5. Checklists & useful Hints

At this link you will find a list of SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY used throughout this plane, the documentation you are currently reading and of course in the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) from which it was taken. It contains a wealth of explained aviation slang and probably also that one strange abbreviation you've always wondered about J

This aircraft is provided with a complete set of checklists (closely based on the POH and intended for reading and adhering to!) which is contained in the FS2002 Kneeboard which can be accessed and toggled through with the Kneeboard simicon in upper left corner of the main panel or by pressing F10 or can be directly selected in the Aircraft Settings menu. They are organized in the following order:

First come the emergency checklists (as you will want to have them handy when things get hot...) starting with the most probable troubles:

- START EMERGENCY CHECKLIST (if something goes wrong during engine startup)
- OTHER EMERGENCIES (particularly useful when warning lights in the annunciator panel light up)

- MANUAL AIR START CHECKLIST (helpful when you need to start an engine in-flight at over 120 KIAS)
- STARTER ASSISTED AIR START CHECKLIST (likewise helpful when you need to start an engine in-flight below 120 KIAS)

Then come the normal checklists in chronological order:

- INTERIOR CHECK (the exterior check I omitted here due to uselessness in a perfect flightsim world)
- BEFORE STARTING ENGINES (don't take too long for this one, else your battery will run flat!)
- NORMAL START (LH+RH) (make sure you follow this one to the dot – else doom will strike you!)
- TAXIING CHECKLIST (with important hints as to ground control of this aircraft. Please also see below for details!)
- BEFORE TAKEOFF CHECKLIST (when you're sitting on the runway waiting for takeoff clearance)
- TAKEOFF CHECKLIST (including Speeds + Values for efficient climbing)

- CRUISE CHECKLIST (helps you settle in and enjoy the ride)
- DESCENT / PRELANDING CHECKLIST
- APPROACH CHECKLIST
- LANDING CHECKLIST (with some good tips for successfully landing taildraggers)
- BETA LANDING CHECKLIST (for short field landings in dive-bomber style)
- GO-AROUND (when something goes wrong while attempting a return to mother earth this is usually the safer thing to do!)
- AFTER LANDING + ENGINES SHUTDOWN CHECKLIST


Here some notes on ground control of this taildragger:
Firstly the view out front is generally sky and very little taxiway or runway. The Do 128-6 however is pretty tame in this respect: Pilots above 1.8 m (5ft 11in.) don't even have to stretch much to see the way ahead, and for those a little smaller just press SHIFT+RETURN once or twice to bring up your seat or stretch your head enough.
Be VERY carefull with brake usage particularly at low speeds!!! FS2002 has inherited the digital on/off brakes of the first FS versions but like FS2000 has added a bad - albeit realistic - habit of increasing brake force at decreasing speeds, so you will easily get the aircraft to nose over if you slam on the brakes. "ABS"-style stutter braking will do the trick: as soon as you notice the nose is beginning to drop towards the tarmac release the brakes and immediately apply them again etc. By controlling the frequency of your intermittent braking you get a semi-proportional braking effect and can save yourself and the aircraft some expensive repairs...
Now to the really awkward bit: This plane has no steering, the tail wheel is free to move where the rump of the plane wishes. If you want to go straight ahead and you have the p-factor slider in the Aircraft Settings menu even just one increment to the right you should give this plane some right rudder to keep her straight as the corkscrew- shaped prop wash gives the vertical stabilizer quite a shove to the left - despite twin engined prop aircraft usually being exempt from this effect. Yes, rudder pedals are just about a must for such planes in FS2002.


For turns full rudder to the side you wish to turn to may help a little, but getting a turning reaction from the plane also requires some power from the engines and that will accelerate you. So you will need differential braking by using the toe brakes, individual brake pedals mounted at the upper front end of real-life rudder pedals. You thought FS2002 would only do that by pressing F11 (left brake) or F12 (right brake) or by using a special set of toebrake pedals?

Wrong! This plane has an invisible toebrake gauge in the lower RH corner of the main panel which will give proportional differential braking coupled to the rudder pedals even in outside views! And for those poor souls who lack rudder pedals even the ailerons will suffice to activate the toebrakes. But be prepared for a slight lag in reaction as it takes a moment or two till brake pressure is sufficient to do its job, so give her enough rudder for your turn a second or two BEFORE you plan to initiate the turn.
If you are lucky enough to have one of the new USB Rudder pedals combined with toebrakes feel free to delete the last line
gauge51=Do128-6!Do128-6 Toebrakes,788,350
in the section titled "[Window02]" in the panel.cfg files located in the panel subfolders of this aircraft.

