vezePilot

@Jon Matcho If there is no CANARD CURRENT pilot at Microsoft, their products for this community will not be useful. @A Bruce Hughes The value of training with a simulator cannot be argued. My wife and I proved that with our VariEze. Airlines and the military require it. I have a mailing list which includes who are interested in Training in X-Plane. Perhaps I should restrict discussions with them, and not waste my time here. Buh bye.

Learning to design in Blender is apparently unavoidable. For nearly a year now, I have tried to find a path to learn how to design 3D cockpits for X-Plane. Tutorials extant are 6 to 10 years old. Discussions at x-plane.org seem to prove that people who know how to do it have no incentive to teach others. So I'll continue converting my Python Add-on scripts into Lua, learn to use SASL to augment instrument panels, continue working in AC3D ... and move along in Blender. Yup ... I am learning to design in Blender. And today I made more progress in one day than in several months trying to work only in AC3D. The evidence is shown below, along with a planning image for how the interiors for VariEze, Long-EZ and Cozy flight models will be for 3D and VR uses:

Switching to MSFS may mean giving up the ability to train in canard type aircraft using a desktop simulator. Although the MSFS developers now provide flight physics, they most certainly do not have 20+ years experience doing it, like Austin and myself. Models will necessarily need to be complex in eye candy for the gamer market, and so will be overly demanding for affordable computers. Proper design will require Currency in a Canard Type aircraft - who will that be? Someone on the CSA list? Apparently silent on the issue for years, if there is anyone? Design in MSFS, as in X-Plane, requires Blender and/or AC3D for 3D objects. Also SASL and Lua or equivalents for manipulators and dynamics/automation; does our increasingly hypothetical canard designer have several years experience with these? Aircraft flight models will likely require monetization for MSFS, meaning added expense for R/L pilots. Proprietary nature of MSFS files will probably not allow individual pilots to modify aircraft for their paint, tail number, panel layout, weights, engine and first-flight prep settings. My plan is to support pilots in their efforts to do these things, just like I always have. For Free. No ... discussion of MSFS has no place at a site for Real Life Pilots of full-size, canard airplanes. Unless you are an admitted Gamer primarily ... and therefore less likely to finish and fly your project.

Build your RC model in X-Plane. That is what I did, back in 1998. And once I got the little plane flying correctly in X-Plane, I built the real RC model very carefully so that it was a good rendition of the model in the sim. Then it flew just like X-Plane said it would. Mine was actually a "Tandem Wing" configuration, with both wings of the same area. But that doesn't matter. If you scale down one of my full-size canards for X-Plane, you will be another step ahead.

Uh ... I don't think so. You do not realize the immense amount of time I have spent practicing well-developed skills in X-Plane, and how much work it will take to move up to 3D/VR in X-Plane, and how I don't know anything about MSBS, AND HAVE NO DESIRE to learn anything more about any MS product. Further, the very simple 3D models I plan for real pilots will have no appeal for gamers. I now own the very first PC I have ever bought ... because I have always used Macs. This is a CyberpowerPC with a Liquid Cooled i7-9700 and an RTX 2080 in a Gigabyte Ultra Durable MB. While a little pricey, it is MORE THAN GREAT for X-Plane both on a large monitor and using a VR HMD. A lesser version, with an i5-8700 and a 1080 will also work nicely, at about $1,100. This lesser machine will work for real pilots because my flight models will not be demanding ... like just about all other aircraft for both X-Plane and MSBS.

Yeah, after all the years of describing his Corvettes and Ferraris, when I told him that I had bought a Corvette ... he said that he has a Tesla now. Wull, that's guud, Yogi. Oh ... and I totally understand a person using ANY EXCUSE to drive a car such as these. Really into that myself. Except in Winter: the Cooper RS3-S Summer-only Racing tires that I put on my Corvette are like hard plastic when the OAT is below 40 F. So it sits in my hangar with "Dreamland," -- One Juliet Kilo.

