Flying Guide

Transcript

Lancair Legacy for FSX Flying Guide Welcome to this Flying Guide for the RealAir Lancair Legacy for FSX. This document contains important information to help you get the best out of this product. Please make sure you thoroughly read it before contacting us for support. Our experience has shown that many support issues could have been solved if the customer had first checked our documents. Our guides are written in plain English, and we deliberately avoid unnecessary jargon, preferring to concentrate on plain language to assist you in finding out about the Legacy’s features and capabilities. Please note that this guide is written in order to help you operate and fly the Legacy in FSX. It is not a Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) and due to copyright reasons we are unable to obtain or publish one. Please do not contact us to request an “official” POH because we do not have permission to publish it. You will find the information in this document sufficient to fly and operate the RealAir Legacy with reasonable authenticity, but within the inevitable limitations of FSX, though we have made great efforts to overcome many of these limitations. Please Note: This guide is strictly for simulation purposes only. It should not be used as an aid to flying the real aircraft and is published solely for customers who have purchased the RealAir Simulations Lancair Legacy for use in Microsoft’s FSX Lancair Legacy for FSX About The Legacy The Lancair Legacy is a truly remarkable aircraft, and is for us the natural successor to our Marchetti SF260, perhaps the most successful GA aircraft add-on in the history of FSX. The Legacy is brim-full of brand new technology and has its roots in the Lancair 200 but with an updated refinement of that ground breaking design. Being mainly a kit aircraft, the Legacy is relatively inexpensive to construct, yet delivers breathtaking performance both in climb rate and top speed. It has short, highly efficient wings with 50% laminar flow. With its optional 310 hp engine (the engine type simulated here) it can achieve well over 2000 feet per minute climb rate and has a top speed of up to 250 knots in the right conditions. This makes it an unrivalled sport plane and quick cruiser, in addition to having outstanding ability in handling, whether for sedate cruising or semiaerobatics. RealAir’s simulation of the Legacy RealAir Simulations has a long history of ground breaking innovations right from our very first releases for Microsoft’s Flight Simulator over ten years ago, and many of these innovations have been adopted by other developers and even Microsoft itself. RealAir was the first developer to offer proper spin and side-slip capabilities in all our aircraft, at a time when Flight Simulator was not theoretically capable of allowing such things. We were also the first to offer a VC with smoothly animated 3D gauges (back in FS2004), and for many years we remained the only developer doing this. In addition we were one of the first developers to implement stall buffet effects, GA aircraft engine failure modes, pilot inertia effects, 3D cockpits with flexible views, proper stereo sound imaging without unwanted phasing effects, and a wealth of other features. In this simulation we have packaged all those innovations and modernised them so that the Legacy now has contemporary cutting edge features which truly stretch the limits of FSX. Lancair Legacy for FSX RealAir Lancair Legacy Features • A beautifully designed, accurate 3D model and interior. • Crystal clear, smooth gauges, and fully functioning high resolution panels. • New multiple visual effects which react to different aerodynamic forces. • Nearly a hundred sound effects to increase immersion. • Super accurate start up and shut down sounds. • New hi-fidelity flight model with our best handling yet including semi-aerobatics. • Several livery and panel colour variations. • Switch sounds included throughout the cockpit. • New, realistic custom landing lights. Many FSX aircraft are flyable in a limited way for ordinary take off, climb, cruise and landing. The RealAir Legacy does much more than this. Every nuance of flight, the reaction of the airframe and wings to different flying and weather conditions, and pilot input, has been designed to be as close as possible to the reaction and behaviour of the real aircraft within the limitations of FSX capabilities. We believe these flying qualities are far more important than other considerations which are not connected to the visceral feedback the pilot feels when flying. For example, a very high proportion of documented GA aircraft accidents are caused by loss of lift in difficult conditions while going slow at low altitudes, typically when on approach to an airfield. For that reason, we have designed the Legacy to react realistically to piloting error and we believe this is an important part of promoting safe flying practice. In addition our new flight modelling gives unprecedented realism and is a further enhancement of our legendary innovations in flight dynamics. Lancair Legacy for FSX Installing The Legacy After downloading the Legacy installer, right click on the installer file and choose “run as administrator”. This is important if you have Windows User Account Control switched on. The installer will automatically find the location of your FSX folder but it is wise to check the path shown and alter it to the correct one should you notice that the path appears to be incorrect. In most cases the installer will find the right location. During installation you will be prompted to enter some brief information to confirm you are the bone fide purchaser and register the Legacy in your name. This is a painless procedure and a necessary one to allow you to login and retrieve a lost download or re-install this aircraft. Lancair Legacy for FSX Config Panel After installation the pop up Config Panel window appears. This can be accessed later at any time by clicking on the “Lancair Legacy Config” icon which should appear on your desktop, or via the Windows Start Menu by going to “Start/All Programs/RealAir Simulations/Lancair Legacy/Config Panel”. If you have Windows User Account Control enabled, it is advisable to run the Config Panel by right clicking on the icon or desktop shortcut which starts it, then choosing “run as administrator”. This ensures that your saved options will be recognised. You must “save” your chosen options for them to take effect. In the event that your options are not recognised when you load the Legacy, you might also have to adjust your DEP, security or other user access settings in Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. Past experience has shown that unrecognised saved options are nearly always the result of Windows settings which are preventing our application from running properly, and are usually traced to User Account Control which can be temporarily disabled while you save your options. The Config Panel allows you decide on various options, gives you access to this and other useful documents and enables you to save your preferences. Please see the specific sections within this document on the configuration options for more details. The opening page allows you to access all the documents related to the Legacy including the checklist which you can also see within FSX. To read some of these documents you will need a PDF reader. There is a link to Adobe’s free reader at the foot of this opening page. We recommend that you begin flying the Legacy with the default options. For more experienced users there are many customisable options regarding panel and gauge interaction, special effects settings, and for users of RXP GNS gauges (separate purchase from Reality XP required) the option to painlessly install and integrate the GNS 430 and 530 gauges which replace the FSX default GPS. The special effects “RealView” settings relate to custom visual effects such as airframe and gauge needle vibration, and various reactions to aerodynamic and other forces acting on the Legacy. The default settings are calibrated to give realistic but not too exaggerated special effects which we believe significantly enhance your experience with the Legacy. You might wish to reduce or indeed strengthen some of these features after a few flights. Changing settings ‘on the fly’ Not only are options available for graphics, sounds, visual and sound effects and a host of other variations possible, but the RealAir Legacy can load these options without having to restart FSX. In order to change options while still running FSX, please do the following: 1. Change your screen to windowed mode if it is not already in that state, by pressing ALT ENTER on your keyboard. 2. Pause if necessary (you can set FSX so it does this automatically in the next step). 3. Minimise the window. FSX will now be “suspended” but still running. 4. Open the Config Panel and change or choose your different options, save then exit. 5. Now maximise FSX or press ALT ENTER again to go full screen, then “reload” the Legacy. You can reload by opening your FSX/control/assignments menu and choosing a button on your stick or keyboard for the assignment “AIRCRAFT (reload)”. Once this is done you can now experiment with all kinds of effects, graphics and other options then instantly reload the Legacy without having to restart FSX. All of your new options will immediately show upon reloading. Lancair Legacy for FSX Legacy FSX Settings Loading times The RealAir Legacy has very high resolution 3D modelling and textures, and on some older systems, computers with less than 750 megabytes of video RAM, or systems with modest CPUs, you might have to wait a while for the aircraft to load. Do not be alarmed. However, we have optimised the Legacy so that once loaded, switching from cockpit to spot view then back again should not cause any appreciable delay or reloading time, and we feel this is better than quicker initial loading times followed by a delay when switching views. When loading the Legacy for the first time, FSX will inform you that it wants to run a custom RealAir gauge. Click “ok” to allow this gauge to be loaded, after which FSX will not need your permission again. Setting up FSX for best performance We recommend first loading the Legacy with low detail scenery and no traffic, and modest weather/cloud settings. This will enable you to establish a decent frame rate before experimenting with how much scenery and other detail you can add before the frame rate slows. Our aircraft fly at their best with a frame rate of at least 29 frames per second. Below this rate some of the flight model qualities can be lost because the graphics and animations struggle to keep up with the output of the flight model engine. This is especially important when performing semi-aerobatics, stalling, spinning or side-slipping, stall turns or hammerheads, or close manoeuvring within airfield boundaries. For more sedate, less challenging flying the Legacy will perform acceptably at frame rates lower than optimum. We found that on mid range current systems with typically an i7 CPU, 4-8 GB of RAM and a reasonably current graphics card, we achieved 30-35 frames per second with detail in autogen and scenery one notch greater than normal, and with two layers of clouds plus a modest amount of AI traffic, depending of course on which traffic add-on you have working. On higher specification computers we could achieve in excess of 40 frames per second, which is ideal for maximum flying