[RELEASED] DoubleEnder | Got Friends

Discussion Hub Aircraft
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Been playing around with the DE testing my upcoming “Rapid Learning” release for Location Manager.

Really like those 5 flap positions.
#5 is great for dive landings with a geeeeeeeeeeeentle flare out, stearman landing style (the pullback bit, not the diving bit).
It’s actually not that steep, just the cockpit perspective makes it seem steeper.

Two things I think would be useful instrument wise:

  • Some form of HSI. Although you’re not supposed to, the view in this is great for cloud surfing. Sooner or later you’ll lose visuals, and a HSI is basic cloud lifesaver.
  • Some form of AOA indicator. It’s tricky to orient to the horizon with this cockpit view, and a simple AOA indicator right in front of you (maybe on the corner strut convergence next to the annunciator warning lights) would be a lifesaver too, especially low, slow, and pulling some curves. The DE can bite you quickly even at speed so an AOA (responsive to changing stall speed angles) would be dea…live handy!

Other thoughts (may have missed them, still RTFM’ng - nice to see one too)

  • A quick reset button for state back to brand new
  • Quick wash button

Thanks!

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Yes, this addition would be excellent.

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Guess I assumed there, I’ve not had any issues myself tipping her over using my toe-brakes unless I was braking too hard (which I’ve done, to eeehm… avoid trees :smiley: )

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I’m surprised that I can’t find any reviews on youtube yet about this plane. Trailers, promos and the release date stream by Deathcrow that I find impossible to watch…

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I emailed them about doing a review but so far no answer back yet. Offcourse not every developer likes real life pilots doing reviews for some odd reason.

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cgaviator hasn’t done a video yet, but posted an update to YT saying he is a big fan of it. I suspect one will come eventually.

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That one will be a good one to watch, always like the analysis by cgaviator.

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Probably the busy FSExpo weekend. I’m sure there will be some good reviews popping up from your favorite YouTubers and Twitch Streamers. We send around 30 Review Copies out this release and a good chunk of them mentioned they will gather more and try it out once they returned home from the long trip.

Regardless, the Official Marketplace Release in coming in Early July (Estimated for the 6th, but that can slip depending on Microsoft). So more reviews should be popping up if one of our promotional copies doesn’t circulate.

Cheers!

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July 6th the first Marketplace purchase is mine for sure.

In the case of the Double Ender I like the videos to check how to operate the plane, functions that one can miss, tips, etc. Not to decide if I have to buy it or not, that was already decided when it was announced as “something from GotFriends”.

Yup, the FSexpo must be the reason because this is a great plane to show with a ton of details.

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That’s a good point. I will personally make a little video today for YouTube that shows some operations and functions that are easy to miss. Cheers!

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Same here! It’s fun to see the startup sequence or some other features demonstrated in a good video.

But I also really like the documentation of the Double Ender, really well made!

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I noticed that some people above were having difficulty with the plane nosing over when they applied the brakes.

I wondered whether Feather mode on the back engine and Beta mode on the front could be used to prevent this problem.

To test this I flew circuits where, as soon as I had a decent amount of airspeed, I used the Airmaster Control Unit to set up and engage Feather mode on the back engine, and set up but not engage Beta mode on the front. I found that the aircraft could be flown successfully like this in the circuit.

The idea was that as soon as I landed I would engage Beta mode on the forward engine then stand on the brakes, and the reverse thrust from the forward engine would prevent the engine from nosing over.

And it worked. When I was able to try it. The difficulty was that the Feather/Beta arming switch had to be clicked by mouse, requiring me to:

move my left hand to the mouse (I have one for each hand)
find the switch with the mouse
click it
then return my hand to the throttle and open it

and this was such a slow, fiddly process (finding the switch was downright awful in my beloved VR) that on most attempts either I couldn’t get it completed in time for reverse thrust and braking to be useful before the plane had slowed down anyway, or it took so much of my attention that the plane wandered off the runway.

I’m now convinced that for Feather and Beta to be useful in this way, the Beta switch at the very least has to be bindable to a switch on the HOTAS or whatever other controller you’re using.

Incidentally, I notice that in the manual, on the 'Airmaster Control Unit and Engine Panel page (p. 4), three of the controls are asterisked, but these asterisks don’t seem to be referenced on the page (or anywhere else I could see):

  1. Airmaster Auto/Manual Mode Switch *
  2. Feather/Beta Arming Switch *
  3. Hold Mode Switch (Fine or Coarse) *

I can’t help wondering if at some point (e.g. when the manual was written) It was intended to offer bindings for these, but for one reason or another this wasn’t implemented.

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I’ve got another few flights under my belt now and managing to slow it down ok. Definitely retracting flaps so you can pull back on the stick helps but it can’t be as firm as with Wilma. Need to be a bit tentative especially for the final stop… ease off the brakes as you would when stopping a car.

Wilma is definitely my country girl that likes to be treated “rough”. The DE is more like a city boy with designer hair “don’t mess my hair gel up” type :slight_smile:

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I did this with SPAD.next, i can land in less than 30ft now :metal:

Search for LVARs with _FRONT or _REAR and you’ll find all the airmaster knobs and switches. I set up my throttle quadrant below the idle stop to switch to beta, feather and then full throttle the front motor. Stops on a dime.

in fact, i was looking at the actual airmaster manual page 54 and am wondering if i also need to hold down the Fine control to get the most reverse thrust, because Beta mode just goes to the stored beta position which could be an angle from -20 to +40… could @DigitalJonx confirm?

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I’ll probably stick to thinking that SPAD was a series of WW1 French fighters. I’m of the opinion that if a binding is necessary the planemakers should implement it. But I do very much appreciate the confirmation that the technique is effective.

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OFFICIAL RELEASE TUTORIAL. Developer Jonx took the time to make this to answer a lot of your initial questions on how to operate the DoubleEnder, esp those who refuse to read the manual. :joy:

For those who would like the manual, its included in your installation or you can easily access them via this link as well: Flight Manuals – Got Friends

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Love that this thing can go anywhere :slight_smile:

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I made another little video - mainly practicing landings. It’s using the scenery that Jonxy linked that was used in the trailer. Riggins Ridgetop 69ID and Kelly Creek Ridge KCR6. Really nice!

Starting to feel at home in her (/ him / it) now. I feel a “STOL Landing” multiplayer event coming on - with the Competition Screen, that will be really neat!!

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I finally checked the DoubleEnder out over the last 2-3 days. So far it’s the most fun modern bush plane I’ve tried. I love that it’s a bit trickier and requires quite a lot of rudder. And the dynamic dirt is such a neat feature!

I’m a bit surprised there are no reviews on it yet. I’m really looking forward to cgaviators one.

I just made a video with it flying around New Zealand, which includes some aerobatics, a lot of waterskiing and some STOL flying. Until the proper reviews are out maybe it can help someone to decide if they want to get it (as if it would need any convincing to get a Got Friends release…by now everybody should know that they are awesome :upside_down_face:)

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Anyone who can’t decide whether they should buy this or not should watch this tutorial. I have had this plane for two days and had no idea all the amazing stuff it has. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this was being released by A2A.

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