Simfest UK Out of Africa

[Tigh]

Meanwhile.....in the garage:- live again today, continuing our Africa Tour - www.twitch.tv/simfestuk

[Zapp]

An interesting landing @ Nairobi

Runway in need of maintenance methink ....

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Reminds me of this joke we played in 2003 in Sydney ...


DAY 4 - Thursday November 6th
Runway works in progress meant a rough landing was about to occur in Tripoli ... Ready...


...Set... (under the sim)...


Touchdown... !


...and the gang watch the replay of the reaction on the flightdeck...

Full page:
http://www.worldflight.com.au/photos/photo2003page.php


Hoppie

[Britjet]

Hardy,

I can connect to the SimfestUK sim with their IP, and am trying to get the P3D visual onto my screen by switching on the boost server on my CLIENT and connecting to it internally with VisualPSX.

The load goes OK and I get a good P3D cockpit view but then the image keeps reloading constantly, as though it is going through some sort of continuos cycle.

Should it be possible to connect a client in this way to an external IP and also run a scenery generator off the same client boost server?

Peter

[Zapp]

Hi all,

If you fancy connecting to our PSX instance (read only) try this:

IP:
52.18.140.71
Port:
10747

This is the first time we've done this so there are no guarantees of reliability!

Uhm I'm unable to connect, it says

Version disagree 10.0.5 navitech Inc. (Cycle 1503)

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Sounds like your nav database is not the same as theirs.

[Zapp]

Oh that's why .... Any solution other than updating the db?

[Hardy Heinlin]

Hardy,

I can connect to the SimfestUK sim with their IP, and am trying to get the P3D visual onto my screen by switching on the boost server on my CLIENT and connecting to it internally with VisualPSX.

The load goes OK and I get a good P3D cockpit view but then the image keeps reloading constantly, as though it is going through some sort of continuos cycle.

Should it be possible to connect a client in this way to an external IP and also run a scenery generator off the same client boost server?

Peter

You shouldn't connect to an external boost server via Internet. Just use one of your local clients as a local boost server.

I don't understand what you mean by "the image keeps reloading constantly". Which image? What sort of "reloading"?


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Hardy Heinlin]

Oh that's why .... Any solution other than updating the db?

Gary could downgrade his database ... But then all others couldn't connect :-)

Sorry, the databases must agree, otherwise the sim systems will look and behave differently for obvious reasons.


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Britjet]

Hi Hardy

I'm not running the boost server over the internet. (I understand why not).
I am connected to an external (internet) server (SIMFESTUK) with a PSX client, and PSX is working fine, then I switch on the boost server on that client (it seems to activate OK) in order to feed the scenery data to my scenery generator (P3D) via VisualPSX locally.

What happens is that the scenery loads via PSX feed momentarily, and then continues to load and then reload - without ever getting a stable feed, so the image loads, then freezes for another load (of terrain etc) and so on.

I just wanted to know if, in your opinion, it should be possible to connect like this and get a scenery generator to use the client boost feed.

Can it be a client and still operate the boost server?

Peter

[Hardy Heinlin]

Unfortunately, at the moment I have no idea what might be the cause of this problem. If your PSX client displays smooth motion on the PSX instruments and PSX windshield, this same smooth motion should be sent out from this boost server. The boost server simply sends the same data at the same frame rate.

Can it be a client and still operate the boost server?

Yes, definitely.

Are you sure your VisualPSX connects to Gary's IP for the main network and to your local IP for the boost network?


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Britjet]

Hi Hardy,

Yes, I checked that. The client is connected to the remote server on their IP, and VisualPSX is connected to the same client via the boost server on the local IP.

I wasn't sure if it would work, but good to hear that it should. Maybe this is one for Garry?
I will have a try with the guys connecting to me and see if they have the same issue..

Thanks!

Peter

[joergalv]

I connected to SIMFEST server using a local setup similar to what is depicted on Page 82 of the manual. i.e. Hoppies PSX Router* connected to the SIMFEST server + 3 PSX clients connecting to the local router, having one of them acting as Boost Server.

Using VisualPSX and P3D, i get the same results as Peter. VisualPSX connects ((Status green Flight for main + boost server) but P3D keeps reloading continuously.
Visual PSX also only accepts the SIMFEST remote address as PSX Main Server. Unlike the local PSX clients, VisualPSX won't accept the PSX Router to be the PSX main server.

Luckily i keep an ootb X-Plane installation with the XView plugin on my disk. So i tried this and it worked. XView worked with either the local router as PSX Main Server, or the SIMFEST remote IP,  and provided smooth visuals.

Probably something for Garry to look in this scenario. Maybe the SIMFEST 'server' running in Read Only mode might cause some trouble syncing P3D and PSX elevation data? (uneducated guess).

*btw The router gives a lot of notifications about unknown network modes when connecting to the SIMFEST server. Seems not to affect functionality.

