments of Inertia
empty_weight_pitch_MOI = 90000.000
empty_weight_roll_MOI = 70000.000
empty_weight_yaw_MOI = 130000.000
empty_weight_coupled_MOI= 0.000
CG_forward_limit= 0.000
CG_aft_limit= 1.000

[flight_tuning]
cruise_lift_scalar =1.000
parasite_drag_scalar =1.000
induced_drag_scalar =1.000
elevator_effectiveness =1.000
aileron_effectiveness =1.000
rudder_effectiveness =1.000
pitch_stability =1.000
roll_stability =1.000
yaw_stability =1.000
elevator_trim_effectiveness =1.000
aileron_trim_effectiveness =1.000
rudder_trim_effectiveness =1.000

Just things like that - pretty simple i guess.

Anyway, you did a good thing getting that game it will give you many hours of fun. Im sure you will love it.

Anything else you need to know just say...this is something i do actually know a fair bit about lol...

regards
Chris

 

[Ian]

Cheers for that explaination. Its good that it has COG and MOI values, as those can come in handy - plus I can test out my designs in it! Those values don't look too realistic for that aircraft as far as I can tell though, unless there is other values in there I haven't seen.

I'll give it a whirl once I've got it!

 

[ChristopherP]

Boeing 747-400 (Default) Aircraft CFG...

Snipped out (too long for other people, cheers though!) - Ian

 

[Ian]

Cheers Chris, I've pasted it into notepad, but edited it out of the thread cos it was too long for other people - about 10 pages of scrolling

It has wing spans, geometries, tail positions and all sorts - this is great Chris!

 

[ChristopherP]

no probs.

yeah i figured you might do that due to length and probably you the only one here who understands it all!!

have fun

 

[ChristopherP]

Cranked Up settings with new arctic cooling,

Find attached!

 

[KGB-911]

www.simviation.com - Like Chris said, it is the best!

 

[mikeappelhans]

Kneeboard, Excel, and MSFS 2004

Does anyone know how to open an Excel program on the kneeboard in FS 9?

I've edited the kneeboard_keys HTML document in the FS9/Aircraft folder and added a link to an Excel sheet, but it crashes the program. When I do this with an HTML doc, everything is fine. Also, I have a kneeboard doc that allows web-browsing--it's cool. You can access anything on the web (charts, metars, etc.) while in FS 9 from the kneeboard. In light of this, I imagine there has got to be a way to open up an Excel doc from a location on the hardrive. (Maybe there is a way to embed an Excel doc in an HTML doc?)

Any help, comments, thoughts, and advice are appreciated. I've made several small routines in Excel (glideslope rates, wind correction headings, etc) and would really like to be able to access them from the kneeboard.

Thanks, Mike

 

[ChristopherP]

save the .XLS as a HTML file and then open in the kneeboard browser?

 

[mikeappelhans]

Yes, I eventually found that out. However, saving an Excel document as a Web page doesn't allow for certain functionality, such as charts, graphs, etc. It works though, and crunches the numbers right in the kneeboard, so that's cool. I've discovered that there are a multitude of CONVERTERS out there (Excel to html, PDF to html, etc.), but they all cost bucks. I wonder if there are any free ones?--Well, after several hours, I'm still searching!

Thanks for the reply...these forums are a great way to learn stuff, and thus, I appreciate people's time to reply.

Mike

 

[ChristopherP]

Just buy another monitor then and go dual screen - game on one, XLS on the other

No worries

Chris

 

[mikeappelhans]

Yes, that works well, except my other monitor usually has other panels (GPS, Radio Stack, etc.) displayed. Furthermore, the Excel program is still external, so when I go to crunch numbers, the simulator pauses and kicks out, which is the same behavior as not having another monitor. You're right though, NO WORRIES! Thanks for the comments and advice, I appreciate it.


Mike

 

[massak]

Help!!!

Hey i wanna know how to land on the runway not on the airport, i listen to then ATC instuctions but it doesnt line me up with the runway and i dont know how to use the approach button some please help

 

[Anon_F]

This is 5 months old!

Start a new thread, then people will help you easier.

 

[ChristopherP]

Hey i wanna know how to land on the runway not on the airport, i listen to then ATC instuctions but it doesnt line me up with the runway and i dont know how to use the approach button some please help

Find the ILS frequency for the runway you wish to use (use the map and double click the airport to see these) and then program that into your NAV1 radio into the radio stack, and hit the app button.

or just fly manually