fidelity and smoothness. We recommend you investigate the many websites which give you tips and tricks regarding the optimisation of FSX for best performance, but we urge you to be careful when doing this as tweaks can cause some features of the aircraft to be compromised. Always backup your FSX.cfg file before you tweak! Advanced animations The Legacy uses a number of “skinned mesh” animations. The landing light ground splash, the pilot’s arms legs and head, as well as the leather boots at the base of the control sticks are all skinned mesh animations. In order for these animations to work you must have “advanced animations” enabled in FSX. To do this, go to “Settings/Display/Graphics” and make sure “advanced animations” is ticked. There is virtually no disadvantage to having this option ticked all of the time, it shouldn’t cause any drop in frame rates and almost all FSX aircraft these days will be using skinned mesh animations in one way or another, so it is well worth keeping this setting enabled. Exterior model options Within our Config Panel is an option to run a very high detail exterior 3D model, a medium detail exterior model or a low detail exterior model. The medium detail model does not appear significantly different to the very high detail model. In fact you need to zoom right in to the cockpit area in exterior view to notice any difference. The very high detail model has a fully working cockpit in exterior view, including all of the gauges such as GPS units, radios and the VM1000C. The medium detail model has static gauges and some slightly reduced detail in other areas. You should see a slight framerate improvement with the medium detail model. The low detail model has a significantly reduced polygon count and a reduced number of animations. It is primarily intended for multiplayer sessions but our testing has shown it can also give a boost to framerates in single player, especially if flying in areas with high scenery and autogen density. This exterior model is much lower in visual quality when compared to the other exterior model options but if framerates are more important to you than ultimate graphics quality, or if you are using a lower end PC system, then this can be a good option to use. Please see the Config Panel section in this document for more details about choosing options. Setting up FSX for flight model realism Important!!! Many of the core features of the RealAir Legacy will only work properly if your realism settings in FSX are adjusted correctly. Our flight model relies on having the general realism slider in your FSX aircraft menu to be set FULLY RIGHT. Even one tiny notch less than maximum general realism will disable all the painstaking features we have built into the flight aerodynamics. You will need general realism to be set to maximum for the correct roll rate, yaw control, side-slipping, stalling and spinning, and in fact all general handling, to be as we intended. The above illustrated settings will enable you to fly the Legacy as we intended. If you feel unsure about using the mixture control manually, or need unlimited fuel, you can tick the boxes in the Engine section. Engine stress damage is not implemented in this simulation. We recommend torque and p-factor sliders to be halfway. For greater p-factor effect - the tendency to wander left on a full power take off run, and with high angles of attack - you can optionally place the p-factor slider further to the right. We highly recommend disabling crash detect in the realism settings. Crash detect simply reloads the aircraft when you have contacted an object, or touched the ground with your undercarriage up. Disabling it allows you to practice belly landings or for the Legacy to react appropriately should you forget to drop the landing gear when landing. Doing so will result in the Legacy realistically scraping along the runway surface with accompanying effects. Setting up your joystick and keys IMPORTANT NOTE!! The RealAir Legacy, just like some versions of its real-world counterpart, is equipped with powerful spoilers/air brakes. They are designed to be either fully extended or fully retracted and will not work properly if you assign an analogue or incremental control lever to their use. For example if you attempt to partially open them using a lever on your Saitek or other hardware controller, they will fail to work as intended and this also results in the accompanying spoiler wind and vibration sound effect being confused. As with the real Lancair Legacy, the spoilers will only work as intended by using the provided ON/OFF spoiler toggle switch to the right of the array of main switches in the cockpit, and this extends them fully. Partial deployment of air brakes is not a feature of the real aircraft or this simulation. We recommend setting your main joystick or yoke control similarly to the above illustration. Placing the sensitivity sliders to approximately one third will ensure that you can have fine control of the first third of joystick movement for pitch and roll, while still allowing full deflection for more extreme manoeuvres. This affects slewing however, and if you find that using your joystick for slewing results in sluggish slewing movement, you might wish to set the sensitivity sliders a little higher. Lancair Legacy for FSX Sounds About sounds and setting volumes The RealAir Legacy comes with a comprehensive suite of custom sounds. In addition to the standard engine, wind, ground roll and other familiar sounds, all of which have been designed to suit the Legacy’s characteristics, we have developed additional special sound effects which radically improve the atmosphere and immersion you will feel in operating the Legacy, and these extra sounds work in concert with the many visual special effects we have included. The custom sound effects are controlled through a special gauge and they are not affected by the standard FSX sound control menu. So in order to balance these additional sounds with the standard ones, you can achieve this by not only changing the relative volumes within the FSX sound control menu, but also balancing these against the custom sounds by reducing or increasing the standard sound volumes as a whole, then adjusting your speakers or headphones for overall volume. We recommend you start with the normal FSX sound levels at approximately two thirds as illustrated below: With the sliders at roughly two thirds to the right, most speakers will balance the standard sounds with the special sound effects. If you feel the sound effects are over-dominating the engine, wind and ground roll or canopy opening sounds, then increase the above sliders so they are nearer maximum, then reduce, if necessary, your speaker volume. Conversely, if you wish to hear higher volume sound effects, then move all or some of the above sliders a little to the left and again adjust your speaker volume if necessary. In this way you can apply quite fine control over your desired volumes. Some of the sound effects were already present in previous RealAir aircraft. In the Legacy we have extended these effects into a full suite of immersive sounds. Below is a list of some of the special sounds effects which are separate from the standard sounds you hear in FSX: • All panel switches, fuel control, alternate air, parking brake, spoilers and fuel pump • Landing Gear custom sounds in concert with airframe reaction to doors and actuators • Landing gear wind with the gear down • Flap vibration and flap failure at speeds higher than flap limits • Side-slipping wind or when turning slowly with insufficient rudder • Canopy open wind blast • High G overstress sounds • Wheel braking sounds after landing • Spoiler wind and rumble effects • Aileron flutter and wing vibration effects when flying overspeed • Wheel disc braking squeaks and binding sounds • Stall turn and spinning sound effects In all there are nearly one hundred separate sounds accompanying this package and almost two hundred multiple instances of these sounds available depending on your speed, attitude, location and manoeuvres. For this reason we recommend that you have a reasonably good dedicated sound card or system on your computer since there are often many simultaneous stereo sounds triggered at any given point. Most modest but reasonably modern sound cards will cope with this easily, but some older types of onboard sound chips might struggle. For those users who already have add-on sound effects such as Accu-Feel, you have the option of mixing and matching some of these by adjusting the add-on sound volumes, or disabling those Accu-Feel effects which may clash with our own. NOTE: occasionally when in slew mode, or returning to normal flying mode after slewing, you may hear some popping or sound crackling, or some sound effects being triggered as a result of the fast movement of slewing, but this is a minor issue which we made efforts to eliminate where possible. Sound options for grass or tarmac runways In FSX, while there is a facility to hear different ground roll sounds depending on which kind of surface you are taxiing on or landing/taking off from, there is no option to alter the touchdown sounds which should differentiate between the “chirp” you hear when tires contact the tarmac, and the squeal-free contact sound you would expect on Turf runways and surfaces. We have addressed this issue by providing two alternative sound sets to accompany your flying if you are almost always operating the Legacy on tarmac, or regularly fly using small airfields only with exclusively grass runways. Within the Config panel is the option to enable touchdown sounds which are made for use on grass, or to opt for the normal “tire-squeal” type sounds on tarmac or concrete runways. If you generally fly using tarmac and grass runways with equal frequency we recommend using the GRASS sound option since this touchdown sound is suitable for both surfaces. In the event that you mainly use tarmac or concrete runways and hardly ever landing on grass runways, we recommend using the normal sound set with the standard tire squeal. These sound options work in concert with another option we offer regarding the behaviour of suspension over grass as opposed to tarmac. Please see the section below (Suspension Settings) for more details. Lancair Legacy for FSX Suspension Options FSX has a well known issue regarding the behaviour of suspension over rough or grass surfaces and runways. The reaction of aircraft in these settings is somewhat crude and exaggerated. Not only do aircraft tend to buck and jolt excessively on these grass surfaces, but this effect also seriously increases drag to the extent that some take off runs on grass can be considerably longer. We feel this is unrealistic so we have provided an option within the Config Panel for suspension suitable for tarmac and another for grass. As with the sound option above, if you regularly fly off both tarmac and grass surfaces in one session, you might like to opt for the “grass” suspension which reacts less severely to bumpy grass surfaces. If you hold the stick back on the take off run, using the grass suspension option will minimise drag and also cut down on the bucking movement. If you mainly use tarmac or concrete surfaces then we recommend you use the concrete suspension option as this not only provides stiffer suspension for hard surfaces, it also provokes a realistic “bounce” when landing awkwardly or attempting to land from an excessive height. Lancair Legacy for FSX Visual Special Effects (RealView) The sound effects described in the previous sections are linked in this simulation of the Legacy to a suite of special custom visual effects so that the two work seamlessly together. Almost every custom sound effect is linked in some way to an accompanying visual effect, sometimes obvious and other times subtle. Each effect has been painstakingly designed to offer you the maximum immersion factor when flying the Legacy. From the perfectly co-ordinated engine start up and shutdown effects which match the sound exactly, to the movement of the propellers, to the airframe vibration and shaking effects which work in tandem with the Legacy’s gear, flaps, spoilers, almost every aspect of the Legacy’s flying and ground handling behaviour has associated visual and sound effects working together. We did not design these effects for the sake of it, nor were they designed as a “gimmick”. We feel they not only offer the highest level of currently available technology and sophistication in FSX for this class of aircraft, but each effect has been carefully tuned to create the highest quality of immersion and involvement when flying the Legacy. Below is a summary of the included visual effects: • Airframe vibration in concert with propeller movement and engine rpm • Pitch and roll movement when taxiing, taking off and landing over various surfaces • Thumps and thuds when raising or lowering the landing gear • Wing and airframe vibration when spoilers are deployed • Flap vibration when selecting full flaps • Stronger flap vibration and flap failure when exceeding flap speed limits • Aileron flutter, wing and joystick vibration when exceeding VNE • Buffeting effects when close to the stall • Airframe and cockpit shaking when executing rough landings • Canopy movement when open in response to speed and pitching moment As an example, here is a description of how the canopy effect works: If you open the canopy when on the ground it will open fully if you are not moving, with suitable accompanying wind, engine and propeller noise if the engine is on. If you taxi fast or begin your take-off run with the canopy still open, the increasing speed of the airstream will try to gradually close the canopy. The faster you go the more the noise increases and the more the canopy will want to close. Eventually the canopy will settle near the latch/close point but remain partially open. If you are flying slowly and push the stick forward, the canopy will react by trying to open more. If you pull back on the stick the canopy will try to close. The faster you go the greater the wind blast noise. This is just one example of the care and trouble we have gone to in order to not only provide visual and sound effects, but also make them react realistically to whatever situation you happen to be in. Here is one more example describing how the flap failure effect works: The flap speed limit is 122 knots. If you select full flap at speeds greater than this limit, the flaps will begin to vibrate with more intensity than the “normal” vibration seen with full flap selected within the speed limit. If you select only one or two notches of flap, the vibration will be less severe. If you continue to increase your airspeed with any stage of flap deployed, they will eventually fail. The more flap you extend, the quicker the failure will occur. Before the catastrophic failure you will be warned to select flaps up by not only the vibration but also the accompanying noise. At speeds greater than 160 knots, the flaps will fail very quickly. At that point you will hear a loud bang and the whole aircraft will briefly lurch sideways since one flap usually fails slightly before the other. The flaps will now hang down and continue to vibrate. Any attempt to raise them at this point will not be possible and you will hear the broken flap motor failing to drive the actuators. To re-instate the flaps to working condition, reload the Legacy using the “reload aircraft” key which can be assigned to any button or key you wish using the FSX control/assignment menu. Almost all the special effects react in their own appropriate way and nearly all are accompanied by suitable sound effects. Note: Some of the visual effects can be disabled in the Config panel options before you start FSX and load the Legacy. Lancair Legacy for FSX Panels The RealAir Legacy is fully equipped for IFR-type navigation, having the standard VOR/ ADF/DME instruments for full use of autopilot plus ILS approaches. Additionally, we have made it easy for those users who have the Reality XP GNS gauges already installed on their computer to integrate these into the Legacy panel. Please see the section on RXP add-on gauges and their use in the Legacy elsewhere in this document. Please note that it is beyond the scope of this guide to give detailed information about basic and IFR navigation, or the use of standard gauges of the type available in almost all contemporary GA aircraft. There is a wealth of info available on this subject at many websites and also within the excellent FSX “learning center” provided by Microsoft. We do however provide a brief guide here to the panel and layout of gauges. The VM1000C engine gauge to the right of the panel displays all the information you need related to engine, propeller and fuel management. The layout of the RealAir Legacy panel represents a well-equipped real-world layout found in the standard kit aircraft equipped with conventional analogue gauges. While some Legacies are equipped with more contemporary “glass” gauges we chose what are known as “steam” or “traditional” gauges for two reasons. Firstly we feel that analogue gauges are more readable in a simulator since glass gauges require frequent zooming in to see the detail required for navigation. Secondly, conventional gauges are in our opinion not only less complex to use, but they also offer an aesthetically more satisfying look. There is a third reason: glass gauges significantly reduce computer performance and frame rate. The layout we chose places the “sacred six” gauges all within view of the left seat pilot in an array that is easy to see. The placing of the ADF radio magnetic indicator on the right hand side was a difficult decision but on balance we felt that in most countries, especially where ADF navigation is soon to be discontinued, the average pilot would find the VOR1 and VOR2 gauges more useful side by side, rather than splitting them up on the left and right extremes of the panel. On the lower left of the panel are all the main switches for Battery, lights, pitot heat, fuel pump and spoilers. At the lower centre are the throttle, prop and mixture controls together with the fuel selector and the aileron and rudder trims. These trims are easy to use by clicking the left and right portions of the switches with the left mouse buttons, and a right click anywhere on these switches will return the trims to zero. Included on the left side, next to the pitch trim indicator, is an Angle of Attack gauge which has three colour coded regions: Green, Yellow and Red. This gauge is extremely useful and is a handy addition to the traditional way of assessing how near to the stall you are by reference to the airspeed indicator. The problem with just using the airspeed gauge in this way is that airspeed is not always a good indicator of how near the wings are to stalling. The Angle of Attack indicator gives instant information about how much lift there is available whatever your speed. When there is a danger of stalling the Legacy, either through flying “low and slow” or during more extreme manoeuvres including high speed, tight turns, the AoA gauge always lets you know when to ease the stick forward in order to avoid a stall or spin. The gauge is calibrated so that when approaching maximum Angle of Attack, the green and yellow display disappears and then begins to show red only, until that band of colour also disappears, at which point you are stalled. Panel Lighting The Legacy has carefully designed panel lighting which is calibrated to show the gauges clearly in most FSX lighting conditions. FSX tends to exaggerate the brightness of panels in daylight with the sun behind the aircraft, and somewhat under light the panel with the sun in front. The panel lighting can compensate for this when used even in daylight conditions, and includes a subtle gauge backlighting effect. Both kinds of lighting are operated by a single switch on the lower part of the panel. In the Config Panel there are options for lighting, including a setting for users who have a high gamma setting in their display properties, and there is also an option to enable or disable the reflections in the gauge backgrounds. Lancair Legacy for FSX VC Views Navigating your way around the panel RealAir Simulations has been a pioneer of 3D panels for many years. Our gauges and displays are so clear and sharp that we do not see the necessity for 2D panels in this type of aircraft. In more complex jet transport aircraft with multiple consoles and sub-panels there is good reason to provide static 2D displays but in GA aircraft such as the Legacy, we feel these kinds of fixed panels detract from the immersion provided by our 3D virtual cockpits and panels which are not only very clear and easy to see, but we also provide our own customised view system which enables you to instantly zoom in on any portion of the panel. There are three methods by which you can zoom in on any portion of the panel in order to see more detail. The first is to use the standard pan and zoom keys in FSX, but that is not always the best method. By pressing the “A” key repeatedly you can cycle through many useful close up views of every part of the panel. Even better than this is using our custom view method with the mouse. To quickly zoom in to a static or close up view of any part of the panel, hover the mouse over either a gauge or a portion of the panel from the main view and a “+” or hand icon appears. Now click and you instantly are zoomed in on that portion of the panel. To return to the main view either click on the gauge you zoomed into or in other instances move your mouse until a “+” sign appears and click the right mouse button. You are then taken instantly back to the main view. After a few tries you will very quickly get used to this way of navigating around all the portions of the panel you wish to see. For those users who want a 2D-type view we provide fixed or static views which are close ups of the most important gauges and these are almost the same as having actual 2D sub-panels, but with the advantage that they are also part of the virtual cockpit. VC view click-spots The Legacy VC panel features hidden click-spots to make it easy to jump between the various camera VC views. The image below shows where each click-spot is located and the legend below this image explains the function of each click-spot. Left-click to jump to the ‘IFR Main Instruments’ view. Right-click to jump to the main VC view. Left-click to jump to the ‘Radios’ view. Right-click to jump to the main VC view. Left-click to jump to the ‘Right Seat’ view. Right-click to jump to the main VC view. Left-click to jump to the ‘Throttle and VM1000C’ view. Right-click to jump to the main VC view. Left-click to jump to the ‘VM1000C Closeup’ view. Right-click to jump to the main VC view. We’d like to emphasise again that right-clicking on any of the above click-spots will jump back to the main VC view. If you are a Track-IR user or prefer not to have this feature, it can be