Installation: unzip Warrior-II.zip to your Flight Simulator 9 folder. Make sure the option "use directories" is active,
for the directory structure is contained within the .zipfile.
For Flight Simulator X: Unzip to the Microsoft Flight Simulator X folder. Then move the content of Flight Simulator X\aircraft to
Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes.
I hope I did not leave bad mistakes. You will hardly know how hard it is to avoid them. I can only say I did my best.
Here is Warriorb.zip with the following features:
This Warrior-II was designed for FS 2004.
It can be used in FS X, though, but in that case the nav lights won't work.
FS 2004 style materials will all be black in FS X. Therefore I removed them all and applied colour textures instead.
The model with animations was made using GMax. I was able to use part of the FSDS source of my
"old" Warrior thanks to CVA Converter v1.0, a very useful conversion program by Jiri Masnik.
The 2D panel was newly photographed and a new texture was made. Same thing for the virtual cockpit panel.
In the virtual cockpit I left out the pilot in order to facilitate looking around.
The aircraft's inside was completely redecorated and refurnished.
The door will open using . First the door latch will open together with the storm window, a small window within
the window directly to the pilot's left, and then the door itself.
The bagage door will open and close by followed by <2>. The ribbon to keep this door in the open position
is represented too.
Contrary to the real Warrior this one will fly with the doors open, without any effect on flight characteristics.
I used a photograph of myself to texture the pilot's head. If you don't like it, remember that its original is even worse.
The gear has suspension, as can be seen when moving on uneven ground. The wheels will spin while taxiing.
Like in the real Warrior the trim surface at the trailing end of the elevator wil move extra as the elevator is moved.
When trimming nose-up or nose-down the standard FSDS animation made the trim surface move in the wrong direction,
so I turned its axis 180 degrees. The trim surface should go up in trimming nose-down, causing a downward force on
the trailing end of the elevator, which will increase the elevator's angle-of-attack, making the tail go up and the nose down.
To make sure I checked it with the real aircraft, and indeed this is what it should be.
The 2D panel, too, was newly photographed and a new texture was made.
A choice can be made between a Warrior with a '4 x 3' and a '16 x 9' panel, and with or without the wheel fairings installed.
Without fairings the aircraft will be about 5 kt slower at cruise power.
A "4 x 3" panel is meant for traditional 4 x 3 monitors; the '16 x 9' panel for wide screens. Hight resolution is recommended.
The directional gyro has the random drift built-in in FS 2004, but I added an extra drift in steep turns; its absolute value is proportional
to the rate-of-turn-squared. The gyro can be reset pressing the key, but also, more realistically, by turning the knob using the mouse.
The ASI can be adjusted for density altitude.
The subscale of the altimeter will read both hPa (=mBar) and inches of mercury. The tanks will contain 25 Gal. each, and the
fuel gauges will indicate "full" at that amount.
The annunciator panel is functional, as is the audio panel, on which sound of markers, nav 1 and 2, and ADF can be switched on and off.
The instruments were put in place using FS Panel Studio.
Many gauges were newly designed, this time in xml. They won't need GaugeSound.dll any more.
The windows are transparent parts, not textures. Repainting the aircraft will not lead to loss of transparency.
In the textures, though, reflectiveness is contained in the alpha channel, making the windows and some metal parts shiny.
The aircraft paint has been made a bit glossy, too. Changing textures with a paint program could make reflections disappear,
unless the alpha channel is set again after the change.
A special word about the P-effect:
I placed the engine slightly to the right of the midline in the flight dynamics
(aircraft.cfg and Piper Warrior-II_nwf.air/Piper Warrior-II_wwf.air) to simulate the P-factor:
In the real aircraft the propeller turns clockwise as seen from the pilot's seat.
Therefore, the propwash will take a spiralling trajectory along the fuselage. It will collide with the vertical fin,
pushing it to the right, thus causing the aircraft to turn left.
In addition tot that, in most flight conditions, but especially those with a high angle-of-attack, a propblade will have a higher
angle-of-attack and a greater relative airspeed when going down as to compared to going upward.
This adds to the aircraft's tendency to turn left left slightly.
This so-called P-factor is compensated in the Cessna 172 with a bent strip of metal at the trailing end of the rudder;
in the Warrior by the rudder trim, but the degree of correction will depend upon airspeed.
In situations in which engine power is high with respect to airspeed (takeoff, climb, recovery from stall)
the pilot has to apply "right rudder".
This is the case in almost all single engine propeller aircraft; most engines (but not all) turn clockwise.
I got mail from people who didn't like it, but it is just what a real aircraf does.
The P-factor adds to realism, but there are a few prerequisites:
1. The simpilot must have rudder pedals.
2. The pedal mechanism should have no mechanical play: its potentiometer should exactly follow the feet's movements.
3. In the settings menu the null zone for the rudder pedals must be set to zero. If the software that comes with the
pedals allows for a null zone, it should be set to zero too.
If you don't have pedals, activate autocoordination in meneu:aircraft\realism.
Make sure that in FS2004 menu:options/controls/assignments/select aircraft commands/select exit is assigned to
, and that 'reflections' are activated in FS2004 menu:settings/display/aircraft.
All of the files I madse are public domain; you are allowed to do with them whatever you please without permission,
though I do appreciate to be notified of major changes.
The real Piper Warrior-II PH-SVG is owned by the Rotterdam Flying Club in the Netherlands of which I am a member,
being a private-pilot-with-an-instrument-rating. I use this computer model to help me stay current.
For those that are interested the model its source code is available on request at my email address.
In real aircraft an emergency checklist should alway be present. If you use it for flightsimming, I can recommend adding one item:
A call "dinner is ready" requires instant termination of flight. The consquence of not complying may be very serious.
Rien Cornelissen
mwcornel@sundancer.demon.nl
Badhoevedorp,
The Netherlands
Release of other Pipers is soon to be expected: Archer-III, Arrow-III, Arrow-IV, Seminole twin and probably a Cherokee.
They are almost ready.