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!

BN-2 Islander Update 1.1.0

X-Aviation and TorqueSim are pleased to announce the release of the BN-2 Islander v1.1.0 update. A massive revamp of the 3D, textures, sounds, and systems on the Islander! We have integrated customer feedback to perfect 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 1.1.0:

Improvements / New Features:

  • RealityXP GTN 750/GTN 650 Integration
  • Revamped FMOD Sound Pack
    • New engine/prop noises
    • Revamped switch and internal noise
    • Custom “headset” simulation with adjustable noise cancellation
  • [IS-351] – Panel Shake/Vibrations
  • [IS-309] – Mechanical Hobbs meter/tacho in 3D
  • [IS-346] – Placard with flaps speeds
  • [IS-332] – Add ability to open plugin menu from plugins bar at top instead of only side tab
  • [IS-295] – Avitab integration

Bug Fixes:

  • [IS-241] – Carb Temperature Gauge animation jumping
  • [IS-264] – Gyro CW/CCW switch motor should play until switch is released
  • [IS-265] – Gyro Slave/Free switch has no sound for ‘slave’
  • [IS-282] – Landing light fix
  • [IS-285] – Radio channel selector lights fix
  • [IS-286] – Bose A20 Headset improvements
  • [IS-312] – [AFM-114] VOR and HSI behavior
  • [IS-320] – VOR 2 Glideslope reversed
  • [IS-326] – Mags / Door Interlock
  • [IS-327] – BN-2 VR bugs
  • [IS-329] – Stall alarm not audible when the headset is worn
  • [IS-333] – KFC225 ARM and VS buttons correct order
  • [IS-342] – Exterior lights issues
  • [IS-345] – Autopilot working with avionics off
  • [IS-347] – HDG / NAV flags reversed on HSI
  • [IS-352] – o-540-e4c5.obj reduction
  • [IS-353] – furnishings_2.obj reduction
  • [IS-321] – Brake Lines missing proper normal data
  • [IS-331] – Create .snd file changes for new manipulators
  • [IS-343] – Change annunciator brightness to run from 0-1 rather than 0-2
  • [IS-350] – Add utility light power commands
  • [IS-354] – animated prop governor control arm
  • [IS-361] – Smoothed datarefs for the sunshades on the overhead panel
  • [IS-291] – Add cockpit utility light (moveable)
  • [IS-294] – Update manual with cruise data, fuel flows, etc
  • [IS-306] – Add brightness switch and test button to annunciator panel
  • [IS-322] – Set flight model CHT min/max
  • [IS-323] – Change cowl flap lock
  • [IS-337] – Add persist to Ammeter knob
  • [IS-338] – Hide-able interior glass to remove reflections
  • [IS-357] – Update GUI
  • [IS-289] – Make custom audio panel datarefs
  • [IS-299] – Optimize 3d vertex counts
  • [IS-300] – Optimize textures
  • [IS-315] – Cabin light can turn on without battery power
  • [IS-316] – Pax notices can turn on without battery power
  • [IS-319] – Utility lights
  • [IS-334] – Add Door Interlock Sound
  • [IS-349] – Make avitab datarefs persist
  • [IS-358] – Switch wording for glass reflections

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

Islander Screenshot Contest Results

We would like to thank everyone who submitted for their great entries! The three winners will get their choice of the TorqueSim Pocket Rocket, AFM M20 Collection, or both of Attitude Simulations “Gate to the Great Lakes” sceneries (Custer and Fox Islands). It was a close competition – we are also featuring our three runner up screenshot choices and three honorable mentions. We look forward to running more of these competitions in the future!

Winners:

Winner: Rob H.
Winner: Richard S.
Winner: Jakob E. J.

Runners Up:

Runner Up: Thorsten F.
Runner Up: Richard S.
Runner Up: G.

Honorable Mentions:

Honorable Mention: (Anonymous)
Honorable Mention: 7redline7
Honorable Mention: Rob H.

SR22 Development Update 6

We are excited to share what we have been working on behind the scenes for the last month and a half! We last shared about how we are integrating the many unique aerodynamic features of the SR22 into the model, this has been further refined along with our custom engine model (which was discussed here). While refining our custom systems has been a top priority for the development team, our 3D artist Steaven has also been hard at work, making one of the best 3D models for an X-Plane aircraft to-date!

RealSimGear Integration

Our rendition of the SR22 aircraft has designed from the onset with the hardware customer in-mind. Our aircraft will integrate perfectly with the RealSimGear Perspective Hardware, providing the ideal home flight simulator.