disabled via the Legacy’s Config panel. To do this open the Config Panel, go to the “Graphics Options” page and select “Disable VC-view click-spots”. VC view keyboard shortcuts To make navigating the extra VC camera views even easier, you can assign keyboard shortcuts within FSX. By default two key commands are already set, they are as follows: F9: Jump to the main VC view. F10: Jump to the ‘IFR Main Instruments’ view. Assigning keyboard shortcuts to jump between VC views You can add keyboard shortcuts for some of the other Legacy VC views, but it is necessary to manually add these shortcuts via the FSX control assignment menu. This is done as follows: • In FSX, navigate to ‘Options/Settings/Controls’. • Click on the ‘Buttons/Keys’ tab. • In the Assignments box, under the Event heading, scroll down until you see ‘View Camera 5 (Select)’. You need to assign keys to this event plus the four events below it. Specifically these events are attached to the following Legacy VC camera views: View View View View View Camera Camera Camera Camera Camera 5 6 7 8 9 (Select): (Select): (Select): (Select): (Select): ‘Radios’ view. ‘Throttle and VM1000C’ view. ‘Right Seat’ view. ‘VM1000C Closeup’ view. ‘2D Panel’ view. You can assign a keyboard or joystick button shortcut to any of these events by selecting the event and pressing the ‘New Assignment’ button. We recommend assigning keyboard numbers 5 through 9 for the events above. That way, when you press (for example) ‘5’ on your keyboard you’ll jump to the Co-pilot view, and so on. For additional help on assigning keys read the FSX help documents. Please Note: These view assignments are global across all aircraft, so any changes you make here could potentially affect other aircraft in FSX. That is why we haven’t mapped keyboard shortcuts to these events for you. This is a limitation of the FSX view system. Please also note: There is a limited number of events to map views to, so not all of the Legacy’s camera views can have keyboard shortcuts assigned to them. We have chosen to map the events above to the most important views for general flying. The other views can still be accessed by cycling through the VC views with the ‘A’ key. Some information on the unused ‘View Camera x’ events: The FSX view system is very limited. ‘View Camera 0’ doesn’t work - this appears to be an FSX bug. ‘View Camera 1’ through to ‘View Camera 4’ are assigned to other views by default, for example, ‘View camera 4’ is assigned to the exterior top-down view. This left us with only 5 views to assign to the Legacy’s extra VC views, and we can only work within the constraints of FSX. Lancair Legacy for FSX Operating the Radios and Gauges Using tooltips If you have “tooltips” enabled in FSX then almost all of the Legacy’s gauges will show relevant and useful information relating to the gauge when you hold your mouse pointer over it. For example if you hover your mouse over the aileron trim gauge located near the fuel selector, a tooltip will pop up giving you the exact percentage of trim. Interacting with the VC At RealAir, we have introduced custom methods by which you can effortlessly tune radios, set headings or select VOR vectors. These custom methods sometimes meet initial resistance by users who are used to the more conventional method provided by FSX default aircraft, but we firmly believe these are not always the most efficient ways of doing things, and you will be surprised how quickly you get used to our tried and tested method. In the Config Panel you can choose options relating to the way you tune radios, set altitude on the autopilot, select headings or tune the VORs and Radio Magnetic Indicator. Below is a detailed illustration of how this works. Click/drag mouse interaction By default, all of the instruments in the Legacy’s VC feature a click/drag mouse interaction technique unique to RealAir’s FSX aircraft. It works as follows: For on/off switches: Simply click on the switch as usual. For rotary adjustment knobs: For example, the HSI course knob, plus many more: • To INCREASE the value: Left-click and drag UP. • To DECREASE the value: Left-click and drag DOWN. Alternatively you can use the mousewheel to rotate the knob left/right. For rotary knobs with an inner and an outer knob: Eg the tuning knobs on the nav/com radios. • To rotate the INNER KNOB anti-clockwise: LEFT-click and drag UP. • To rotate the INNER KNOB clockwise: LEFT-click and drag DOWN. • To rotate the OUTER KNOB anti-clockwise: RIGHT-click and drag UP. • To rotate the OUTER KNOB clockwise: RIGHT-click and drag DOWN. Alternatively you can use the mousewheel to rotate the knob left/right, you just need to position the cursor over either the inner or outer knob to do this. In practice the click-drag method works as follows: To tune the nav or com WHOLE digits, LEFT click and drag on the knob. To tune the nav or com FRACTION digits, RIGHT click and drag on the same knob. This might sound a little complicated from the above description, but to actually use you’ll find it quite simple, intuitive, fast and precise. It allows the radios in particular to be adjusted in a realistic way. You don’t need to search for invisible mouse click areas, waiting for the mouse cursor to change so you know where to click, and you don’t need to wait for values to slowly increase — the faster you drag the faster the values change. If you haven’t tried this mouse interaction in any previous RealAir aircraft, we encourage you to give it a try. Most of the rotary knobs now have an acceleration feature, so the further you drag the mouse while making a change the faster the value changes. This means you don’t need to drag the mouse far to make a large change, thereby reducing the likelihood of running out of available screen space when dragging vertically. You might find that you experience difficulty adjusting instruments in the VC when the camera view is moving around due to turbulence or g effects. To overcome this, switch to a differ­ent VC view using the ‘A’ key. All of the zoomed in views have the camera movement effect turned off to facilitate easy instrument mouse clicks (see the Views section for detailed information). Alternative left-click/right-click mouse interaction You can choose to use a more conventional mouse interaction technique in the VC. To select this option, go to the ‘Panel Options’ page of the Legacy’s Config Panel. This technique works as follows: For on/off switches: Simply click on the switch as usual. For rotary adjustment knobs: For example, the HSI course knob, plus many more: • To INCREASE the value: Right-click. • To DECREASE the value: Left-click. For knobs with an inner and an outer knob (eg the nav/com tuning knobs), you need to position the cursor over either the inner or outer knob to affect each knob. Alternatively you can use the mousewheel to rotate the knob left/right. Lancair Legacy for FSX Standard GPS By default, at the centre of the Legacy panel is the standard FSX GPS 500 screen placed inside a custom 3D surround, with back-lit 3D knobs and buttons. Functionally it is exactly the same as the default 2D FSX GPS except the left and right arrows used to navigate the default FSX 2D GPS have been replaced with the RealAir click-and-drag mouse control feature as used on all the rotary knobs in the Legacy VC. Left-click/right-click knob option By default the Legacy’s GPS 500 works as follows: Select the knob you want to move (inner or outer) by placing the mouse over it then: • To rotate the knob anti-clockwise: Right-click. • To rotate the knob clockwise: Left-click. • To operate the GPS cursor, middle-click on the inner GPS knob or left-click just to the left of the GPS knob (see image below). Click/drag mouse interaction As an alternative to the left/right click method, you can choose to navigate the GPS using our click-drag technique. To select this option, go to the “Panel Options” page of the Legacy’s Config Panel. This method works as follows: • To rotate the INNER KNOB anti-clockwise: LEFT-click and drag UP. • To rotate the INNER KNOB clockwise: LEFT-click and drag DOWN. • To rotate the OUTER KNOB anti-clockwise: RIGHT-click and drag UP. • To rotate the OUTER KNOB clockwise: RIGHT-click and drag DOWN. • To operate the GPS cursor, left-click quickly on the inner knob. You can use the mousewheel to rotate the knob, you just need to position the cursor over either the inner or outer knob to do this. You can also use the mousewheel to rotate the knob in the desired direction. Left-click to operate the GPS crsr control Middle-click to operate the GPS crsr control As a third option, if you prefer the default FSX GPS navigation technique, you can access the default 2D FSX GPS by pressing ‘Shift-2’. Additional GPS notes You can switch off the GPS if required by clicking the on/off switch on the left side of the unit (the small knob marked with a small c). On the left hand side of the main panel is the NAV/GPS toggle switch. If this is set to ‘Nav’ then the Legacy autopilot is slaved to the radio-beacon based navigation gauges. If the switch is set to ‘GPS’ then the Legacy will follow the selected altitude on the autopilot but lateral navigation will be slaved to the GPS settings. Unlike the custom Legacy 3D gauges, the standard GPS has a tendency to shimmer. If this gets very annoying you can switch off the GPS or you can modify the FSX VC view to remove the momentum effect (head movement)—however we consider this an advanced technique and we cannot offer help on how to do it—visit the various FSX user forums for advice. Auto DTK or Manual DTK? The Legacy Config Panel includes an option to set either ‘Auto DTK’ or ‘Manual DTK’. When the HSI is being controlled by the GPS (Nav/GPS switch set to GPS), and with ‘Auto DTK’ selected, the HSI course needle will automatically move to the GPS DTK bearing. With ‘Manual DTK’ selected, the HSI course needle must be manually set to the GPS DTK bearing. The latter is more realistic for an aircraft like the Legacy. Lancair Legacy for FSX Reality XP GNS WAAS 530/430 Integration If you own the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530 or GNS WAAS 430, you can choose to use these units in place of the standard FSX GPS 500. Integration of the Reality XP units is all handled by the Legacy’s Config Panel. Before setting up the Legacy to use either or both of these gauges, it is important to understand the following: • The Reality XP GNS WAAS 530 and or GNS WAAS 430 must be bought separately. Neither the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530, nor the Reality XP GNS WAAS 430 are included as part of the Legacy package. • Before setting up the Legacy to use the Reality XP GNS 530 and/or GNS 430, you must have one or both of these gauges installed in FSX. • We recommend using our Config panel to install the RXP gauges into the Legacy. Following this initial setup you can then use the RXP Configurator to modify the various RXP settings. • Reality XP sell the GNS WAAS 530 and GNS WAAS 430 separately. If you buy and install only the 530, then you can only install the 530 into the Legacy. If you buy and install only the 430, then you can only install the 430 into the Legacy. If you buy both, and install both into FSX, only then can you install both units into the Legacy. • You can only use two of the same units on one panel if you have purchased the RXP Unlimited pack. If you don’t have this pack then you can only have one 530, one 430 or one 530 plus one 430 • Crossfill is only available if you have purchased and installed the RXP Unlimited pack. This is because the RXP gauges only support crossfill with the unlimited pack installed, which is something we at RealAir have no control over. Configuring the Legacy to use the Reality XP GNS 530 and/or GNS 430 1. If you haven’t done so already, install the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530 and/or GNS WAAS 430 into FSX (see above notes). Using the installer provided by Reality XP. 2. Install the RealAir Legacy (you have probably done this already). Note: It is not important whether you install the Legacy first or the GNS WAAS 530/430 first. All that matters is they are both installed into FSX. 3. Open the Legacy Config Panel and navigate to the ‘Panel Options’ page. 4. Select ‘Use Reality XP GNS 530 and/or GNS 430’. 