Latest Update: 2024/10/23
The below log shows all updates for this product since release:
v0.1.5 - Marketplace & More Update
New Features:
- Added Printer Friendly Manual
- The KNS80 RNAV unit is now capable of controlling the autopilot when no GPS is selected as the primary radio. See the “Using the KNS-80 RNAV Navigation System” for more information.
- Added true Pitch Sync functionality to yoke CWS buttons. Pressing and holding “L:var_PilotCws” or binding “K:SYNC_FLIGHT_DIRECTOR_PITCH” to hardware controls will now allow the aircraft to be maneuvered in pitch while temporarily disabling the autopilot pitch servo.
- WTT Mode autopilot is now integrated natively. No additional packages are required to access all features of the PMS50 GTN 750 any longer.
- Fuel level saving has been implemented, and payload saving code has been added preemptively for when MSFS allows write access to the variables required to do so.
- Functional go-around button on the throttle has been added, and will now issue the native TOGA command to the autopilot. The behavior of this command may differ depending on which autopilot (GPS software) is in use, but will default to 8 degrees pitch up on the attitude indicator’s flight director.
- Solar calculations for display backlighting have been added for a much smoother dimming effect during sunrise and sunset. Unlike other 3rd party implementations, this takes all factors into account, including leap years, and the earth’s tilt.
- Added optional copilot model to interior, which can be made visible with L:BKSQ_ShowCopilotInterior, either by setting the L:Var from 3rd party software, or by setting the default value to 1 at the end of the *.FLT files in the aircraft’s configuration files folder. Both pilot and copilot models will only be visible from the exterior when the seats are loaded from the payload menu.
- External power switch cover will now return the protected switch to the off position.
- Added support for 0.5 kHz ADF frequency tuning on the KR 87. A secondary click on the power knob will increment the standby frequency by 0.5 kHz, which will indicate on the display with a small dot to the left of the frequency.
- Added L:Var variables to access more information from the KNS80, including L:var_RNAV_WAYPOINT_NUMBER, L:var_RNAV_RADIAL_NUMBER, and L:var_RNAV_DISTANCE_NUMBER.
- Added L:Var output for every annunciator light for use with home cockpits.
- Improved annunciator light materials for more realistic appearance.
- Now supports TDS GTNxi Advanced Glide Advisor features.
- Radar altimeter decision height tooltip will now show altitude in feet instead of meters.
- Decision height annunciator light logic revised for persistent illumination below the decision height until below 20ft radar altitude.
- Touchscreen click sound added for PMS50 GTN 750.
- Reverse compatibility for VATSIM clients that use “COM RECIEVE ALL” for monitoring COM2 audio while transmitting on COM1.
- Added support for WeatherSquare 4000.
Bug Fixes:
- Finally! There is a solution for the simulator’s internal rounding error when setting COM frequencies above ~134 MHz. These frequencies will now work properly with 3rd party air traffic control clients in all Black Square Aircraft.
- Fixed inadvertent autopilot engagement and failure to disconnect after SU14.
- Fixed a scenario where the starter motor would de-energize while attempting a start on the external power “STARTER” only position.
- The latest version of the TDS GTNxi now correctly responds to the COM1 circuit power, instead of the “general avionics” circuit power.
- Various electrical loading tweaks.
- Fix for volume knob momentary push action on the TDS GTNxi 750 producing “Knob Stuck” warning.
- Added improved autopilot PID constants for better approach intercepts.
- Cabin temperature time constant increased. Cabin will now heat and cool more slowly.
- KRA-10 Radar Altimeter off-scale high needle parking position corrected to below mask, not in the hashed “OFF” range at the bottom of the scale.
- Removed KX-155 kHz rollover.
- KNS-80 output L:Var values for hardware interfaces only updated when there was a valid VOR signal being received.
- Fixed COM 1 KX155 volume knob animation that had a lower maximum position than the COM 2 KXX155.
- Reduced brightness of GNS knob ring LEDs.
