Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

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DHenriques_
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by DHenriques_ »

The "thing" about landing the Comanche is simply that each aircraft you fly both in real life AND as made by A2A should have and in fact DOES have its own landing characteristics.
The "landing problem" is the same for any airplane. Only the time it takes to solve the problem and the technique required to solve the problem changes from aircraft to aircraft.
The "problem" is simply what you have to do to get the wing to its stall angle of attack. If you're slow over the fence and start your flare you will reach that stall area quickly. If you are fast over the fence it will take longer and use more runway.
Each wing has it's own "personality" and behaves in a way unique to its design. In the case of the Comanche, the airplane literally screams at you the pilot to be at a certain airspeed over the fence. That airspeed is listed in your POH and should be NAILED because THAT is the airspeed that allows you just the right amount of time to bleed off what's necessary to get the wing to the landing angle of attack that will result in ground contact without using a lot of runway in the process.
It's really simple actually. Fast equals long. Slow equals shorter time to reach stall and touchdown.
The Comanche has a very clean wing so if you are fast over the fence, expect to float a while.
Naturally GW will affect this time line as well. If you are light the angular difference (the spread) between your angle of attack over the fence and your stall angle of attack will be greater than if you are heavy. Heavier over the fence equates to an angle of attack closer to the stall so a shorter time in the flare. Bottom line of course will be a combination of GW and airspeed to produce time in the flare.
Just remember, nail the correct airspeed over the numbers and the rest will proceed normally as in any landing. There is nothing even approaching rocket science about landing a Comanche, but A2A has spent a LOT of time and resources getting the Comanche's landing specifics dead on in line for you, so go fly, get some practice, and in no time you'll be greasing them on like a pro!
Dudley Henriques

Hobart Escin

Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by Hobart Escin »

DHenriquesA2A wrote:The "thing" about landing the Comanche is simply that each aircraft you fly both in real life AND as made by A2A should have and in fact DOES have its own landing characteristics.
The "landing problem" is the same for any airplane. Only the time it takes to solve the problem and the technique required to solve the problem changes from aircraft to aircraft.
The "problem" is simply what you have to do to get the wing to its stall angle of attack. If you're slow over the fence and start your flare you will reach that stall area quickly. If you are fast over the fence it will take longer and use more runway.
Each wing has it's own "personality" and behaves in a way unique to its design. In the case of the Comanche, the airplane literally screams at you the pilot to be at a certain airspeed over the fence. That airspeed is listed in your POH and should be NAILED because THAT is the airspeed that allows you just the right amount of time to bleed off what's necessary to get the wing to the landing angle of attack that will result in ground contact without using a lot of runway in the process.
It's really simple actually. Fast equals long. Slow equals shorter time to reach stall and touchdown.
The Comanche has a very clean wing so if you are fast over the fence, expect to float a while.
Naturally GW will affect this time line as well. If you are light the angular difference (the spread) between your angle of attack over the fence and your stall angle of attack will be greater than if you are heavy. Heavier over the fence equates to an angle of attack closer to the stall so a shorter time in the flare. Bottom line of course will be a combination of GW and airspeed to produce time in the flare.
Just remember, nail the correct airspeed over the numbers and the rest will proceed normally as in any landing. There is nothing even approaching rocket science about landing a Comanche, but A2A has spent a LOT of time and resources getting the Comanche's landing specifics dead on in line for you, so go fly, get some practice, and in no time you'll be greasing them on like a pro!
Dudley Henriques
Sage advice from the Master of all Things Aerodynamic, and this is greatly appreciated, Dudley. The Comanche is just one simulation I've given up on; I just don't enjoy it because landings are unpredictable and inconsistent. It's like elevator sensitivity on this thing varies from day to day. Certain times I can control pitch down to the last micron and grease landings all day long. Boot up the sim 2 hours later and the Comanche is a wobbly goblin during roundout, even at the same weight and approach speeds. I used to think it was my CH Yoke, but I switched to a Saitek and experienced the same thing. I will say this: when everything IS working correctly, the A2A Comanche is perhaps the most realistic GA simulation ever created. It's scary realistic if one has any significant pilot experience in real-life, in fact. However, it's like something digitally short circuits with the elevator response during odd sim sessions and the Comanche ends up being the last thing I want to fly, unfortunately. Truly a love/hate relationship going on here, lol, but whatever I'm experiencing is just too frustrating to fight anymore.

