X Plane 11.40 Update – Incredible Realism
Whats new with aerodynamic update!
Exhaust Thrust: Turbine aircraft actually produce 10% of their forward thrust from the exhaust of the engine. This was not understood or programmed as it was believed it was minimal. Checking real world reports it was proven to be considerably more than programmed so more power has been added to make it accurate.
Wash Spiral
Wake turbulence:
Previously wake turbulence was modeled but in real life Austin said he had experienced it and it was bad enough to make him hit his head on the ceiling of his own aircraft so that is now modeled more accurately. Expect some rock and roll when you hit it.
The turbulence comes off the aircraft and falls so if you so if you are reasonably behind and at the same level you will be fine but it will hit you if you sly below the rear of the aircraft.
End Plate
Decay Wash:
End plates are the wing tip extensions used on many modern aircraft. These prevent the air on the top of the wing vortex and creating a lot of additional drag.
The update deals with this to make it more realistic and operate correctly. One failure was aircraft with a T tail which the code identified as a wing plate which was not the true case
This is the air going over the main wing and then traveling to hit the top of the horizontal stabilizer. There is a delay between the air moving over the wing and hitting the tail plane. This was instantaneous previously so not there is a slight delay as the air travels from the wing to the tail plane as changes in attitude are made. Pitching up and down will make changes to the airflow and the subsequent reaction.
X Plane 11.40 Update -Helicopters:
The down wash as well as the effect of air passing over the rotor disk has always been fair but it didn’t take into account the different levels of lift. The front of the rotor get the best air and is more efficient with it. As the air passes over the disk it becomes less effective and this is now modeled more accuracy.
As with fixed wing aircraft the helicopter moves forward through he air so the down wash is effectively left behind as the chopper moves forward. This has the air somewhat curving down an away from the rotor down wash.
X Plane 11.40 update – Fast Jets
Fighter jets that go supersonic have always had an issue with excessive drag as they transition to supersonic flight. Air pressure builds up and something called the Area Rule allows engineers to effectively reduce the drag. What they do is to have the fuselage narrow over the wing which you see most prominently on a T38 or F5.
The fuselage narrows and this helps the air over the wing to remain more fluid and pass over the wing. This was not previously modeled in X Plane 11 so now it is. The effect within X Plane 11 and reaction Is something I will be looking at and posting on Lets Fly VFR YouTube channel and will likely add the video to this post.
Flight Model and My Impressions.
Since the release of X Plane 11.40 I have notice mostly that the aircraft I have flown seem more predictable. The option is much smoother than It was in 11.30 and before. There has been plenty of comments about the aircraft being to sensitive to control inputs. I believe this may be in the past for us.
In activating the X Plane 11.40 Beta 1 download you have to activate experimental Flight model on the first page. I am assuming once it is in full release you wont need this step.
If your not comfortable with Beta’s then wait. I am sure it wont be to long before it will be in release for everyone.
I would like to thank the team at Laminar Research and Austin Meyers for their continued work in making this flight simulator special.
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