A2A Development Update 4/8/18

[DHenriques_]

The Bo has a fairly stable stall behavior and slow flight is no problem. The main behavior that sets the Bo apart from a straight tail is associated with random yaw excursion into Dutch Roll. Takes some getting used to to be smooth.
The Doctor Killer tag relates not to slow flight but the other end of the envelope. The Bo is extremely clean so any nose low condition results in a rapid increase in airspeed. Because of it's high cruise speed the Bo was a natural to attract high end buyers who found advantage in it's cross country capability. Because of it's high price the Bo attracted high end buyers many of whom were Doctors with minimum to no instrument experience.This unfortunately put a lot of VFR pilots into a condition where they were entering IFR conditions during enroute flying.
When this happened pilots naturally tried to make 180's to get back into VFR conditions. Because of inexperience, many pilots would find themselves nose low in the turn due to the split lift vector requiring back pressure they were not applying properly. in a banked turn with increasing airspeed on instruments now with no training to speak of, pilots made the fatal mistake of applying back pressure to decrease the airspeed without first getting rid of the bank. This only made the nose low turn worse as the airspeed continued to rise. This is what we call the "Graveyard Spiral". Without first leveling the wings, the back pressure being applied only tightened the spiral and caused the airspeed to rise.
Usually about this time panic set in causing more back pressure until Vne was reached. This coupled with the high g loading would cause structural failure with predictable fatal results.
The rule that would have solved this issue is actually quite simple really and knowing it would have saved a LOT of lives.
If finding yourself nose low with increasing airspeed, Always..........ALWAYS..........level the wings BEFORE application of back pressure to deal with the airspeed.
Dudley Henriques

How fascinating and alarming! Too bad they didn't have flight simulators back then, loaded with A2A-planes...

The quality of training was always and always will be dependent on the quality of the instructor. I always made a point of teaching every student what could happen if they got caught in IFR conditions. That included how to make a 180 degree turn properly on instruments.
DH

[Oracle427]

Very excited about this aircraft. Have flown in these a couple of times and totally agree with the description of the yaw oscillation "feature". It does get tiring after a while. Great plane and a definite buy for me.

As for simulations and use by pilots. I think the penetration of the market is sadly very low. Very few private pilots I know have used simulators outside of those available in their schools. They aren't even interested despite the fact that they are extremely realistic and excellent tools for practicing procedures and managing systems.

During upset recovery training, I entered a spiral twice when failing to enter a spin. These were not clean aircraft, and the entries were from.a stall. That said the G forces rose very rapidly and the airspeed was rapidly climbing toward the yellow arc. All the while the power was at idle and I was VFR. It is scary to think just how quickly the situation would become totally impossible to save in a clean aircraft with the power up in IMC. It probably would be over before you could count to 10.

[awash2002]

I plan on taking this plane to Oshkosh in July after a 700NN flight back home from KAAO in Wichita KS it'll be a great plane to fly. In fact I will put every other FSX addon in the hanger

[DrumsArt]

Now, all of this talk about the coordination from you and Scott... hmm... It rings a bell, doesn't it?

The T6, incorrectly and uncoordinated flown in slow flight will kill you at the drop of a hat. Is the V-Bonanza somewhat similar? Hence the "Doctor Killer"-tag it has? These wobbling traits could possibly be an issue if not coordinated in slow flight, say in the base-to-final turn...

I, for one, am stoked to finally have this beautiful aircraft available. Bring it on!

The Bo has a fairly stable stall behavior and slow flight is no problem. The main behavior that sets the Bo apart from a straight tail is associated with random yaw excursion into Dutch Roll. Takes some getting used to to be smooth.
The Doctor Killer tag relates not to slow flight but the other end of the envelope. The Bo is extremely clean so any nose low condition results in a rapid increase in airspeed. Because of it's high cruise speed the Bo was a natural to attract high end buyers who found advantage in it's cross country capability. Because of it's high price the Bo attracted high end buyers many of whom were Doctors with minimum to no instrument experience.This unfortunately put a lot of VFR pilots into a condition where they were entering IFR conditions during enroute flying.
When this happened pilots naturally tried to make 180's to get back into VFR conditions. Because of inexperience, many pilots would find themselves nose low in the turn due to the split lift vector requiring back pressure they were not applying properly. in a banked turn with increasing airspeed on instruments now with no training to speak of, pilots made the fatal mistake of applying back pressure to decrease the airspeed without first getting rid of the bank. This only made the nose low turn worse as the airspeed continued to rise. This is what we call the "Graveyard Spiral". Without first leveling the wings, the back pressure being applied only tightened the spiral and caused the airspeed to rise.
Usually about this time panic set in causing more back pressure until Vne was reached. This coupled with the high g loading would cause structural failure with predictable fatal results.
The rule that would have solved this issue is actually quite simple really and knowing it would have saved a LOT of lives.
If finding yourself nose low with increasing airspeed, Always..........ALWAYS..........level the wings BEFORE application of back pressure to deal with the airspeed.
Dudley Henriques

So true...There have also been a few accidents with novice pilots circling around the "friends' house". This is a typical situation that can and did lead to the situation you describe.