5. This will enable a drop-down box that allows you to choose your preferred panel layout. When you make a selection here, the image below shows how each layout looks in FSX. 6. After selecting the GNS config you prefer, click the Save button (bottom right) and exit the Config Panel. Now when you load the Legacy in FSX the Reality XP gauges will be configured according to your selection. Please Note: The Legacy Config Panel will only allow you to install whatever GNS gauges are currently installed onto your computer, and it will only allow cross-fill to be selected if you have the RXP Unlimited pack installed. If you have neither the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530 nor GNS WAAS 430 installed into FSX, then the Reality XP layout selection section of the Legacy Config Panel will be disabled (and appear greyed-out). Using the RXP Configurator Once the above steps have been taken the RXP gauges will be installed into your Legacy using the default RXP settings. You can either leave it this way and go fly the Legacy, or you can now use the RXP configurator to alter the GNS gauge settings to your liking. There are some limitations - you must use the Legacy Config Panel to select the actual panel layout and install the gauges into the Legacy, and you must use the RXP Configurator to alter the actual RXP settings (whether to have audible warnings, etc etc). Using the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530 and/or GNS WAAS 430 in the Legacy When installed into the Legacy’s 3D panel, these gauges work identically to how they work when installed into a 2D panel (or pop-up window). The only difference is the buttons and knobs are modeled in 3D. All of the default click spots and mouse interaction methods are retained. For example—left click to turn a knob anti-clockwise, right click to turn a knob clockwise, middle click to enable the cursor, etc etc. See the documents accompanying the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530/430 for more information. We’ve found the screens look best on the VC panel with the brightness turned down slightly. To see a 2D pop-up of the GNS units, click on the GNS screen or press ‘Shift 2’. The custom 3D knobs and buttons are all backlit. The back-lighting is tied to the panel lights. You may notice when using the VC-mounted GNS gauges that the custom Reality XP cursors flash when you move the cursor. This is normal and is related to the way FSX renders the cursors on the VC panel. The GNS units take control of the Nav/GPS switch, so with the Reality XP GNS units installed there is no nav/gps switch on the Legacy’s panel, instead there is a button on the GNS unit to make this selection. See the Reality XP GNS documentation for more information on how to slave the AP to the GNS or nav radios. Rotating 3D knobs The 3D GNS 530/430 knobs on the Legacy panel will only rotate when clicked on if you have installed Reality XP GNS WAAS 530/430 build 6.6.0.5 or higher. Earlier versions of the GNS gauges will work in all other respects, it’s just that the 3D knobs will not rotate. If you find the inner 3D knobs do not rotate for you, download and install the latest available version of the Reality XP GNS 530/430. Please Note: RXP build 6.6.0.5 was released back in 2009 so it is very unlikely that you won’t have this build or higher installed. Shimmering The Reality XP GNS screens on the VC panel can exhibit fairly severe ‘shimmering’ when in the main VC view. This is caused by the way anti-aliasing works combined with the FSX moving camera ‘momentum’ effect. You will notice there is no shimmering whatsoever in all of the Legacy’s zoomed-in VC views, because they have the camera momentum effect disabled. You can disable the momentum effect in the main VC view, but it must be done globally (and therefore will affect all FSX aircraft). This is done by modifying the VC camera entry in your FSX ‘camera.cfg’ file. However, we consider this an advanced technique and we cannot offer help on how to do it, or support if you do try this mod. If you’d like to try this, we recommend visiting the various FSX user forums for advice. Auto DTK or Manual DTK? The Legacy Config Panel includes an option to set either ‘Auto DTK’ or ‘Manual DTK’. When the HSI is being controlled by the GPS, and with ‘Auto DTK’ selected, the HSI course needle will automatically move to the GPS DTK bearing. With ‘Manual DTK’ selected, the HSI course needle must be manually set to the GPS DTK bearing. The latter is more realistic for an aircraft like the Legacy. FSX Version Compatibility The Reality XP GNS WAAS gauges require either FSX SP2, or FSX Acceleration to be installed to work properly with the Legacy. There is a problem with older builds of the Reality XP GNS WAAS gauges and some (not all) FSX SP2 installations that causes the Legacy’s HSI to not respond to GPS inputs. More specifically, the HSI course needle and Nav flags will not display the GPS course information as they should when the GPS is set to control the HSI. The solution is to install FSX Acceleration or install the latest version of the Reality XP gauges. RXP GNS builds later than early 2010 should not exhibit this problem, so it’s very unlikely you’ll experience it. Reality XP GNS WAAS 530/430 Support We cannot offer any support on matters relating to the operation of the Reality XP GNS WAAS 530/430—you will need to get in touch with Reality XP regarding these matters. We can only offer support on Reality XP GNS WAAS/Realair Legacy VC integration issues. Why the extra Nav/Com 1 radio with some RXP layouts? The radio-stack layouts that use the GNS530 on its own or the GNS430 on its own also have a separate Bendix King Nav/Com 1 radio mounted directly underneath. Strictly speaking this is not necessary when the GNS gauges are present because they can handle all of the Nav/ Com 1 duties themselves. But, we feel our Nav/Com gauges are a little quicker and easier to tune, and the readouts a little bigger and easier to read when compared to the RXP GNS units so we’ve placed them on the panel as well. This gives you the option to use either the GNS unit or our Nav/Com 1 radio to tune nav1 and com1 frequencies. Including this extra radio has the added benefit of making the panel look a little better, especially with the single GNS430 layout, which leaves a lot of empty space if you leave out the Nav/Com 1 radio. Lancair Legacy for FSX VM1000C For engine and electrical system monitoring the Legacy is fitted with the Vision Microsystems VM1000C, a digital, all-in-one engine monitor. When you switch on the master battery the VM1000C comes to life. You’ll need to wait a few seconds while it runs through its startup routine. The displays are as follows: Manifold Pressure: In the top left you’ll see a manifold pressure indicator. This includes a bar graph for quick scans and a digital readout for setting the exact manifold pressure (in Hg). RPM: In the top right you’ll see the RPM indicator. Like the manifold pressure it includes a digital readout and a bar graph to aid quick scanning. EGT: On the second row down on the left is the Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) readout. It includes a bar graph for each cylinder as well as a digital readout of the hottest cylinder’s EGT in degrees fahrenheit. This readout is useful when leaning the engine at altitude. Oil Temperature and Pressure: On the second row in the middle you’ll find oil temperature and pressure with both bar graphs and digital readouts. Electrical System: On the second row on the right you’ll find a display showing the electrical system’s voltage and amperage. CHT: In the bottom left you’ll find the Cylinder Head Temperature (CHT) display. This includes a bar graph for each cylinder as well as a digital readout showing the hottest cylinder’s temperature in degrees fahrenheit. Fuel System: On the bottom row in the middle is the fuel system display, showing both fuel flow in Gallons Per Hour (GPH) on the left and fuel pressure in PSI on the right. Fuel Quantity: In the bottom right you’ll find the fuel quantity display, showing the left fuel tank’s quantity on the left and the right fuel tank’s quantity on the right. This display reads in gallons OAT: Finally, nestled between the CHT display and the fuel system display, and quite easy to miss, is the Outside Air Temperature (OAT) display measured in degrees celsius. This value is useful for setting the true airspeed calibration on the airspeed indicator. It measures in degrees celsius (rather than fahrenheit) so it can be used for this purpose. Warning messages The real beauty of this gauge is it makes it very hard to miss when one of the engine or electrical system readings goes outside safe limits. When this happens “WARN” flashes at the top of the VM1000C display, the bar graph of the indicator that has gone outside limits flashes and the master warning annunciator on the main panel will also start flashing. Lancair Legacy for FSX Landing Lights A first for RealAir are custom 3D modelled landing lights that actually light the terrain rather than cover the terrain in a white wash (as the default landing lights do). This method of creating landing lights was first pioneered by Mike Johnson of Lotus Sim in his wonderful L39 and has since been used by many other developers. The nature of these lights means they will look brighter or darker depending on the lightness or darkness of the surface they are shining on. On very dark grey runways they will look quite dim but on lighter grey runways they will look nice and bright. If you use a product like REX to set your runway textures we recommend setting the runways to one of the lighter grey options to really bring out the best in the Legacy’s landing lights. With these landing lights it is possible to produce much better and more atmospheric landing lights overall, but there are some limitations that cannot be avoided. The biggest limitation occurs in low villosity when the edges of the textures that produce the landing light become visible when they should be invisible. This results in big square polygons being visible on the ground in front of the aircraft when near the ground and in low visibility. We have to stress that this is a problem that is present in all aircraft with this method of lighting, and it appears to be an insurmountable limitation of this form of landing light. We have been able to reduce the severity of this problem to the point where the big square polygons are only visible at early dusk and late dawn in low visibility (less than 5 miles) - at all other times the landing lights appear natural. To do this, we needed to set the landing lights to become visible at a very low height in low visibility, that is to say the lower the visibility