FS 2020 sailplanes, glider, aerobatics airplanes

@date 2021-03-24

Microsoft Flight Simulator or MSFS 2020 or FS 2020 is the name of the new flight simulator that is in store since 18 August 2020. This sim has stunning graphics. But - at least at the time of writing this article - it is lacking features. The FS 2020 version 1.14.5.0 from 09.march 2021 has

• no sailplane nor glider model
• no winch nor tow plane sailplane start
• no thermals weather model
• unrealistic airplane flight models (wrong (L/D)max, no propeller drag, wrong inertia, ...)
  

At the moment you can convert a FSX airplane model to FS 2020. You can start this sailplane or glider "in the air". You can use ridge lift for soaring and you can land the sailplane.
In the "25 February 2021 Development Update" Asobo/Microsoft put the MSFS forum topic "Glider, Sailplane, Soaring Please" on top wishes position 8. We are up from #18 in October 8th, 2020. The sailplane topic is planned for 2021-22. I think we have to wait until xmas 2021 or eastern 2022 before the sailplane topic comes out of the Asobo pipeline. The date depends on how smooth the Xbox release will sail. Asobo/Microsoft decided to go the full way for the weather system. I assume that opening up the weather system for 3rd party developers would have been more than half of the way. We can be happy that sailplanes are done before helicopters. Helicopters don't need updrafts, but a lot of extensions to the flight model.
Please UPVOTE the Glider, Sailplanes, Soaring Please topic in the wishlist!

I have a Youtube channel about flying sailplanes, motorglider, ultralights, glider and aerobatics airplanes in MSFS 2020 and FSX.

Winch start, Aerotow and Thermals(!) good news

Keith Bedford (SleetingPipes) wrote in the Forum: "And Peter Luerkin’s WinchX! works for MSFS!". I asked him what is necessary and his answer was: "I had already installed it for FSX and literally just run the EXE from the FSX modules folder, nothing installed in MSFS."
See his winch start Youtube video. I tested winch start successful myself. Here is the link to Peter Lürkens WinchX!. At the moment you still need an installed FSX on your computer.
Alex Marko created a FS2020 all-in-one solution. The program Kinetic Assistant can do winch start, aerotow start, thermals and more. Winch start is like in WinchX!. For aerotow you connect your sailplane to another airplane, an AI one or the tow plane that another pilot controls.
The Kinetic Assistant thermals are created by hand. You need Little Navmap to create the thermals map. At the moment there is no thermals indication, no birds circling in the thermals as you have in CumulusX!. But the year 2021 is still young and I am happy about this progress!

I use "Nose hook" for winch start.

Big Thanks

First of all big thanks to Wolfgang Piper and Alex Marko. Wolfgang Piper has a web site with a lot of FSX sailplane models. See
Wolfgang Piper Soaring in Flight Simulator
Alex Marko wrote the msfsLegacyImporter program that converts FSX airplane models to FS 2020. There are frequent updates. The version 0.2.x.x can convert many cockpit instruments. See
Alex Marko MSFS Legacy Importer
Another fine Alex Marko program is Kinetic Assistant that allows winch start, aerotow, catapult start, arrestor landing and thermals. See Alex Marko Kinetic Assistant
Peter Lürkens wrote thermals simulation CumulusX! and winch start WinchX! for FSX. Both extensions have a demo version - you can test the extensions before you buy. Both are worth the money for FSX! See
Peter Lürkens WinchX!
AmbitiousPilots wrote FSJumpStarter2020. This FS2020 starter program did away with the "Press any key" nonsense in FS2020 version 1.9.5.0 and before. I use it with FS2020 version 1.10.11.0, too. After program start it gives immediate visual feedback. I like that. See
AmbitiousPilots FSJumpStarter2020
Ian Foster Lewis is active for FS2020. He created again very fine sailplane instruments. You find his instruments in the Touching cloud DG808S and in my DG808S version. I hope that we will come to a common "best of all" DG808S version.