Regards,

[Marco909]

Quite a long time ago, can't remember much about it, I read that it helps to fly the V35 with feet on the pedals all the time, just the gentle pressure of your soles reducing the yawing motion. There is so much 'perceived wisdom' about this aircraft in particular that it will be fascinating to try it out for real. The Carenado V35 flies like every other Carenado aircraft, we can be sure that A2A's won't. Regards, Mark

[DHenriques_]

Quite a long time ago, can't remember much about it, I read that it helps to fly the V35 with feet on the pedals all the time, just the gentle pressure of your soles reducing the yawing motion. There is so much 'perceived wisdom' about this aircraft in particular that it will be fascinating to try it out for real. The Carenado V35 flies like every other Carenado aircraft, we can be sure that A2A's won't. Regards, Mark

You are exactly right about the feet and the pedals. The A2A flight model for the Bo will reflect this behavior.
Dudley Henriques

[gnocgnoc]

Hello,
Just few words to A2A Team : Thank you very much ! For this new one and for any the other ones.
No more to say.

[pilottj]

Thanks for the update Scott! Looking forward to the Bo (and the secret project too).

Back when I was flying the Comanche, the rival FBO on the field had a V-35 for rent. I was very tempted to try it out but unfortunately couldn't make it happen. I remember being warned about the sharp stall. It will be very fun to experience these quirks. I do remember my Grandfather saying the V fishtailed a little.

Just curious, with all the research you did with the Debonair, any plans to include that in a possible expansion pack?

The good thing is A2A has now accusimmed some Continental 6s, which open up many possibilities down the road. C-185 hint hint It will be fun comparing the subtle differences between running a Lyc vs a Continental.

Anyway, great stuff, congratulations Scott on finding new ways to push accusim and successfully growing your company.

Cheers
TJ

[AKar]

The good thing is A2A has now accusimmed some Continental 6s, which open up many possibilities down the road. C-185 hint hint It will be fun comparing the subtle differences between running a Lyc vs a Continental

Yes, that's one new thing that will come with Bonanza; the other big GA engine manufacturer. From the user point-of-view, the biggest difference is the fuel system. IO-Lycomings are essentially using pressure carburetor whereas Continentals don't sense airflow that way but introduce fuel "mechanically" in proportion to the RPM and throttle position.

-Esa

[Buffy Foster]

And maybe their revamped Accusim will make a twin more likely in the near future.

[AKar]

Oh by the way, a question. It appears (I don't know the type personally at all) that the Bonanzas use this bungee cord aileron-rudder interconnect. Will that be simulated?

-Esa

[TMorel]

I can see why Scott would want to do the Bonanza, not only from the emotional aspect he has already touched on, but from a commercial technical advancement of their physics engine, and also the new challenges of a different type of aircraft.

For me though, no it won't be a day one purchase. Likewise I skipped the 182

Doesn't mean the Skylane wasn't an amazing add-on, I read the manual, drooled over the youtube clips but for me personally, there just wasn't enough variance with my other A2A aircraft for my limited time on my simulator.

Right now, I've got A2A single engines with high wing/low wing/meatier engine - and they will do me fine but yes, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would love a properly developed twin to make that progression up the ladder.
That said, I also I appreciate the constant evolution the A2A dev team are making with the physics and flight characteristics, and I'm fascinated by how this could improve my enjoyment of sims.

Motor racing improves the breed, and I kinda see the Bonanza the same way. As Buffy said, the skills and knowledge on this development will feed back into Accu-Sim improving it for a time when me and Bart do get our twin

[pilot37]

When I moved over to VR in racing sims (I use a Fanatec force feedback wheel) I discovered that there was a lot more "hidden" within the software than I had realised in 2D.

Whilst for me A2A products are many, many times better than anything else I do wonder if a lot is lost in the interface. I use a 2D widescreen, track-ir and an X52 Pro and CH pedals so feedback is limited compared to say RFactor 2 or Project Cars 2. I don't then find the differences between the single engine GAs to be enough and so I hoped for a GA twin with more to do. I will still without doubt buy the Bonanza. More relevant to A2A is that I am wavering over sticking with P3D despite massive investment because somehow the flying lacks something?

What I do get in spades from A2A is a hit for my love of noisy old engines with their own individual character (I always start out with a worn engine). The B17 was the best with 4 of them each with their own maintenance screen. I will pay for that stuff any day. I like my sim flying to be a bit less reliable...Murphy's War comes to mind.

[vtracy]

I agree with TMorel:
1. It is good practice for A2A to test new developments both in aircraft development and in new AccuSim engines by modelling a well known aircraft, i. e. one that Scott is flying in reality.
2. The experience gained in modelling the Bonanza will invariably spill over into improvements or new developments of other a/c like warbirds AND twin engined machines.

I like the way A2A goes about doing things very methodically that is to say preferring quality over quantity and quality over early revenue. Keep it up, A2A!
I am looking forward to being able to install all my warbirds and GA aircraft natively in v4.2 and I can wait until they are available, knowing that they will be at least as well made as their FSX predecessors and more, right from the start. Of course, it is almost painful to have to wait so long for all the other A2A aircraft to be released for v4.2; I, too, have gone through the agony of deciding what to do: try installing the old versions - with all the possible problems - or wait until the proper versions come out. After suffering under wrong turns in the road to flysim bliss, I now am resolved to wait (nails are down to the quick...).
Maybe the coming Pentecost will help...
Volker

[RotorWash]

I will buy this in support, dissapointed its not a twin

Most important for me, will i be able to share my cockpit's ?

Cheers