- Performance fix for when both PMS50 GTN 750 and TDS GTNxi 750 are installed.
- Signal degradation effect reduced by approximately 15% according to user taste.
- Panel.noreg did not remove external registration after v1.4 build. Fixed.
v0.1.4a - 2023/03/02
- Fixes the known issue in VR where the mouse cursor sits incorrectly
v0.1.4 - 2023/03/01
New Features:
- Full Working Title (WT) GNS 530/430 compatibility. The new WT GNS entered public beta via the in-game marketplace shortly after version 1.3 of the Analog Caravan was released. This replacement GNS GPS system offers many advanced features that will be enjoyed by many serious simmers. Unfortunately, these features proved difficult to integrate fully with the Black Square aircraft due to their hot-swappable avionics. After several months of incremental patches, this aircraft now fully supports the new GPS. This was a laborious joint effort between TDS, PMS50, and Working Title developers. Thank you for your patience, and thank you to those who made it possible.. Black Square and Working Title will continue to work together to ensure that there is as little interruption to service for this fabulous new GPS offering as possible should more changes become necessary. See the “Third Party Navigation & GPS Systems” section of this manual for more information.
IMPORTANT: Please be sure to update all three GPS addons before trying to use this aircraft! If any of the three GPS addons are outdated, they may affect the others, even if they are not currently selected in the cockpit.
- KAP140 will now automatically display vertical speed setting for three seconds when the vertical speed is edited via external hardware, or key bindings. It will also engage the autopilot master when any of the mode buttons are pressed when the autopilot is not already engaged. When doing so, the unit will default to vertical speed hold mode. This greatly improves the ease of activating the autopilot after takeoff. After setting an altitude, pitch the aircraft for the desired vertical speed, and then press the desired lateral mode button. The autopilot will activate with the selected lateral mode, and will maintain the current vertical speed until capturing the set altitude.
- A new interface into the failure system has been provided in all Black Square aircraft for those wishing to trigger failures from external applications. Simple HTML events can now be sent from Air Manager, Axis and Ohs, and many more, including payware instructor stations, and even your own custom web interfaces. To learn more about this new feature see the “Failure System HTML Interface” section of this manual.
- VOR and ADF receivers now exhibit mathematically accurate signal attenuation and noise based on the aircraft’s height above the terrain and distance from the transmitter. This should greatly improve the feel of radionavigation in a flight simulator. For more information, see the “VOR & ADF Signal Degradation” section of this manual.
- Custom propeller disk textures. Vast improvement over default FSX-style textures. The default G1000 Caravan is not affected, and livery mods require no change.
- New handcrafted 4K window surface imperfections. Scratches and smudges are slightly less pronounced than default, but the high resolution results in minimal tiling, and a much more pleasant experience during low sun angles.
- Have you ever noticed that the wind sound in all other MSFS aircraft is erroneously based on true airspeed rather than indicated airspeed? This makes wind noise during high altitude cruise far too loud. It’s likely the result of there being no persistent indicated airspeed simulation variable that is not affected by pitot-static failures. All Black Square aircraft now have wind sounds based on indicated airspeed, which makes them much more enjoyable to fly at high true airspeed.
- Autopilot engagement is now MUCH smoother, with the aircraft maintaining its present attitude unless commanded to do otherwise. The PID reset mode is set to “current aircraft state” now, which resets the integrator upon engagement.
- New fuel pump cycling sound when the boost pump switch is set to “NORM”.
- Panel.noreg now included in the main package folder for livery creators. If you wish to create a livery mod that does not use the default tail number, simply use the line, “Panel = \..\..\bksq-aircraft-analogcaravan\panel.noreg” in the livery’s aircraft.cfg.
- WTT Autopilot mod now supports GPS vertical deviation from the PMS GTN 750 on the CDI. Keep in mind that this is only applicable to certain RNAV minima, such as LNAV/VNAV, LNAV+V, and LPV, but not LNAV, or LP.