A third component (particularly for making turns without rudder in auto-coordination mode) for successful ground control of twin engine planes is differential thrust, i.e. pushing the left power lever forward (with the mouse) when initiating a right turn.

So all three - rudder, differential braking and differential power - together will allow the pilot to successfully control this aircraft on the ground (given the the side wind component doesn't get in the way too much - a problem with the real bird too, by the way...). However one word of caution: don't overdo it, you can get this plane to nose over even on a single brake if you get too wild. And turning one way is easier than turning the other way, again due to corkscrew effect from the props. However, taking advantage of that can greatly help in navigating in close quarters.
The ideal speed for ground control is between 10 and 20 knots.


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6. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop engine

This is a section through a typical PT6A engine. The PT6A-110 installed in this Dornier 128-6 however only has a single power turbine.
Being a reverse flow design inlet air enters the engine through the light blue colored ducts marked “inlet screen” at the rear of the engine. The 180° turn is utilized to provide for an inertial separator system with doors which can be opened to the rear to allow heavy objects like stones, dust, hail or heavy precipitation to exit the engine nacelles before ever entering and potentially damaging the engine itself.

Three stages of axial compressors and a fourth radial (centrifugal) compressor compress the incoming air with a ratio of 1:7 and deliver this heated air to the combustion chamber in a 90° and then another 180° turn. There fuel is injected through 14 nozzles (up to around 30% Ng only 7 nozzles are activated to ensure that the starting procedure does not overheat the engine) and after an initial ignition stage burns continuously thus greatly heating and accelerating the gases through another 180° turn onto the compressor turbine which drives the gas generator. The gas generator alone already needs around 1/3rd of the power produced in the combustion chamber, i.e. the so-called thermodynamic estimated SHP is around 600! It also drives the final fuel pump and the starter/generator located for convenient servicing at the rear behind the accessory gearbox. At 100% Ng indication the gas generator revolves with 37,000 RPM. Please also note that there is no mechanical connection between the gas generator and the power turbine. This allows the gas generator to accelerate far more quickly when you require more power than if it was directly linked to the rest of the engine, thus reducing reaction lag and greatly improving performance and safety.

The remaining power is dumped on the single power turbine which drives the propeller via a two-stage planetary reduction gearbox. At 1900 Prop RPM the power turbine speed is 33,000 RPM.
The exhaust gases are released into the wild after a final 180° turn through two exhaust ducts, one on each side. In the process a certain amount of thrust is also generated which can acutally get the plane to move even with power set to “idle”.
This engine is capable of a Maximum Continuous Power (MCP) output of approx. 400 SHP, with emergency power at a maximum torque of 1246 lb-ft being approx. 450 SHP.

The high RPMs of the compressor and power turbines pack great power into this rather small engine, and due to everything simply rotating turboprop engines run almost vibration free.

Here a section through a real PT6A-110:


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7. Known Bugs

Despite a development time of now some 4 years and uncountable test flights and rounds of tweaking some bugs are still hanging around this Do 128-6 aircraft and panel - though FS2002 goes pretty far in getting rid of most of the visual glitches.

Visual model: Most blatant bleed through troubles have been solved by the graphics engine of FS2002 - to the point of making the landing lights of the TU version invisible as in the original FS98 design I actually took advantage of the bleed through phenomenon... There is no Virtual Cockpit for this aircraft yet plus I still haven't been able to make some nice 45° step cockpit views of the real plane so no part of the fuselage is visible from inside the cabin apart from the center post up front. 3D rendering can cause the following glitch:
When viewing this aircraft in Dornier roll-out colors in 3D full screen mode the side texture of the right engine nacelle tends to smear over the top a bit from low view angles due to the MIP-Mapping of 3D graphics cards. This happens despite of my modification of lowering the upper rim of the texture for the right side. Apart from somewhat abrupt brightness changes where textures adjoin that will be the main visual glitch that might bother you.

Panel: The ITT indicator which bends and deforms EGT beyond recognition to fit ITT reactions can also show some quick jumps in certain marginal situations which you will not encounter if you adhere to the checklists.
The two horizontal lines crossing the window wiper are NOT a bug but represent the proper view out of the windscreen. These are the wires of an electrical windshield defroster. The bottom wire has a small downward “notch” which I use for aiming at the runway as it is located pretty much in the center of the screen.

