that’s nice and simple approach. we though about ballast, my idea was to add fuel tanks inside of the wings so engine will process inertion properly, and apply dump as a gauge script. but there is no way to add water dump animation, and it will make further FM adjustments even more complicated, so decided to not implement it right now.
first a little mechanics, I don’t particularly like how this “forum” is set up with regards to replies, quotes, and DMs.
- if you want to reply specifically to the sender, reply within his post it will be contained there as a drop down list and also at the bottom of the main thread apparently.
- replying at the bottom of the thread is a unique post not directed at any specific author.
- A DM (private message) needs to be generated by clicking on the authors Avatar then clicking on the blue message button. It does not go to the thread.
- Quote message and block Quote tags are contained in the reply icon tool bar.
seems a unique Microsoft solution to forum mechanics. 
All you need to soar is a sailplane ported over by you or someone else. try the excellent DG 808 presented by Alex and others at Alex’s web site Touching Cloud. Slope lift is native in MSFS 2020, you just need to find a suitable big hill or mountain ridge, go to weather and select the wind to blow directly perpendicular to the hill at a about 15-25 knots depending on the kind of hill, just experiment.
Alex’s little program can supply a winch launch, thermals with some effort, and Aerotow, which I have yet to get working, it is a little complicated to hook up.
You can also down load by Peter Lurkens Winch X which is a stand alone program which runs nicely with MSFS 2020. just one click to initiate the launch neither winch program shows any line or cable at this point, Alex is working on that.
Get soaring!
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On the other hand: A sailplane without engine crashes FS2020 if you start the flight on the airport (runway)
Hi Paul !
I’m not a programmer just a guy who used to hack around with CFG files in FSX and X Plane, forgot most of what I used to know, have to sharpen my tools again I guess.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I have several sailplanes that i imported that do not CTD when started on the ground. The ones that do can sometimes be “fixed” by messing with the contact points in the converter program, but not always. But even the ones that crash on loading can be started in the air landed then re launched in a normal fashion. At least some that I have tried.
Yup, that’s how my SGS 1-26C behaves. However, I fly gliders from a grass strip next to the runway in real life, so what I’ve done is just land the aircraft in the “take-off position” next to the runway, and saved that as a .flt file so I can load it, that should work for the runway too
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Timely reminder, click the ‘Vote’ button at the top of this thread (linked here) if you haven’t already and agree Asobo should prioritize this effort in MSFS.
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Please give the names, the internet link of these FSX sailplanes. I look for this “as much engine as necessary (to not CTD), as little engine as possible (to avoid automatic engine start after “altitude displacement” with key Y)”.
the Aerosoft DiscusK, Wolfgang Piper sailplanes, ASK-13, KA6e, and I’m sure many other Piper sailplanes will work either by Y to altitude or sitting on runway, I have not had time to try them all, I’m busy with some other projects at the moment. I had the Aerosoft Discus b working but now Its back in “the workshop” as I messed something up.
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I am a paragliding pilot myself and would love to see some paragliders in action within the sim! Thanks!
it may work if physics engine will calculate aerodynamics properly for the plane, which has CG point 20ft lower than wing. FSX conversion works somehow, maybe native model will work as well.
After checking/adjusting polar on “my” DG808S model, I started to check polar on the MAI-DG808S (MAI is short for Michael Rossi, Alex Marko, Ian Lewis). This is the first polar for flaps #3 (0°) and 529kg (44.8kg/m^2). The polar is all over the place:
By the way, I use another method to disable gust. I use the “Delete layer” button in the weather popup.
Check my SG-38 and 582SL conversion on MSFS 2020 sailplane
And check Alex’s 582SL conversion on https://msfs.touching.cloud/mods/air-creation-582sl/
Please give us feedback - I am no real world pilot.
have you tried to delete GUST values completely (so they will be empty, not even zero)? not my discover, but it works
check Alex’s 582SL
it really bad, made it just to understand how CFGs works right after game was released
I think delete layer and empty input field have the same effect if you want 0 wind. With empty input field you can have wind without noise (gusts).
Yes - some work on the weather engine and of course a proper glider. There is already that ‘glass microlight’ type (can’t remember which but with prem edition there are at least 2) that has sailplane style high A/R wings and a negative flap setting so (mathematically) they could tweak that, remove the draggy fuselage and use the data as a template to build a glider from with the 1000 data read points of other default aircraft. Hmm.
I am happy if you add instruments to the Ka6E. Wolfgang Piper allowed me to distribute FS2020 conversions of Ka6E, ASK23 and “Schulgleiter” SG-38. All sailplanes/glider are very simple: no retracting gear, no flaps, no water ballast.
I overhaul the flight models. No more CTD if you start your sailplane on the ground and good fit to the polar. Then everything is prepared for the instruments …
Asobo can use this model as start. But the community decided on the FSX stock DG808S to start. We are progressing fast! At this moment you can install the Touching Cloud DG808S at https://msfs.touching.cloud/mods/ms-dg-808s/ or you can install my DG808S at MSFS 2020 sailplane
I hope Touching Cloud and myself merge soon to give all of us the “overall best community sailplane”.
Hopefully Asobo/Microsoft is impressed by our community sailplane work and will concentrate on giving us NICE THERMALS with GOOD INDICATION where the thermals are. In CumulusX! I see by the cloud shadow on the ground where a thermal maybe is and I see at the circling birds in the sky where a thermal surely is.
How different are these models of the same glider? They look the exact same.
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which glider are you referring to? the DG808s?
yes, the DG808s. Are they different?