T-6A Texan II

Version 2.3 XP12 (November 19th 2024)

- Updated SASL plugin to version 3.17.3
- Fixed GPS D-> "direct to" function that X-Plane 12.1.2's new G1000 background processes broke.
- Adapted flight model for X-Plane 12.1.2
- Fixed SASL plugin/LUA script fuel gauge bug. Fuel quantity gauge; left needle reading from right fuel tank quantity.

Version 2.2 XP12 (October 3rd 2024)

- GPS fix
- Custom PT6A engine right exhaust heat blur. X-Plane by default only has 1 exhaust heat blur per engine whereas the PT6A engine has two exhaust stacks, so we had to add the second exhaust blur as a custom particle effect.
- We updated the two default liveries with exhaust stains on the right side of the aircraft nose and above the right wings as seen on real T-6As. The rest of the liveries will be updated and one at a time and posted on the freeware download manager when they are ready.

Version 2.1 XP12 (May 9th  2024)

Improved flight model accuracy
Reduced approach configuration drag and power requirements
EADI "Composite" mode and EHSI display improvements
New popup EFIS control panel available
Additional aircraft systems circuit breakers enabled
Completely rewritten lua scripts to streamline code and improve SASL plugin performance
Improved R2c plugin display logic

Version 2.0 XP12 (March 28th 2024)

After several consultations with a few USAF T-6A Undergraduate Pilot Trainees we made quite a few model improvements.

1. Reduced landing configuration drag so that less power is needed to maintain approach glide slope.
2. Enabled ATC transponder altitude reporting mode while still on the ground.
3. Retuned pitch behavior when landing flaps are deployed.
4. Retuned Trim Aid Device (TAD) behavior to remove a noticeable "hard" switch during approach to landing.
5. Improved overall dynamic stability in all three axis when the gear is retracted.
6. Added a "roaming" feature to the R2c (roll to see) plugin code. With R2c enabled and in 3D cockpit mode you can now slide the pilot's head camera up and down, left and right within the confines of the canopy. Great for looking over the canopy sills or getting a better look down angle over the aircraft's nose on approach. In the back seat you can slide your head left or right to see past the front cockpit ejection seat, all with out turning OFF the R2c plugin.
7. Fixed an obvious GPS radio box button labeling error. The 3D cockpit GPS radio buttons still had labels from the earlier XP12 1.1 version while the pop up GPS and User Guide reflected the new "autopilot" button labels.
8. Emergency gear extension "T-Handle" now works. Press the thumb button in first, then pull the "yellow with black stripes" T-handle out to lower the gear.
9. Increased the gear retraction times to better match how long it takes the real airplane's gear to retract.
10. "Live" ejection seat safety pin Remove Before Flight streamer.

Version 1.2 XP12 (July 16th 2023)

• We added a basic autopilot [even though the real T-6A does not have one] for our customers who wanted something to hold the airplane at altitude and on course during long cross country flights.
• A separate Autopilot User Guide pdf is provided in the T-6A root folder / manuals sub folder for customer to study.
• We improved the unique T-6A integrated Traffic Advisory/Vertical Speed Indicator to bring it even closer to the capabilities of the real thing by adding your altitude / AI target plane altitude delta reporting in the upper right corner of the display.
• New optional pop up/out radios and engine data displays. The GPS navigation radio, Radio Management Unit (RMU) and the three engine data (primary, alternate and systems) electronic displays can be popped up/out from the panel and resized/repositioned. After you pop them out once, resize and position them to your liking, then close them they remember your setting  and popout the next time exactly where and how you set them. Neat, and they are VR compatible.
• New T-6A_vrconfig.txt file in T-6A root folder. It presets the pilot POV to a point recommended by one of our VR capable customers. 
• Main landing gear wheel brake fade monitoring annunciator built into the Engine System Display (ESD). This warns of brake fade due to high speed, continuous or heavy brake use that can lead to HOT BRAKES and eventual brake failure.
• 41 page, updated X-Pane 12 version 1.2 User Guide. Like military -1 Flight Manuals we use solid black, vertical bars to highlight new information in our User Guides.  So, if you are familiar with the previous versions of the T-6A User Guide (XP11 1.0, 11 1.1, XP12 1.0) these bars help guide you to the newest information. Otherwise, we highly recommend you read the whole UG before attempting to operate this model, because the entire cockpit and basic operating principles are closely modeled on the real thing. 

