After a few months of no news from the Fenix Simulations team, a brand new update was released to the public that improved on the already impressive A320. The new update, version 1.0.3.125, is the result of months of hard work to improve many parts of the short-haul narrow body Airbus aircraft.
In the Discord post by the team, the new update improves various aspects of the simulation. Large ticket items such as VNAV and flight modelling have been addressed along with smaller things such bug squashing issues with the livery manager.
One area highlighted that was fixed with this update was the drag effect flaps had on the aircraft. In addition, rotation behaviour has also been addressed with version 1.0.3.125 of the Fenix Simulations A320. The changes to the flight model have been tested by various team members and pilots, followed then by being cross-checked in a Level-D simulator. Aamir says, “Rotation and post rotation has been reworked to allow for a smoother, more consistent behaviour. This involved changing the way the physical elevator on the aircraft worked, along with system-side tweaks to improve what the software was doing with the elevator. We’ve modelled this after some great data from our tech team, and cross-checked it thereafter with a couple of the type-rated members in the team – the aircraft will drop it’s nose during the blending phase, but no longer anywhere near as aggressively as it did before. This behaviour was then validated in the level-D simulator.”
Other areas of improvement come from the graphic and sound departments. The engine sounds have been completely reworked and artwork throughout has seen changes to improve the general look and feel of the plane. In addition, VR users have been heard and the EFB now scales for those users, whilst other elements of the plane have been improved to accommodate various headsets.
Systems also saw improvements too, with things such as VNAV having an extensive amount of work. Aamir says, “VNAV was re-math’d, this was a painful process taking weeks of work from our team. Most probably qualify for a phD in Math at this point. This was done in order to ensure we captured not just the functionality of the aircraft’s systems, but also their character – as the A320 tends to descend toward the upper end of the speed band, as opposed to constantly getting slow on speed and hugging the bottom bracket. It’s important to stress that VNAV in general (and in the real aircraft) is far from perfect – and speeds will absolutely vary, sometimes sitting at the bottom bracket, sometimes sitting at the top of the bracket, sometimes in between.”
VNAV will continue to be worked on in the future as the team continues to refine the aircraft.
The full changelog is down below. To update your copy, head over to the Fenix Simulations website and grab the latest build.
Changelog
- [SYSTEM]
- Fixed livery manager launch issue and admin permissions
- Virtualise CDU engine identity
- Do not allow named with slashes as pilots waypoints to prevent invalid entries in new waypoints page to be treated as new waypoints
- Fixed issue with Constant mach segments clearing too soon
- Fixed OPT ALT showing more than certified max alt
- Fixed GPWS alert not disengaging when switching off GPWS SYS when alert active
- Inhibit eng oil pressure advisory during shutdown
- Exposed “Elevator trim motor” numerical output to drive trim motor
- Communicate seatbelt signs state to simconnect
- Allow non ILS approach to activate with dual RA failure
- Fixed CSTR labels missing in PLAN mode if IRS not fully aligned
- Adjusted range change for baro minumums
- Fully reset error on quickalign
- Fixed latlon2XY
- Fixed NEW WAYPOINT RETURN prompt always going to FPLN-A instead of previous page
- When in NAV override mode, RMP should start in course mode when selecting ILS or VOR
- Improve autoland failure logic
- Revised logic for autoland warning light
- Fixed rudder trim going over rudder travel limiter
- If SEC 1+2+3 failure, use flap handle 2 state instead of gear for direct law trigger
- LGCIU 2 failure should inhibit nose lights and logo light and CVR test
- Ignore EFIS QNH input when QNH set to STD
- Roll pointer should remain yellow
- Added missing FOR LDG: USE FLAP 3 message when flap 3 selected
- Dual ADR fault will cause flaps 1+f in the air when flaps selected 1
- ADR 1+2 fault should cause GPW TERR Fault
- Enabled new Fenix idle descend formula
- Switch Fenix to VISUAL_FRAME
- Switch simconnect from SIM_FRAME to VISUAL_FRAME
- Increase gear gravity extend speed
- Use ADIRU speed as input for autoflight system
- Fixed a few exceptions clogging up logs
- Fixed a few sources of display freeze bug
- Fix launcher crash when applying textures fails
- Fix attempted for “Processing data” hang
- Added safety net for CDU crashing during connection attempts
- Assume negative temperature in INIT CRZ FL/TEMP input when no sign used in temperature entry
- Fixed TAF reports may use older data
- Slight tuning of MACH font in PFD
- Improve certification check to prevent crashing
- Fix crash when several FlightSimulator.exe instances are running
- Hyd reservoirs have direct bleed air source from the left engine
- Renamed Hung start to Stall/Hung start
- Slightly adjusted PFD Mach indication to match location of QNH
- Adjusted outflow valve size to have finer control during manual pressure operation
- Fixed hydraulic pressure not recovering after failure reset
- Removed N2 filter during start to prevent fuel flow earlier than 22% N2
- When engine mode selector set to START, only show ENGINE page during startup phase
- Fixed FLS anchorpoint calculation should extend from MAP towards runway
- Check A/T master state before override mode in levelchange
- Adjusted size of the outflow valve and the ventilation valves
- Dampened the input of air
- Dampened the cabin VSI indication
- Adjusted aircraft energy management at 10,000ft acceleration based on feedback and collated data
- Unbreaked panel option saving. Per livery.
