Tag: X-Aviation

Take Command! SR22 Series has arrived!

TorqueSim, X-Aviation, and RealSimGear are excited to announce the Take Command! SR22 Series has arrived and is ready to join your hangar! Don’t be fooled by imitations. THIS is the SR22 flight schools will be using! The Take Command!: SR22 Series includes both Normally Aspirated and Turbo SR22 G3 variants in one package. The systems simulation along with 3D modeling is incredible. There’s no other SR22 on the sim market like it.

Get it from X-Aviation!

Highlighted Features

  • Fully Custom IO-550 Engine Simulation. Cylinder detonation, spark plug fouling, improper magneto grounding, and more. SR22TN adds the Tornado Alley Turbonormalizing system. All components are modeled from real data with complex inter-component interaction. 
  • Detailed electrical system. Simulation of all buses, circuit breakers, Master Control Unit, both Alternators, and both lead-acid batteries. Inter-system interaction is simulated so loads on the electrical system can affect engine performance. 
  • High-Fidelity Flight Model designed for unparalleled accuracy. Custom airfoils, stall strips, cuffed wings, and accurate control surface deflections are all modeled.
  • Maintenance and Failure Model. Excessive wear will affect airframe performance and safety, addressed through a realistic concept of runtime-based and annual inspections. This also includes truly unique features like cylinder detonation driven by the physics engine. TKS fluid panels drain over time in warm conditions and need to be primed, tires flatten, brakes fade when hot, the propeller experiences FOD on unprepared surfaces and much more to discover. Probability distributions tuned with real-world data are used to reflect the increasing likelihood of failures with component runtime. 
  • Custom TKS Ice Protection System (FIKI), with full system logic control in all normal and backup modes. Fluid metering pump model down to pump speeds and pressures, correct timing of pump operation cycles, pump speeds and flows depend on system voltage. Clogged filters provokes higher pump pressure and lower fluid flow. 
  • Custom Fuel System with Vapor Lock simulation. Main and Collector Tank are modeled, fuel sloshes depending on sideslip angle, affecting float-sensed quantity and strainer coverage. Every component in the fuel delivery path is simulated and contributes to the overall system behavior. Hot fuel can cause vapor formation and power fluctuations at high altitude in flight, suppressed by use of the boost pump 
  • Oxygen system where flow rate and oxygenation are controlled via a custom oxygen flowmeter. Oxygen tank temperature causes difference between sensed and actual pressure, oxygen flow rate depends on number of passengers on board. 
  • Persistent State – when you shut down the aircraft, you will return to it in the state in which it was left, the engine components will take their real time to cool. This encourages the proper care and handling of the aircraft, and shows the consequences of reckless flying. 
  • X-Plane 11 G1000 avionics with additional customizations including engine pages, synthetic vision, lean-assist functionality, CAS simulation, and checklists. All these customizations are designed to also work perfectly with the RealSimGear G1000 and Perspective Package. 
  • Integrated Synthetic Vision into the PFD with obstacle display, navigation pathways, and airport labels.
  • Meticulously detailed 3D model, with full 4K PBR textures and the wide variety of materials accurately replicated. 
  • The FMOD sound pack has been the result of hundreds of hours of source audio, carefully recorded from the real aircraft. Recordings of the engine on the ground, and in-flight have provided for a highly-accurate and immersive sound pack replicating the real aircraft. Every switch, knob, lever, and button have been modeled. 
  • The tail number can be dynamically changed on the aircraft! There are many configuration options to make the plane yours – from changing the tail number color, placement, outlines, drop shadows, including adding it to the wings as well!
  • Heavily multi-threaded systems architecture to leverage performance of modern CPUs with many cores. 
  • Full aircraft state persistence. Every switch, flight control position, fuel state and on-airport position is restored upon reload. Even between reloads, system resources change in real time. The engine and oil cools down slowly between flights, the battery drains, tires slowly deflate, etc.
Get it from X-Aviation!
Image Credit: @SilentDark666 via Discord

BN-2 Islander Update 1.1.1

X-Aviation and TorqueSim are pleased to announce the release of the BN-2 Islander v1.1.1 update. This update consists of a variety of bug fixes which we have integrated to improve the Islander, providing the most realistic X-Plane 11 Islander experience!

To Update: Download your installer here and re-install!

