Spitfire FR version (WARNING- NOT an airliner *G* )

[NAX228]

nice build!!

[Bob Reed]

What a build! Nice job. I am a little confused on the camera controls. What are you doing there?

[DarrylH]

Thanks guys!!

Bob, the Camera Selector (angular box) is just for show. The wiring will be such that if you flick the Port/Stbd/Oblique toggles, the appropriate light will come on. The Type 35 is rigged with a push switch that takes screen shots and a couple of lights which are for 1. Power on, steady red, 2. flashing green on and off to simulate "exposure in process". The gun camera button is similarly linked to the screen shot command.

Now that the gunsight has proven untenable, I will make a new wedge plate for the Type35 controller which will now go where the gunsight was (as in most PRU planes.)   

So fly straight, look left and reach up to the panel to push the exposure button. Voila, oblique photo. Now after a 200 mile flight to small pinpoint target on clock and compass, in bad weather, I can take the photo of the object, return to base and check to see that I got the right shots!! If not.....back the next time.  As I don't generally like flying the same route twice..it is a good incentive for me to do it right first time.

The Spit is very difficult and tiring to fly and navigate for long periods. So I will be getting some of the discomfort and frustration that faced PR pilots but, of course, none of the danger.


Darryl

[Aerosim Solutions]

Hi all,
This weekend I made this "Drop tank release" mechanism for a very happy Darryl!
Darryl supplied me with genuine Supermarine drawings for this part, I had to convert the secret ancient imperial code to metric to drive the CNC but the finished part looks exactly like the pictures of the real thing.
A320 Airbus flap and spolier mechanisms next on the list...





Cheers, Gwyn
www.aerosimsolutions.com.au

[DarrylH]

Looking forward to getting it all in on Sunday mate!!

D

[jackpilot]

Darryl

Keep us posted and "pictured" about your latest missions as I am pretty sure that you fly the big beast!!
We are anxiously waiting at the Club ,mug in hand, sweating in the bomber jackets ....

Cheers

[DarrylH]

Yes Jack, I fly her now (and that has held up building progress a bit!!)

This is one I had a while back and before A2A Accusim Spitfire was released. The Acc makes things even more interesting now and I was lucky enough to have major input into the systems and performance of her throughout Beta.   

My first planned and "live", cross country  flight ...I took off from Bunbury and headed north for Jandakot (about 90 NM) and return. (to "virtually" catch up with Gwyn and pick up the squillionth part he made me!). I planned to cruise at 20,000ft,  at least for the 10 or 15 minutes each way that I would not be on climb or descent!! It was a cloudy mucky late afternoon (realtime weather) and I was glad of the "big blue compass" (WA coastline) that made needing to see much of the ground superfluous. This would help later on as well, because the last part of the flight would certainly be Night VFR.

It went really well, a hard climb at +9 Boost / 2850 RPM, but temps and pressures stayed in the green and all was right with the world. I wasn't sure what the poor people were doing and couldn't have cared less.

The new trim wheels gave a much better feel, the lights were working, the switches were all working, the throttle is now adjusted to feel "right". The new head tracker is great and clipped onto the Type C Helmet without having to make any modification to either. The helmet, mask, goggles, Mae West, Sutton Harness and heavy jacket were suitably  awkward and uncomfortable and I was not in a  my computer room but "there". I'm nothing if not compulsive!!

Everything was perfect, ...until Myalup (1/3 of the way to Jandakot).

There, at 16500ft  the engine gave a loud cough and promptly dropped 800rpm. Training immediately took over !! It  ran rough for as long as it took me to trim for the speed I deemed appropriate given the spare altitude I had (about 120mph as a compromise between controllability whilst putting most of my attention inside the cockpit and on the engine...and best glide, which is actually about 90mph).

Then it died altogether. My first ever non Accusim, unplanned engine failure in FSX. 

I glided in circles around Mylup as there is a small private strip there. I tried the starter...no good. Mixture full rich then back to about almost where it had been, no good,  Mags off and on again...nothing.

I shut everything down, noted height (12,000 odd ) and position (still nice and near Mylup). Ok, plenty of time for another go. Fuel on, throttle back as far as possible (given the link between throttle and mixture and the need for a lean mixture at that height), prop full RPM, flick mags, press starter. Bang and off she went but ran rough and the revs wildly varied at any throttle / pitch setting that gave over 2300. So I set +2 / 2250 and it seemed to settle down. I also found that I could maintain height and even climb a little (200-300fpm) at this setting and about 140-150 indicated, temps OK.