Install an airplane model

I converted the Ka 6 E and other models from FSX to FS 2020 and tuned them to FS2020 modern flight model.
Some models are converted from FSX. Microsoft wants me to write this notice: 'Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) © Microsoft Corporation. DG-808S, 582SL, P-51D and G21A were created under Microsoft's "Game Content Usage Rules" using assets from FSX, and it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft.'
Other download files are modifications of FS2020 airplanes. Again: 'Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS 2020) © Microsoft Corporation. Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Diamond DA62, Robin Cap10, Pitts S-2S, Extra 330LT, Cessna 208B, Daher TBM930, King Air 350i, Cessna CJ4, Airbus A320neo, Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380, Pilatus PC-12 were created under Microsoft's "Game Content Usage Rules" using assets from MSFS 2020, and it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft.'
Please download one or more of these files:

The following sailplanes have no working cockpit instruments. They were the first FSX models I converted to FS2020.

You have to extract the Zip file and you have to move the folder to the correct location in your computer to make the sailplane model available for FS 2020. Here are the step for step instructions:

1. After download go to folder Downloads
   
2. Double click on the zip-file "ka6e_1.3.zip"
   
   
   
   
3. Open a new file explorer window
4. Enter in the folder entry field the text %appdata% and press return key
   
   
   
   
5. Click on the folder names "Microsoft Flight Simulator", "Packages" and "Community"
6. Move the folder "ka6e" from Download directory to Community directory
   
   
   
   
7. Installation is complete. Start FS 2020, select Ka 6 E sailplane modell and start in the air, not at a runway, if you have no winch start. Else start on the runway and use Kinetic Assistant or WinchX! .
   
   
   
   
8. Some converted FSX files there is a legacy-vcockpits-instruments folder and the program msfsJSONgen.exe. If you install more then one airplane with legacy-vcockpits-instruments folder you get the following popup:
   
   
   Just click "replace files" and double click on msfsJSONgen.exe to fix the duplicate files problem:
   
   
   
   

Wind setting

Keith Bedford found a way to switch off the noise in wind speed. The "Geschwindigkeit" slider has an entry field next to the slider. Delete the number in the entry field and wind speed noise is zero. The right solution for Asobo would be to allow to set the noise from 0% to 100%.

The models

The first three models can be downloaded for FS2020 from this webpage. The DG-808S, 582SL and ASK21 models are converted to FS2020 and fly nicely. I have asked the rights owner Microsoft and Aerosoft if theywant to distribute the converted FSX models in the FS2020 marketplace or allow freeware distribution  as "work in progress" models. I wait for answers. The airplanes are sorted by year.

Fokker Dr1

Birds are monoplanes because a monoplane has the best lift for wing area. A biplane and even more a triplane are bad solutions. But biplane wing stability was easier to do in the early years of manned flight. A triplane can have better maneuverability then other planes. This was one reason for british and german triplanes in world war 1. I simulate the Fokker Dr1 VIII with a 110 PS engine, the Oberursel Ur.II, a clone of the Le Rhône 9J rotary engine.

De Havilland Tiger Moth

The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The Tiger Moth exhibits the fundamental requirements of a training aircraft, in being "easy to fly, but difficult to fly well"; the aircraft's benign handling when within its limits make it easy for the novice to learn the basic skills of flight. (Source en.wikipedia.org).
The FSX Tiger Moth model you find on Ant's Airplanes.

Grumman Goose G21A

Story is that the Grumman Goose started as a business seaplane for millionaires who wanted to shorten their travel time from home to office in New York. Reality is that the niche for sea plane is small, but there is a need and the Goose did fill the gap for a long time.
There is another FS2020 conversion of the Goose at Grumman Goose G21A Redux II.

SG-38

After world war 1 Germany was forbidden to have airplanes with engine. Therefore development of airplanes without engine happened in Germany. The wooden "Schulgleiter" SG-38 training glider was a "best of" combination of the works of Edmund Schneider, Ludwig Hofmann and Mr. Rehberg. First flight was in 1938. 8750 gliders were build in factory. The empty weight of the SG-38 is around 120 kg. In modern terms it is a 120kg ultralight.