Cheers,
Joerg

[Ivo de Colfmaker]

hi
I have  logged in yesterday on the SIMFESTUK server and had  the same problem as Peter,
Prepar3D keeps reloading.
However, when flying multi crew with my friend I connect my PSX as main client to his PSX as main server  , run VisualPSX on my PSX machine connecting PSX main server to his IP address and  PSX boost server on my local IP address .
my Prepar3D  runs on a different machine  and is connected by cable, not wireless ,and it works flawless.
And I did the same yesterday with the SIMFESTUK server, only it did not work.
So I don't think it is a VisualPSX problem here?
ivo

[Hardy Heinlin]

I think it's because the main server is in read-only mode. I think I can assume that I'm absolutely sure.


|-|

[Berndo]

The option to connect directly with PSX to your stream is amazing.  

Looking forward to discovering FMC "tricks" and fault handling.

One thing I'm still wondering atm is how you stay on descent profile w/o interaction. I noticed this in previous streams and it nearly never happens that way for me.
The descents where I didn't get a "DRAQ REQUIRED" message are countable with one hand. That is with PSX weather and winds loaded.

Cheers,
Bernd

[ScudRunner]

Hi Bernd,

your post is interesting as I have had similar experiences to yours over the years (ie having difficulty getting a VNAV descent that did not require routine intervention with speed brake to stay on profile).

Since watching Peter's tutorials and delving further into Hardy's manual I have changed a few things in my technique and these have made a significant difference to how my descents are now performing in terms of adhering to profile without intervention.

1) Fundamentally the whole exercise is one of energy management. For years I had been flying a 340 knot descent above 10'000. Many of the descent profile tables I have seen over the years refer to this being a usable profile. However, I have since started using a 300 knot descent and this seems to work much better in avoiding going high on profile in the later part of the descent.

Although slower, by touchdown this profile will only put you ~<5nm behind where you would have been using a the 340 knot descent and with a more comfortable energy state for the FMC to manage.

2) I make sure I have loaded both RTE DATA winds and DESCENT FORECAST winds as part of my descent prep.

3) I make sure I have both the altitude and speeds for the approach I am intending to fly accurately programmed from the runway fix/Vref figures back to at least the initial approach fix.  

I then do a check of altitude/distances between the various waypoints in the arrival route and override the FMC calculations  (typically entering lower crossing altitudes or speeds) if I think the aircraft might struggle to meet the required path. Obviously you have to continue to meet any stipulated altitude/speed restrictions while doing this!

As I said these are just my observations. Adopting these has worked well for me  - hope it is of help to you also.

Scud.

[Hardy Heinlin]

A 340 knot idle descent is very fast indeed. You will have no reserves for an airspeed increase, i.e. you'll have no reserves to increase the drag without speedbrakes.

As you know, every aircraft has certain drag/lift ratios. The ratio changes with the airspeed (among other things).

The drag increases at low speeds because of the higher AOA necessary to maintain the path. The drag also increases at high speeds because the air gets compressed and due to friction.

The ratio is not linear. It's a curve.

The lowest drag is somewhere in between, typically around 270 to 290 KIAS. These are the most economic speeds because they provide the best lift/drag ratio; so you can fly a very long distance while descending at idle thrust.

If you get a bit high above the planned path, you just need to add 10 to 15 knots so that the drag/lift ratio gets "worse". The air will be more compressed, more of the kinetic energy will be converted to heat, and so you can lower the nose a bit more (increase the sinkrate) without exceeding the target airspeed too much. This way you need no speedbrakes.

These path control reserves are not available if your planned idle descent airspeed is already in the worst lift/drag ratio range. You can't make it worse by increasing the airspeed as you must stay below the red bricks.

A 340 knot idle descent has at least 3 disadvantages:

- No path control without speedbrakes
- Big noise
- More fuel required (stay longer at cruise level)


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Britjet]

For those interested in the more technical aspects of our recent simfestuk weekend, a few selected snippets on the Twitch TV site...

in "past broadcasts" the most recent recording (10283414) has the following..

00:50:00 U/S APU start
01:19:00 Engine Fail on Take-off from Munich
01:50:00 Second engine failure
02:25:00 2-Engines inoperative landing
03:22:00 3-engine ferry briefing
03:56:00 3-Engine ferry take-off

There are also Kai Tak approaches at the end..

Enjoy..

Peter

[Hessel Oosten]

Guys of the whole SimFest team: Thanks very much to make all this so accessible to us.
I've followed quite a several tracks and enjoyed it very much.

It was fun to have the on-line webcam-connection in combination with PSX, VisualPSX (FSXversion) connected here at home via the SimFest i.p. address.

Especially the track from Munich to Amsterdam with a double engine faillure was very educational !!! See Peter's post just before this one.

A must watch...: http://www.twitch.tv/simfestuk/v/10283414

Hessel