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DHenriques_
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by DHenriques_ »

Hobart Escin wrote:
DHenriquesA2A wrote:The "thing" about landing the Comanche is simply that each aircraft you fly both in real life AND as made by A2A should have and in fact DOES have its own landing characteristics.
The "landing problem" is the same for any airplane. Only the time it takes to solve the problem and the technique required to solve the problem changes from aircraft to aircraft.
The "problem" is simply what you have to do to get the wing to its stall angle of attack. If you're slow over the fence and start your flare you will reach that stall area quickly. If you are fast over the fence it will take longer and use more runway.
Each wing has it's own "personality" and behaves in a way unique to its design. In the case of the Comanche, the airplane literally screams at you the pilot to be at a certain airspeed over the fence. That airspeed is listed in your POH and should be NAILED because THAT is the airspeed that allows you just the right amount of time to bleed off what's necessary to get the wing to the landing angle of attack that will result in ground contact without using a lot of runway in the process.
It's really simple actually. Fast equals long. Slow equals shorter time to reach stall and touchdown.
The Comanche has a very clean wing so if you are fast over the fence, expect to float a while.
Naturally GW will affect this time line as well. If you are light the angular difference (the spread) between your angle of attack over the fence and your stall angle of attack will be greater than if you are heavy. Heavier over the fence equates to an angle of attack closer to the stall so a shorter time in the flare. Bottom line of course will be a combination of GW and airspeed to produce time in the flare.
Just remember, nail the correct airspeed over the numbers and the rest will proceed normally as in any landing. There is nothing even approaching rocket science about landing a Comanche, but A2A has spent a LOT of time and resources getting the Comanche's landing specifics dead on in line for you, so go fly, get some practice, and in no time you'll be greasing them on like a pro!
Dudley Henriques
Sage advice from the Master of all Things Aerodynamic, and this is greatly appreciated, Dudley. The Comanche is just one simulation I've given up on; I just don't enjoy it because landings are unpredictable and inconsistent. It's like elevator sensitivity on this thing varies from day to day. Certain times I can control pitch down to the last micron and grease landings all day long. Boot up the sim 2 hours later and the Comanche is a wobbly goblin during roundout, even at the same weight and approach speeds. I used to think it was my CH Yoke, but I switched to a Saitek and experienced the same thing. I will say this: when everything IS working correctly, the A2A Comanche is perhaps the most realistic GA simulation ever created. It's scary realistic if one has any significant pilot experience in real-life, in fact. However, it's like something digitally short circuits with the elevator response during odd sim sessions and the Comanche ends up being the last thing I want to fly, unfortunately. Truly a love/hate relationship going on here, lol, but whatever I'm experiencing is just too frustrating to fight anymore.
what is so frustrating about things like this is that when people post of issues like yours I can't replicate what's happening at all on my own system. My Comanche has been installed since we released it and it's behavior on my system is solid as a rock.
I'm really sorry you are having these issues. I'm sure you have tried everything you think might be wrong with no improvement.
My gut feeling is that it has to be local but I can't zero in on it here.
Have you tried pinging Scott or Lewis on this? Sometimes they seem to hit on answers all of us miss somehow.
DH

avduarri
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by avduarri »

Maybe I'm saying something obvios but have you tried looking to the end of the runway during the flare? A lot of people fails the flare because they try to "feel" how the aircraft is doing by looking at the nearest point of the runway. The best way to "feel" if the aircraft is sinking or floating is to look at the end of the runway and see if the runway is making wider or narrower.
I cross the fence at 85 knots (loaded with pilot and copilot plus 5kg of cargo) Throttle to idle and hold the nose at about 15 feets above the runway, I look at the end of the runway and when I see the runway making wider I hold the nose a little bit more so I lose speed and some altitude.
In a moment you are kissing the runway with your main landing gear at about 50 knots.

You need to find the best speed to make it work for you. I feel the Comanche the most easier plane to land in the A2A fleet.

Dogsbody55
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by Dogsbody55 »

It sounds as if your sim is behaving inconsistently. Which sim are you using? I use FSX, and the golden rule with Microsoft FS, any version, is to load a start up flight first. This start up flight should always be a default plane, at a default airport. I use the Cessna 172 at Biggin Hill, which has no addon scenery. Let everything load properly which can take a couple of moments. Once you have AI traffic and cars visible, you should then be OK to load your A2A planes at your desired airport. Doing this ensures the sim loads properly with all it's necessary settings etc.