Version 1.1 XP12 (June 1st 2023)

• Native support for M1 / M2 Mac
• New longer 40 second engine start spool time as per actual T-6A PT6A turboprop engine specs
• Added TACAN nav station tuning capability to Nav radio and needle display on EHSI 
• Note: Military "Tactical Air Navigation" (TACAN) capability was added to the sim by Laminar Research in X-Plane 12
• Improved canopy lock/unlock annunciator logic
• Increase aircraft roll rate
• Updated T-6A User Guide, new version 1.1

Version 1.0 XP12 (March 1st 2023)

• new XP12 version

Version 1.1 XP11 (December 6th 2022)

1. FIRE 1 can now be tested with only the Aux Battery switch ON for ";over the rail"; checks.
2. Increased available elevator pitch trim after US Marine Corp pilot feedback, which led to the need for...
3. Revised takeoff trim settings for engine running start and optional TRIM annunciator.
4. Robust low speed flight model improvements for more accurate performance in approach and stall speed ranges, as a result of ...
5. New custom Pilatus airfoils with optimized high and lo Reynolds numbers versions, which led to the need for ...
5. Recalibrated Electronic Air Speed Indicator (EASI) for improved accuracy throughout the needle's sweep range, which led to the need for ...
6. Revised T-6A User Guide has additional information for flying different approach and landing methods (Air Speed or AOA), which resulted in ...
7. Default AOA indexer colors are now the US Navy style green, yellow, red from top to bottom.

Note: "Navy style"; AOA approaches are flown from ";behind the power curve"; so the aircraft nose is decidedly nose high during the approach compared to Air Force style approaches flown referencing airspeeds. When behind the power curve aircraft rate of descent is controlled with power.

Note: With Options ON you get an enhanced Air Force style red, green, yellow top to bottom indexer. This eliminates the need to manually edit a script file to choose an indexer style, though if you want the enhanced version as your default you can edit aoa_indexer.lua script; lines 100 and 215. Line 100 edit if(get(as_switch,16)==0) and make it ==1, and line 215 edit if(get(as_switch,16)==1) and make it ==0 8. AOA indexer left to right twist rotation increased from 45 to 180 deg. It was 6 oclock to 4:30, now it twists from 9 oclock to 3 oclock.Note: the AOA indexer is twisted all the way left or right before formation flight to gauge distance on the flight lead during join up. Ref AETC MAN 11-248, Table 9.3 Range Estimation.

9. High altitude, max speed flight model improved by increasing engine critical altitude from 16,000 to 17,500 ft MSL.

10. Based on further pilot feedback, slightly increased propeller minimum pitch in order slightly reduce airborne idle prop drag and ...
11. Implemented ground (60%) and flight (67%) idle modes as per 1T-6A-1 Flight Manual to improve ground taxi and approach handling characteristics.

12. Re-coded the ";tad"; lua script to enable pilot rudder trim input AND dynamic rudder trim compensation by the TAD correction formula.
Note: See 1T-6A-1, page 1-43 TRIM AID DEVICE (TAD)

Finally, there are now over 28 additional liveries available on the X-Plane.org freeware download manager under:
https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/category/251-t-6a-texan-ii-by-aoa-simulations/Categories > Aircraft Skins - Liveries > AOA Simulations > T-6A Texan II

Go there and check them out and do not forget to leave a ";star"; rating if you like and or
appreciate Fabrice  artistry!