Aviat Pitts S-2S

The Extra is a high-tech airplane. It is no insult to call the Pitts a one seat low-tech aerobatics biplane. You could buy the Pitts as a kit and do-it-yourself build an aerobatics airplane. The maximum roll rate is 240°/s, maximum load factor is +6/-3 G, the engine has 260 hp. The Pitts can do spectacular "non standard" aerobatics, some say even better than the Extra. I think the Pitts capabilities are within the FS2020 limitations and give therefore the most realistic feeling of the three aerobatics airplanes.

North American P-51D

Cessna 172 Skyhawk

Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft Chapter 6: Design Maturity, 1945-80 writes: The Cessna Skyhawk shown is one of the lower cost members of an entire series of Cessna aircraft of the same basic configuration. The Skyhawk, like the Cherokee 180, is equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear and has a four-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine driving a fixed-pitch propeller. Unlike the Cherokee 180, however, the Cessna Skyhawk is a high-wing configuration with a single wing strut on either side of the fuselage to brace the wing. The Skyhawk has a maximum speed of 144 miles per hour and cruises at 138 miles per hour at 8000 feet. The stalling speed with the flaps deflected is 49 miles per hour. The gross weight of the Cessna Skyhawk is 2300 pounds, and the wing loading and power loading are 13.1 pounds per square foot and 15.3 pounds per horsepower, respectively. These values are in the same order as those shown for the Piper Cherokee. The zero-lift drag coefficient of the Skyhawk is 0.0319 as compared with 0.0358 for the Cherokee, and the maximum lift-drag ratios for the two aircraft are 11.6 and 10.0, respectively.

Cessna 152

The Cessna 152 is the modernized version of the Cessna 150. It is a conventional, strut-braced, high-wing monoplane equipped with a fixed landing gear. The pilot and student sit next to each other. The Piper J-3 Cub had the disadvantage of pilot and student sit behind each other. The Cessna is - at least in U.S.A. - the trainer airplane.

Ka 6 E

The single seat  Ka 6 E was the last and best wooden sailplane produced by Schleicher. First flight was in 1965. The Ka 6 is no training airplane, pilot Heinz Huth became world champion on Ka 6 in 1960 and 1963 in Standard class.
Ian Lewis (B21) added his fine instruments and sound files to this sailplane.

ASK 23

The single seat ASK 23 was designed by Rudolf Kaiser. First flight was in 1983. It uses glass-fibre reinforced plastic and 'honeycomb' as its main construction materials. The never exceed speed (Vne) is 220 km/h. The g limits are +5.3G/-2.65G. This allows simple aerobatics.

ASK 21

DG-808 S

The 18m single seat Glaser-Dirks DG-808 S is the stock sailplane model in FSX. It is a 18m wing span competition sailplane. To keep the very good glide ratio up the whole flight, the DG-808 has "bug wipers" to remove dead bugs from the wings in flight. The g limits are +5.3G/-2.65G. The cockpit gauges are working - thanks to versions 0.2.4.0 of the msfsLegacyImporter program.
Another DG-808-S FS2020 model you find on Touching Cloud.

582 SL

The two seats ultralight trike Air Creation 582 SL is the stock motorized glider in FSX. Based on the "Skyhook" design of Barry Palmer and "Mosquito" design of Roland Magallon the 582 SL has a 64 hp Rotax type 582 engine and can carry two humans. Aerobatics is forbidden for this airplane.
Another 582SL FS2020 model you find on Touching Cloud.

Robin Cap10

Extra 330LT

The Extra is an two seat aerobatics airplane of the ultimate class. The maximum roll rate is 400°/s, maximum load factor is +/-10 G, the engine has 315 hp.

Beechcraft King Air 350i

The Beechcraft can transport up to 9 passagers. A general problem with all propeller airplanes in FS2020 is that there is no "propeller drag" or "braking effect of the propeller". Asobo/Microsoft should enhance the FS2020. My workaround is to use lift drag and additional drag with flaps and landing gear. As I use flaps 20°, flaps 40° and landing gear I can fake a realistic landing approach with the Beechcraft King Air 350i. The non-realistic part of my fake is that take-off is best without flaps and landing gear should be retracted soon after lift-off.

