CH53E, a developers journey

  • Hi Everyone

    Welcome to my journey, hopefully, our journey, as we develop the CH53E Super Stallion.

    What's this all about I hear you ask, maybe a short explanation to help or not.

    I came up with the mad idea of attempting to show the user the process of aircraft/helicopter development from the modellers view as it's something we don't appreciate until we dip our toes into the shark invested water. Perhaps it's not the correct way but it's the only way I know. Please do not expect to fly this model at the moment, it's a WIP, it's there for you to look around, see how things progress or not, to see just how long it takes and perhaps why. To be there when that magic moment arrives and it staggers into the air. Yes it's going to be a complicated beast but that's life so lets all get over it.

    So what better way than to let you see the development as it happens. To this end I will be posting the model as I am working on it during its build process, plan at the moment is every 2 weeks. Eventually you will be able to fly it as I fly it, from a bag of **** to a workable model.

    This WILL be a five minute wonder model, you will load it up, look around for 5 minutes and move on to something else and that's what I do too. Work on the model, load it up, look around, note the errors, go back to work on the model.

    If you note things are wrong, missing etc please do say so. Doesn't mean it will get added as I have to balance polygon count against is it really needed. Poly count at the moment...300000 ish..and please don't tell IPACS. Still below the Lynx but lots still to add. Yes there is a lot missing as I am still modelling, textures are very basic as is the TMD. Talking of which.

    As we get into the TMD I will attempt to explain what is required and how I do it. Some heli specific bits of it will not be discussed, need to respect the gods on this so that's the rules. Yes its as scary as hell, full of mumbo jumbo and you'll never understand it as long as you live. Someone I know said that and went on to produce a Lynx, so if this 63 year old can do it so can you.

    My aim is to get you potential developers interested, we need aircraft and helicopters to keep this great sim moving forward. Scenery development is going great but we need more aircraft developers to stand up and be counted. ARE YOU THAT MAN OR WOMAN !!!!

    Will I regret doing this, probably, but lets give it a whirl

    Steve

    First error of the developer...put in download link...DOH

    https://flight-sim.org/filebase/index…-at-the-moment/

    Edited once, last by larrylynx (April 29, 2020 at 12:48 PM).

  • 300000 ish..and please don't tell IPACS.

    Ok, then I pretend I didn't read that :D

    But in all honesty... 300k is not bad, that's what some of our models have as well as far as I know. When you're above half a million that's a bit overkill, above a million you may start noticing a performance impact but I'm guessing aerofly can still render 3 million polygons.

    Regards,

    Jan

  • This sounds good. I wish you well and hope you get it up in the air and flying so you can spend the 5 minutes admiring your accomplishment so you can move on to the one I am most interested in flying - The Tilt Rotor. 😑😯😬🤨🙃

  • This sounds good. I wish you well and hope you get it up in the air and flying so you can spend the 5 minutes admiring your accomplishment so you can move on to the one I am most interested in flying - The Tilt Rotor. 😑😯😬🤨🙃

    No pressure.....:-)

    The bulky heli is looking good on the runway in Chicago here at home!

    A tiltrotor would be awesome. Next year the Chinook? ;)

    Hawaii Revisited . Coming soon.

    Soon...

    Really soon????

    No pressure... ;)

    Regards,

    Peter Splinter

    i5-7400@3,4 GHz, 16GB RAM, GTX 1660 Super, Pico 4, Quest 2 , 'Vintage' Pro Flight Trainer, X52 Pro, VKB pedals

  • Hawaii Revisited . Coming soon.

    Soon...

    Really soon????

    No pressure... ;)

    Yes, we are basically complete with the creative work as of the end of this week. We will be optimizing, documenting and preparing orthos for the total area. "Soon" is still our target for release. 8o

  • With a million polygons to play with who knows.....;) Not sure about the added weight on top of the head, might get a little dizzy.

    I always try to set an aim when I do a project...

    Starfighter, to learn how to an aircraft fly in FS2

    Lynx, to learn helicopters in Fs2 and because they are brilliant.

    CH53E, to push the sim and myself, 7 blades, canted tail, 4 engines, better textures etc...should be fun

    Next project

    Chinook or V22.. see how the sim works with 2 rotors..Downside of the V22, glass cockpit, not really sure how much the lone developer can make. Ch53E needs a forward looking IR/NV display ???

  • Hi Guys

    As promised a 2 weekly update to the beast. Please PLEASE remove all CH53E files from any previous install then install these into your user aircraft add on folder.

    File available here

    https://flight-sim.org/filebase/index…lopers-journey/

    So here's what happens in 2 weeks

    Texturing finished on the tail section, ramps and elephant ears.

    Further modelling in the cockpit around pilots and co-pilot windows.

    Started the major work on the TMD. We now have working engines (APP and 3 flight), need lots of fine tuning as they do not have enough power. Added electrical, hydraulic and fuel systems, still more to do to these as I add extra stuff and interlinks between each system. Some gauges now working but will need tuning once the engines all sorted as that work will effect the gauge movement.

    You can now get it off the ground, hovers like a bag of S**t but at least it gets off the ground, after some cheating (it weigh's a lot lot less). So much work to do here it's frightening but until the engines behave its just a hover..ish. Canted tail is proving interesting as it want's to roll the heli all the time so some interesting times ahead on this.

    Guess you'll want to try it so quick start instructions.

    External power on..App lever to run then full (yes textures are wrong needs adjusting)...fuel lever to direct for each engine (first detent).. generators on...ignition on for each engine...push starter button and move throttle to first detent then to full once engine up to 60% ish. You will need all three engine to get enough rotor speed.. then the fun starts..