He's ... actually ... saying how it works ... this time? 😥 I'll have to watch later. After I regain my composure ... hmmm ... I guess we can't edit after a certain time. I wanted to edit my previous post. Whatever. My degree is in economics, and I could go on and on regarding the costs to develop in X-Plane. Short version is if I charged anything at all reasonable, canard pilots would not be able to afford it. There are hundreds of thousands of gamers for mainstream designs for X-Plane. How many of us are included in the CSA membership list? And how many of those choose to use a desktop computer for any sort of training? They have to be free or there is no sense in developing canard flight models for real pilots. (It breaks a rule that Dr. Dan Raymer agreed is ALWAYS in force about airplanes when I took his graduate-level course at UCLA. You can discuss thrust, drag, weight and lift all day, but what REALLY makes airplanes fly ... is MONEY.)

Are you kidding me? Austin Meyer, originator and lead programmer still for X-Plane has become a millionaire --in my view-- by CONSTANTLY changing the flight physics AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. I started designing aircraft for X-Plane in version 2.67 in 1997. Each Full Numerical version has had at least Five sub-numerical iterations, assuming one skips the Betas. For example, 5.0, 5.12, 5.24, 5.60 and 5.72. From v2x through v11.4x. TWENTY TWO YEARS of changing and adjusting my canard designs WITH EVERY NEW RELEASE, often multiple times per year. My vertical-launch Rockets have been the most affected. These typically required FOUR HUNDRED TEST LAUNCHES EACH to carefully balance the flight dynamics. And they no longer work at all as of X-Plane version 10.25 ... on average more than five years ago. ALL deficiencies in Fidelity that pilots see in canard flight models is due to using a given model in a version of the sim is was not meant for. And for even a fraction of the 175 different aircraft/rotorcraft/spacecraft that I have produced, it is something that is impossible for a single person to keep up with. Regarding ... "What did they do?" Austin NEVER says. I ALWAYS have to figure it out for myself. This is why it is ONLY the RESULTS that can matter. Flight Test, Handling, Performance ... over and over and over.

To start Updates of canard types for X-Plane Eleven, today I started at the start: Flew our VariEze N111JK (1983 O-235 L2C) for the first time in a newly-updated X-Plane v11.41. And it's terrible. A flight model first developed in version 7 something, and improved over 15 years, has all kinds of problems that need fixing in the latest X-Plane. This new phase of efforts to provide canard types at no charge for real life pilots will include updated Legacy, 2D (conventional flat computer display, dinosaur) flight models, as always. But the plan is to move to 3D cockpits and VR operations. The idea of using a dumb flat computer display for flight training is abhorrent-- the 21st century will soon be upon us! And we need to improve our methods in using simulation for flight training. I have collected documents from several sources which put to rest the arguments against sim training for GA pilots. Which address the need for Fidelity as great as can be managed. And which definitively show that using a VR Headset is absolutely the mode we should be using. And, further, which show that the computer required can cost less than $1,000, and the VR Head-Mounted-Display (HMD) should cost about $700. This is as opposed to the price of $41,000 that I set for sales of my commercial Level 2 FTD which was approved by FAA AFS 800 in 2003 for the Schweizer 300C helicopter in X-Plane v6. Recent U.S. Air Force studies in training with VR HMDs supports the same economic argument. For Transition, Proficiency, Airport Familiarization and First-flight Prep, these Flight Models for X-Plane will support greater safety for all Canardians.

I plan to update the flight models for canard homebuilts for the X-Plane flight simulator. Our VariEze in X-Plane was extremely helpful when my wife and I each did our first Solo flights. Our very first approaches resulted in good landings, after flying the plane in the simulator. We felt familiar with and comfortable, flying the plane for the first time. Legacy flight models for X-Plane v9 and v10 are available (free) here: http://vigilanceaero.com/X-Plane/Flight_Models/Flight_Models.html And updates for X-Plane version 11 are planned for the next few months.

VariEze N111JK (built by Joe Kendrick, Grand Junction, CO) weighed 695 when we bought it in 2004. It's a little heavier now, with Becker COM & XPDR, nicer seat cushions & wheel pants. What approach and landing speeds did the original builder mention? One Juliet Kilo also still had the LE Cuffs, and it would dutch roll on approach at less than 100 MPH. Adding the LE Vortilons and TE Fences were great and very worthwhile additions. VariEze N111JK "Dreamland" at Yankton, SD 2017; And "Dreamland" at home base Longmont, CO just last week, preparing for ADS-B qualification flight:

Well that has to be partly my fault because I have not updated my conventional (non-3D/VR) flight models to X-Plane version 11. My plan is to do that, on the way to 3D/VR, and of course to still offer the flight models for regular PC flying, using a conventional flat display screen. And all additional aircraft such as Defiant, Velocity will also be offered for the conventional (2D) use mode before being developed and offered for VR. As always, there will be no purchase price required for flight models that I produce.

