Version 2.6 (April 2nd 2018)
New Features
* VR Ready - all cockpit manipulators have been optimized for virtual reality in accordance with the Laminar Research Guidance for Authors, and tested with X-Plane 11.20vr6
* Now includes the ShadeTree Micro Aviation AutoUpdate(c) plugin - your copy will be automatically updated (when needed) every time you load the Cirrus
* New "Startup Cold, Dark and Healthy" option available from the Options pop-up menu. If you select this option, the switches, settings, etc. will be reset to a "cold and dark" state, and any failures will be reset
* New menu control system - you can now reposition and resize your menus, and their positions and sizes are saved when you exit. Position the small control icon anywhere on the screen.
* Persistent "save states" - (91) different preferences, options, switch settings, and weights are saved when you unload the Cirrus, and are restored when you fly the next time
* Autopilot now disengages when Minimums are reached - according the Cirrus POH, the autopilot will not engage or will disengage either below 200' AGL or when your Decision Height Minimum is reached
* Autopilot LVL function now turns on the autopilot servos and sets roll and pitch to zero (in accordance with the SR20 POH)
* New NORMAL textures for interior objects - to take advantage of X-Plane PBR rendering system
* The altitude number on the altimeter is now shown in steps of 10' (e.g. 1100, 1110, 1120, etc.) instead of one-foot increments (1101, 1102, etc.)
* New LEDs appear near the HSI on the PFD to show Course and Heading changes when CRS or HDG knobs are being adjusted
* Landing lights are now much brighter
Fixes:
* Fixed a problem where the ADF and NAV audio volumes were flip/flopping
* Now using the correct dataref for the analog gauge slip indicator
* Now using the correct dataref for the turn rate indicators
* Fixed a problem where the engine idle could go much too low and the engine would die
* Fixed misaligned glideslope indicator on PFD
* Improved the situation where the %Power needle on the MFD would jump wildly when mixture is reduced to near engine-quit state
* Small improvements to FMOD sounds
* Fixed some UV-map problems with some meshes on the interior
* Autopilot now uses standard X-Plane commands instead of custom commands
* Added missing HDR lights for interior dome lights
Version 2.5 (August 13th 2017)
New Features
* New engine and propeller modelling by Alan Shafto / AeroSimGaming:
- Engine Handling - The SR20 has a single lever power control that manages both propeller control and throttle. Alan reverse-engineered the throttle quadrant from the aircraft maintenance manual to convert into numbers so we could custom code the propeller control. So now the aircraft will maintain a 2500RPM cruise regardless of the power setting from 40% power up to 85% (Depending on density altitude).
- Propeller Modelling - Propeller modeled as a Hartzell Scimitar composite propeller. Custom airfoils were used to recreate the correct propeller control at high altitude and low alt
- Engine Modelling - The Continental IO-360-ES; Engine horsepower output and fuel burn modeled directly from Continental Maintenance and Operation Manual. All operation and limitation data modeled directly from the manufacturer with help from Cirrus Owners and Pilots (the actual list of changes to oil pressure, temp etc would be to huge to include here)
* Improvements to overall aerodynamics by Alan Shafto / AeroSimGaming:
- Wing airfoils custom created from Roncz Laminar Flow airfoils. Modeled to perform slightly differently at low altitude to high altitude, when cruising at 10,000 feet the aircraft will feel different when hand flying to low alt.
- Wing surface areas and sizes slightly adjusted
- Fuselage lift modeled - aircraft's fuselage has a little bit of residual lift at high angles of attack
- Flight Control deflections modeled off the aircraft
- Flight Control loading modeled
- Drag reduced of fuselage and wheel pants.
- Drag added to landing gear
* Improvements to flight plan editing:
- When you are in the flight plan and the cursor is visible, you can now start entering a new waypoint by pressing one of the ARPT, FIX, NDB and VOR buttons -> the waypoint window will open and your chosen waypoint type will already be entered -> this makes it faster to enter waypoints to the flight plan.
- Waypoints can be deleted from the flight plan by pressing the BKSP button
- If the very first waypoint in the flight plan (the one shown under "initial position") is a valid airport or navaid (i.e. not a latitude/longitude), you can select it with the FMS knob and edit it. However, due to the special role this waypoint plays, you can't delete it (use INIT instead to delete the whole flight plan).
- Limited support for selecting SIDs, STARs and approaches. This requires "GNS430" navigation data installed in "Custom Data" directory. You can get GNS430 data from Navigraph or NavDataPro. It is important that the AIRAC cycles of the "GNS430" data and the X-Plane 11 data match -- procedures will NOT load correctly if your X-Plane 11 data are from a different AIRAC cycle than the "GNS430" data. The support is limited: only FIXes, VORs and NDBs are supported, any other waypoint types will be skipped. Also, the user interface for selecting procedures is not realistic; it just presents all procedures in simple lists.
- A page menu for the flight plan allows to delete or reverse the flight plan
* Improvements to the moving map:
- The map shown during flight plan creation is now using X-Plane's "plan" mode, so you can browse through the flight plan and get an overview of the complete plan (the selected waypoint of the plan will be in the center). Note that, due to X-Plane's map limitations, icons are only shown within X-Plane's loaded scenery range.
- The map shown when a "nearest airports/navaids" window is open has been decluttered, to give more focus to the airports/navaids (the compass rose, heading bug and the red course line are hidden is this view now)
- Changed map declutter function levels: Level 1 hides fixes/intersections; level 2 also hides NDBs; level 3 also hides VOR/DMEs; level 4 hides everything.
- The navigation map has, in normal view, now bigger icons and texts. Due to technical reasons (... the big icons are sort of a "trick") and for a better overview, the map shown during flight plan creation has the old smaller icons.
* Improvements to the PFD:
- The attitude indicator has been re-done from scratch, for realistic scaling; this is esp. important for the roll scale, which is now much more precise
- The speed tape, the altitude tape and the VVI are now custom-made, for a more realistic look and better readability
* Improvements to the electrical system:
- Electrical load of individual systems adjusted
- PFD and MFD are now on separate electrical busses
* Four new liveries, one created on request, see http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/122325-xp-11-vflyteair-sr20-repaint/
* Includes the new vFlyteAir Pre-Flight and Weight & Balance menus
* Added some little details for immersion:
- Sounds are now all using X-Plane 11's new FMOD sound engine; we added sounds to keypad buttons, autopilot buttons and FMS knob, for better feedback when entering flight plans. For immersion, the A/C blower now has sound, as well as the avionics fan and gyro.
- The cursor on the MFD is now blinking in the flight plan, waypoint window and procedures window
- The starter key/keyfob now vibrates when the engine is running and the aircraft moving
- Depending on current weight, co-pilot and passengers are shown (you can select to hide them while in cockpit view)
- The rain textures on the windshield look better now