Fletcher released

[deaneb]

so yeah, if you want me to i'll sort it out 

Yes please - if you can sort this out you will have many happy people !!

Deane

[creator2003]

thanks deaneb cheers for the great plane ,will be one of the top this year by far

[gokanru]

Great Job done there Deane,And a great Kiwi Icon,Thanks for the pleasure of Flying this beauty.Now I'm off to find some cocky's wife with the washing on the line.

[ZK-Brock]

Looks like someone's got the gauges sorted..

[Charl]

Stunning scenery OK, but the issue is with FS9 gauges not FSX.

[Bingobob]

Gauges ARE working OK in FS9 only problem I have had is the wingtips disconnecting from the model when pitching the aircrafts nose up and down.

[ardypilot]

Bingo- that used to happen with the old FS200 model. Did you perhaps download 'fu24r_2k.zip' by mistake?

[A185F]

Nice flecter, great model flys great. I have to point out to those on this thread... Cropdusting ???????????????

We're in New Zealand here !! Home of TOPDRESSING !!!!

Obviously been watching too many american movies.... Inderpendance Day springs to mind....

[Bingobob]

Bingo- that used to happen with the old FS200 model. Did you perhaps download 'fu24r_2k.zip' by mistake?

No... I do know how to use copy n paste and the search engine for FS2004 in the librarys

Wondering if Dean as Designer has a idea on that one?

[deaneb]

Bingo- that used to happen with the old FS200 model. Did you perhaps download 'fu24r_2k.zip' by mistake?

No... I do know how to use copy n paste and the search engine for FS2004 in the librarys

Wondering if Dean as Designer has a idea on that one?

No other users have this problem and as pointed out an earlier Fletcher did have this. I cannot see any reason why this would happen on my Fletcher.

Deane

[ZK-Brock]

Hi Deane, after one flight all I can say is well done, this aircraft flies wonderfully. Could you or someone indicate the sort of speeds you are supposed to fly an approach at? It was controllable right down to about 50 kts with full flap, though this doesn't seem all that likely for such a big aeroplane

[gokanru]

Sounds like Bingobob has the old fletcher.If the Gauges are working then The wrong fletcher has been downloaded for FS9.The size of the download is also an indication as the old fletcher was nowhere the same size as your one Deane.The Gauges are only a Minor problem and it sounds like a few are already working on it.Great Effort Deane and a great aircraft

As for approach speed from memory 47 knots or there abouts with full flaps

I mean Stall speed

[Bingobob]

Well blow me down guess what

I did indeed have Deanes New Fletcher and deep in FS also found a earlier Fletcher that was downloaded form this very site by someone else

Problem was I was looking under the wrong manufacturer in the menu looking under "Pacific Aerospace" and not just "Aerospace" which explains why the panel appears in FS9.

Now figured it out no the panel dont worrk in FS9 BUT a very BIg Butt I am able to use the panel from the earlier FU24 no worries

The cure for the panel problem has been found by accident

[deaneb]

Hi Deane, after one flight all I can say is well done, this aircraft flies wonderfully. Could you or someone indicate the sort of speeds you are supposed to fly an approach at? It was controllable right down to about 50 kts with full flap, though this doesn't seem all that likely for such a big aeroplane

Stall speed full flap is below 50 knots, about 47 from memory.
Setting up stall speeds took me days to get even close. It is not easy to do believe me !!

The fletcher is a weight lifter, designed to carry almost its own weight as payload. That means a high lift wing and hence some low speeds when empty.

If you ever get to see a Cresco display you will know what I mean. T/O and landing empty in less than 100 meters. Stall is also in the mid 40's. Obviously the stall speed will increase with weight, again setting this up is not easy.

I use approach speed of about 60 and flare to touch down at about 50 for normal landings, but its fun to pull the nose up and see how slow you can land.

Deane

[A185F]

though this doesn't seem all that likely for such a big aeroplane

If you haven't got it, download the antonov an-14. great fun

[Jenks]

Brilliant job Deane - thank you very much for all your work. You've captured the essence of the Fletcher perfectly and it's great fun to fly

I'm digging through my files for some interesting paints to work up on this one...

I think the download count at Avsim says it all really... heading rapidly towards 1600 downloads

[Goff_nznr]

Fantastic Fletcher...I'm hooked on topdressing now.

If any of ya fs9 folks are experiencing the 'jitters' or shakiness when going around 140knots, I think my little alteration to the aircraft cfg file may clear it up.

First..there appears to be 3 "[GENERAL]" sections. I deleted 2 and kept the third after the "[fltsim.2]" section.

I also altered this.....

empty_weight_roll_MOI=3600.000000
empty_weight_pitch_MOI=2500.000000
empty_weight_yaw_MOI=2360.000000
empty_weight_coupled_MOI=0.000000
max_gross_weight=3900.000000

to this...

;Moments of Inertia
//empty_weight_roll_MOI=3600.000000
empty_weight_roll_MOI=4500.000000
//empty_weight_pitch_MOI=2500.000000
empty_weight_pitch_MOI=3100.000000
//empty_weight_yaw_MOI=2360.000000
empty_weight_yaw_MOI=3100.000000
empty_weight_coupled_MOI=0.000000
max_gross_weight=3900.000000

under the "[WEIGHT_AND_BALANCE]" section.

Cheers

[ardypilot]

If any of ya fs9 folks are experiencing the 'jitters' or shakiness when going around 140knots, I think my little alteration to the aircraft cfg file may clear it up.

I found that changing the cruise speed fixes this. By default it was 116 knots (true to real life), but you may wish to increase it to suit yourself. Find in in this section of the aircraft.cfg:

[Reference Speeds]
flaps_up_stall_speed= 58.000
full_flaps_stall_speed= 47.000
cruise_speed= 130.000

Also, is there any news on the gauge files?

And for a quick update- I contacted Paul Randell at Super Air with some screenshots of ZK-CML, and he sent me this reply:

-CML has changed! It now has a 457mm fuselage stretch (cockpit shifted forward in relation to wing) and a considerably longer and sleeker nose with side exhausts. And inside that it has a 550HP P&WC "PT6A-11AG" engine. The same can be said for  DZO, EGV, EME, EMW, plus a couple more no longer in NZ. We also have some others without the stretch - see pic.

Notice the two pilots in that 'screenshot'

Cheers!

[squirrel350]

If you ever get to see a Cresco display you will know what I mean. T/O and landing empty in less than 100 meters.

Deane

LOL taken me a long time to finally read through and reply to this topic.

At the Fieldays this year they had 3 of Wanganui Aero Works Fletchers parked down by the river it was a Brother, Father, Son team and I couldnt believe how shorter distance they required to get it off the ground was a truly great sight to see I have a video on my phone of them taking off will see if I can send it in an e-mail and upload it to you tube for you guys its not great quality but is a good watch with that wicked sound of the Fletcher.

We had a Fletcher doing either topdressing or a flight inspection not far from the back of our property a few days ago could tell by the distinctive purrr or should I say rumble lol.

SQ350