One thing I will say though. I flew the retrofit from EGCK along the north Wales coast to EGNR this morning and it trims out to cruise beautifully. Pootling along at 80 - 85kts with about 1850rpm on the clock it was a very well behaved bird.
1 Like
This is my first post on MSFS. If I have not submitted this correctly, please let me know.
As has been noted, the Fokker Fvii A is under powered and staggers along on the verge of a stall. I believe the model is based on a single Wright Cyclone 330 HP radial. I have looked into this in several sources. The first A model was powered by a Packard Liberty engine of 400 HP. This was considered to be underpowered and several engine options were available with the A model:
360 HP Rolls Royce Eagle
450 HP Napier Lion
480 HP Gnome-Rhone Jupiter vi
Modeling the FviiA using any of the above (except the RR) would give much better performance and a flyable model.
AS to the Fvii 3M models (both A and B) they were fitted with Wright J-4 Whirlwind engines of 200 HP each. This would yield total power of 600 HP not the 990HP as currently modelled but still much better than the single engine variant. This difference explains why the 3M models take off and climb like a STOL.
With all respect to Orbx modellers and MSFS, I think that significant changes need to be made to the flight modelling to reflect the major power differences. They will, of course, want to do their own research.2022-02-03T05:00:00Z
2 Likes
Thanks 676, and glad to see itâs fix is planned.
That being said, our team has identified the following bugs on the Fokker, and we are working towards a fix for them in a future update.
-
The following bugs apply to the Retrofit Variant only:
- The Radio Compass does not point to an NBD station when it has a bearing between 180-359 degrees.
-
The HSI does not behave correctly. The compass card does not rotate when the aircraft turns, and the course knob does not rotate the CDI needle. For heading indications, please use the copilotâs Heading Indicator.
-
All variants: The Fokker fuel burn rate is being adjusted. At present it has great range and endurance.
-
Fokker History Flights: Please be aware that the aircraftâs electrical system needs to be shut down to complete a leg. To turn off the electric system in the classic variants, use âSHIFT+M.â
(post deleted by author)
2 Likes
My remarks on the compass card related to the Magnetic Compass. This starts off by referring to the HSI (which is also, as described, not functioning), so I hope they pick up both. On the single engine variant at least the compass card rotates as it should, but the heading ring still is non functional.
1 Like
-To be expected also. Manual mentions this. Another vid showing take off from what looks like hard surface, no idea of weight, but canât be more than a 1 degree nose up, and looks like well under 100fpm. Hard fields were quite popular by the mid 20âs, specially in Europe and there was usually a handful of ground crew, manually moving, or helping to move these old birds get pointed into the wind.
I found one vid showing ropes tied to the F.Vii wing tips, looks like hard surface, and the people holding the ropes appear to be helping steer and stop it. It may have not been able to take off from soft fields, with weight.
Hoping it get lots of love from dev or mod regardless.
Go watch Kermit Weeks take off in his Ford Tri Motor on U-tube.
I bet he isnât even going that fast when the tail on that lifts.
Sure makes it easier to see ahead!
1 Like
This is not a bug. The tail coming up quickly was a common and intentional feature of most old planes, for a couple of main reasons:
-
Being tail-draggers, they sat on their gear at a high angle of attack. Given the very high-lift airfoils of the day, and the low stall speeds, getting very much speed in the 3-point attitude could make the whole plane leave the ground at a combination of very low speed, high AoA, and close ground proximity. This could easily lead to disaster. So, the general procedure for planes even including the DC-3 was to get the tail up ASAP and do the takeoff roll slightly nose-down to stay on the ground until you built up proper flying speed.
-
The even older planes, including the Fokker, were skid-draggers, so the only way to get directional control while on the ground was to get the stick out of the mud.
If you watch contemporary videos of WW1 and early interwar planes taking off, youâll frequently notice the tail popping right up before the plane has moved even 10â forward (even for giant bombers), due to application of down elevator in the propwash. This was to make it happen proactively and under control rather than it happening ânaturallyâ due to its 3-point AoA and you having to react to it and maybe the wing doing the same thing, and then you die. They called these old planes âkitesâ for a reason.
3 Likes
(post deleted by author)
Sure it would, as in any plane more weight needs more airflow over the wing to achieve lift.
Did you change the center of gravity?
(post deleted by author)
Thatâs why I was wondering if you changed the C of G from the Weight and Balance menu.
If you load the airplane and donât change the C of G (in real life that would mean moving the cargo more aft ,or in this case, more forward) you could indeed have a tail heavy condition.
Even in real life, that will require a much faster speed to get the needed lift for the tail to raise up.
(post deleted by author)
The sim doesnât do that.
When you add load, it just puts it in the aircraft.
It isnât a bug/issure.
The sim is made that way so the C of G can be changed to simulate different loading conditions.
The slider is at the top right of the Weight and Balance screen.
Every item gets placed in a specific x, y, z position relative to the datum. It is up to the pilot to load the aircraft such that it is within limits. To change the empty CG of an airplane, you would have to add ballast to the nose or tail. I havenât seen one config file yet, that is set up properly for the airplane in question.
1 Like
The CG datum in this plane (per the dos) is the main wing spar, which is like at 1/4 chord or so. Thus, nearly all the seats are well behind the datum and make the plane tail-heavy. To compensate, thereâs a baggage compartment in the nose between the engine and the cockpit (saw this in a contemporary video of a KLM flight to Paris, donât remember where the baggage is in MSFS). But anyway, you do need to watch the CG location as you load the plane. If youâve got a decent load, use down elevator to get the tail up if it wonât fly itself up.
1 Like
A little more about it.
F.VII /1m & /3m Southern Cross:
- Brakes are enabled. ( perhaps purposely so for those unfamiliar with early a/c? )
( ski and float not testedâŠobviously
)
All Versions:
-Trim is enabled if you have it mapped to key/button/dial.
Do not use it, it messes up the flight dynamics.
No âcockpit adjustable trimâ should be available for any version.
Trim= your hands and feet.
Still, challenging fun to fly !
" It is up to the pilot to load the aircraft such that it is within limits. " - I remember a flight in a DH89 Dragon Rapide. As we got in the pilot said, âYou heavy blokes sit in the front. If youâre in the back Iâll never get the tail up and if I donât do that the rest of the plane wonât get up either.â
3 Likes
Kingsford Smith fitted j5 200hp motors to southern cross as it was bought with no motors
It wonât download for me in the in game store. It keeps saying not enough room on disc space or something like that. I had removed atleast 5 apps from my internal drive (where the game is installed)