- Electric trim switches will now only actuate trim when the “PITCH TRIM” circuit is functional. Electrical current draw is now indicated when the electric trim and other autopilot servos are in use. Disrupting power to the pitch trim or autopilot actuator circuitry will also cause the autopilot to disconnect, and it will not engage again until power is restored to both circuits. A continuous “TRIM” indication on the autopilot mode annunciator panel when the autopilot master is not engaged indicates a servo failure.
- Checklists updated with a procedure for testing the function of the autopilot roll actuators in the runup checklist. When the autopilot is engaged on the ground, heading mode will attempt to follow the selected heading with yoke movement, just like in the real aircraft.
- A method has been created to add engine and wind sounds to the cockpit when doors and windows are open for Steam Gauge Overhaul aircraft. The Analog Caravan was only in need of wind noise, but engine sounds have been added to the Analog King Air, and future Steam Gauge Overhaul aircraft.
- New autopilot disconnect sound to replace the inherited default G1000 sound.
- Rain and ice now appear on the outside of the storm window, instead of the inside.
- GTX 330 Transponder screen and bezel adjusted for more true to life appearance.
- Emergency toggle switch covers will now return the protected switch to its normal position when the cover is closed.
Bug Fixes:
- Windshield and Airframe de-icing is verified to be working properly in SU11 Beta. Windshield and pitot-static de-icing work continuously, and slowly. Airframe de-icing is provided by pressurized boots, which are toggled with the “Boot Press” switch. The “Auto” position will continuously cycle the airframe boots and clear ice (this was not working before), and the “Manual” position will clear ice only once. Notes on ice mitigation have been added to the “Tips on Operation within MSFS” section of this manual.
- The fuel selector warning annunciator and alarm now sound under three conditions: when both fuel selectors are in the off position, or the fuel cut-off handle is pulled; when either fuel selector is in the off position and the starter is engaged; and when only one fuel selector is on, and the selected tank contains less than approximately 25 US gallons. The warning alarm can still be disabled by pulling the fuel selector warning circuit breaker, but the annunciator will still illuminate normally. The system can be fully disabled by pulling both the fuel selector warning circuit breaker and the starter controller circuit breaker. The red “FUEL SELECT OFF” annunciator will remain continuously illuminated to indicate that the system has been disabled, but no alarm will sound.
- New failure menu blinking cursor method. On some systems, there is an HTML rendering bug that will not blink the cursor with CSS animations, despite this being the recommended method used throughout MSFS. There is a workaround, and cursors should blink regardless now.
- The fuel boost pump will extinguish the low fuel pressure annunciator light so long as fuel is available to the engine, and the light will now cycle with the fuel boost pump sound when the switch is set to “NORM”.
- Thanks to the aircraft’s new persistent airspeed code, overspeed warnings will now activate at the correct indicated airspeed.
- Fixed missing button sounds on GNS430.
- SU10 ground handling parameters are now in the correct section of flight_model.cfg.
- Engine Fires are no longer recalled at the beginning of a flight like the rest of the failures, so alarms will not sound if you had an unresolved engine fire at the end of your last flight.
- Increased the polygon count of the glareshield and associated gap seal.
- Audio amplifier sound now connected to audio amplifier circuit instead of audio panel.
- SU11 localization compatibility.
- A possible bug in the RNAV system was explored. In summary: The RNAV behavior is accurate to the real world, and matches the indications from a simultaneously monitored VOR. The apparent angular error is introduced by VOR stations with declinations where the real magnetic variation has drifted significantly since their installation. In the real world, this is most likely disregarded as a wind correction angle, but absolutely affects real aircraft. This is not an error in the operation of the RNAV system, and the courses to RNAV waypoints should be flown as they would be to any physical VOR in the real world. For VOR’s with inaccurate magnetic declinations, the actual magnetic bearing to the station is the flown course that produces a centered CDI in zero wind conditions, regardless of the OBS setting. More information is available in the Analog Caravan topic on the official MSFS forums.
v0.1.3 - 2022/10/11
Autopilot
New Features:
- New custom implementation of the KAP140 Autopilot. The previously recommended mod presented an incompatibility with the TDS GTN 750 after Sim Update 10 that resulted in modes getting stuck, and altitude hold mode failing to maintain altitude. No autopilot mod is required or recommended for the Analog Caravan any more. Existing autopilot mods installed in the Community folder can remain installed without affecting the Analog Caravan. Instructions on adding the 3rd party KAP140 mod have been removed from this manual. See the updated KAP 140 Autopilot section of this manual for instructions on use.