AIR file: The fact that this turboprop simulation is built around the FS2002 reciprocating engine model causes some side-effects untypical of turboprops in real life. One is the rather prompt reactions to power changes which would normally lag a few seconds behind power lever movement. This also partially applies to actual engine reaction during startup and shutdown which does things faster than a real turboprop would. Most engine gauges however cater for true turboprop-like indications, and thanks to FS2002 all lot of this untypical behaviour has also been eliminated.
Fuel flow at idle and low power settings is lower than should be, only meeting the correct fuel consumption values in the upper power region.

Sounds: When changing views or first loading this aircraft the engine sounds can have a flanger effect - caused by very similar sound files being played simultaneously from the left and the right speakers. Simply push one power lever a little bit up or down till you hear a pitch change and then level them again by left clicking on the center mouse track of the power levers - problem solved till the next view change...
The flap sound (carried over from FS98 due to no useful alternative being available) can get the hiccups upon first actuation and continue to whine despite the flap motor having reached its designated position. Simply switch it one step further and immediately back again to stop it.
The startup and shutdown sounds are no longer as trustworthy as when they were at home in the Ng gauges - be prepared for some surprises from time to time. At least you hear them in external views now
J

Despite these glitches (some of them being inherent even in FS2002) I do hope that you will thoroughly enjoy this unusual aircraft to the full after familiarizing yourself with it! And please let me know if you find anything else that might require correction L – or if you are particularly pleased about it J

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8. Change History

Version 2 of D-IBUF of the Technical University of Braunschweig (Sept. 2001):
Textures: The black paint (de-icing boots) of the leading edges of the wings was too wide in Version 1, is now corrected in the form of updated textures do_128-6.3AF and do_128-6.3AF . The location of the fixed front slats is now slightly visible particularly from underneath, and the red and green NAV light bulbs are visible through their covers.
Panel: The fuel panel gauge Do128-6.fuelpanel_real.gau could overstress simple soundcards with multiple simultaneous switch clicks and thus crash FS98. This updated version should solve that by ensuring that automatic switching by FS98 will not trigger any click sounds. The functionality remains untouched.
AIRCRAFT.CFG file: As I do not use a force feedback joystick (still stuck with the excellent Thrustmaster F-16 FLCS system) I was rather ignorant of that area. The updated AIRCRAFT.CFG file no longer sports retractable gear force feedback information. However this does not guarantee trouble free force feedback: One user reported violent elevator activity during taxi which could not be cured so far. If anybody knows a solution for this phenomenon I would greatly appreciate some support to this end.
Sound: The external engine sounds are now in sync with the internal ones.
Documentation: The file "DO128-6_D-IBUF_CHECKLISTS_TURBOPROP_BUGS_CREDITS_LEGAL_V1.HTM" had such a long name that some unzip programs may have declined to unzip it and thus possibly other files in the archive "Documentation.ZIP" contained in my original release "do1286V1.zip". Therefore I renamed it "DO128-6_D-IBUF_CHECK_LEGAL_V1.HTM", updated it with this Change History section and also updated the following documentation files: "DO128-6_D-IBUF_Main_Panel_V1.HTM", "DO128-6_D-IBUF_PREREQUISITS_V1.HTM" and the central Document "Do128-6_D-IBUF_of_TU_Braunschweig_V1.htm" to cater for these changes.

And again please let me know if you find anything else that might require correction!

D-IBUF in roll-out colors (Oct. 2001): This is not only a new set of textures of this aircraft in the original Dornier roll-out colors, but also attempts to recreate the strutctural state it was in at that time, i.e. lacking the nose boom and numerous antennae which it now carries as a flying scientific platform. Resources thus freed were invested in an improved air intake correctly visible from all angles below the nose of the aircraft, wheel fairings and struts with reduced bleed through and some of the static discharge rods on the trailing edges of the elevator, rudder, wingtips and at the end of the external fuel tanks and fuselage. Also the shape of the rudder was changed to reflect the almost vertical front edge of the aerodynamic balancing tab which this first Do 128-6 inherited from its Do 28D-5X Turbo-Skyservant prototype status.
The main panel bitmap is slightly reworked to get a newer look, and the fuel totalizer gauge was added in the bottom right corner of the main panel.
Sound: The hum of the compressor and turbines is more clearly audible and no longer goes through a phase of "negative increase" in pitch in higher RPM regions.
Documentation: Completely updated for this version in house colors.
Force Feedback: One user (thanks, Christoph!) reported violent elevator jolts using a force feedback joystick and sat down to tinker with the air file. He found the following solution (which does not change the flight charactics in any way): In the unknown section 320.84 he inserted the value from one of the default Cessnas (-343597384) and set the value of section 320.88 to 0 which seems to have cured the trouble. Please let
Christoph and me know if the new air file solved your FFB trouble too!

