NZFF

I'll tag along for that knowledge ride - it's been sitting in my "Downloads" folder for a loong time, and I've never managed to summon the motivation, somehow...
It has to do with the fact that I am more than satisfied with a quick shot to 1500 ft from the VET engine I suppose.

Alrighty then gents, just a quick question first to help me help you

How do I get a screenshot of what I'm doing with the CCS interface? I'm running Vista, I know there is a key-stroke that does it but have no idea what it is... And also, where does that screenshot get saved?

Sheesh, talk about the Dark SIde...next he's gonna mention it only works in FSX

Charl wrote:

QUOTE (Charl @ May 21 2008, 08:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sheesh, talk about the Dark SIde...next he's gonna mention it only works in FSX

LOL Hell No!

I'll probably be still happily tooling around with FS9 when FSXI hits the shelves

OK, now I've got that figured out...

The user guide that comes with the program is pretty straight forward...
Forget anything about ridge-lift and wave that you read in there - thats where things get overly complicated and time consuming (I tried to get a topo scan done for some .bgl lift files of the Kaimais and kissed goodbye to 10hrs...)
Same goes for the Cumulus! folder - they are just an active cloud texture that sits over the thermals generated by CCS and they look like arse! I dont use them since they look so bad.

Now, to use CCS you're gonna have to fire up FS9 first - this is the perfect time to re-assign your throttle axis to the spoilers and reverse its movement
While you're in there, go to the weather settings and using the "user defined" and "advanced" sections, give yourself very little or no wind, and a cloudbase of about 8000' (this is just to start with while you get used to thermalling, as you get better you can bring that down to some realistic altitudes).

Pick your glider and head to your desired launch point (I use Pauanui and Waharoa a lot). Now, minimize FS9, and fire up CCS 2004 using the Control Panel shortcut on your desktop...

It should look like this:

Note, this is how I set it up when I was figuring out how to soar in FS, so the figures in here are pretty generous Particularly the "widespread sink" settings on the righthand side... once you get the hang of it all, drop that back to "automatic".

Once your Control Panel looks like that, click the "exit and launch cross country soaring" button and jump back to FS9... Un-pause it and you should see a message scroll across the top of the screen.

Thats it Lads, grab a 1500' winch launch and go forth

Normal thermalling speeds should be anywhere from 40-50kts. If you're in the Duo Discus and have the Caiset gauges, the altimeter/vario/glide computer has an audio function so you can hear by the tone of the beeps as to what the air around you is doing.
If that gauge set is installed properly, any throttle inputs (keyboard or axis) should have no effect whatsoever on the glider.

Thanks very much mate, will give it a go now and let you know how I get along!

Well that wasn't too hard was it?
I dropped the Duo Discus at Pauanui, and winch-launched to 1500 ft.
A short while later (faster than by car!) we arrived at Thames.
Those thermals certainly have grunt; 500-700 ft a pop, I just puttered along and got there 1500ft higher than the start point!



Question: are there any indicators that you're headed into a thermal?
Which settings are best to tweak for a more realistic experience?

Glad its worked out for you mate!
There are a couple of things that will get you going... Thermals only operate to their maximum potential between say, 11am and 3pm.
In the Control Panel pic I posted above, under the "Lift and Sink settings" you can tweak to your preference:

Lift Ceiling - Bring that down to 3500-5000', that should cover most soaring conditions in NZ (dont forget, the thermals will only lift as high as the lowest cloudbase set in FS9 - regardless of what you set in CCS)
Strength - 300-2500fpm roughly covers what you'll find in NZ (also, on the vario's in the gliders the scale is equal to fpm x 100, if its measured in knots of course)
Diameter - once you've got the hang of belting along at Vne +/- 10% then pulling up and wrapping the glider around the core of the thermal at just over stall speed, feel free to wind this down. Realistically, you'd be looking at little over 1000' at cloudbase.
Duration - Thats pretty much sorted already... Just remember they do cycle, so if one starts to decay on you, just hit the road and come back later.
Coverage - anywhere from 10-35 per 100 square miles is good, with the higher number being about right for a mid-summer competition.

Further on the righthand side of that section, the only other thing to change is the "Widespread Sink" change this to automatic (what goes up must come down... same applies to air in regards to thermals)
Theres also a section there dealing with Inversion Layers - make sure you change the "Likelihood" to 0%, or you'll get that sinking feeling... Inversions are the thermals worst enemy.

Lastly, Tab+E give you a brief text display showing the distance and bearing to the closest thermal

Champion!
Well that reallly was 3 easy steps, and thank you, sir.