So I thought long and hard about it and decided to limp back to Bunbury, 35NM or so. It was a big call with Mylup strip in sight but that is small and rough and has some nasty trees. I know there is a little CALM (government) water bomber strip between me and Bunbury (even though I was not sure exactly where and it isn't marked on the map) and so I figure, between the three fields 10 miles is the furthest I should have to glide even if I've made a bad decision and she packs up all together. Speed is life but altitude is life insurance so even at the height I was, I decided climbing at the expense of a little forward speed was well worth the trade off (not sure this was the right decision really).  And if all else fails the area below is pretty flat farm land for the most part. So +2 / 2250, 300fpm climb and head south....

I got up to nearly 14000 but then the temps started to climb rapidly. Throttle back to +0..stabilize. But after a couple of minutes the temps went wild again and it sounded worse than Lee Marvin singing "Wandering Star" and was running rougher than a Derry night club on 12th July.

I glided for 30 seconds but was losing too much height so I decided to let her have about 500fpm and -4 / 2250, that did the trick. There followed 15 odd minutes of watching temps like a hawk and watching for suitable fields below, between the clouds. I particularly enjoyed entering 8/8 cloud at 8000 and not being able to see a thing...but broke out at 6000 just north of Bunbury strip. So not too bad there. By the time I joined mid downwind I had decided on a glide approach but a bit quick and a bit high. I aimed for a third of the way down the strip even though I had some power assisting the glide so if she quit I was already pretty much on a "glide approach". Bunbury is a long strip for a country field so no problems over-running.. The engine seemed to be behaving much better at the lower altitude but I wasn't taking any chances.

In the end I made a nice three pointer but with a bit of a hop. This finished an interesting flight. Total time mount to dismount was 48 minutes. I still have no idea what happened but hey, that is for the L.A.M.E to sort out. One valuable aircraft back on the ground, in one piece and my drycleaner will not be unhappy

Having had an unnervingly similar experience in real life a few years ago (but in clear weather, in a 172 and at 5000, 10 miles out) I was pleased to notice that my palms weren't TOO sweaty and that the decisions I had made that day held true in the sim. 

The helmet, Mae West, gloves, cockpit, TiR5, flight model and the brilliant ORBX/OZx scenery made it a flight to remember.

[shaneb]

Hey Darryl,

Loved the play by play . . your having fun now!  It is/has been really entertaining watching your build come together.  No doubt a very unique project in the sim builders world!   

[DarrylH]

Thanks ShaneB,

Yes, it is great fun but very tiring to fly for more than  an hour or so if "navigating".

When maps need to be used they are completely awkward. There is no room to open them, no room to store them that is not "just" out of reach without serious wriggling, the ground is all but invisible under the nose and wings, requiring you to "tip up" the aircraft to get a fix etc etc etc....

The compass is also very inconveniently placed and requires an amount of leaning and bending to look down at it. Taylor, one of the great PRU pilots reckoned that the best he could do in clear weather was to fly within 5 degrees of track!!

All in all it is a real challenge!

I will have some videos finished soon (traing videos for A2A's Spitfire) and will post notice here. when done.


regards


Darryl

[DarrylH]

I have been very busy in RL lately so not much done on the building front. A major update will follow at some stage in the near future hopefully.

In the meantime,since the last "blow by blow" was received well, I thought I would share with you the latest "adventure".

For those who are not familiar with A2A's Accu-Sim concept...it takes the engine and some other calcs out of FSX, redoes them and then forces FSX to use the outside figures. This delivers an incredible level of realism and means that the aircraft MUST be flown properly or you are in for trouble. Random failures also happen but rarely.


I believe that one of the most valuable possessions (if you like) that a pilot has is his "currency".

If you are not "current" in general or "on type" you are already one step behind the
play. That can, in real life, cost you that life but thankfully in a Sim, it usually just
leaves you red faced. Accu-Sim brings this all in to play.

And so to the whole sad story.......

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 12th July 2011.

The previous flight in the Spitfire Mk II had been low level aerobatics and I had run
her hard...but she seemed to be in good shape nonetheless (Factor 1). I managed to implement Alex Henshaw's technique and can now roll at hanger height, using the fuselage as an extra "wing area" for parts of the roll.  Great fun but stressfull for the normally aspirated Merlin. One feature of Accu-Sim is that the aircraft are "persistent " that is, next time you load up, the aircraft is in exactly the same state as you left it last flight, mechanically, fuel, setup, damage, wear  etc.

After a lay off of a few weeks, I met up with Ron for some aerobatics practice and
formation flying out of Busselton. The warm ups took longer than expected for various reasons (but all checks properly done) and so by takeoff the Radiator was right on 120C. (Factor 2). Any higher (ANY!!) and it would have required a shut down.

Ron had drawn a fair way ahead and above me, so I expedited my takeoff and went gear
up, then immediately concentrated on closing the distance whilst still keeping her at
or below max temps (Factor 3).