then the lower you need to be to the ground before the landing lights become visible. In high visibility the lights will become visible at quite a high altitude. This is not ideal but we believe it is the best compromise possible given the limitations of FSX in this regard. In real life, if you were flying in very low visibility the landing lights would only be reflecting the fog back at you, so we believe this is an acceptable compromise. We give our enormous thanks to Jon Blum of Vertical Reality Simulations for making the inner workings of these lights known on the FS developer forums. It was still a big job to figure them out but without Jon’s posts it would have been impossible. Checkout his aircraft at: http://www.vrsimulations.com/index.htm Lancair Legacy for FSX Flying the Legacy Flying the RealAir Legacy for the first time The Lancair Legacy has a very powerful engine with correspondingly high power to weight ratio, together with a very low drag airframe and wings. This means that in level flight speed will build very quickly and be quite hard to bleed off when approaching an airfield for a landing. In order to assist here, the Legacy is fitted with powerful spoilers to aid deceleration. They are deployed by using the white spoiler switch on the panel. Please see our note above about the spoilers which should only be used with the dedicated switch and not with an analogue lever. We recommend you try a few approaches without the spoiler to experience the slippery nature of the Legacy’s airframe. This quality will encourage you to plan well ahead when approaching an airfield. The following sections on basic operation of the Legacy are general guides. There is a separate reference for specifications and a separate checklist accessible either through the Config Panel or from within FSX itself, and these are also shown at the foot of this guide. Start-up To start the Legacy, first apply the parking brakes. Switch on the master battery and then switch the fuel pump on for a few seconds. The real-world Legacy fuel pump is extremely loud and though we have somewhat reduced its volume in this simulation, you might still find it irritating. It was a difficult decision whether to reduce the volume further but in the interests of authenticity we did leave it at a reasonably realistic level. Thankfully you can switch off the pump for normal operation after a few seconds before starting the engine. Check that the mixture control is closed (mixture full rich), the prop control is fully forward and the throttle set to idle. Place your mouse over the ignition key. A small “hand” will appear. To start, drag the hand with the left mouse button down and pull to the right, or if you have a different mouse interaction option set in the Config Panel, right click to turn the key to the right or left click to turn it to the left. After cycling through the three magneto positions the starter will engage at full right position. We have set the starter sequence so the Legacy does not always guarantee a start first time, just as in the real aircraft. You may have to make two attempts before firing up the engine, especially if it is cold. IMPORTANT: If you are starting the engine at an airfield that is significantly higher than sea level, you may have to lean the mixture by pulling the red mixture lever out a little. This is normal. In the unlikely event that the engine does not start after repeated manual attempts, you can use the standard FSX keys to ensure start-up. By default this is “CTR E”. Taxi Once you have started, taxi to your runway using modest amounts of throttle. The RealAir Legacy comes with two options for ground steering, and these can be chosen in the Config Panel before you start FSX. If you have no rudder pedals, but you have a twist grip on your joystick, choose the “Conventional FSX rudder” option. If your rudder pedals include brake pedals then you can optionally choose “Differential brake steering” in the configuration application. This is how it is in the real Legacy and allows you to steer on the ground by using left or right braking. We have designed the flight model so that a little burst of throttle will create enough airflow for the rudder to steer even at quite slow speeds without the use of differential brakes. Or you can use a combination of rudder and brakes. Before take-off, set two notches of flaps, then set your trim to be approximately 33%. This value appears if you have “tooltips” enabled in FSX and you hover your mouse over the elevator trim gauge (and almost all the other gauges on the Legacy panel). The trim gauge green indicator will show this value approximately as illustrated below: Depending on fuel and payload, you might have to experiment with this trim position. We never recommend strictly set trim levels because it is unrealistic to do so where varying levels of fuel and pilot/baggage loads are selected. Generally speaking up-trim should be always used for take off. Take-off and climb When lined up for take off, slowly increase the throttle until maximum power is achieved. At sea level you might see the power LED display flash which tells you that you have exceeded the maximum fuel flow or maximum Manifold Pressure. If this happens you can very slightly reduce power on take off. Likewise, if you have set your weather to be hot (above say 85 degrees Fahrenheit) you may see a temperature warning on your engine instruments. Again, slightly reduce power so the LED indicator shows safe temperature. The take-off run is extremely brisk and you can expect to rotate within 14 seconds from standstill. Lancair recommend rotating at just after 65 knots indicated. Rotate slowly, as doing so abruptly can result in an immediate stall. For safer take-off you can opt to rotate at 70-75 knots and this will enable a smoother lift off with little risk of a stall when fully loaded. After take-off, retract the landing gear and when at a safe speed select flaps up. Even fully loaded you should expect between 2,000 and 2,200 feet per minute climb rate with full power at sea level and in some cases, especially with a lighter fuel or pilot load, you might see a remarkable 2,400 fpm, or if the ambient temperature is very cold. In hotter weather the climb capability will be reduced. Keep an eye on your temperatures on the VM1000C engine gauge to the right of the panel. The LED indicators accurately present all the information you need to keep the engine at optimum performance. As you climb you will have to gradually lean the fuel mixture to maintain available power, but in this simulation we have eliminated the need to pull the red mixture control level back to the exaggerated amount required by some of the default FSX piston engined aircraft. To save engine wear you can also reduce the propeller rpm by slowly pulling the blue prop lever back. Please refer to Flight Simulator’s learning centre for information about constant speed prop control. The Legacy is very flexible regarding propeller rpm but the general rule is that prop rpm should be roughly “squared”, or a similar value to the Manifold Pressure which will also decrease slowly as you climb. General handling Despite the semi-aerobatic capabilities of the RealAir Legacy, it can also be flown with very sensitive finesse for the most subtle manoeuvring in the circuit (pattern) or on long journeys. The stick is very responsive yet very controllable. The roll rate can be as high as 360 degrees (a full roll) in just over three seconds at a suitable airspeed, or you can fly in pitch and roll as though the Legacy was a heavier aircraft, by using small and subtle movement of the stick. The Legacy is, we hope, our finest aircraft yet in terms of control and aerodynamics. Cruise The Legacy is capable of phenomenal cruise speeds for its class. Typically you will see 240 knots true airspeed or more at 8,000 feet and 75% power. Note: 75% power does not mean throttling back to a perceived 75%, but is the natural power setting with the throttle at or close to fully forward at cruise altitudes where the thinner air reduces engine power without turbo boosting. Above 2,000 feet the Legacy’s manifold pressure will gradually decay as you climb, and 75% power is the approximate power available at the optimum cruising altitude of 8,000 feet with the throttle lever fully forward. The Legacy’s ceiling is 19,000 feet but for practical purposes and best economy you can elect to cruise at up to 15,000 feet for better fuel efficiency. But the optimum cruise height for speed is approximately 8,000 feet. Most single prop aircraft in FSX show a marked reduction in performance when reducing propeller rpm during the climb and cruise. While there will be a slight reduction in performance with reduced rpm, we feel FSX exaggerates these differences. As far as was possible, we have addressed this issue by reducing the amount by which performance falls off when selecting lower rpm. In the RealAir Legacy, cruising at a typical 2400 rpm will only show a few knots difference in speed compared with 2700 rpm, rather than the default reduction of up to 25% in airspeed. For more information about typical power settings and fuel flow in the cruise please refer to the specifications at the end of in this document. Descent and landing As we have explained above, the Legacy is a low-drag aircraft. This means that not only can it cruise at high speed, but this also means that it is reluctant to lose speed even at idle throttle, especially when descending. Add to this the necessity to prevent shock cooling of the engine as you descend by avoiding idle power, and it can be quite difficult to descend steeply without the airspeed increasing to unwanted levels. So your descent to an airfield needs to be planned in advance, unless of course you “cheat” by using the spoiler/air brakes! At idle throttle a descent rate of more than a thousand feet or so per minute will result in unwanted acceleration. To deploy the spoilers press the spoiler switch on the panel or press the “/” key on your keyboard and the spoilers will open fully. IMPORTANT!! The Legacy’s spoilers are designed ONLY to be deployed by using the panel spoiler switch or by pressing “/” on your keyboard because they should be 100% open or 100% closed with no increments in between. Thus they should not be used with a lever if you have one in use for this purpose on other aircraft. This method will confuse the spoiler sound effects and the spoilers will not work properly. Please do not contact us to complain the spoiler or its accompanying sounds do not work properly! They will work as intended if you use the proper switch to operate them. It can sometimes be more satisfying to practice approaches without the need to deploy the spoilers as this helps to build engine and speed management skills. When approaching an airport you should reduce speed to below 132 knots before extending the landing gear or using the first flap stage. We recommend you drop the landing gear as soon as possible when close to an airfield as this will provide enough drag to prevent unwanted acceleration. With a typical load of say 50% fuel and two pilots, gradually add flaps notch by notch until the speed drops to 100-110 knots. With full flaps and gear down you should achieve a 500-600 feet per minute descent rate with a power settings of around 12-15 inches manifold pressure when trimmed out. You can shoot a final approach on full flaps as slow as 80-85 knots, but we recommend you opt for a higher speed of 90 or even 100 knots until very