Version 3 of D-IBUF of the Technical University of Braunschweig and in roll-out colors (Jan. 2002): Adaption of the my original FS98 turboprop simulation for use in FS2000. This includes some modifications to tune the outer appearance to the different graphics approach of FS2000, but mainly involves fine tuning and extension of the panel to utilize the possiblities of FS2K. Many points I originally intended for my original version have now come to life - to be taken literally in the case of the now animated parallelogram windshield wiper - but also in the addition of some electrical bits and pieces plus extension of the annunciator panel to now include roughly half of the various warning, caution and info lights of the real bird.
After having located the actual fuel consumption totalizer gauge in a completely different location in the real panel than stated in the Pilot's Operating Handbook this version now includes a photorealistic (at least the central part of the gauge, I cut away a lot of the surplus rim to save space in this simulated panel) and mechanically correct Fuel Consumption Totalizer below the DME.
Sound: Only minor tweaking to get this bird to sing correctly in FS2000. And having finally seen (and heard) the plane in live action two months ago I can attest this humble sound set a pretty realistic accoustic appearance!
Documentation: Completely updated for this Version 3 for FS2000.


Version 4 of D-IBUF of the Technical University of Braunschweig and in roll-out colors (November 2002): Adaption and extensive reprogramming of my original FS98 turboprop simulation for use in FS2002. The exterior model now includes textured propellers plus the addition of window wipers to both versions and airspeed sensors on the glare shield of the TU version. All automatic functions in the gauges (such as toe brakes and fuel system) work in all views now after the panel was initialized by changing to cockpit view once. The main changes though involve reprogramming and tuning of the engine gauges to suit the different simulation approach of FS2002. The use of a turbocharger in the FS2002 reciprocating engine model now allows for correct high altitude performance of this turboprop simulation. Usage of the FS2002 turboprop model sadly was not possible due to too much residual thrust generated by the simulation for correct spool up times of the props. Hopefully in FS2004 (?) I will be able to do away with my piston engine approach to this simulation... Most panel and some instrument bitmaps have been reworked to take advantage of the freedom of colors FS2002 allows while still retaining the loading time benefit of using a (now customized) 256 color pallette. ACS GPS was replaced by the (not so functional) default GPS and the complete range of radios was updated to Dai Griffith's Collins Radiopack (dfd2k2np.zip + navpk2k1.zip) which are separately documented (Collins Navpack.rtf in the Documentation subfolder). The sound package was also adapted to FS2002 standards and now includes the startup and shutdown sounds instead of them residing in the Ng gauges.
Documentation: Completely updated for this Version 4 for FS2002.


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9. Credits

I would like to thank the following people for their services and help in creating this aircraft and panel. Without them it would not have turned out the way that it has:

My wife Petra for her practical help in the copying of the POH and her unending support and encouragement all along - even with baby Philipp around!

Helmut Schulz, "D-IBUF"s personal maintenance engineer and co-pilot who so kindly allowed me to inspect every corner of the plane, answered innumerable questions, gave access to all the documentation I could dream of – this Do 128-6 is one EXTREMELY fortunate aircraft to have such a capable caretaker! Even after now some 23 years in service all over the globe (including Antarctica), myriads of modifications and equipment updates to cater for the aeronautic student's projects she still looks almost better than new! And her pilot Rudolf Hankers who gave me Helmut's contact number and tested this virtual rendition of his workplace together with his son!

Dai Griffiths ("Dragonflight Design") for his magnificent gaugehelp series – an incredible help for anyone trying to fiddle with the panel and gauge region of Microsoft's Flight Simulator SDKs. And for his quick and efficient answers when (in very scarce instances) his current gaugehelp document didn't contain the answer I needed! And of course for allowing me to use his gauges (all recognizable by the "dfd"-prefix). Thanks Dai!!!

Arne Bartels for introducing me to FS2002 compatible mouse drag code and all sorts of other assorted bits of programming advice!

Christoph Ruhtenberg for his support in a.) curing the erratic elevator force feedback and b.) in beta-testing "D-IBUF" in her original roll-out colors. And thanks also for your ongoing encouragement!

Harald Geier, Helmut Busch & Co. of HGHB for encouragement and allowing me to use their gauges and sounds! For usage of their HGHB_Sound.lib however (which enabled me to incorporate startup and shutdown sounds in the Ng Indiciator) I have paid my dues - contrary to my views and conviction of not charging nor paying money for advice in designing freeware products.

