A lot of updates followed my last post about REP 4.3.0 beta. All of them were just fixes to issues found during the testing.
This time instead, we have a huge update for one of your favorites. The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260!
What you see here is still beta, so it’s not perfect yet. It is a free update for the current REP customers. To download it, just use the SkunkCrafts Updater as described here: https://www.simcoders.com/faqs/how-to-switch-to-rep-beta-version/
SF.260D G1000
There you go. Now you have it. The G1000 version is available for both left-hand and right-hand cockpits and it’s based on the SF.260D that you already know powered by the Lycoming O-540-E4A5 engine.
It uses the default G1000 from Laminar, therefore, there is no fps loss at all.
Military SF.260D (Belgian Air Force)
This version is developed together with a Belgian Air Force flight sim instructor. It differs from the civilian SF.260D by:
- Fuel-injected Lycoming IO-540-E4A5 engine: the engine power is the same as the civilian one but it has no carburetor to bother about and it’s slightly more fuel-efficient. Moreover, it can fly inverted for up to 8 minutes without issues. Beware that the startup procedure is different from the civilian plane. Use the checklists!
- Dual electric fuel pump (main + aux): this requires a little knowledge about the switches to use (and the order of actions). More information in the included user manual.
- Warning lights panel: provides warnings about the on-board systems
- Different fuel system: there is no fuel selector. Rather, the fuel always flows from the left main tank to the engine and a switch lets you move the fuel from the tips or the right main tank to the left main tank. More information on the included user manual.
- HSI arrow pointer: a pointer in the HSI always points towards the tuned beacon
It is highly recommended that you read the user manual (especially the fuel system section) before flying the military plane and then use the checklists during the flight to get accustomed to the new systems.
New sounds
Some months ago I was able to record a new set of sounds of the plane. I did it using a different audio-recorder setting than before and now I feel like the new sounds are almost perfect (I’m not totally happy with the external sounds yet). They really represent what you hear inside an SF.260 cockpit.
The wind noise has been sampled at the bottom of a looping, where the engine is running at the minimum power (almost) and the speed is getting higher and higher. This way it has been isolated without losing quality.
The wind noise level in the real plane is so high that it almost overcomes the engine noise. That’s why you always see pilots wearing headsets onboard the Marchetti. Therefore, it is highly recommended to “wear” the headsets by clicking on the 3D David Clarks you see in between the plane seats in X-Plane. They will muffle the sounds and cut away a large part of the annoying wind sound.
Minor changes in this beta
In this release, there are some minor changes affect all the planes. Specifically:
- The C210 engine had issues in revving up properly if the throttle was advanced quickly to the firewall
- The static elements are hidden if the plane is loaded with engines running
- The in-flight tips were not visible in VR. Now they are.
- The C172 engine fuel flow could have been too high during start
- Some minor 3D model glitches fix for the SF260