VERSION 1.0.0 RELEASED MARCH 5, 2021
- Spitfire L.F Mk IXc Released
VERSION 1.0.1 RELEASED MARCH 13, 2021
This update is our first update since release, and aims to address some remaining bugs & issues pointed out by our users, prioritizing improving the user experience, adding missing sounds & features and further improving the flight model.
Overall, the flight dynamics have been made more realistic and therefore the Spitfire is now slightly more difficult to fly (especially on takeoff). You will need to use your rudder trim more effectively, and manage your engine power more carefully.
Art
External LODs improved, icing LODs fixed
Clipped Wing icing issues fixed
Animated oxygen valve, external tank lever
Windshield Fluid Port textures added
Sound
Touchdown Sounds added
Additional cockpit sounds added (wobble pump, primer, various switches)
Systems & Flight Model
Parking Brake made clickable
Flight Model improvements (thanks to Raimond aka GotGravel for pitching in and making several contributions here)
Stall speeds increased slightly
Stall behavior adjusted
P-factor increased (you will notice a much stronger tendency to swing left on takeoff. Counter this with some right rudder trim)
Torque/Propwash dynamics adjusted
Roll inertia, stability adjusted
Control sensitivity at various airspeeds adjusted
General control & trim sensitivity adjusted
Prop Inertia reduced
Engine throttle response speed increased
ATC Power now tied to Radio Unit – to be able to contact ATC, select any preset channel on the radio (A-D) to power it on
Oxygen Flow now requires oxygen flow valve on the starboard side of the cockpit to be opened
Negative G’s starve engine of fuel (WIP, needs additional work)
Engine Temperature model adjusted slightly (still WIP)
VERSION 1.0.2 RELEASED MAY 24, 2021
Art
- Modern Radio & Transponder unit added
- Windshield scratches decreased
- Cockpit control hitboxes improved, made easier to use
- Pilot head basic animation
- Fuel Slipper Tank added
- Fixed Compass & Directional Indicator
- Prop blur adjusted at low RPMs
- Cockpit Camera collisions added
- Various small bugfixes
Systems
- Custom C++ Merlin Temperature model integrated (replaces default MSFS thermodynamics system)
- Fuel system overhauled + External Tank integrated
- Custom oxygen system integrated
- Fuel Primer functionality integrated - now required for startup (note that requirements vary with weather conditions)
- Engine failures revised, overheat failures improved. The engine must now be flown inside real-world operating limits or it will very likely fail
- Camera/quick-views overhauled
- Door & Canopy overhauled - increased realism, includes locking mechanism. Door must be closed to operate canopy slide.
Flight Model
The flight model has been overhauled and improved, with many small corrections adding up to make for a significantly more realistic experience. As before, thanks to GotGravel for many contributions here.
- Geometry corrections, wing surface areas corrected
- CG locations & limits revised
- Lift & Drag curves revised
- Flaps pitching moment & drag corrections (nose-down tendency more realistically modelled)
- Moments of Inertia revised
- Roll rates & control authority adjusted
- Weathervaning tendency improved
- Takeoff run increased realism - more stable along roll axis, reduced P-factor torque
- Braking force increased, tipping tendency reduced slightly
- Engine modelling adjusted slightly, inverted flight restored
Sound
- Brakes pneumatic sound added
- Flap sound improved
- Engine 3D Sound panning bug fixed, attenuation improved
- Door, lock & canopy sounds updated
VERSION 1.0.3 RELEASED JULY 29, 2021
Update 1.0.3 focuses on updating the Spitfire for MSFS’s July Update, which includes Xbox integration and a new interaction system. We’ve also included some particle FX and a few other goodies for you.
- Implementation of the new UI and Interaction system – including improved tooltips and controls (primer and door controls fixed)
- Integration of Garmin 430 GPS in the cockpit – gunsight can now be toggled between gunsight and GPS via the Gunsight Reticule switch
- Addition of basic Visual FX – engine smoke, contrails, tyre particles etc. More to come in future updates!
- Integrated engine block vibrations
- Numerous Flight Model and Ground Handling refinements and improvements (By GotGravel)
- Refined and improved Oxygen system realism
- Engine Damage now optional – can be toggled ON/OFF via Radio Preset Button D
- Improved Prop Animation
- Fixed lighting knob controls
- Fixed temperature gauge dropouts and bugs
- Numerous bugfixes and miscellaneous improvements to Art and systems
VERSION 1.0.4 RELEASED OCTOBER 26, 2021
This update includes temporary fixes for the Xbox version of the Spitfire.