Here’s what’s changed in version 1.1.1:

Improvements / New Features:

  • [IS-367] – Add door open/close to menu bar
  • [IS-372] – Rebake gauges_LIT.png in 2k to match ALB textures

Bug Fixes:

  • [IS-364] – Typo in the cruise fuel flow charts, first row: 23.5 should be 33.5
  • [IS-365] – Possible texture or UV artifact on the prop governors
  • [IS-366] – Roll index markings on AI
  • [IS-368] – 3D modelled bolts on nose fairing missing on one side only.
  • [IS-369] – Door latch animation linked to AviTab
  • [IS-370] – Glareshield 3d extends beyond fuselage
  • [IS-371] – Carb heat keybinding gives different result than mouse manipulator
  • [IS-373] – NAV flag texture mapping bug

As always, thank you for supporting TorqueSim and X-Aviation. We appreciate your feedback and support!

Take Command! TorqueSim SR22 Series Releasing Next Week!

TorqueSim, RealSimGear, and X-Aviation are excited to announce the SR22 Series for X-Plane will release next week! The SR22 series is the cumulation of thousands of hours of work, creating the highest quality rendition of a piston aircraft for X-Plane to date: everything is simulated! Both the SR22 G3 and SR22TN G3 are included.

To make sure you know when it releases, you can sign up to hear first here!

We will be providing copies of the aircraft to streamers and other content creators to get you a first look!

The TorqueSim SR22 Series is part of X-Aviation’s “Take Command!” series of products. The X-Aviation Take Command! brand of products represents the very best of flight simulation immersion, and assures you this TorqueSim product will be one of the most sophisticated, study sim level aircraft available for X-Plane! Real world pilots test and assist in the development of these products, and real world procedures are followed. It tells you these products are unlike any other product you’ve seen outside of the ever growing X-Aviation catalog! Want to feel like a real captain? Take Command!

Main Features:

3D Model and Sounds

The TorqueSim SR22 and SR22TN have been meticulously detailed to provide for the most in-depth visual model for the SR22 possible. The aircraft makes full use of 4K PBR textures, ensuring the highest level of visual fidelity. All the different materials are accurately represented from samples from the actual aircraft!

The FMOD sound pack has been the result of hundreds of hours of source audio, carefully recorded from the real aircraft. Recordings of the engine on the ground, and in-flight have provided for a highly-accurate and immersive sound pack replicating the real aircraft. Every switch, knob, lever, and button have been modeled in the sound-pack. 

Engine Model

Both the SR22 G3 and SR22TN G3 are simulated. The SR22 is equipped with a normally aspirated Continental IO-550-N capable of 310 HP, while the SR22TN models the Tornado Alley turbo normalizing system attached to the engine. The TorqueSim custom physics model is the most accurate simulation of a piston engine for X-Plane! The simulation models the mass flows of air and fuel through every part of the engine in real time. Air enters the engine through the air filter, flows through ducts, passes obstacles like the throttle plate, burns the fuel and leaves the engine as exhaust gas. Pressures and temperatures are calculated in every section independently, all contributing to the different segments of the simulation. With the Tornado Alley turbo-normalizing system installed, the full performance capability of the engine model comes into play, as compressors, intercoolers, wastegate and turbines also have their places in the calculation of air flows and pressures. All engine parameters are tuned against a huge database of real engine log data to ensure maximum possible accuracy in all phases of flight. The entire engine simulation runs on a separate thread from the main simulator. This allows for the timing necessary for proper simulation, independent of sim frame-rate, but also ensures that the model has a near-zero performance impact on the simulator!

G1000 Perspective

Significant work has gone into enhancing the Laminar G1000 to provide many of the functionalities in the G1000 Perspective suite. Synthetic Vision, as implemented in HotStart’s TBM900 and TorqueSim’s Pocket Rocket has been integrated. The engine pages and sidebar have been modeled fully to provide the necessary details for proper engine management. Lean-assist functionality has been integrating assisting in the proper leaning of the engine. Checklists have also been integrated onto the G1000 providing easy access to the necessary preflight, starting, in-flight, post-flight, and emergency procedures. In addition to these additions, numerous other tweaks were implemented including matching the Perspective’s Top-Bar details including % Power, and destination calculations, in addition to the integration of “Know your Limits” and the fuel calculator system (which we implemented as a custom interface for refueling the aircraft!). All these customizations are designed to also work perfectly with the RealSimGear G1000 and Perspective Package. 