Uh ... perhaps "better late, than never" ... ? With the upgrade of facilities here at the Canard Zone, I am motivated toward some upgrades of my own. First, the URL for existing Canard Flight Models for X-Plane (v9 and v10): http://vigilanceaero.com/X-Plane/Flight_Models/Flight_Models.html And, also to mention that I will be working to bring the flight models up to X-Plane version 11 standards, and ultimately to 3D cockpits and VR controls.

Yeah, it looks nice ... however: They asked me to review this package, and I didn't even reply with a critique after flying it. The pilot view-angle is wrong, the flight dynamics/handling are wrong, and the thing is WAY TOO DEMANDING of the PC hardware. The designers have made a nice gaming model ... not a useful tool for real life pilots. So I am working on that problem: greatly improved Canard Flight Models for the X-Plane flight simulator program. And "greatly improved" here means the move to 3D/VR. There are compelling reasons to Train using VR immersion. I will be posting a series of articles here regarding this. I'll include a paper written by another pilot on the subject. I am finally making some progress at learning to use Blender and AC3D, Lua and SASL which are required for converting my canard flight models to 3D cockpits and VR control manipulators. These flight models for VariEze, Long-EZ and Cozy MKIV will be Optimized for Real Life pilots and affordable PC hardware. The goals are X-Plane aircraft for Transition Training, Proficiency, Airport Familiarization and Homebuilt First-Flight Preparation. The benefit from X-Plane that my wife and I had when we each first Soloed in our VariEze is inarguable. I have recently realized that First-flight potential problems is an area that might be of great usefulness. This is where I will explain simple settings changes in Planemaker that pilots can make themselves to create problems such as Lateral Control Imbalance, Yaw Imbalance, CG Too-far-aft situation, Gear Retract Failure, Landing Brake Failure, Avionics failure and others. Training for these potential situations in a newly-built airplane would be priceless. After updating the legacy flight models I have offered for many years, I will make an effort to include other homebuilt types as well. These might include Velocity, Quickie, Defiant, etc.

I recently removed the heated insulated shop that I had in my hangar for more than 10 years. The remaining Glass & Paint work on my Cozy will not require it. What is your plan for a shop? Mine was one of those Steel Tube & Plastic Tarp temporary garages, insulated with two layers of Aluminized Bubble-wrap (R5) insulation. Heat Lamps are far more efficient than electric room heaters, and have no fumes like propane catalytic heaters. I used 1x Furring strips of wood to attach the bubble-wrap to, and sealed it with Duct Tape (lots of it), and I used 2x4s to make a door frame. Then I hung a regular interior door for an entry. This worked very well, and cost somewhat more than $500 total. The whole thing was in the back of my T-hangar, with plenty of room for my completed VariEze besides. I still have Half of one of these Tube & Tarp temp buildings in my hangar, insulated with 1-1/2 " white styrofoam insulation (much better.) This is an office space with a small bench for doing limited fiberglass jobs. It has Fluorescent lighting and a Heat Lamp hung from the ceiling. Hangars at Longmont are inspected at least once every year by the Fire Marshall (has his own keys) and for more than fifteen years there have been no concerns about these structures in my hangar. The price has gone up a little over the years; when we bought the first of Four of these that we have had, they were only about $165: https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-17-ft-portable-garage-62860.html When we had one of these outdoors in our backyard, where I started our first Cozy project in 1999, I put a very large additional, heavy tarp over the top of it, And I tied that down with over 300 feet of rope and 24 large (18") stakes. This allowed it to survive heavy snow falls and 60 MPH winds, for four years.

Voidhawk, hey what's happening? I'm having trouble with the Cozy Builders Mail list, so I Unsubscribed last night. Perhaps I can re-subscribe next year when I am back to work on my Cozy. I guess I'm thinking "Control-Alt-Delete" with that 'cuz nothing else has worked. Marc says it must be my Mail settings (Apple.) But I AM working on the uAvionics SkyBeacon install on my VariEze, which will work in conjunction with my Mode C XPDR and my DIY stratux/iPad receiver. The stratux driving my iPad even has an EFIS attitude display ... just like a real airplane. Curt Boyll - canards, colorado