- Battery voltage drop now simulated. Large DC loads will pull down voltage.
- Altitude alerting tone when 1000ft remaining until altitude, and when leaving 200ft safe boundary around selected altitude.
- Original software architecture from v1.1 has been restored until MSFS exe.xml bug is fixed.
- Millibar setting window added to both altimeters.
- All Bendix/King radios now have 3D modeled knobs to match new aircraft releases.
- Equipment screenshots updated in the manual to reflect current appearances.
Bug Fixes:
- KR87 timer fixed. Press the set/reset push-button to cycle through “Start > Stop > Reset”.
- Missing KR87 tuning knob pull animation and sound added.
- Autopilot knob animations corrected to fix broken default code.
- WTT mod implementation main panel autopilot annunciators corrected.
- Fixed screen flickering when adjusting interior lighting intensity. Note for developers: this may have had something to do with the cycle time of the Coherent environment.
- Default passenger loading reset to crew-only. Vestigial from aerodynamics testing.
- Trim wheel neutral position “TD” marking correct to “TO” to correct inherited default decal.
- Decision height indicator brightness adjusted.
- One more photocell texture fixed.
- Manual updated with all new features.
v0.1.2
New Features
- CUSTOM SOUNDS & AURAL WARNINGS ADDED: A method by which to add custom sounds outside of the default WWISE package and retain all functionality in the default aircraft has been devised and implemented. This adds the iconic annunciator testing tones comprising the fire warning siren, and fuel selector off warning. Custom sounds have been added to the environmental control system to better represent the operation of fans, their speed, and the air conditioning compressor. Small ambient sounds have been added to better create the illusion of analog systems, such as relay/contactor clunks, and warning sound chirps when power is applied to their circuit. Lastly, oxygen system sounds have been added. For more information on the operation of these alert systems, see the “Audible Warning Tones” section of this manual.
- Added support for WTT Autopilot Mod, and WTT KAP140 implementation. A separate package is required to use WTT mode, available at pms50.com/msfs/. This mode limits radio equipment selection to the PMS50 GTN-750 GPS, which is a limitation of the WTT Autopilot System.
- New aerodynamics and engine performance tweaks from JayDee. Updated fuel flow, turbine torque tables, SU10 ground handling parameters, and global constant adjustments. High altitude performance is also improved by virtue of torque bloom bug fix (see below).
- Radio background materials. Unlit digits and segments are now visible when equipment is off, and vary in appearance with viewing angle. Individual electrical traces are also visible.
- New custom implementation of the KX155B. Now supports changing frequency spacing (25 kHz for US, and 8.33 kHz for Europe) by pressing the COM volume knob, and active NAV frequency tuning by pulling the inner NAV radio tuning knob. Also displays a “T” symbol when transmitting on the appropriate COM radio. The display is also more crisp, uses a superior 7-segment display font, and the background glows with digit intensity.
- New custom implementation of the KR87. The correct font is now used for annunciator text, and placement is more accurate. The text is larger, easier to read, matches the size of other custom 7-segment displays in the aircraft, and the font now has the correct aspect ratio. The display is also more crisp, uses a superior 7-segment display font, and the background glows with digit intensity.
- Inertial separator actually reduces torque when applied and functions as engine anti-icing.
- Added more easily accessible L:Vars in AnalogCaravan.xml for cockpit builders and 3rd party product integration.