The next thing is to be consistent in the way you approach and land. A good landing is always preceded by a good approach. Get your aircraft settled and trimmed on the downwind, with gear down and locked. I use 90 to 100mph, flaps up. Turn onto base and reduce power to about 15"MAP, prop full fine, mixture full rich and 1 notch flaps. Speed should be about 90 and descend at 500FPM. Turn onto base and select the next notch of flaps. Let your speed bleed off to 80mph. Now maintain 80 using pitch to control speed and power to control rate of descent. As you cross the threshold, apply full flaps. Flare as the the ground looms large in your windscreen and cut power. Keep your vision fixed on the far end of the runway and hold the plane off. It should gently touchdown at about 60 to 65mph. It's good practice to keep full back pressure on the yoke after touchdown to reduce strain on the nosewheel.


Hope this helps,
Mike.
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ClipperLuna
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by ClipperLuna »

Is your Comanche inconsistent even when you fly into the same airfield? I just had an unfortunate experience going into Redding that made me think to ask. I have the enhanced Orbx version of KRDD, but my rig can generally handle it just fine and I have (mostly) smooth frame rates all the way. Then the other day I made an approach at dusk, and just on short final and flare something pulled my frame rates down to about 10-12 or so. This made my control inputs lag enough behind what the plane did I ended up over-controlling it, and it wasn't my prettiest landing.

I might just be thinking out loud, but I figured why not suggest it.

Gabe777
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by Gabe777 »

bobsk8 wrote:I find the Comanche which is one of my favorites to fly, very easy to land. First, you have to nail the approach speed, which I set at 90mph on short final, using trim, with full flaps. I also keep a small amount of power on until touchdown, since when you stall that wing, it will drop quickly. So the trick is kind of flying it onto the runway. The third thing I have done with most of my A2a aircraft is I use FSUIPC to calibrate my joystick, and the most important FSUIPC adjustment for me is to assign a slope on the elevator of +4. This causes a smaller response of the elevator in the flare, and stops any ballooning tendency. Only A2A aircraft that took me awhile to master is the AT6, and usually any drift on touchdown, causes 95% of the problems with that aircraft.

Must agree with FSUIPC. Really sussing out how to use it takes time, but it is worth it.

I always calibrate my crappy, but adequate, Saitek x52 pro, before doing anything.

I have a different profile for each airceaft, and fine tune sensitivities and especially the Slope..... this is basically Linearity which is found in driving games. It really reduces the sensitvity in the initial - and most used - range.

As for 'ballooning' and 'slamming' ...... just fly in Alaska and blame it on the wind. Watch a few episodes of Flying Wild Alaska...... they wrestle with the yoke on a daily basis !
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AKar
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by AKar »

Of course for each their own, however, I personally dislike the idea of fine-tuning the controls for each and every airplane model. I simply use slight center curve to desensitize the annoying center detend that is a feature of my Warthog stick. Other than that I leave the controls as linear as possible, and use the same settings for each aircraft under any given sim platform. My reasoning is that the airplanes are not supposed to be always easy and comfortable to fly. Some may have difficult flare characteristics, some others may provide to be unstable in cruise, and therefore difficult to trim, as examples. I take it that if developer makes one airplane requiring positive muscle to flare for instance whereas another one requires only some slight fingertip pressure, I don't want to... de-characterize the airplanes by introducing control tweaks that take away from their features.

My tip for the A2A Comanche (and all the other A2A GAs this far) is the following. Don't try to land it in an airliner way, coming a steady slope down to just over the runway, chopping the throttle and making a quick flare at the last moment. Instead, you want to transition into gliding flight much more smoothly. Depending on how much of extra energy you've brought into your final, and if there are any obstacles just short of the runway, you should start pulling back the power much sooner (and slower), and if necessary, allow your virtual airplane to sink a little. Don't trim at this point anymore, but increase the back pressure as you consume your energy.
Image
Instead of that brown line, you want to transition perhaps a little bit like the blue one. As you sort of maximize your time in partial or full gliding flight, you'll get a much better feel to the airplane's energy as you primarily control it with the stick alone. And again, don't trim anymore!

In A2A Comanche, the difficulty is simply smoothly planting your mains down precisely where you want to, but with this technique, you'll get "an acceptable" landing almost every time, and with little practice, you'll start to make even good ones. Note that you fly through this portion with a modest pull all the way. It makes it way more natural to control the airplane than flying at the controller's center area where you lack all the feedback. (This is why you was supposed to not trim anymore!) In A2A Cherokee, you need to be a little bit careful in that you don't run out of elevator.

-Esa

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Oracle427
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Re: Boy, I sure hate the Comanche.

Post by Oracle427 »

100% agree with Esa's remarks.
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