Electrical System

The SR22 electrical system has also been intricately detailed, ensuring every last breaker and switch is modeled. The dual-batteries are simulated with a custom lead-acid battery simulation. The dual-alternator setup and Master Control Unit have been intricately tuned to interface with the rest of the simulation. All 11 electrical busses and 48 circuit breakers are individually simulated to provide for the most in-depth of simulation. 

Fuel, Oxygen, and TKS Systems

The SR22 fuel, oxygen, and TKS systems have all been custom simulated, providing for unparalleled accuracy in-flight. The fuel system models all the details down to the fuel lines and injector nozzles! Fuel temperature is calculated and vapor is formed in the lines under the right environmental circumstances. This also allows for the recreation of all engine starting characteristics usually found on an aviation piston engine like normal, cold, hot, flooded and false starts. So be sure to understand the importance of your boost pump both on ground and in flight! The complex behavior of the engine driven and electric fuel pumps as well as the fuel manifold and metering unit are simulated. Changing bank and attitude of the aircraft affect sloshing in the tank, thus causing the indicated fuel quantity to differ. The TKS system models the multiple operational modes through the independent simulation of tanks, pumps, and fluid lines. The oxygen system is no slouch either – the tank, along with a configurable flowmeter are integrated to provide for an excellent platform for high-altitude operations. The simulator‘s hypoxia simulation is modulated to reflect real time of useful consciousness depending on oxygen flow, so make sure to configure the flowmeter properly!

Maintenance and Failure Model

The SR22 also features an engaging and beneficial maintenance, wear, and failure model. This aspect of the simulation makes sure that the plane is flown safely and without damage. Excessive wear will be affecting airframe performance and safety, addressed through a realistic concept of runtime-based and annual inspections. The entire wear and failures logic is built on top of the physics model for engine, airframe, fuel, TKS and oxygen systems. This also includes truly unique features like cylinder detonation driven by the physics engine. TKS fluid panels drain over time in warm conditions and need to be primed, tires flatten, brakes fade when hot, the propeller experiences FOD on unprepared surfaces and much more to discover. Probability distributions tuned with real-world data are used to reflect the increasing likelihood of failures with component runtime.

High-Fidelity Flight Model

The flight model is designed with unparalleled accuracy. The tuning of the aerodynamic profile required hundreds of hours of careful tuning to accurately match the real-world characteristics. The base model was created by X-Aerodynamics, and further built upon to match the aerodynamic quirks of the real aircraft to the limit of the simulator! 

Persistent and Performance Tuned

The countless systems are all designed with persistence in mind – when you shut down the aircraft, you will return to it in the state in which it was left, the engine components will take their real times to cool. This encourages the proper care and handling of the aircraft, and shows the consequences of reckless flying. These systems are also designed to run on computers of many different specs. All the systems are programmed in C/C++ using the X-Plane SDK. No compromises were made for simplicity. The plugins make significant use of multithreading to have the absolute minimum processes running on the main simulator thread, thus helping keep X-Plane performance at its maximum!

We highly recommend looking at the TorqueSim website for more details and to see our series of development updates, which can be found at torques.im/sr22.

Make sure to join our newsletter to stay up to date, you can sign up to hear first here!

Islander 1.1 Update: Coming Soon!

We’ve been hard at work preparing a major update for the Islander since its initial release! Our philosophy at TorqueSim is to make the absolute best product we can, and to that end we’ve taken time and considerable effort to prepare the Islander Version 1.1, which represents a massive improvement over the original in all areas.

With this part of the project now on the home stretch, we decided it’s time to share some of the improvements we’ve made with you.

First off, we’re very proud to say that we’ve been able to fix or resolve all bugs reported to us so far, and many more that showed up in the course of our own continued work on the project. Thank you so much to everybody who contributed reports, contacted us about issues, and offered solutions! So many of these bugs would’ve just slipped by us if not for our dedicated beta team and all of you, flying the Islander out there in the wild.

Probably one of the most anticipated additions to our Islander comes in the form of integration for RXP’s GTN simulations (RXP GNSs were compatible on launch, for anybody wondering). From 1.1 onwards, the Islander can make use of both the GTN750 and the 650, either separately or both at the same time, in both the regular and G5 versions of the aircraft.

BN-2 Islander Cockpit Night Lighting, shown with RealityXP GTN750, GTN650, and AFM G5 (sold separately)

In addition, we’ve integrated the excellent Avitab plugin, including a way to move it to various locations within the cockpit. It’ll start out hidden on every flight, but a quick click to the center of the glareshield edge should bring it right up when you need it.