- Fixed VNAV not respecting alt constraints in certain scenarios
- Speedbrake disagree when flap full added
- Panel state lighting is now adjusted, floods will start at 0 with only 1 notch of integral lighting.
- Screen backlighting bug resolved, backlights should no longer be “ON” when screens are OFF
- FOB reading on the upper ECAM should be in 20s not 10s
- A/THR instinctive disconnect can now be bound, use AUTOTHROTTLE DISCONNECT in MSFS settings to bind.
- Reduced THR_IDLE spooldown rate and increased gain on open descend pitch control during THR_IDLE transition
- GPWS test no longer displays TERR on ND in Plan mode
- Fixed QNH mode not being read correctly when changed during startup or FCU not operational
- Make sure that QNH mode is correctly set after loading livery config for Fenix
- Fixed incorrect handling of RAT extension solenoid 2
- Slight tuning of speedbrake speed
- Adjusted spoiler deflection speed for roll function
- AIRPORT button will now jump to MAP if destination runway is not in flightplan
- Clock no longer set to run on start
- Corrected/amended SEC laws regarding deployment of aileron as a spoiler during landing
- LOC approach in the FMS shouldn’t show VDEV warning fixed
- Spoiler order for roll adjusted to match engineering data
- ALT CRZ should not have dot in FCU ALT window fixed
- Added friction/wear simulation to spoiler deployment
- Fixed Bulk Cargo door not working
- Added APPR IDLE and all relevant cascading items. The effect of this should be that Go-Arounds now take the correct spool time to achieve TOGA inside the required certification window of 6s.
- New “simplified” NWS logic added, simply put – if you want to use the tiller when you ONLY have a rudder axis and no nose wheel steering axis bound, simply push the PED DISC button on the tiller. This will now give you tiller only control via your rudder pedals until speed > 20knts AND thrust set above CL, or if speed > 45knts. If you have nose wheel steering axis, then DO NOT USE THIS.
- Fixed inconsistency issues with latched buttons when setting panel states – latched PBs should now be appropriately set as LATCHED or UNLATCHED as opposed to simply being locked in the position the aircraft started in, despite changing panel state. This was painful.
- [ART&SOUND]
- Completely new engine soundset
- Clickspots have been completely overhauled to improve behaviour and accuracy
- Default pilot camera now has a higher FOV and is angled down so that the main panel is visible
- Improved accuracy of FCU button annunciators
- Oxygen mask panel covers now close when cockpit windows are opened to avoid clipping
- Parking brake handle animation is now more realistic
- Fixed hole in side of trim wheel
- Captain/FO seat positions can now be adjusted
- Changed color of pedestal flood lights
- Fixed texture issue on captain sidestick
- Fixed some overhead buttons not being in the correct state on load
- Cabin lights no longer turn off in the exterior view when the cabin is hidden via the EFB
- Reworked cockpit window dragging behavior to improve experience in VR
- The EFB now scales up when in VR
- Added highlights to all clickspots when using locked interaction mode
- Disabled default AI ground power unit and boarding stairs
- Improved appearance of nav light bulb textures when lit
- Nav light ground splashes have been made a bit brighter
- Beacon and strobe flash patterns are now properly synchronized (thanks to bouveng from FBW for the help on this!)
- Fixed touchdown smoke
- Added external showcase cameras
- Heat blur exhaust effect now fades out by 160 knots
- Horizontal stabilizer trim animation is no longer stuck
- [FM]
- Rewrote elevator modelling
- Rewrote flap drag modelling
- Rewrote flap lift modelling
- Rewrote rudder modelling
- Rewrote engine thrust modelling
- Changed spoiler effectiveness
- Adjusted ground effect