Bug Fixes:
- RANDOM GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC CRASH TO DESKTOP (CTD) FIXED: Special thanks to forum user Nicotine70 for volunteering the countless hours required to isolate this bug. A note to other developers: Apparently, MSFS does not play well with the Simulation Variable “WINDSHIELD WIND VELOCITY”. Although it is documented in the SDK, it is not used anywhere in the vanilla codebase. There are several suitable alternatives for this value, such as “RELATIVE WIND VELOCITY BODY Z”.
- Torque bloom calculations were causing artificially limited torque at high dynamic pressures. This is now fixed, and has improved fuel flow and climb rate at high altitudes.
- Improved Ng calculation to reduce startup lag.
- Fixed possible CTD with the new failure system when over ten failures were active at once. This is unrelated to CTD’s experienced with any aircraft while running Sim Update 10 Beta, or the “WINDSHIELD WIND VELOCITY” bug noted above.
- Exterior camera HUD correctly displays engine power setting and flap setting degrees.
- Improved variable choices for more accurate access to underlying free turbine simulation.
- GNS and GTN volume knobs now turn GPS power on and off.
- Fixed incorrect ITT variable for cockpit builders (L:BKSQ_CARAVAN_ITT).
- Fuel Flow adjusted and in-cockpit gauge now shows correct value.
- Improved Ng calculation again. Now includes secondary injectors on startup, and scales more accurately at low idle.
- Higher quality grunge texture (scratches & fingerprints) on windshield.
- Improved font and spacing on KDI572 DME unit.
- Fixed photocell texture on all avionics bezels.
- Added missing button press sounds to navigation source select buttons.
- Added missing sounds for radio knob pulling/pushing.
- Added missing sound and animation for GTN 750 push buttons.
- Manual updated with all new features.
v0.1.1 - 2022/08/02
- RANDOM & SCHEDULED FAILURE OPTIONS & MORE STATE SAVING ~ By popular request, 91 unique failures ranging from catastrophic engine failure to fuel leaks, and all electrical failures, can now be set, reset, toggled, and scheduled via a period accurate interface on the "MAP and "LOG" screens of the in-panel weather radar. Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) can be set for each failure, saved between sessions, and accelerated up to 1024x real-time. Failures of nearly every on board system now force you to use in-game checklists for guidance. Engine condition is now viewable and repairable, and is saved between flights. Oxygen pressure is also now saved between flights and requires manual refill.
- Added Cabin Temperature Gauge and complete environmental control system. Cool things off by opening a window, or watch the airplane heat up in the sun. See manual for details on heat, A/C, and ventilation systems.
- Added Outside Air Temperature Gauge above windshield near pilots head upon request. OAT is also available on the transponder via the "FUNC" button.
- Inertial separator reduces torque by ~7% (125 ft-lbs at max Tq.)
- Cabin bleed air heat increases ITT
- Starter lag reduced, and new Ng calculation implemented.
- Revised KI-256 Attitude Indicator model upon request.
- Included some easily accessible L:Vars in AnalogCaravan.xml for cockpit builders and 3rd party product integration.
- Removed "simulator limitations" from the manual for "ITT should be more limiting at high altitude", and "Torque Bloom not simulated", as these have been added to the Black Square Turbine Dynamics Simulation.
Bug Fixes:
- Significantly improved aerodynamics and performance, especially on takeoff. Engine performance more closely matches the PT6-114A (675 SHP). Takeoff distances tested with POH values. More realistic TAS in cruise. ITT and FF reduced to match real world performance samples.
- Turbine engine response to rapid power increase at low airspeeds improved.
- Reduced fuel flow spike when going from low to high idle.
- Opening storm window now affects sound attenuation.
- Autopilot annunciator lights no longer white, but amber, as they are incandescent.
- Radar Altimeter upper bounds reduced by ~500ft.
- KNS-80 labels tweaked.
- Added Propeller Governor Test to Checklist.
- Added Cabin Mixing Air operation to Checklist.
- Fixed NAV3 & NAV4 not working on SU10 Beta.
- Manual updated with all new features. Now over 70 pages!
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