Still in Search of Perfection, LYNX Mk7 update

  • I flew Lynx for many years, performing some serious manoeuvres and all you hear is the gearbox. Perhaps from the outside you may get some but not internally, that bloody whine is just to loud.

    A lot of what you think is blade slap is really the interaction of the airflow between the main and tail rotor blades as they pass each other near the tail

  • Trying to track down what is causing this is a bit like platting fog, just when you think your making progress it vanishes. There are no written words to go by and there are a lot of systems that depend on each other.

    Biggest problem working with helicopters in FS2 is I'm on the edge all the time, with Jan's help we're developing as we go. As an example, there is no automatic flying control system for helicopters so Jan invented one, I tested and fine tuned it. It's not perfect but it works.

    It will probably end up being something so simple I'll kick myself but at the moment the TMD file is winning. Sylvain knows exactly what I am on about.

    Steve

  • Yep they are complicated but the biggest problem by far to a sole developer is we become a Jack of all trades and a master of none.

    Modeller, texture artist, sound engineer, aerodynamicist, systems analyst, computer programmer, tea boy and general dogs body. Thermodynamicist

    And that's why we should try to form teams to develop things. I know it's difficult, but in a sense it helps too to compensate for the extra effort and process. And also I think it's more fun too.

    I know I can do a few of these, but not all of them, that is what is keeping me from developping some aircrafts.

    On the Apollo 50 we worked as a team and it seems pretty much each one has a specialty and we collaborated very well. I don't think anyone in the team knew how to do everything well, except maybe Tom.

    What it also says is that anyone that does it as a single developper earns tremendous respect, because it's so complicated and it would be so easy to stumble on one process and not been able to master it. So kudos!

  • Lynx update first

    Success, well... sort of

    I have corrected the problem but this means yet more testing as it causes smaller issues down the line which also need to be corrected. It seems FS2 engines are very sensitive to rho values (engine component stiffness from what I can gather). What is fine at sea level becomes unstable as the starting altitude increases. And of course, increasing the rho value means other factors down the line also have to be adjusted.

    FS2 loads aircraft with their engines running, to enable a correct start sequence for the Lynx, and most large helicopters, I immediately shut down the engines ( to my shame I can't remember how I did this but I know it will bite my backside eventually so I will need to find out). It's this engine running loading and my particular transmission system that breaks the sim. When we eventually get a method to start with engines off this will help but will probably mean a re-write of the Lynx TMD...yet more cursing.

    To be fair to IPACS, I'm probably doing things they never expected users to be doing. Yep there is always someone out there that has to be awkward

    Modelling Collaboration

    Great idea but I can see many problems. Having done both sides, aircraft development is more difficult by a significant margin.

    We basically have 5 areas to an aircraft or helicopter

    1. 3D model

    2. Textures for that model

    3. Controls TMD

    4. Aircraft TMD

    5. Sounds

    1 and 2 would need a lot of co-ordination as UV maps would need to be explained from the modeller to the texture artist, easy if your in the same room but not so via email etc. Ideally both would need to use the same software and until we have a Blender plugin that means high end software.

    3,4 and 5 are done using Notepad++. Unfortunately, nothing can really start until 1 and 2 are fairly advanced as you need axis information from the model to use in both 3 and 4. Item 5 is pretty much done at the very end. Also, making changes to either TMD may well impact on someone else who is also making changes to the same TMD's. Think of a novel where 5 people are writing individual chapters not knowing if their characters had changed from the previous chapter or worse, written out in the previous chapter. Understanding your own TMD is fairly easy, trying to understand someone else's is more difficult.

    Just my thoughts

    Steve

  • Why can’t we have this with engines running? The whole concept of FS2 is that there’s no faffing around. Especially in VR it’s a royal pain in the ar@@ trying to crook your neck to the overheads, and lining up the mouse cursor etc.

    I’ve got to be honest as much as I was looking forward to the Lynx I’d probably get very frustrated if I was made to do a cold and dark startup sequence each and every time.

  • Slipstream

    Cold and dark crashing the sim, don't recall ever saying that. In fact the only way I can get a twin engine helicopter to load in the sim is via cold and dark. There may be a way but I couldn't find it and there is zero documentation to help.

    TomB

    Yep I could have all the switches in the right position but you would still have to start the engines, engage the rotors and have to push buttons that can't be set before the engines are started so it ain't gonna happen. Some systems in the Lynx depend on others, that's the way I built it and that's the way Westland Helicopters built it.

    What's the point in building a fully accurate aircraft or helicopter if all you want to do is cheat and have a single button/key to do it for you, How you going to learn the systems by cheating. We complain FS2 aircraft are not accurate and when we build one that is accurate we complain again.

    Come to think of it, there will be one button that will do it all for you, it's called the download button. If you don't want a fully accurate helicopter then don't download it. It makes no difference to me if you do or don't, it's free so it's all your choice. My aim was to make an accurate model of a Lynx, I achieved maybe 90% so I'm satisfied, only the TANS is missing and I don't even know if FS2 can replicate the TANS.

    One thing has become clear to me, this is my last effort into FS2 addon's

  • I am incredibly appreciative of your efforts and I apologise for my misunderstanding of the issues you have. I openly admit to being a lazy, time limited sim enthusiast which is why I normally fly within FS2. However, if it’s gotta be cold n dark then so be it. I really hope the team give you as much assistance that you deserve and we get this aircraft into the menu as soon as is physically possible.

    Like I stated some time ago I’d pay good money for your efforts. You deserve it imo.

  • larrylynx

    Please don't stop your project.

    I would like to help to create the last, difficult percentage points, but I fear that I am still too far away from the subject for that. In any case, I find it exciting. And I work on a Mac, in my opinion the possibilities are a bit limited.

    Tschüss, Michael (III)

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • larrylynx

    First let me say that I very much appreciate every initiative to enrich this sim, whether its aircraft or scenery.

    It is your decision and it is not a commercial product, you can do whatever you want. I only think you maybe exclude people from using your lynx. When I say startup sequence I mean startup sequence, i.e. one can see in real time what happens and learn from that. Something I have seen in other sims and something I find very help- and useful.

    Last, we can argue how accurate this sim itself is. But this is another discussion.

    Regards,

    Thomas

    i7-14700KF @ 5.6 GHz, Geforce RTX 4090, 32MB RAM, 1TB SSD M.2, 1TB SSD M.2, 2TB SSD M.2, 32" Monitor 4K, Pimax Crystal

  • I am really looking forward to a turbine that we can fly at high altitude as the poor little r22 can't hack it.

    I appreciate the cold and dark approach as I want the full experience and cold and dark is definitely my preference. There are plenty of poorly simulated helicopter systems already in P3D and x Plane and given that FS2 needs so little tinkering I can spend my time learning a checklist and proper checklist starts.

    Is there any chance we can have a checklist pop up in VR please? Doesn't matter if you can't but it would sure be the icing on the cake for feeling fully immersed. I am really looking forward to this Lynx.

    I also fly helicopters and when I fly for an hour there is an hour planning , preflight and cold and dark startups and shutdowns.

    Please keep it going, it will all work out and you will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people.

  • Wrong, as you can read from our latest developer blog we are also bringing new things to the desktop version.

    Hi Jan, how about helping larrylynx get his turbine finished, you keep pumping out fixed wing aircraft but we lack a turbine helicopter to fly at altitude. Please give him priority as he has made what you have refused to for all the heli simmers please?