    Not sure yet if the AFCS or trim is working but you can try...push the AFCS cmptr button, afcs button, trim button and servo1 button..Bar alt and heading hold joystick buttons same as Lynx, hopefully.

    No I'm not going to tell you where all the buttons and levers are...you'll find em :thumbup: not going to all the work ;)

    See you in 2 weeks

    Steve

  • ...

    External power on..App lever to run then full (yes textures are wrong needs adjusting)...fuel lever to direct for each engine (first detent).. generators on...ignition on for each engine...push starter button and move throttle to first detent then to full once engine up to 60% ish. You will need all three engine to get enough rotor speed.. then the fun starts..

    ...

    Already the commissioning up to the fully rotating rotors has been fun.:thumbup::)

    Thanks and good luck for the future, 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

  • First the Lynx now this is heading our way. Rotary wing heaven , thanks for looking after the Heli guys and girls here as over at MSFS (Microsoft Fantasy Simulator ) 2020 no one gives a hoot!

  • I'm afraid the Stallion is proving difficult to tame. Now I have added engines 2 and 3 she is not allowing me to set things up. As soon as the rotor speed builds up it rears backwards and rolls left.

    Visualising the axis and the way blades move for 2 and 4 blades are quite easy, 3 and 6 become harder but 5 and 7 are pretty much impossible for my tiny brain at the moment. Not being able to see what happens when I make adjustments is like trying to touch someone when you have a blindfold on and they keep moving.

    All good fun but pretty soul destroying at times.

    Steve

  • Hi Steve .. that reminds me in 1999 ... 21 years ago i had the same experiences with my first aerofly planes and helis :) :)

    But I hope that Ipacs Team can help you ?

    mfg, Jens ... Flight-Sim.org

    Mein Home-Cockpit ... My Simulator Hardware

    MSI PRO Z690-P DDR4 --- SI INTEL Core i7-13700F 2.1GHz LGA1700 Tray --- Palit RTX4070 JetStream 12GB DDR6 --- 16GB DDR4 PC4400 --- SSD Patriot 1TB M.2 Viper VP4300 --- Pimax Crystal

    Alles fliegt irgendwie,
    fragt sich nur wielange

  • Hi Jens

    At the moment I cannot see where the axis are, which way they are pointing or what my adjustments are doing, I just know they are wrong. I have been at this for hours now and making zero headway. The stallion simply rears back and buries its tail in the ground...it also has a vibration which I cannot track down either

    Come to the conclusion its pointless carrying on at the moment as I can't set anything up, even applying full forward and full right cyclic doesn't do anything. I have removed the dynamics for the canted tail thinking this may be causing it but no change

    Steve

  • Hi Steve ... i think best will be, to send this to Ipacs Team, and ask for this 2 problems to help you ..

    who else could help you better than the developers ...

    Dont put 100 hours in searching this problems ... when they can tell it you in 10 minutes :) :)

    When i know more about this, i will help you 100% ...

    but i am only a user since 18 years, so i know 0% of this new things ...

    mfg, Jens ... Flight-Sim.org

    Mein Home-Cockpit ... My Simulator Hardware

    MSI PRO Z690-P DDR4 --- SI INTEL Core i7-13700F 2.1GHz LGA1700 Tray --- Palit RTX4070 JetStream 12GB DDR6 --- 16GB DDR4 PC4400 --- SSD Patriot 1TB M.2 Viper VP4300 --- Pimax Crystal

    Alles fliegt irgendwie,
    fragt sich nur wielange

  • I'm afraid the Stallion is proving difficult to tame. Now I have added engines 2 and 3 she is not allowing me to set things up. As soon as the rotor speed builds up it rears backwards and rolls left.

    Visualising the axis and the way blades move for 2 and 4 blades are quite easy, 3 and 6 become harder but 5 and 7 are pretty much impossible for my tiny brain at the moment. Not being able to see what happens when I make adjustments is like trying to touch someone when you have a blindfold on and they keep moving.

    All good fun but pretty soul destroying at times.

    Steve

    Steve you are a retired Lynx pilot and current Aerofly Guru that gives you the biggest kahunas and bigest6 brains here mate! I am still loving flying your Lynx you gifted us every day ! The cold and dark start up I have down pat and it just immerses you in the sim, thankyou.

  • Hi Guys

    Short developer update.

    After a week of frustration I have reluctantly decided to suspend any further development on the CH53E

    As can be seen from the attached pic the blades are doing really strange things when collective is applied. The stallion still rears backwards and rolls to the right as the rotor speed increases making engine adjustments pretty much impossible.

    This could all be down to the axis assigned to the blade joints but I am unable to see these axis, so any adjustments are a stab in the dark and hope for the best. I have tried using Jetpack's matrix generator but the outcome does not change. So until I can see what is happening I have no choice but to stop work.

    I say that it may be the axis. but, it may also be the sim doesn't handle 7 blades very well so until I can rule out the axis it's rain stop play. There is a tool that can display these axis but it is not available to me or anyone else for that matter.

    Perhaps a better update next time, till then, time to perfect my super carrier landings ( which are pretty awful) =O

    Steve

  • Must be frustrating, especially for you...Hopefully IPACS can give a helping hand after they released the next update in a few weeks or so.

    For now, enjoy your off time, there is a great Lynx to do some simming. ;)

    Regards,

    Peter Splinter

    i5-7400@3,4 GHz, 16GB RAM, GTX 1660 Super, Pico 4, Quest 2 , 'Vintage' Pro Flight Trainer, X52 Pro, VKB pedals