In our quest to increase the performance of the Islander on all systems, we’ve undertaken some serious texture optimization, which should render the need for a 2K texture pack obsolete. The new textures retain full 4K format where needed, while selectively downsizing performance-intensive normal maps. Heavier reliance on LIT textures also permits night flights and cockpit lighting with little to no performance impact. A total of only 4 HDR lights have been retained in places where they make sense.

BN-2 Islander Cockpit, shown with RealityXP GTN750, GTN650, and AFM G5 (sold separately)

Following some requests to make the overhead utility lights functional… that’s exactly what we’ve done! The utility lights are now fully operational, with individual HDR lights attached to them. No more searching for those overhead switches in the dark.

The other two HDR lights are used in the pilot’s row cabin lights. It made little sense to bake the LIT textures here, as these lights can interact with certain parts of the cockpit, however they should have very little impact on performance.

Further optimization could be achieved in the 3d meshes of the Islander. Many parts contained unnecessarily high numbers of polygons contributing nothing to the overall appearance of the aircraft. These have been eliminated, reduced, remodeled, or otherwise repaired. You should see a marked improvement in framerates in certain areas.

Thanks to the combination of texture and mesh optimization, we’ve brought the size of the objects folder for the Islander down to just over 500 MB (including all objects and textures), from over 1 GB before. Needless to say, these are techniques we intend to apply to future projects.

We could go on and on and on about all the little things we’ve changed and improved for this version, but instead, here’s a quick list of some other improvements:

  • Expanded UI with more options for both the aircraft and the passengers
  • Manuals now contain useful charts for operating the Islander, including gross weight limitations, take off and landing distances, and cruise data
  • Cockpit switches are much more mouse friendly now, and we’ve eliminated the ‘click-and-drag’ style clickspots entirely
  • Addition of a CSL package

And last, but not least, a quick reminder that the Islander Screenshot Competition is still going on! We’ve had some excellent submissions so far, and participants have the chance to win their choice of either the TorqueSim Pocket Rocket, AFM M20 Collection, or both of Attitude Simulations “Gate to the Great Lakes” sceneries! There will be three winners. See the competition page for official rules and details. If you haven’t submitted a screenshot yet, now’s your chance, as the contest will end at the end of the month (May 31st)!

SR22 Development Update 5

Aerodynamics is one of many reasons why we all love X-Plane. That’s also why, just like with the engine, aerodynamics on the TorqueSim SR22 have been designed to take full advantage of the simulator’s capabilities and get as close as possible to the real world equivalent. Therefore a professional flight model of the SR22 was created by X-Aerodynamics in 2018 – over many months of work using all available resources and documents. It is up to the most recent standards and greatly benefits of the flight model improvements introduced with version 11.41 of the simulator and is ready for 11.50.

Key features

  • Highly accurate cruise speeds and rates of climb
  • Precise matching of stall speeds and glide ratio
  • Correct take-off and landing distances
  • Spot-on shape of the aircraft body to supply the most accurate input for X-Plane´s flight model effects
  • Accurate control surface areas and deflections for realistic turn rates

Special features

A stack of custom airfoils ships with the flight model to resemble the scimitar-shaped propeller as well as the Roncz wing profile introduced with G3 of the SR22 which has some interesting characteristics:

Cuffed Wing Design

This term refers to the non-continuous leading edge with its characteristic droop on about the outboard half. Thus the outboard section features a lower angle of incidence than the inboard section and is still flying while the inboard part is already stalled.

Stall Strips

The real wing offers stall strips to complete the cuff effect, and our airfoil polars contain modifications in the places where these are located to accurately account for their effect. Stall strips are small attachments mounted at the leading edge located on the wing´s root, triangular in shape. At high angles of attack, they trip the laminar boundary layer at a location where stall is most favorable to onset, causing earlier flow separation and consequently a sooner stall than on the outer wing portions.

Together with the cuffed wing design, the SR22 wing is engineered to stall from inboard to outboard, allowing for maximum roll control and spin prevention way into the stall.

BN-2 Islander Development Update 1

It’s been close to two weeks since we announced the Islander as a TorqueSim project, and we figured it’s time to give you a look at what has happened since.

Last time we showed you pictures, our Islander wore Cape Air’s iconic dark blue livery. This week, we’re featuring VAL’s striking orange/blue combo in our exterior shots:

What’s more, we’re finally ready to show off the interior and panel. We elected to withhold pictures of these parts the last time, knowing we had yet to add many of the details that give this aircraft its character: The BN-2 has been in service for over half a century, and we wanted our model to reflect some of this history.