- Permanently closed the door
- Gauges are now using the default temperature systems
- External fuel tanks now dissapear if the External Fuel is set to 0, runs out or is jettisoned
VERSION 1.1.0 RELEASED DECEMBER 17, 2021
- Accurate Moments of Inertia according to factory data
- Flight Model Entirely re-tuned due to the above
- Faster acceleration during take-off
- Renewed Instrument Camera setup and tuned QuickViews L1/R1
- Overall camera improvements
- Added Tablet & all the goodies along with it
- Fire in the pipes ... 12 x awesomeness
- A bunch of sound improvements: additions, remixing and rebalancing
- Programmable Radio (use tablet to program and radio buttons A-D to use)
- Added loading tips
- Fixed Mag 2
- Fixed cockpit light dimmers
- Improved cockpit texturing
- Added VR stick control
- Fixed radio clickables
- Fixed clock animation
- Many more fixes and improvements
VERSION 1.2.0 RELEASED JUNE 5, 2022
Systems:
- High-fidelity engine simulation tuned in cooperation with an active MkIX pilot
- Solved fuel qty rounding error in MSFS Fuel screen
- Slightly adjusted empty CG to prevent out of CG error at 99% main fuel tank only
- Corrected pilot description tag
- Fixed Autopilot binding issue
- Improved VR Pilot camera view
- Adjust brake lever animation to be analogue
- Brake lever animation much more responsive
- Brake pressure needles much more responsive
- Fixed fuel pump issue
- Added CANOPY OPEN simvar in support of fan hardware
- Added more loading screen tips
- Refined various cameras
- Improved exterior HUD
- Setup detailed electrical system
- Improved the fuel pressure system
- Added volts to tablet live data
- Improved the startup simulation
- Implemented MS/FS supercharger gears and made various refinements to the supercharger
- Changed boost button variable
- Added ability to toggle GPS power
- GPS button brightness is now based on the maximum of the two spotlight rheostats
- Improved the dynamic engine stresses
- Added more informative mouse-over tips
- Added engine backfiring (low MP, high RPM)
- Greatly improved the thermodynamics model, taking into account things such as the gear disrupting radiator airflow and the flaps blocking it entirely
- Added common power settings to the checklist
- Fixed RPM stress algorithm
Flight Model:
- High-fidelity flight model tuned in cooperation with an active MkIX pilot
- Added modern prop physics
- Reduced brake power to ease nose dipping
- Corrected differential brake value
- Slightly increased prop efficiency at idle to match the real world Spitfire
- Minor correction to wheel contact points
- Increased flap deployment dip
- Increased adverse yaw
- Tweaked flap and gear drag
- Tuned parasitic drag
- Added custom prop disc braking
- Added compensation for the SU9 wind issues
Art:
- Fixed windshield deice animation
- Fixed gun barrel frost showing if there are no guns
- Added low altitude dust FX
- Fixed rudder and elevator trim tabs
- Added wing tip vortices
- Added cockpit light bounce & improved cockpit lighting
- Modified LOD sizes for better optimization
- Fixed the rudder trim knob not responding to the clickspot correctly
- Improved the instrument panel texture
- Added canopy physics (the canopy can now slide shut if the canopy is open and the door is locked)
- Disabled engine smoke (will likely be re-added and improved down the line)
- Fixed collision box for the cockpit
- Fixed animation for the boost coil cover so that it no longer clips with the fuel lever
- Fixed door collision so that it's easier to click the port switches
- Fixed gunsight ambient occlusion issue
- Added the ability to toggle between the default ASOBO pilot and the WW2 pilot
Sound:
- Gear thud added
- Propwash sound improved
- Ground sounds mix improved
- Engine Backfiring improved
- Improved starter sound
- Rattles, Winds and flaps mix improved
VERSION 1.2.1 RELEASED JUNE 10, 2022
Systems
- Reverted fuel pump to OFF during cold start
- Set default pilot to WWII
- Improved fuel valve logic. The fuel valve can now be toggled with the Toggle Engine 1 Fuel Valve keybind.
- GNS430 can now be powered on/off with the COM1 volume button
- Improved the rudder trim wheel interaction speed
- Fixed radiator flap not responding to manual override
- Fixed clock animation
- Halved the speed of icing
- Improved the baro knob
- Wobble pump logic improved
- Added aileron trim control to tablets settings. Be sure to TURN OFF 'Auto Rudder' in the assistance settings as this is causing major right roll.
- Base oil temperature slightly decreased
- Optimized primer animation and interaction code
- Canopy slide auto-shuts under a steeper angle now, making it easier to open on approach.