Cessna 208 B (Grand Caravan EX)

The Cessna 208 B is the "ugly duckling" among the FGS2020 turboprop airplanes. To compensate this, it has the longest name. It is a workhorse that can carry up to 12 passengers. The landing gear is not retractable, therefore I had only lift/drag modification by flaps to "fake" a realistic final landing flight model.
There is a long thread about a very fine 208B mod on C208B Grand Caravan EX Mods General - Aircraft / Turboprops - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums . The downloads are Release g1000-v0.3.4 · Working-Title-MSFS-Mods/fspackages · GitHub and  Release v2012.2 · dgtlanlg/C208B-mod · GitHub

Daher TBM 930

The Daher TBM 930 or Socata TBM 930 is the fastest single engine turboprop airplane. The Pilot's Operating Handbook of this airplane is very detailed. In this flight model I use other parameters settings for the no propeller drag workaround. Again, the non-realistic part of my fake is that take-off is best without flaps and landing gear should be retracted soon after lift-off.
There is a long thread about a very fine TBM930 mod on TBM 930 Fixes - Aircraft / Turboprops - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums . The downloads are Release g3000-v0.3.4 · Working-Title-MSFS-Mods/fspackages · GitHub and GitHub - mixMugz/msfs_tbm930_project: Improvement project for the MSFS default TBM930.

Salty Simulations Boing 747-8

The Salty 747-8 is a mod of the MSFS 2020 Boing 747-8. I added the Flight Dynamics Bug workaround and I gave the airplane a more realistic maximum lift-drag ratio (L/D)max. Salty Simulations team please include my modifications!

My FS2020 configuration

The -fastLaunch option disables the program start videos (splashes). I have the Steam version of FS2020 and I have heard that the Microsoft version needs other steps to disable the splashes. In Steam you have to go in the Steam program to the "Microsoft Flight Simulator" program icon and select "Eigenschaften". In the "Allgemein" tab select "Startoptionen festlegen ...". In the "Startoptionen" popup enter "-fastLaunch" and click button "OK".

Documentation

I wrote a documentation on msfsLegacyImporter, another on FS2020 flight model.

History

v1.0 based on classic flight model (AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY, REFERENCE SPEEDS)
v1.1 based on modern flight model, tuned for spin (*_stability, *_effectiveness)
v1.1.1 tuned for realistic stall speed, cruise speed (*_drag_scalar)
v1.2 Description in all languages, tested with FS2020 version 1.10.11.0
v1.3 Tuned for snap roll (empty_weight_roll_MOI, roll_stability, elevator_effectiveness), not compensated audio variometer, convert panels
v1.11.6.0 Tuned for FS2020 version 1.11.6.0 with 2020-12-03 feedback snapshot. Easier landings without flaps.
v1.11.6.1 Tune to cruise speed.
v1.11.7.0 Tested with FS2020 version 1.11.7.0
v1.12.13.0 Tested with FS2020 version 1.12.13.0
v1.12.13.1 aileron_effectiveness = 1, modification via area and up_limit, down_limit parameters
v1.12.13.2 DG808S use FSX SOAR DG808S flight model mod and Touching Cloud instruments
v1.12.13.3 All airplanes: more realistic polar glide curve. DG808S: use Asobo_B747_8i style [FLAPS.0], [FLAPS.1]
v1.12.13.4 Use drag_coef_zero_lift for polar glide curve
v1.12.13.5 Realistic maximum lift-drag ratio (L/D)max, checked by Aircraft Editor, Debug, Sim Polar VhVs. Realistic fuel consumption.
v1.13.16.0 Add the "flight dynamics bug" workaround.
v1.13.17.0 Undo the "flight dynamics bug" workaround.
v1.13.17.1 Corrected wrong (L/D)max value to mostly 80% of real life value.
v1.14.5.0 Compatible to MSFS version 1.14.5.0. Include Uwa's lighting mods when available.

License

Some FS 2020 models are derived from the FSX models of Wolfgang Piper. Because of this they have the same FREEWARE license. The license is:

Wolfgang Piper is well known for his high quality sailplanes and gliders models. Please contact Wolfgang and ask him if you can distribute derivative work. I asked by e-mail and got the answer:

Copyright, Contact

The author and copyright owner of this web page is