The RealSimGear Cirrus Perspective hardware package will work out of the box with the new aircraft providing a fully integrated and easy to configure home training solution for people wanting to learn and practice flying real Cirrus aircraft. The PFD and MFD screens will automatically display the screen contents when the aircraft is loaded, all buttons and knobs will be pre-configured. This makes it possible to practice the exact same workflows and procedures you would normally encounter during a real world flight, including full checklist operation, flight plan loading and instrument approaches. This coupled with the extremely realistic engine and system modeling means that flying with the simulated aircraft combined with realistic hardware provides an incredibly effective home training platform.

Learn more about the RealSimGear G1000 + Cirrus Perspective Package here.

3D Modeling and Texturing Update

We have also nearly completed the 3D model and texturing process for the aircraft! The model has full 4K PBR texturing, with accurately replicated materials throughout (Even down to the style of fabrics and leathers used)!

Engine Model Update

The SR22 IO-550-N engine will be the most accurately replicated piston engine for X-Plane. The engine is simulated down to each individual component! Over the past few weeks, the engine model has been further refined and extensively enhanced in order to represent the proper behaviors of the IO-550-N as authentically as possible during normal, hot, cold, flooded and false starts. This is now supplemented by an extensive oil system and other features never seen before on piston engines in X-Plane, such as engine knock (detonation) based on real data as well as some unique characteristics pointed out by real Cirrus pilots on our testing team. The entire component-based simulation of engine, fuel, TKS and oxygen systems has also been integrated into a novel maintenance concept which organizes maintenance intuitively in the form of inspections.

Our custom FMOD sound pack also benefits from the advanced physics-based system simulation. For example, when flooding the engine you will hear fuel dripping from the cylinder drain port. On the SR22TN you will hear the sounds of the turbochargers depending on their speeds.

Electrical System Update

We originally discussed the Electrical System back in February, detailing the level of depth of the system. We have further refined, tested, and validated the system in all of its various modes! We have developed an internal physics model simulating the lead-acid battery and its various behaviors. The behaviors of the Alternators and the Master Control Unit are also all simulated. The electrical system is a low-level physics simulation, when a switch is flipped on the plane, instead of simply checking for power on the bus, the SR22 simulation actually connects the “switch” tying the individual electrical item onto the power bus. This new logic allows for the many different states of the SR22 to be dynamically simulated at runtime.

New Website!

TorqueSim has a new website! Visit torquesim.com to check it out, our goal was to make everything easier to find and for the website to load quickly across the globe. We have split off the development blog from the main website, you can now find our development blog at blog.torquesim.com with our update blog posts and more.



BN-2 Islander Development Update 2

It’s been quite a while since we last posted an update on the Islander project, and we’ve been hard at work on it.

About two weeks ago, we were finally able to send the first beta version off to our testers, and have since incorporated much of their feedback into the project. Testers found a variety of smaller bugs, and one or two bigger issues to spice things up.

During this time, we also undertook a complete rebuild and cleanup of the fuselage 3D meshes. These were still unchanged from the very early stages of the project. Although this was a very time consuming undertaking, we think the results speak for themselves, and the new look definitely improves the ramp presence and proportions of our Islander.

Apart from bugs getting fixed, there’s a new feature we’d like to show off. The Islander has very prominent and visible external hydraulic lines for the main gear brakes. These are a recognisable feature of the aircraft, and one we felt definitely needed to be included. After some internal development, we’re proud to say that we’ve been able to recreate flexible brake lines.

The effect is amazing to witness in action, especially considering the limitations of X-Plane’s animation system when it comes to such things.

In the past weeks, we’ve also made enormous progress on the plugins for the Islander’s systems. Most of the avionics are custom coded now, with only graphics left to integrate to make them fully functional. Various custom datarefs ensure realistic operation and readouts of core systems, especially within the electric system.

A custom but lightweight menu further allows for features such as anti-icing gear (including switches and breakers) and 3d passengers to be toggled on and off, and includes a load manager for easy configuration of weight and balance.

In addition, the flight model is coming along nicely. Careful tuning of the airfoil using real NACA data allows for dynamic handling at various airspeeds, from near stall to high cruise, and accurate control deflections give realistic pitch and roll rates. With some help from the Islander pilots in our testing team, we’ve also tuned X-Plane’s engine model to perform as close as possible to the real thing.

Some time ago now, we received high quality audio recordings of an actual Islander, and the sound pack is nearly complete! The plane would not be the same without the characteristic rumble of two O-540’s, and we’re as excited as you to hear her in all her glory!

This week, we hope to finish plugin integration, bug fixing, fine tuning, and of course, FMOD!

Now, I could go on and on about all the effort we’re putting into this project, but I think it’s better to let our screenshots do the rest of the talking.

As always, you can catch up with us on our Discord server and follow the blog for updates. For now, we hope you enjoy our newest batch of screens.

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.