- Transponder digit rolls corrected
- Fixed checklists by removing incorrect idle/cutoff reference
- Fixed CTD when saving custom camera views
Flight Model
- Slightly tweaked performance to compensate for SU9 changes (slightly lowered thrust at take-off)
- Reduced wheel brake power
Sound
- Engine starter whine sound re-added
- New engine booster sound added
- Added startup pops and backfires
- Added prop sound when engine is turned off
- Engine shutdown timing with sound improved
- Improved groundroll and propwash transitions
- General rebalancing
Art
- Greatly improved the cockpit shadows and eliminated almost all light leaking
- Modified clock arms to more accurately reflect the real gauge
VERSION 1.3.0 RELEASED JANUARY 27, 2023
Flight Model
- Implementation of full CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics)
- Tailored AoA/Winglift profile
- Improved Adverse Yaw
- Retuned yaw, roll and pitch stability
- Rudder, aileron and elevator fine-tuning
- Retuned component drag numbers for droptank, canopy and radiator
- Additional fine tuning of the Clipped Wing version (adjusted weight, moments of inertia, roll rates, wing loading and drag)
- Increased propeller drag at low boost / high RPM settings (disc braking in preparation for landing)
- Slightly increased low RPM shake
- More torque on roll effect
- More effective propwash on ground making it easier to turn (e.g. you can now start a static turn at around 850RPM instead of 1200RPM and with one wheel fully locked)
- Default aileron trim now 25% up from 15% in order to counter the increase roll by torque (tuned to fly level at cruise speed so 2200 / +4)
- Retuned AoA Lift profile in order to achieve 0.5kts accurate stall speeds
Ground Handling
- CFD ground effect
- FlyingIron taildragger physics, finely tuned to match actual Spitfire behaviour for a highly authentic experience (in cooperation with a Spitfire pilot)
- Free castering tailwheel (steer with differential braking or propwash/rudder)
- Gear static compression lowered from 50% to 33%
- Gear bouncyness restored (needed after a recent SU update)
Sounds
- Wing, Tail & Fuselage Scrape sounds added
- Flyby sounds overhauled; default Asobo processing replaced
- Ground Roll overhauled & updated to reflect surface types
- Updated & improved touchdown & rattle sounds, dynamic processing based on vertical velocity on landing
- Wing loading & G-force stress sound added
- Added custom cockpit reverberation effects, realistically affected by canopy insulation (canopy open = no reverb)
- Replaced all attenuation sets with FlyingIron_Attenuation_Custom_xx sets. New attenuation model has more realistic sound cones & - distance modelling, which are now dynamic and affected by airspeed (eg the emitter cone will flatten with airspeed, meaning sounds will become less audible from infront of the aircraft at high speeds)
- Beefed up engine sounds via parallel compression to add more low-end in response to higher throttle settings & vice versa
- Overhauled exterior reverberation, with more realistic processing on all sounds
- Wind sounds updated & improved; better tones/sounds, more realistic processing, ground effect influence at low altitudes, ambient - weather now affects wind sounds
- Overhauled PropWash sound implementation
- Implemented flap, gear & AoA based drag sounds
- Improved & rebalanced propeller sounds
- Crash & Water Impact sounds added
- Overhauled engine starter sounds, increased complexity & realism of starter soundscape sequence
- Added prop sounds for extremely low prop RPM (ie prop turn from flywheel)
- Fixed engine idle loop artifacts
- Additional cockpit foley implemented: throttle/prop/mixture lever movements
- Improved timings on engine startup & shutdown
- Implemented control surface foley sounds (Rudder, aileron, elevators)
- Replaced fuel pump sounds, improved fuel pump sound modulation
- Added gyro/electrical sound
Visual Model
- Fixed nose gap
- Fixed flaps clipping through wings
- Fixed rudder trim animation
- Added a small gap between spinner and nose
- Prop strikes will bend the prop (to repair, click a blade from within the cockpit)
- Fixed external light on/off status
- Tailored exterior lights (plus the starboard nav light is now more blue)
and much much more that won't fit here!!
VERSION 1.3.1 RELEASED FEBRUARY 6, 2023
- Added Marshaller
- New prop drag/disc braking logic
- Improved elevator and rudder trim response for keybinds, mouse drag & mouse wheel
- Increased torque & tuned aileron trim effectiveness to match
- Removed canopy G-force slide
- Fixed tablet workshop wear and tear timing
- Fixed bug where GPS & Autopilot drew power when invisible/unused
- Fixed startup fire when magnetos are off
- Fixed ground effect inbalance issue
- Fixed exterior wind volume
- Booster pump volume increased
VERSION 1.4.0 RELEASED MAY 15, 2023
Flight Model
Flying under a bridge detected, now prevents destroying the prop
Increased rudder authority in flight
Tuned prop drag
Adjusted static height
Adjusted MP power at 2000RPM to meet RAF target
Increased flap deploy pitch down effect
Increased yaw forces
Ground Handling
Added authentic rudder-controlled differential braking
Increased wheel brake power
Improved gear suspension
Sound
Complete overhaul of exterior engine sounds
Complete overhaul of flyby sounds
Remade pitch curves and transitions for all engine tracks to be smoother and all in sync
Added new attenuation models
Rebalanced & improved wind Sounds
Corrected wing creaking volume spike
Fixed fuel pump attenuation
Systems
Added optional accelerometer
Increased coolant temp rise
Added oil & coolant initial temperatures for hot starts
Updated Instrument Cam #9
Visual Model
Redesigned cockpit spot lighting
Low Fuel Pressure and Gear Indicator lights now emit a subtle ambient light
Redesigned exterior lighting
Fixed oil temperature gauge face
Added throttle lever vibrations
Widened ASI needle
Tablet
Added ASI MPH/KTS toggle option
Added accelerometer gauge toggle option