IF the new prop physics are good enough, then it will always be easier to use the sim’s internal workings. Having said that, I believe bugs / issues have already been found with the implimentation of prop drag . . .
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So is nobody else having issue with Kodi and ILS/ Stock AP/Nano VG? Honestly I really hope they do update the plane to have real props and startup and shutdown. Would be a shame to not update this beautiful plane. Look at the Kodi on Xplane 11 it’s absolutely fantastic with a real prop. Hope all planes get a prop update.
This is something that has bothered me from day 1. Lots of stuff is faked and props look horrible faked for so many reasons. I was really surprised MFS was using fake props. GA guys will go NUTS when props are real and not canned animation sprites. Plus they run at different fps then the simulation so it catches the eye quick. Once we have real props and everything syncs up naturally it will look so much better, especially in the light.
If more testing help is needed feel free to hit me up!
Can’t remember if it’s mentioned before, but is state saving anywhere in the dev team’s plans? Their Kodiak is such a detailed implementation that state saving between flights would be absolutely fantastic (like the Piper Arrow does, which forces you to do proper startups and shutdowns).
Can I ask what folk’s experience has been with using beta range when taxiing?
I’m finding even at low beta I’m getting reverse thrust and so actually using the non-standard proceedure of feathering the prop periodically as an alternative method of keeping the speed down on the taxi.
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Is there a paint kit available for this or will one be made available?
That confused me as well. I remember reading at the POH about having to use beta during taxiing, but in MSFS the second I enable that throttle mode, I immediately start moving backwards.
I browsed through that very quickly weeks ago so perhaps I didn’t undestand it well. Perhaps the idea is that we first need to start moving forward using very little (or idle?) throttle and once we’re established at a certain speed we can stop accelerating by simply going to beta (which acts as reverse and slows down forward movement to a degree). This means we won’t have to brake every now and then, as we do with most other aircraft while taxiing. But that’s an educated (?) guess, I’m not sure how it’s supposed to work and I haven’t done any research obviously.
If I understand correctly, they recommend using beta range to slow down your aircraft during taxiing instead of using brake in order to keep longer life for aircraft brake. Not meaning that using beta range for the whole taxiing procedure.
I do use it (beta range) very often to decelerate my aircraft until I can taxi my aircraft saftey due to powerful thrust without using brake, and when it is controllable, I set power lever to iddle or a bit thrust when needed to finishing the taxiing (my propeller lever max and condition lever low Iddle).
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Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I think if you are going to use beta when taxiing it should only be when you are already rolling at a reasonable speed - doesn’t take much to slow you down.
My reading of the POH and what I understand about turboprops with beta range is that the first part with produce reduced forward thrust rather than outright reverse.
I find that I never have to use Beta for just taxing IF I use the following procedure. First I ensure that the condition lever is in the half-way spot, then release the brakes. Usually I don’t roll at all in that situation so I bump the throttle up, maybe a 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch, then instantly put it back against the stop. That gets me rolling very slowly, but the speed will build until gentle braking is required. You just have to remember to move the condition lever to full for takeoff. I have forgotten to set the condition lever to full, but never suffered any consequences other than feeling dumb once I noticed it.
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I’m the same. Setting the condition lever to low idle is good procedure for taxi! But it can still be fiesty even so. My aim is to minimise the use of the toe brakes on my rudder pedals - they are very sensitive (even dialled right down) and it’s hard to avoid introducing more twitch as a result of even slightly uneven braking.
You can have state saving in the Kodiak with a nice little tool called Aircraftstate
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Yeah, fuse No3 bottom panel sorted it, thx
Regarding prop drag/SU8, we know as much as you do. When it comes, we will see how it works and deal with it. As it stands, we have a stop-gap that introduces some drag (euphemism) while in alpha range. It is far from perfect, but now you can fly the approach without accelerating on idle. This is being tested for release with the next update.
Beta range: MSFS does not do beta range and never did. We were looking into faking beta using a spoiler, but SU8 said it will bring propeller drag. We are holding our breath in case it also does beta.
CPU limited vs GPU: The backup instrument is XML and the PC version renders it on the CPU. This is why it is CPU-heavy. The NanoVG renderer on Xbox will also come to the PC from what I saw, so the problem will be fixed by Asobo at some point.
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Checked it out and although I think it’s a great effort and a promising start, I don’t think this is what I’m after. It’s only storing some basic stuff but I’m mostly talking about the state of everything in the aircraft, each and every switch, setting etc. What Piper Arrow does (and not fully, as a few minor things will still go back to default once you restart a flight).
State storing is what forces me to properly go through each checklist item, especially during the initial preflight checks. And make sure everything is done properly during shutdown.
Nano VG was in the sim before XBOX. The DC6 originally shipped with Nano VG enabled by default. When Asobo released SU5 they disabled it entirely forcing users of the DC6 to deal with abysmal FPS for months and months. To say this is an XBOX renderer would be false.
Nano VG offloads the XML to the GPU instead of the CPU. On most systems this will push the ceiling of performance up. Nano VG was re-enabled a few builds back as an experimental feature (dev mode only) while they ensure it works on XBOX. This way the DC6 can go back to using it by default or any other plane optimized for XML. Kodiak also gets better FPS on Nano VG but currently has some issues with AP and Nano VG.
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Partially. You could use NanoVG to do glass through WASM, but XML was rendered with GDI+.
NanoVG for XML gauges is not yet on PC by default, it was removed after SU5 beta. It is a dev mode option and not 100% proper (you will notice some graphics being offset).
Until it is on PC as a non-experimental feature, we will be limited by GDI+ doing software rendering. In the meantime, we are learning JS.
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With this Kodiak, I finally found a plane in FS2020 that works enough like a real one for me to enjoy flying this sim. It still has a way to go, (probably because of the sim, not the plane). As many have mentioned beta and reverse don’t work correctly and prop behavior isn’t real. Asobo should go fly the Thranda Kodiak or AFL King Air 350 in X-Plane, and see how turboprops are supposed to work along with how to set the throttle controls correctly. However my biggest issue are the dark panel when I am zoomed back so I can see the view outside. The instrument panel is so dark even with all the lighting up to 100%. It is very frustrating and far from realistic. I’m also wondering why every time I start a flight the altitude preset is at ----. Shouldn’t it remain on whatever it was set to upon landing? Has anyone figured out how to set the buttons on joysticks to control the AP altitude and heading settings? I’ve looked but can’t find the options anywhere. Those little things add up to lots of frustration in a great effort by SWS.
When you’re “in-game”, click the weight icon in the toolbar and grab the right edge of the window and make it wider.
Violá! CG controls. Why it isn’t set to this width by default is a mystery.
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For those that fly with OnAir, you have to have it on.
Makes sense. I am getting better at double and triple checking before I click my other monitor 
You guys have made my favorite plane in the sim. It’s irritating because I want to fly no other plane than yours and the window is in just the right spot apparently