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Coolwind
Moderator
Italy
8957 Posts |
 Posted - 29/11/2010 : 21:51:54
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I am glad to inform you that thanks to a new developer the GA version of LK has started. We don't have plans for a useful release of it right now, but it will be configurable in aircraft definition as a glider , paraglider, GA plane.
HSI overlay, fuel calculations and anything like that.
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bladnik
New Entry
Ireland
3 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2010 : 23:21:31
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| I am trilled to hear that news. I do fly gliders but not in competition. I have discovered LK as recently as six weeks ago and am still struggling with it. My prime use is flying powered aircraft. |
Flying is not only for the birds |
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Alf
Aquilotto
Italy
213 Posts |
Posted - 20/11/2012 : 21:07:43
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Since developers are presently working on some new aspects of GA mode, I would suggest a few things to change/keep/implement, starting from the normal gliding mode:
Time to destination and to next waypoint: Of course, instead of using a calculated task speed, ETE and ETA should be based simply on present Ground Speed.
Timer: On some airplanes you have to switch from left to right tank, and back, every 30 minutes or so. A nice feature may be a custom key to start a timer and an on-screen message advising that's time to switch.
Best Alternate feature: I think that the way we have it now for gliders is quite good for airplanes too. In case of an engine running rough (which may later become a total loss of power), other malfunctions or some other reason to land at the closest practical landing site, the algorithm used to elect Best Alternate is already good, I think (closer, more easily reachable if gliding, airports first and so on). I would keep it, maybe change something if anyone has ideas.
Gliding distance and arrival altitude: I think they would be useful for motor planes too. When flying a single-engine aircraft, especially in montainous areas, it would be nice to know how to turn and climb as necessary to keep the better landable areas within gliding range, even if efficiency range, in motor planes, is from around 10 for older ones to around 30 for touring motorgliders. Also, I would keep the indication of airports and known outlandings arrival altitudes. This is already configurable, anyway, in case someone should not consider it useful and wants to declutter the screen.
Glide bar: I would keep it (pilots may already disable it, if they wish). It may be used as an indication for a good descent from cruising to pattern altitude. For example, I set power and pitch to have it indicate around zero, as for an ILS descent, and I reach the airport at around my safety altitude, 300 m, which is the desired pattern altitude as well. It works quite good.
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obetz
Falchetto
138 Posts |
Posted - 23/11/2012 : 18:50:54
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Thanks for developing more GA stuff.
Flying a TMG during the "no thermals" time, I think still like a glider pilot. Therefore I would also appreciate to have L/D and/or arrival altitude still indicated.
Oliver |
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Coolwind
Moderator
Italy
8957 Posts |
Posted - 23/11/2012 : 20:47:22
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OK, so there is no need to change anything in the nearest pages.
For stopwatch function, a casio is ok. |
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elias
Pulcino
Germany
47 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2012 : 09:10:27
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| What about having a vertical profile option when defining a Task in GA Mode? This would mean that you enter a desired altitute for each waypoint in the task an combined with a general input of climb and descent performance ( or per leg basis) LK could give vertical guidance, top of climb (based on actual clim rate compared to vertical profile ) top of descend points and so on....... |
Nimbus-2 D-7111 |
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Coolwind
Moderator
Italy
8957 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2012 : 12:27:04
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The big problem with GA and LK is that it is not clear if the software should focus on motor planes, or on engine failure for motor planes, because we cannot do both things at the same time.
This problem is even more real, since there is no dedicated developer to GA and I cannot waste time doing things without a roadmap. And I have no time to do a roadmap. So this is why GA is practically abandoned in LK.
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bladnik
New Entry
Ireland
3 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2012 : 13:39:05
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| I would never have expected that an emergency descent to the earth, because of a power failure, would be built into a program like LK8000. There is too much happening in such an emergency to have time to look at a screen to tell you where to land. Maybe, because of the width of my yellow streak, I am constantly picking fields as I travel across country when flying a power plane. I am fully aware that I am in a flying brick - if the whirley thing stops. |
Flying is not only for the birds |
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Alf
Aquilotto
Italy
213 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2012 : 14:12:43
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I am constantly picking fields too, of course, but, especially in mountainous areas, I am helped by the glide line around me and by the colour of the known outlandings, since the plane I use will land in any glider outlanding.
So these classical LK features are convenient not much during the emergency, but during the flight. Basically, when I fly motor planes I climb and slightly deviate from course just as necessary to have flatlands or landables, if available, into my glide range.
Of course, this is my personal way of using resources, and I do not ask the developers to keep glide line according to my preferences, if I am alone in that and if this causes problems in the development of other features.
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bladnik
New Entry
Ireland
3 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2012 : 17:26:32
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| Yeah --- I can see that that is really a very safe way to fly in mountains, and the advantage of having a glide calculation on screen. I have flown gliders in the Alps in Provence, France, and safety was a quick mental calculation away. But I would not be happy to fly a power plane there, ---- unless I stayed in the valleys of course -- even then ---. But maybe if I had a glide distance, on screen, to the nearby safe landing -- I might venture into mountain areas. Gliding is easy because of the constant glide angle. It's the transition from level flight to sudden 10:1 glide when the engine fails, is what complicates the issue. |
Flying is not only for the birds |
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Development of LK for GA (general aviation) start