Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

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OGfishm0nger
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Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by OGfishm0nger »

Hi all,

I've just finished up my C172 Honeycomb profiles for both the Alpha and the Bravo using the Honeycomb Configurator. I have posted them here for anyone that will find them useful, either to use as is, modify for your own use, or just poke around in to get ideas on how to set these controllers up in a way that works for you.

As with my Cherokee 180 profiles these are a work in progress and may change in the future. Also, these were created with the newest version of the Configurator (v2.1) and will require that version to work properly. Lastly, these profiles were only tested in P3D version 4.5 and may or not work in v5.

Feel free to post here or PM me with questions or issues with the profiles.

EDIT 2021-05-02

I have just uploaded a test version of these profiles for use with a test version of the KAP140 autopilot DLL generously provided by A2A (which can be found in this thread). This update allows the Bravo autopilot LEDs to light up appropriately based on the state of the KAP140. The profiles are in a zip file named <Honeycomb Profiles A2A Cessna 172 Test ver 20210502.zip> and can be found along with the original version of the profiles at the link above.

Test ver 2021.05.02
  • HDG LED lights up when HDG mode engaged
  • NAV LED lights up when either NAV mode or NAV ARM mode is engaged
  • APR LED lights up when either APR mode or APR ARM mode is engaged
  • REV LED lights up when either REV mode or REV ARM mode is engaged
  • ALT LED lights up when either ALT mode or ALT ARM mode is engaged
  • VS LED lights up when VS mode engaged
ver 2021.04.09
  • Initial release
Last edited by OGfishm0nger on 02 May 2021, 16:21, edited 1 time in total.

dromer1967
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by dromer1967 »

Hi Dave,

Great that you share your work for others!

Is there a reason why you are not sharing the profile on the aerosoft forum? It was the first place I went looking for a Honeycomb Bravo A2A C172 profile (to discover then that there wasn't one yet at that time).

Always fun to see how each of us creates his own solution to mapping buttons and such :) I see that you have mapped the KAP140 Up and Down buttons to the Yoke. I skipped the KAP140 outerknob functionality and put the up/down on the rotating knob of the Bravo depending on the mode you select so I have all the AP functions in one place. Selecting the altitude with just the inner knob seems fast enough for me since the 172 is not meant to fly that high anyway :D

Different solutions but both get the job done obviously.

Could you tell me why you turn the low ful pressure annunciator on when either fuel pressure < 0.5 psi or A2A Fuel Annunciator ON? I would say that the latter is enough? Because if the A2A annunciator is not ON then neither should the Bravo light be on?

Peter

OGfishm0nger
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by OGfishm0nger »

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the feedback and questions! I'm still really new to this so anything that helps me to learn is much appreciated!
dromer1967 wrote: 29 Apr 2021, 03:31 Is there a reason why you are not sharing the profile on the aerosoft forum? It was the first place I went looking for a Honeycomb Bravo A2A C172 profile (to discover then that there wasn't one yet at that time).
Mostly because I was hoping to get some feedback on my first profile or two, since I've never done anything like this before. I figured I had a better chance of getting that feedback if I posted them here on a fairly active forum. I'll be posting them over there pretty soon I imagine. I'm (very) slowly working my way through my fleet and will be adding more profiles as I finish them.
dromer1967 wrote: 29 Apr 2021, 03:31 Always fun to see how each of us creates his own solution to mapping buttons and such :) I see that you have mapped the KAP140 Up and Down buttons to the Yoke. I skipped the KAP140 outerknob functionality and put the up/down on the rotating knob of the Bravo depending on the mode you select so I have all the AP functions in one place. Selecting the altitude with just the inner knob seems fast enough for me since the 172 is not meant to fly that high anyway :D
I like that solution too! I really struggled with the decisions on a few of those AP buttons and the knobs. The Cherokee was much easier from that perspective! I'm so used to having AP functionality on the yoke with the Cherokee (I probably have more hours in that than in the rest of my fleet combined) it made sense to me to assign a couple of the KAP140 buttons to the yoke as well.
dromer1967 wrote: 29 Apr 2021, 03:31 Could you tell me why you turn the low ful pressure annunciator on when either fuel pressure < 0.5 psi or A2A Fuel Annunciator ON? I would say that the latter is enough? Because if the A2A annunciator is not ON then neither should the Bravo light be on?
I went a little back and forth on this one as well. At first I only used fuel pressure < 0.5psi (the same number I used on the Cherokee from the Cherokee manual) and didn't tie in the Fuel Annunciator light at all. My thoughts there were that the LED on the Bravo is specifically a fuel pressure warning while it is my understanding that the annunciator on the 172 for tied to fuel level. While low fuel levels can lead to low fuel pressure, you could also conceivably have full tanks but still have low fuel pressure (perhaps a blockage somewhere or a leak). Whether or not such a scenario could actually occur in the sim I don't know.

Then I decided to add the Fuel Annunciator parameter as well since: a) it's a related issue and there are no other appropriate LED's on the Bravo for low fuel, b) there is an actual annunciator light for this in the sim, and c) more chance for an LED to light up = more fun :D

Of course with both parameters being used there isn't exactly a one-to-one correspondence in functionality between the C172 and the Bravo anymore, and that is usually something I'm aiming for with these profiles (though not always getting there). So it's possible that I will change that at some point. I guess it decides on which side of the bed I wake up on: use the LED for an existing annunciator (low fuel), or use it for it's stated purpose (low fuel pressure). Or continue to use it for both.