close to the runway threshold as this gives a better safety margin and also enables a better view over the nose. With full flaps and idle power, the Legacy will decelerate quickly so there is no need to approach low and slow which requires a lot more up trim and restricts your view. Aim to be over the threshold at 85 knots, or perhaps less if you are loaded very lightly, then gently flare and hold the Legacy a couple of feet above the runway with landing assured before cutting the throttle. Lancair recommends that you do not abruptly cut the throttle at this point because lift can be lost quite quickly if you do so. The rudder is powerful enough to keep straight with very small rudder input and the brakes are powerful enough for rapid deceleration. Note: For more detailed information about power and propeller settings please see the section in this document on specifications and performance. Navigation The RealAir Legacy is fully equipped to fly on autopilot under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). In addition to the regular analogue gauges which enable you to tune to two simultaneous VOR stations, with the primary HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator) having a standard course selector and Heading Bug, we include an RMI (radio magnetic indicator) to tune to ADF stations, and the Legacy comes with an adapted version of FSX’s Garmin 500 GPS that has some customised aspects to tuning plus our own lighting scheme. If you need a close up of the GPS one of the included views zooms it in, or you can click in the centre of the GPS display and the standard 2D FSX GPS pop up appears. You can move this display anywhere on the screen or move it to a second monitor if you have one. In tandem with the KFC autopilot, which you can slave either to the standard VOR HSI or the GPS by using the Nav/GPS toggle switch in the upper left part of the panel, the Legacy will fly smoothly on autopilot and capture VOR stations or ILS transmitters for lateral and glide slope approaches to airports. For more details on the operation of the autopilot please see the KFC autopilot manual included in this package, which can be accessed using the Config Panel. If you have the popular RXP GNS 430 and/or 530 gauges installed on your computer (we do not design these ourselves and they are a separate purchase from Reality XP) we provide an easy custom integration of these gauges with our own attractive lighting and custom tuning controls which we believe are an enhancement to the default gauge tuning functions. For more information about integrating these gauges please see the section on this subject elsewhere in this document. Please note, it is beyond the scope of this guide to offer detailed information about basic navigating procedures and this information is already comprehensively covered within FSX’s excellent “Learning Center” . There are also many searchable websites which offer free training and guidance on air navigation. True and indicated airspeed The Legacy’s airspeed indicator has an elegant and useful feature which helps you to ascertain your true airspeed without having to open FSX’s aircraft/realism menu and selecting “true airspeed”. To read off your true airspeed (that is the actual speed of the aircraft relative to the airmass in which it is flying, rather than the normally indicated speed), turn the black knob at the right of the gauge so that the numbers on the moving white card at the top shows your altitude in line with the current Outside Air Temperature (OAT) above it. There is an OAT reading on the VM1000C (see below). The above example shows the white card at the top set to an altitude of “8”, meaning 8,000 feet, lined up with the “0” on the scale above it (corresponding to an OAT of 0 deg C). The needle now points to an indicated speed of 220 knots while the white bordered values show a true airspeed of 245 knots. Another method of finding True Airspeed is to simply hover your mouse over the gauge and a tooltip popup will show both your indicated and true airspeed at the same time. Aerobatics and flying the legacy close to limits One of the joys of flying aircraft like the Legacy is to take the simple approach of piloting “by hand” and enjoying the many realistic qualities we have built into this simulation. RealAir has been a steady campaigner for sim flying to be as close to the feeling of being in a real aircraft as possible. While autopilot flying can be satisfying, we have painstakingly designed into this simulation many features that some sim enthusiasts might be unaware of. We place great emphasis on flying qualities that some otherwise well designed simulator aircraft lack. In particular we put a lot of care into flight characteristics and effects which both reward skilled manual flying but also punish bad habits and poor flying skills. Our simulations go much further than a bland experience of just taking off, flying straight and level, then descending and landing. The Legacy is alive with many features which give excellent feedback and aerodynamic responses to pilot input that go far beyond the original limitations offered by the core FSX simulator. In order to achieve this we have built into our aircraft advanced aerodynamic features that stretches to the limit what is possible in FSX, and we want you to experience these features to the full. From the moment you start the engine you will see and hear many features that RealAir Simulations has patiently developed over the years and our Legacy is the culmination of that effort. You will see and feel an appropriate vibration when the engine is started and running at idle. You will also experience, in both sound and movement, appropriate airframe reaction to runway taxiing and engine changes, a realistic ground roll sound, canopy opening and closing sounds, perfectly co-ordinated sounds between interior and exterior engine sounds, and many more features which will reveal themselves as you become more immersed in flying it. Stalls and spins The Legacy does not give much notice of an impending stall. The stall warning, together with our custom stall-onset buffeting effect, kicks in only a couple of knots before a full stall, and this is a feature of the real Legacy too. If you see and hear this effect and wish to avoid a full stall, immediately push the stick forward and you will lose a couple of hundred feet or so, then recover. The Legacy is known to have a brisk stall usually accompanied by quite a strong wing drop. We have simulated this in the RealAir Legacy by programming a marked drop of the nose when a stall occurs. In many FSX GA aircraft we feel the stall is far too bland and mild and we have addressed this by a designing into the Legacy’s aerodynamics a substantial and sudden loss of lift, with the nose dropping quite dramatically. If you fail to push the stick forward to gain enough airspeed and un-stall the wings, but instead continue to hold the stick back, you will likely see a wing-drop too, and if you still keep the stick fully back, this will likely develop into an incipient or full spin without any rudder input at all. In this simulation this feature enhances our previous work in making spins as authentic as possible within the limitations of FSX. We believe this is the first time a full spin without rudder input has been achieved in FSX. There is some controversy among real Legacy pilots as to whether this aircraft is capable of safely recovering from a full spin, due partly to the pendulum force of the weight of fuel in the wings and partly due to the design of either the elevator or rudder. We do not have sufficient information to clarify this but nevertheless we are keen to provide full spinning capability as we feel this encourages good situational awareness and the development of safe and skilled flying. Adding rudder in the direction of rotation will increase the intensity of the spin still more and you will hear a “woosh” sound as the Legacy yaws and rolls, caused by the side-slipping. The Legacy will continue spinning for as long as you hold the stick back, sometimes even when you apply opposite rudder. Usually, only the relaxation of back pressure or a forward motion of the stick together with opposite rudder will recover the spin. Please note however that trim position can influence the severity of the spin and this is an unavoidable limitation of the hard-coded trim functions in FSX. If you use a lot of up-trim before stalling then the spin will be slower and even sometimes turn into a flat spin. For more authentic spinning just gradually pull the stick back in neutral trim position. This is an unavoidable limitation within FSX. To recover from a spin, let the nose drop and the Legacy build airspeed before attempting to gently pull out of the resulting dive. This should result in a fairly immediate recovery. Pulling the stick back abruptly when recovering from the dive could result in another spin in either direction. Tight turns RealAir Simulations has been at the forefront of developing accelerated stalls in FSX. In the Legacy you can turn very tightly, pulling enough positive “G” to temporarily black out. When the Angle of Attack indicator shows the red sector you are close to a stall. When turning very tightly the accompanying induced drag will reduce your airspeed even at full power. If the speed continues to drop and you continue the tightness of the turn you might experience a buffet. To avoid stalling or a wing drop, ease the stick forward to lower the angle of attack, keeping a brief look at the angle of attack indicator. If you continue the turn without adjusting, you will likely enter a full spin! Note: With low fuel loads and therefore a lighter aircraft it is less likely that accelerated stalls will occur, although adding some up trim will increase its likelihood. Stall turns and hammerheads With practice you can perform perfect stall turns or hammerheads. To do so, accelerate to between 160 knots and 200 knots then pull up into a full power climb that is perfectly vertical. You can check this by panning your view over the left or right wing. Reduce the power. When you decelerate to around 50 knots or below, kick in the right or left rudder and if you are perfectly vertical you should achieve a very satisfying hammerhead. You can perform this almost from a standstill by kicking the rudder at below 30 knots, but you’ll need a burst of power in order to promote sufficient airstream over the rudder. Our Legacy is programmed to add airflow over the rudder with power on and this makes a big difference to this manoeuvre at low speeds. You can also do tail slides by pulling up in exactly the same way and keep the Legacy perfectly vertical. As the airspeed reduces to zero, look over the wing and you’ll see a tail slide followed by the nose dropping and eventually a near vertical dive is the result. We do not know whether this manoeuvre is recommended by the manufacturer! Please note that some hammerhead or stall turns could result in a yaw to the right even if you have left rudder engaged. This can be due to the engine torque twisting the Legacy to the right. You can overcome this by kicking the left rudder earlier in the vertical or by adding power to help rudder authority. Loops To loop the RealAir Legacy, it is best if you reduce the amount of fuel on-board to around a half, but with careful engine and aircraft management, the Legacy will loop fine even fully loaded to max gross weight. After checking your view for traffic, point the nose slightly