LongEZ for X-Plane version 7.62

[NWade]

Strider -

Sorry, not meant to be an endorsement of MSFS.  I actually like X-Plane better, myself.  However, since others were talking about its superiority, I felt I'd give some counter-point perspective.  I made the stupid assumption that a lot of people here have already tried X-Plane and know about it.  

I personally feel X-Plane is much better at simulating actual in-flight physics.  BUT, I'm more of a computer programmer than I am a pilot; and I've also seen people put the product on a VERY high pedestal - which I don't think it necessarily deserves.  For my money, X-Plane is a great product... But I wanted to point out both the positives and negatives of both.

Take care,

--Noel

P.S.  I guess I should've clarified that by "casual" in my last post, I meant from a basic computer-user's / gamer's perspective (i.e. a non-aviator)... NOT a casual pilot.

[Strider]

Yeah, I see what you mean, Noel. I sometimes like to ridicule MSFS for being a lookup-table application-  but then in honesty, so is an Evans & Sutherland Boeing 777 Class A Simulator. The problem for us Macintosh users is that (a) there is no current version of MSFS for us, and ( b ) X-Plane is written on Macs, and then ported to Windows and Linux. So we can be doubly preferential at times.

Don-  The canard designs that I have uploaded do not have explicit controls for autopilot, although there are indicator lamps for Wing Leveler, and perhaps Alt Hold. This stems primarily from the fact that I have none in my VariEze (the real one). However, most joysticks for flying computer sims have buttons included, and there is a joystick programming screen in X-Plane where you can assign the stick buttons to any of a large number of control functions. The autopilot functions will work regardless of whether an indicator or control is designed into the airplane. If you use a stick button for the Wing Leveler, you will see a lamp come on for it.

I do appreciate your concerns, and am noting them. The current uploads of canards for X-Plane are introductory- these are brand new designs done quite recently. There will be further development and additional releases.

I plan to photograph the panel in Ion Huss's N110EZ and produce a photo-realistic panel in the LongEZ. I don't fly with anyone right now flying a Cozy. But-  if a current owner/pilot of a Long or a Cozy is particularly proud of their instrument panel, and would like it immortalized in a computer program, send photos. I would need good, high-res, digital close-ups, in good lighting, for the whole panel. Angle shots at 45, 90, 135 both left & right, 180 degrees to the rear can also installed.

[Don]

I am enjoying flying both the varieze and the Longeze.

Look forward to any updates.

Thanks,
Don

[NWade]

Hey, I'm not complaining - they may not be perfect, but they're a heck of a lot more complete than any other canard set I've seen for X-Plane.  Its obvious you've put a fair number of hours into them - especially since I started toying with Plane-Maker tonight.  I took the liberty of tweaking with your Cozy design, just to see what the plane is capable of...

If the wings were totally rigid bodies (as X-Plane makes everything), you could put nearly full-span ailerons on...  I did, and with a couple of other tweaks to the control systems I got the roll rate to about 300 degrees per second - wow!  

Funny thing is, in real life I've heard deeper-chord ailerons beat wider-span ailerons, because of the wing-flex near the tip.  But I toyed with aileron chord lengths of 0.27 to 0.40 and really didn't see nearly the improvement that wider-span ailerons give - at least on a stiff wing.  I think the deeper-chord ailerons start to spoil the airflow over the main wing before they generate enough force to compensate for their short moment-arm relative to the fuselage centerline...

Okay, enough geeking-out for one night on here. :-P  This is what happens when you're a computer guy who's suppressed the urge to fly for a decade...

Take care,

--Noel

[Anonymous]

Anybody know of a Cozy MK IV model for FS 2004?

[Strider]

Noel-  just wait until I get the Jet Powered Cozy, and the Rocket powered LongEZ done. Then you can really have some fun of the kind that is NOT approved for the real airplanes in general ownership.  

[tony]

Hey strider

I just purchased x-plane 7 and upgraded it to 7.62 I downloaded the long ez files into x-plane but it keeps telling me that there is a corrupted file also the program is very jumpy at times and freezes up my computer I have a gateway 1.1ghz with alot of memeory 512mb and a really nice video card when it is working it looks great everyting but the long ez that is any ideas on how to fix these issues?

Thanks Tony

[OM]

Dear All,

Be informed that you can download my Rutan Long-EZ (Millennium Flight Around The World twice) for FS9 from :

http://www.flightsim.com
http://www.avsim.com
http://www.aviasim.ch

You have to catch-up the original file HBYCT_V1.ZIP and the patch file HBYCT_P1.ZIP.

Have a look to my Web pages :

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/designair

The fully detailled Virtual Cockpit is missing, but the work is in progress.

Actually, I am flying a real french Long-EZ so I did my best to stick to the real dynamics, but according to the FS9 limits.

Flying Safe.

[Strider]

We are back from a 1,300 nm holiday trip in VariEze 111JK (the real aircraft that the XP version was modeled from.) It's actually been a few days that we've returned, Denver to Phoenix and back. The aircraft ran and flew flawlessly. South thru NM and then West, we stopped for fuel in Santa Fe, NM. Freezing cold and windy, but clear all the way. We overtook Santa in broad daylight, and he sent us this photo:
 
 http://www.vigilanceaero.com/VEZoverCO.jpg
 
 Tuesday morning (28th) we flew out of Phoenix between dramatic cloud layers at 8 AM, maintained VFR and there were lots of holes below. Plenty of Light to Moderate Turbulence in NM and CO that afternoon- Oh Boy, My favorite (NOT).
 
 I practiced this flight 8 or 10 times in X-Plane; the whole flight- Longmont 2V2, Colo to Phx-DVT and back- in X-Plane flying my VariEze. I used real weather downloaded in flight. I became familiar with the terrain and the orientations of airports all along the way. I practiced randomly-timed engine failures, landed on roads, and the X-Plane model demonstrates the same Glide Ratio as the real plane, which is less than it's supposed to be by design. With sufficiently accurate fuel flow, capacity, weight, and cruise speeds in the X-Plane model, I accurately predicted how far the real plane would get between fuel stops, including the probable impact of weather.
 
 I firmly believe that X-Plane has shown what my plane can and cannot do in emergencies. I don't want to stop the prop on my plane in a practice session, because it does not have a starter. That would be a practice exercise a little too real for me. And I was able to safely start flying the plane in the first place because I flew it in X-Plane. If you fly a real airplane, X-Plane is the best value BAR NONE in aviation. Most of the gadgets sold to aviators are unbelieveably expensive and still of dubious value. The price of flying emergencies and familiarization flights in X-Plane is absolutely negligible when compared to it's value.
 
 X-PLANE ROCKS !!!