Of course I could be completely misunderstanding what triggers the Fuel Annun in the 172 in which case there really would be no need for both parameters.

dromer1967
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by dromer1967 »

OGfishm0nger wrote: 30 Apr 2021, 15:17 Mostly because I was hoping to get some feedback on my first profile or two, since I've never done anything like this before. I figured I had a better chance of getting that feedback if I posted them here on a fairly active forum. I'll be posting them over there pretty soon I imagine. I'm (very) slowly working my way through my fleet and will be adding more profiles as I finish them.
I think you are right in your assumption. The feedback I got on the aerosoft forum with my 172 profile was/is....zero 8)

But I'm sure it will be appreciated by the downloaders if you put your version there. Mine is incomplete there since I abandoned the configurator tool altogether because of its horiffic interface (and I couldn't be bothered maintaining it just for others who don't even have the decency to thank you for the effort in providing a ready to go solution for them to use. End of rant :twisted: ). I find maintaining the lua files in my own solution easier. But then again I am a software developer for a living :lol:
I like that solution too! I really struggled with the decisions on a few of those AP buttons and the knobs. The Cherokee was much easier from that perspective! I'm so used to having AP functionality on the yoke with the Cherokee (I probably have more hours in that than in the rest of my fleet combined) it made sense to me to assign a couple of the KAP140 buttons to the yoke as well.
I can't wait to try out the Cherokee or comparable aircraft! But I made a promise to myself: first learn the ropes in the 172 (e.g. single piston engine fixed prop) and then progress to a new challenge. And the 172 is more than a handful for me at the moment ;)
I went a little back and forth on this one as well. At first I only used fuel pressure < 0.5psi (the same number I used on the Cherokee from the Cherokee manual) and didn't tie in the Fuel Annunciator light at all. My thoughts there were that the LED on the Bravo is specifically a fuel pressure warning while it is my understanding that the annunciator on the 172 for tied to fuel level. While low fuel levels can lead to low fuel pressure, you could also conceivably have full tanks but still have low fuel pressure (perhaps a blockage somewhere or a leak). Whether or not such a scenario could actually occur in the sim I don't know.

Then I decided to add the Fuel Annunciator parameter as well since: a) it's a related issue and there are no other appropriate LED's on the Bravo for low fuel, b) there is an actual annunciator light for this in the sim, and c) more chance for an LED to light up = more fun :D

Of course I could be completely misunderstanding what triggers the Fuel Annun in the 172 in which case there really would be no need for both parameters.
I understand your reasoning. And I don't have a clue if it's technically correct or not since I have hardly any knowledge of aircraft IRL. I simply copied the annunciator lights from the A2A to the Bravo annunicator without realising that the one was fuel pressure and the other fuel quantity :)

It's perhaps a good idea to use them both as you did. I shall incorporate it into my lua scripts :)

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vtracy
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by vtracy »

Peter,
I have been trying to configure the AP of the A2A Comanche 250. Had hoped that the default profile for the Bravo would give me basic function.
Alas! nothing worked. I believe that the hardware of the Alpha and Bravo are well made. All the more regrettable that the software supporting the hardware functionality is so difficult.If you have done any work on configuring the AP that is in the Cherokee, it might help me with the AP in the Comanche…
I should be very grateful if you could send it me (via PM if you want, then we can exchange experiences…).
Volker
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vtracy
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by vtracy »

Fishmonger,
thanks for the profiles that I found in your dropbox!
…another good and welcome source for my own efforts in creating profiles for my A2A aircraft.
Volker
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vtracy
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by vtracy »

I have a request to make towards A2A:
Can you please, A2A people, publish the LVars for all your aircraft, as far as they are not covered by the general P3D LVars for APs.
Thank you!
Volker
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dromer1967
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by dromer1967 »

vtracy wrote: 17 May 2021, 08:16 Peter,
I have been trying to configure the AP of the A2A Comanche 250. Had hoped that the default profile for the Bravo would give me basic function.
Alas! nothing worked. I believe that the hardware of the Alpha and Bravo are well made. All the more regrettable that the software supporting the hardware functionality is so difficult.If you have done any work on configuring the AP that is in the Cherokee, it might help me with the AP in the Comanche…
I should be very grateful if you could send it me (via PM if you want, then we can exchange experiences…).
Volker
Hi Volker,

I believe you already found the profiles that OGfishm0nger provided for the Bravo. It should give you a base for your own profiles.

I don't have any knowledge of the A2A Comanche 250 since I only have flown and still fly the C172.

Peter

OGfishm0nger
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Re: Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo profiles for the C172

Post by OGfishm0nger »

vtracy wrote: 17 May 2021, 08:22 Fishmonger,
thanks for the profiles that I found in your dropbox!
…another good and welcome source for my own efforts in creating profiles for my A2A aircraft.
Volker
Great, I hope you find them useful. The autopilot in the Comanche and the Cherokee are identical so hopefully the Cherokee profile will be useful to you figuring out your own Comanche profile. I had hoped to be working on a Comanche profile of my own by this point but work and life seem to have gotten in the way the last few weeks.

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