Known as model 8KCAB "Super Decathlon," this aircraft holds a fully aerobatic certification. The Super Decathlon is one of five in the line of aircraft based of the old Citabria models produced by Bellanca in the 70's. The other models in the lineup include the Aurora, Adventure, Explorer, and Scout. The decathlon features a shorter wingspan and a symmetrical airfoil allowing for better aerobatic performance. The Decathlon also features a 180 H.P. Lycoming engine with a 74-inch Hartzell CS prop.
After searching the files at SurClaro and other sim sites, I was always disappointed with the limited choices based on the Citabria model. The few Citabria models that were available were designed for FS98 and lacked any sense of realism or detail. So I took it upon myself to create the airplane that I had been searching for. I purchased FSDS and Aircraft Animator, gathered any technical info. that I could find, and set to work. The aircraft was modeled to the exact dimensions of a scaled technical drawing of the Super Decathlon. Many hours were spent designing and re-designing "It had to be perfect." As we all know there are limitations to the FSDS program, i.e. the number of polygons used. I didn't want a boxy looking airplane; I wanted the curves to "curve." The model became very complex due to this desire, however I think it looks great and it has very little if any effect on performance. (This model is best viewed with MIP mapping turned off.)
The air file was created to match as close as possible the true flight characteristics of the Super Decathlon. These characteristics were based on several flight tests obtained from various magazine articles as well as matching the specifications found on the American Champion Aircrafts web page. http://www.amerchampionaircraft.com/newac/decath/sdspecs.htm
The Super Decathlon does not have any flaps, as do the other aircraft in the Citabria lineup. Due to this, landing the Decathlon requires careful attention to AOA and airspeed. She settles to the ground at around 60 knots or "Stall Speed" so proper flare is essential.
THE PANEL:
Again in the effort to provide the most realistic experience I felt that I needed to supply a panel for this Citabria based aircraft. After finding a photo of the Decathlon panel I brushed up on my Paint Shop Pro skills and created an accurately dimensioned panel BMP. The background BMP was drawn to the exact dimensions of the enlarged photograph. In an attempt to give the proper perspective out of the front windshield I included a portion front cowling. Due to my limited use of PSP I was not able to accurately shade the contours of the cowling. If anybody out there has this artistic ability please feel free to modify this BMP. The gauges are a mix of default Cessna and Extra 300 gauges. The others are supplied in this download. For the sake of convenience, the Master and Mag switches were placed on the lower left of the panel near the start button. These are normally located above the pilots left shoulder in the wing root. The same is true for the switches located on the lower right of this panel. The throttle and carb heat are usually located on the side of the cabin near the pilots left knee. You will notice with this panel that the throttle control is visible along the extreme lower left side. "This is the best solution I could come up with folks."
I am currently trying to obtain side and rear views for this panel; I've elected not to allow the exterior parts of the craft to be seen from the cabin, as they did not appear accurately. Also look for future textures currently in the works.
Enjoy!
Contact me at mfelso@home.com
FEATURES:
· Full Animation
· Moving pilots head - yours truly
· Nav lights
· Strobe lights
· Animated prop
· Night Textures
· Landing lights (Note that I have included two versions. One with landing beam, the other without the beam. Just swap the MDL files to suit your taste.)
Copyright and Distribution
This aircraft is released as Freeware. Copyright (C) Steve Felso. As freeware you are permitted to distribute this
archive subject to the following conditions,
- The archive must be distributed without modification to the
contents of the archive. Redistributing this archive with any files
added, removed or modified is prohibited.
- The inclusion of any individual file from this archive in another
archive without the prior permission of the author is prohibited.
This means, for example, that you may not upload an archive that uses
our visual or flight models with your own aircraft or include it in a
package containing a panel or aircraft sounds without first obtaining
the authors' permission.
- No charge may be made for this archive other than that to cover the
cost of its distribution. If a fee is charged it must be made clear
to the purchaser that the archive is freeware and that the fee is to
cover the distributor's costs of providing the archive.
- The authors' rights and wishes concerning this archive must be
respected.