down and accelerate to at least 160 knots. Apply full power and pull the joystick back so you achieve an initial climb of around 4 positive “G”. The Legacy has a positive G limit of 4.4 G so be careful not to exceed this. The AoA gauge will help you judge the amount of back pressure to use. As you lose speed in the climb, slightly reduce the angle of attack by relaxing the stick to avoid stalling, then when upside down, you can increase the stick pressure. You should see the horizon appear upside down. Let the nose drop and then gently pull out of the dive. Your loop is complete. If you exceed the 4.4 G limit you’ll hear an airframe over-stress sound effect. You can do many variations on this manoeuvre including immelmans, cuban 8s, and all manner of other loop-based manoeuvres. The Legacy is so powerful in terms of power-toweight ratio it should be effortless in performing a wide range of aerobatics. Side-slip RealAir Simulations was the first developer to enable side-slipping in FSX, which by default is not normally capable of achieving this manoeuvre. As long as ten years ago we found a way to overcome this restriction and we have steadily refined side-slipping with each successive aircraft release, and the Legacy is the culmination of our refinement of this feature, which almost all GA aircraft should be able to achieve. Side-slipping is a very useful way of reducing height very quickly without commensurate increase in airspeed. It is therefore extremely useful when approaching airfields too fast and too high, a situation which is likely to happen given the Legacy’s lack of drag. To side-slip and lose height quickly, press the right rudder and slip right, while using some opposing (left) aileron to counteract the yaw. For sideslips in the opposite direction, reverse the above described procedure. In this way you can slip the Legacy sideways to the line of the runway, and the drag created by the slip keeps the airspeed down while at the same time enabling dramatic loss of height. Conversely you can slip (yaw) to the left and counteract the slip with left aileron. The Legacy can do either completely smoothly and without fuss. Additionally you can give short bursts of throttle which will force faster airflow over the rudder for an even more extreme slip, though we do not recommend you do this except to demonstrate just how effective the airflow over the fin is. Side-slipping will trigger a “woosh” wind sound as the airflow collides with the side of the fuselage. Please note, side-slipping is not the same thing as “crabbing” when approaching and landing in a cross wind. In this case the Legacy (and indeed any aircraft) is not side slipping. It is merely travelling slightly sideways in relation to the ground, not in relation to the air surrounding it. Lancair Legacy for FSX Specifications The following information is also available in the Pilot’s Checklists PDF and the aircraft reference which you can access from within FSX. Engine: Continental. IO-550-N Horsepower: 310 h.p. @ 2700 rpm Propeller: 3 blade, constant speed Length: 22 ft. Wingspan: 25.5 ft. Wing Area: 82.5 sq. ft. Wing Loading: 3 lbs./sq. ft. Aspect Ratio: 7.95:1 Max G Loading: +4.4, -2.2 Empty Weight: 1,400 lbs Gross Weight: 2,200 lbs Fuel Capacity: 66 gal Useful Load: 800 lbs Max Cruise: 245 knots TAS @ 8,000 ft Stall Speed Clean: 75 Knots Stall Speed Flaps: 65 Knots Service Ceiling: 18,000 ft. Take-off Distance: 850 ft Landing Roll: 900 ft. Cross Wind Landing: 18 knots component Fuel Consumption: 13.5-15 gph (typical) Maximum Range: 1,150 statute miles Rate of Climb: 2,200 fpm max gross weight Oil Pressure: 30 - 60 PSI normal operation Oil Temp: min 75° F, max 240° F CHT: Recommended max at cruise: 420° F CHT: Limit: 460° F Lancair Legacy for FSX Speeds & Cruise Settings Never exceed speed - Vne: 276 knots Best rate of climb – Vy: 135 knots Best angle of climb - Vx: 100 Knots Full Flap extension speed - Vfe: 122 knots Landing gear Speed - Vge: 132 knots Typical Cruise Settings – 8,000 feet: Power – 75% Manifold Pressure – 22-23 inches Fuel Flow – 13.5 GPH Speed – 235-240 kt TAS Rpm – 2400 Or: 245 kt TAS at 75% power with Rpm of 2700 Note: Power and speeds will vary with temperature. Further Reading For further information regarding reviews, assessments and performance of the real Lancair Legacy please follow these links for useful articles published on the internet: http://myjetreview.com/html/10-lancair-legacy_.html http://cafefoundation.org/v2/research_aprs.php Lancair Legacy for FSX Checklists PRE-FLIGHT COCKPIT CHECKS Parking Brake — SET All Switches — OFF Landing Gear Switch — DOWN Battery Switch — ON VM1000C — MONITOR STARTUP ROUTINE Fuel Quantity — CHECK Annunciator Warning Lights — TEST Trim Tabs — SET TO ZERO Altimeter — SET BEFORE STARTING Canopy — CLOSED AND LOCKED Harness and Rudder Pedals — ADJUSTED Flight Controls — FULL AND FREE MOVEMENT Circuit Breakers — IN Fuel Selector — BOTH ENGINE START Press CTRL+E to initiate engine autostart sequence, or: Fuel Boost Pump — ON Throttle — 1/4 inch OPEN (1000 rpm position) Propeller Control — FULLY FORWARD Mixture — RICH Starter Switch — START, release when engine fires Starter Switch – BOTH Fuel Boost Pump — OFF AFTER START Alternator Switch — ON Oil Pressure — RISING Voltage and Amperage — CHECK Lights — AS REQUIRED Engine Readings — WITHIN LIMITS Avionics Master — ON Radios and GPS — ALL ON AND SET AS REQUIRED Warm up at 1000-1200RPM TAXI Parking Brake — RELEASE Brakes — CHECK during taxi Instruments — CHECK ENGINE RUNUP Parking Brake — SET Throttle — 1500 RPM Propeller and Governor — CHECK OPERATION Magnetos — CHECK (50rpm max differential, 175rpm max drop) Engine Readings — WITHIN LIMITS At high density altitude, lean for best power before takeoff Throttle Setting — IDLE Trim — SET for take off Parking Brake — RELEASE BEFORE TAKE OFF Autopilot — CHECK OFF Propellor Control — FULLY FORWARD Mixture — RICH Canopy — CHECK SECURE Harness — TIGHT TAKE OFF Set Take off Power before brake release Brakes — RELEASE Airspeed — ACCELERATE to take off speed Max Take off Power — 29.7 in Hg, 2700 RPM Monitor engine gauges INITIAL CLIMB Throttle — 24-27 inches, RPM reduce as required CRUISE Power — SET as desired Mixture — LEAN as required Battery Condition — CHECK DESCENT Altimeter — SET Power — AS REQUIRED LANDING Harness — FASTENED Propeller Control — FULLY FORWARD Mixture — RICH Initial Approach: Gear — EXTEND below 132kt Gear Lights — THREE GREENS Flaps — APPROACH (one/two notch) below 122kt Final Approach: Flaps — FULL Airspeed — Final Approach Speed AFTER LANDING Lights — AS REQUIRED Flaps — UP Trim — SET TO ZERO Radio — GROUND FREQUENCY SHUT DOWN Parking Brake — SET Battery — CHECK Avionics — OFF Throttle — IDLE Fuel Boost Pump — OFF Mixture — IDLE CUT OFF Starter Switch — OFF Battery — OFF Lancair Legacy for FSX Differential Brake Steering Option In response to the increasing popularity of using rudder pedals which have either a separate control for brakes and rudder, or for pedals operating brakes and joystick twistgrips controlling the rudder, we offer the option of operating the Legacy with either conventional rudder/nosewheel ground steering, or fully implemented differential braking which steers a passive nosewheel. You can select which option you prefer before you start FSX by opening the Legacy configuration panel then choosing either option. The option of differential braking and steering does the following: • Disengages the nosewheel from the rudder. • Allows you to steer by using your pedals to apply the brakes on either the left main wheel or right main wheel, or a combination of both. • Enables you to apply different amounts of braking effort on both or either main wheels. • The nosewheel steers passively according to the amount of differential braking. Lancair Legacy for FSX Known Issues We have tested the Legacy extensively with a wide range of systems and are confident that the only bugs are related to problems beyond our control. Below is a list of known issues: • Landing lights - In low visibility you can sometimes see a big square in front of the aircraft surrounding the landing light splash. This is an FSX limitation, please see the main Landing Lights section for more info on this. • Landing Lights - Appear only at a very low altitude in low visibility. This has been done to reduce the above problem as much as possible. Please see the main Landing Lights section for more info on this. • Missing Texture Warning - If you have FSX set to give a warning message when it finds missing textures, when you first load FSX and go to the Free Flight selection screen you will get a warning message saying “Failed to Load texture: $RASLegacy_CFG”. This is related to the way the exterior has been made with a fully functioning cockpit. The warning won’t actually show in FSX when you’re flying, it only ever shows in the selection screen because FSX isn’t properly loading the aircraft.cfg gauges when in the selection screen, that is to say there is in reality no missing texture. • On some systems the HSI won’t work with the Reality XP GNS WAAS gauges. To fix this you need FSX SP2 or Acceleration installed. A few years ago, some FSX SP2 installations were having problems with the HSI not communicating with the GNS WAAS gauges. The solution is to download the latest version of the Reality XP GNS WAAS gauges, or install the FSX Acceleration expansion pack. If you have an RXP GNS build later than 2010 (more than likely) this should not be an issue. • Custom sounds stop working - It is possible for the custom sounds to stop working. The gauge that triggers the sounds has a known issue whereby if you have a long session triggering sounds over and over again then the sound gauge can stop working and the custom sounds will no longer be heard. If this happens the only solution is to restart FSX. In our experience this only ever happened when we spent long periods coding and testing the sounds. In normal flight we never experienced this particular problem. Lancair Legacy for FSX Support Past experience suggests that over 90% of support queries we receive could generally have been solved by reading the included documents in our aircraft releases! We welcome both feedback and support queries via e-mail if you are a bone fide RealAir Simulations customer. But please do check the manuals and documents before contacting us with a problem. It is highly likely that you will find the answer within this guide and other included documents. If you have a support issue, please e-mail us with the following details: • • • • Your full name. Your order number or keycode. Date of order. Briefly describe the problem. We always make efforts to answer queries as quickly as possible, and our average response time is often within a few hours and very rarely longer than 24 hours. Lancair Legacy for FSX Credits RealAir Simulations Legacy Design: Sean Moloney: 3D models, VC cockpit and panels, gauge programming, textures, xml coding, visual effects, document layout and illustrations, screenshots, webmaster and technical support. Rob Young: Aerodynamics, sounds and sound effects, documents, customer support. With special thanks to: Ryan Butterworth for his outstanding beta testing. Doug Dawson for his wonderful sound gauge. Also thanks to: Jon Blum of Vertical Reality Simulations for divulging the secrets of the 3D landing lights. With very grateful thanks to “Mr. B” who does not wish to be named but gave us generous assistance with switch sounds and display issues. www.realairsimulations.com