Islanders fly all over the world. Whether rain or shine, snow, or tropical heat, short jungle strips, or large international airports, these aircraft serve in some of the most difficult conditions known in aviation. For this reason, we’ve added a highly capable avionics package, dual gps, but also the redundancy of full gauge sets for both pilot and copilot.

And while our screenshots show off the traditional steam gauges, we have also done testing on a version making use of AFM’s G5 instrumentation. What’s more, our Islander features a full set of circuit breakers with accurate amperages (taken straight from an actual Islander Parts Catalog).

They’re integrated with a powerful custom-coded electrical system which far exceeds X-Plane’s in scope and capability. A custom KFC 225 autopilot system and Garmin-like transponder round out the package.

She’ll take you anywhere you want to go, reliably.

Finally, we’re pleased to announce that beta testing of this project is planned to begin shortly.

For more updates, follow this blog, or sign into the AFM Discord server. We’ll also be sharing some unpublished screenshots on our server, and we’re always available for questions, suggestions, or just to chat.

Stay safe in these trying times, friends. Our thoughts go out to all of you, and we hope this crisis will be over soon.

In Development: BN-2 Islander

For all your bush-flying passenger-carrying cargo-hauling air-taxiing needs, TorqueSim are proud to present the legendary BN-2 Islander for X-Plane 11!

Initially started independently of TorqueSim, the inclusion of this beautiful bird into the new TS development pipeline has allowed for rapid progress and the seamless integration of custom systems, as well as boosting the quality of the 3D models and textures significantly!

This aircraft will feature a high quality model, PBR textures throughout, a full custom electrical system with working circuit breakers, support for the AFM G5 avionics on launch, and of course the fantastic roar of its O-540s will be rendered in beautiful FMOD!

All that, and more to come as we plan to update and improve our product throughout its lifetime!

To stay up to date with what’s going on, don’t forget to follow this blog, the AFM Discord, and keep a close eye on the various X-Plane forums! Stay tuned for more dev updates, screenshots, and insights, and of course for the big moment when our plane is available to fly on X-Aviation!

For any questions, suggestions, or just to chat: Hit us up @Random’93 (models/textures) @Coop (systems) and @Not_Steaven (FMOD sounds) on the AFM/TorqueSim Discord (Join at afms.im/discord)!

To learn more, check out the page on our website: https://torques.im/islander

We hope you’re as excited as we are to finally fly this plane!

SR22 Development Update 3

It has been a few weeks since the last update and we are excited to share all the progress we have made!

First off, we now have the SR22 3D model integrated and flying in-sim! This is a huge milestone for us, as this means we will soon be entering our closed beta stage. 

We are also excited to announce that another developer has joined our team, Marius Bohn! Marius has been working on an engine model for the IO-550 for over a year, and we are in the process of integrating the custom engine model, custom oxygen system, custom anti-ice system, and more.

We have put together a preview of our current progress on the FMOD sound pack here:

SR22 Development Update 2

It has been another week of work on the SR22!

This week, we will show previews of the interior and demonstrate the many features of the electrical system that is being simulated, even beyond the individual circuit breakers.

Interior Previews

Electrical System

The electrical system is complex, but important to be accurate. We have simulated many different aspects of the system:

  • Electrical Sources
    • Battery 1 and 2
    • Alternator 1 and 2
  • Electrical Distribution Busses
    • Main Distribution Bus 1/2
    • Essential Distribution Bus
  • Electrical Busses
    • Main Bus 1/2/3
    • Avionics Bus
    • Essential Bus 1/2
    • Non-Essential Bus
    • A/C Bus 1/2

With the accurate representation of these many different busses (and associated circuit breakers), we can ensure a proper simulation of the avionics/systems in all the many different potential configurations imposed by mismanagement or failures – providing a robust platform to train upon.

Here is a diagram we are using in the system’s development, where the connections between distribution busses and general busses are shown in different colors.

SR22 Development Update 1

After another week of hard work, we are excited to show some new screenshots and provide some more information regarding our development progress of the SR22 G3 GTS.

First off, we are excited to announce that the SR22TN G3 will come bundled with the SR22! The turbocharged variant of the SR22 will allow the option for faster cruise speeds and higher cruising altitudes.

G1000 Perspective System (Work in Progress):

G1000 Custom Engine Page
G1000 Custom Engine Sidebar
G1000 Custom Checklists