Despite battling with the temps the gap was closed but, unusually, I did use the
rudder trim to keep me straight in the climb, something I NEVER do as the rudder
forces on climb are not that great anyway and only have to be used sporadically and
only in a very steep climb. (Factor 4).

When it came time to form up on Ron's starboard wing, we exchanged temps, rpm, boost
setting and airspeed, as per normal. (in this case 2300rpm at +2 and Ron had 232mph
indicated). Ron was running Radiator at 113C and I had mine down to 100C but my oil
temp was 5 or 6C higher than his and not too far south of 90C, the maximum for oil).

I quickly found that at these settings, I could not maintain formation. I put this
down to the previous low level aeros having pushed the engine a bit hard, a suspicion
that seemed to be confirmed by the RPM surging a little more than usual. Or perhaps
having strained the govenor?? Any how, Accu-sim models things differently, so my
Monday Morning Spitfire was just being difficult, or so I thought.

After that the formation took our attention for a while and the lower boost and the high cruise speed let the temps fall back a bit. Our radiators pretty much syncronised at 100C but my oil temp was still 5-6 higher. By this time I was watching the temps intently on a
regular basis, looking for early signs of trouble. (Factor 5). The Merlin will seize up in less two minutes if oil fails.

When the fuel level dictated, we turned back to Busselton, by this time some 40-50nm
away. It was at this time that we decided on Ron trying to form up on me.

NOW all the pieces fell in to place: Sitting there, nicely perched about six to eight inches
from closed, he saw my port undercarriage leg, just open enough to disrupt the airflow into the oil cooler!

Damn that Undercarriage Indicator "UP" Light, it shouldn't be on!!! Go to tap glass
(my standard response to any instrument problem).....it ISN'T on.

You know that sick feeling when you realise that you have done something REALLY stupid
and obviously so??.... I realised that in my haste to "get off", I had not actually
VISUALLY confirmed that the "UP" light had come on. 

So, humbled, I flew back towards Busselton and thought long and hard about
undercarriage failure drills, visual indicators, the unfairness of it all and how I
was going to stop Ron broadcasting my stupidity to the world  

In the end, we diverted to Bunbury, as that was closer and, as my home field, I am
very familiar with how everything should "look and feel" on approach. Once near the
field, I attempted to lock the wheel back up by inverting the Spitfire. No good. So
next I lowered the gear to see if it would go down and lock. The right gear deployed
normally but the left wouldn't budge. So next I tried the Emergency Undercarriage
Cylinder...no joy either. At least the right gear still retracted, that was something.
So, resigned to a belly landing, I checked the gear lever WAS in the UP position (in
case the right leg extended for some reason on approach, it would at least collapse on
landing), established a normal circuit but a couple of hundred feet high and aiming,
eventually, at 1/3 down the strip, opened the canopy and when turning onto final, shut
off the fuel and electrics, checked the Sutton was tight and disconnected the R/T
leads. At 100 feet I realised that I had been so intent on lining up for 1/3 of the
runway, that I was still aiming for the bitumen, not for the grass to the side, which
was my intended target.So I eased the nose over a bit and made a very good belly
landing (as adjudged by Ron) pulling up quickly and doing hardly any damage apart from
the airscrew and radiator.       

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So...what went wrong? Well, as usual, no single problem leads to an aviation
"incident", there is always a chain of events that conspire. My assessment is
below but I am also keen to hear from any other pilots who have an opinion
on it (apart from one that says morons shouldn't be allowed to fly Spitfires!!)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Whilst past events MUST be taken into account, current problems should be judged on
their merits and without preconception. (assumed substandard performance because
engine tired)

2. The lack of recent flying makes everything much more of an effort and therefore
effectively multiplies any normal workload. Should there be a problem occur (high
temps, lateness ) this can lead to "standard" procedures being skipped or missed (Not
checking U/C Light).   

3. Attention needs to be paid to the WHOLE panel, not just a segment of it.
(concentrating on engine instruments on the right to "catch up" without overheating..effectively ignoring the left of the panel where the U/C Light SHOULD have been showing). The Spitfire has the U/C Light AND physical indicators in the wings and yet because my attention was on the gauges to the right, I missed the lack of "UP "light AND the small portion of red U/C indicator pin still protruding through the wing. 

4. Currency builds consistency. The rudder trim, once dialed in, was left there, effectively concealing the drag caused by the protruding U/C leg. This went unnoticed as I "never use it".

5. Persistent unexplained rise in oil temp should have raised questions as to what other possible causes there could be, rather than an assumption of "bad day"...particularly as radiator temp was around normal. Watching for things to get worse is all very fine but it should NOT preclude further checking for the source of the problem.

What went right....?