Andreas Jaros & Co. (FPDA ) have not answered my requests for allowing me to use their sounds. I hope that they may read this documentation and contact me. In the mean time I assume that they will not contest my using their work in this freeware package.

Mick Williams (known for his GAF Nomad) for giving me the right hints at the right time as to mdl file expansion, and for inspiring me to this extensive html document!

Christian Anhalt of the DLR (German equivalent of NASA and also based at the Research Airport Braunschweig) for updating his very realistic and detailed FS98 scenery of Braunschweig Airport (edveedcb.zip) to FS2002 (edve2002.zip) where I did most of my flight testing of this virtual Do128-6, very enjoyable on faster PCs!

Jacky Brouze for his JABGau98 utility, Chuck Dome for his GAUBMP2 utility, Scott Macmillan for ScaleMaker, William M. Roth for AirEd, Konstantin Kukushkin for Aircraft Animator, the design team at Abacus for compilation of the Flight Dynamics Editor, for the update and improvement of Flightshop - Aircraft Factory 99 - and for the Custom Panel Designer, and Microsoft for updating and improving (at least every second version of) Flight Simulator, for having opened up major parts of the source code of Flight Simulator and providing SDKs to enable us to (mostly) enjoy and enhance this very versatile hobby called flightsimming!

Last and most fundamentally I thank God, my (and of the world we live and fly in) creator, for having given me health, brains and creativity to be able to put things together like this virtual aircraft! And a heart and soul to be able to enjoy things like flightsimming as much as I do.

If I have inadvertently forgotten to mention somebody who feels entitled to be mentioned in this section please let me know so I can correct this.

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10. Legal notice

This aircraft, panel (including all gauges and sounds) and every other file and document included in the zip-file you downloaded are released as freeware (please refer to the section below this copyrights listing for the details), yet the copyright for these files remains with the respective authors:

Copyright © Dai Griffiths of Dragonflight Design:
dfd_hsi70.gau; dfd_i_omi.gau; dfd_o_omi.gau; dfd_m_omi.gau; dfd_collinsradios.gau

Copyright © Harald Geier, Helmut Busch & Co. at HGHB (gauges released with Abacus Custom Panel Designer):
HGHB_HW_ATTITUDE.GAU; hghb_uni_altimeter.gau; HGHB_PC9_STBY_AI.GAU; hghb_bu_brake.gau

HGHB_Click2.wav; HGHB_Click3.wav; HGHB_rsw_cl2.wav

Copyright © Andreas Jaros and Stephan Gerlach (FPDA):
Click.wav

Copyright © Aaron Swindle:
Quite a number of the wav files as well as my starting point of the sound.cfg of this aircraft are the work of "Stretch".

Copyright © Microsoft:
This panel uses some gauges from almost every default FS2002 pro Aircraft so they are not included in this package.
Do128-6.vertical-speed.gau which was derived from F27mk500.vertical-speed.gau which in turn is a repaint of Bell_206B.Vertical_Speed.GAU. In any case copyright © of the gauge programming and part of the instrument scale art resides with Microsoft. The gauge frame art is copyright © Mathias Elsaesser.

Numerous sounds are borrowed from the default FS2002 pro beech_king_air_350 as well as from the mooney_bravo.


All the rest is copyright © Mathias Elsaesser unless marked otherwise (i.e. photos, move your mouse pointer over a photo to see it's origin). As Freeware you are permitted to distribute this archive subject to the following conditions:

- The archive must be distributed without modification to the contents of the archive. Redistributing this archive with any files added, removed or modified is prohibited. If you plan to offer this package for free download on your website I would appreciate to be notified.

- The inclusion of any individual file from this archive in another archive without the prior permission of the author is prohibited. This means, for example, that you may not upload an archive that uses my visual or flight model or panel / gauges with your own aircraft or include it in a package containing a panel or aircraft sounds without first obtaining the authors' permission. Panel and gauge designers interested in utilizing my gauges for their panels feel free to contact me so we can figure out how to make this possible as most gauges communicate with one-another and thus are combined into one single cluster gauge.

- No charge may be made for this archive other than that to cover the cost of its distribution over the Internet. If a fee is charged it must be made clear to the purchaser that the archive is freeware and that the fee is to cover the distributor's costs of providing the archive. This archive may NOT be included in CDs, DVDs or other digital storage media without PRIOR written consent by the author.

- The authors' rights and wishes concerning this archive must be respected.

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