1. Practice emergency procedures, have them burned into your brain so that they become automatic. At least once things WERE discovered, the solutions/precautions were pretty much automatic to me.

2. Know your aircraft.... glide approach speeds, where everything is in the cockpit to shut down quickly, what you can and can't turn off or the order that it should be turned off (no good shutting down electrics if your flaps are electric and you need them..etc etc).

3. Burn off fuel. Easy in this case as we were RTB because of fuel anyway...but don't belly land with full tanks.

Yet another Accu-sim experience that is ONLY available from A2A. Thanks guys!


Ron gives me the "good news"



Attempting to lower my gear.



Barely visible here but all too obvious AFTER the gear problem was found..the U/C tab extended a fraction above the wing.



The U/C leg still in jammed position after the belly landing.



Darryl

[DarrylH]

Ok, a while since I had anything concrete to show (and I have actually been doing a bit on the F-16 again in between) But here is the latest:

Vent Control added under starboard coaming, Oxygen Stopc ock added, (also added a "Cockpit Heat" control which actually controls oxygen flow height) and an undercarriage warning horn cancell switch...all functional. The wires for these are all hidden in the pipework so everything mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic or cabled appears to work like that and not by electrical toggles, pots, encoders or limit switches as they actually do.

Relasered some gauges (notably the AH) , added all the pipework (mostly from aluminium but some polyethelene and some brass), added proper gun button (thanks again Tony!!) all to tighten up on the details...

Added a couple of PRU specific items (mudflap release on starboard , Amp and OAT gauges next Landing Lamp Control)


And also some general tidy up work, fuse boxes and the start of the Mk V modifications..(fuel pump switch, Oil Dilution Pushbutton and guard) 

I have a ground/air switch here but I am still trying to confirm whether they were actually on the Mk V originally or have been added to the modern restorations.

Anyway, enjoy...






























Lastly the result of some fossicking:



A pair of Mk IVb's on teh way as well.

[shaneb]

Hey Darryl,

That is awesome . . museum quality . .  Amazing detail work!     

[DarrylH]

Thank you Shane!

[phil744]

That is just jaw dropping beautiful, is it flyable yet or you still working on that?

Seriously i take my hat of to you, if there was sim of the year event you would have my vote no questions asked

[DarrylH]

Thanks Phil,

Yes, fully flyable now (see post 106 and 109 above) just a little detailing and some PRU specific kit left to fit.

The Spit is terrific fun to fly but very challenging and tiring to navigate over my 2 hour "Photo Recon" missions. Between watching the engine temps like a hawk, remembering the oxygen cabin height adjustments, syncing the gyro and the compass, checking behind to make sure I haven't drifted into the condensation level, folding and unfolding maps in an incredibly small space, sitting on an unyielding parachute and having to roll 90 degrees (and upset the compass) just to see the ground (past the nose and those huge wings) and get a positive VFR nav fix from 20,000ft,.... THEN you can relax enough to "just" scan the sky continually for the guys who are trying to kill you.

At least the last is not a worry in FSX but I try to maintain a scan for sake of "realism" .

[jackpilot]

You know what? ....I think you may well be the worst case of us all!!!   

I second Phil
I would vote for your bird!

[DarrylH]

Jack, Phil

Thanks for the "vote", both of you


Yes, I think you mayt be right.  That is why I rarely mention the F-16 (which actually cost me around twice what the Spitfire did to build).


To paraphrase Mr Wilde"

To build one simulator, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune, to build two, looks like carlessness!

[Bob Reed]

Would love to see some pics of the 16! 

[DarrylH]

No worries Bob, in the morning,

D

[DarrylH]

There you go Bob..

Still a lot of work left to do..once the Spitfire is totally finihed.

[Bob Reed]

Did you build all of that like you did the Spit? WOW!

[DarrylH]

Bob,

I had the shell half built when I got the opportunity to buy one that a guy had prototyped, so I took that. The structure is a little more complicated thah the Spit and so that saved me six months probably.

A lot of the panels etc are the real thing, now interfaced. The seat I built with a lot of real parts and accessories hung on to it...Parachute box, oxygen fittings, etc,

The cockpit fittings, arm wrest (and wrist wrest still to be fitted) are real as are many of the instrumnets in the main centre console.

The "ICP" and "MFDs Bezels" are all real and integrated through connector cards .


D

[shaneb]

Really nice Darryl!   

[Bob Reed]

This is another great looking sim. What are your plans for flying it? I ask for a reason.......

[DarrylH]

Thanks Shane!!


Bob,

She flys with Falcon 4..upgraded to OF.

I have flown her on occasion but not all systems work yet.

The Spitfire really sidelined this bird but I have not lost interest. In another 12 months, hopefully, this one will be complete too...

Now, the reason??