by Jean Sabatier, Laurent Claudet, TJ, Jean-Paul Mes and René Birot

for Fly! II

We waited it all for several months, and an aircraft of this technique doesn't manufacture in several days, here it is finally on Simvol: the famous French turbo-prop single engine aircraft manufactured by the EADS Socata group: I named... the TBM 700.

The building of this virtual aircraft required a lot of work and calls on many persons' service in addition to the authors already quoted:
- the Socata which provided all the technic documentation, the complete flight manual (in English version) being available on its site
- two pilots of the Army Light Aviation Group (EAAT of Rennes) which validated our parameters by real flights: one of their test report here
- Peter Sidoli and Rob Young of Real Air Simulation which allowed to work on the base of their Fly! II aircraft
- a testers group which don't treat gently the virtual flights tests allowing the qualification of the aircraft

Thank you very much to all.

The result is exceptionnal and go well beyond we find in general public simulation, all simulators confused. Many innovations are present, here are the main:
- creation of a flight model totally specific using the same turbo-prop than the Beech B200
- spoilers animation increasing the ailerons efficency (put in turn)
- real starting totally simulated
- indicators, buttons and lights practically all functional in panel normal view (to test to discover them)
- indicators, buttons and lights functional and animated (for the main) in the lateral views of 3/4
- flags of non working on the navigation instruments
- separed starting of gyroscopes
- lighting or not of the passenger cabin the night
- ...

Concerning the presentation of the aircraft, Simvol kept informed as you go along of its building, it remains only to give you several important informations to fly well with the Socata TBM 700, informations you can find for the majority in the explanatory files accompagny the aircraft and in a documentation all in color provided in French (and in English) in .pdf format.

Particular functions of the panel elements:

Concerning the avionics Master and Ground Clearance switches:
The AP Trims Master switch commands only the AP, the altitude radar and the altimeter flag.
The following button, EFIS Master commands only the two EFIS and the third, Radio Master commands only the radios and radar elements. When the battery is on OFF we can always have the Com 1 which works in putting ON the Radio Master switch. In this case, and only in this case, the green light Ground Clearance lights up. If the battery is on ON, all the radios light up with this switch, but not the green light. 
The luminosity adjustement of the lower EFIS is located under this same EFIS. The luminosity adjustement is made with the button located just above it.

Above this same button, we find now the DH button for the "altitude decision" of EFIS radar. To have now the gyro which work, you must put ON the overpanel gyroscopes. Of course they work only when the engine is switched on, because it is this one which creates the depression.
The ADI2 switch has no effect on an aircraft system.
Fuel management switches work all in the NE view (right). The copilot HSI adjustement button on this view also works like the BFG and the height adjustement of the artificial horizon. The copilot HSI is connected on the Nav 1 and the RMI (ADF) of the pilot is adjusted on Nav 2.
About the RMI, the indications of the NW view can be wrong, indeed they stay on the departure position of the main board that is VOR 1 and ADF 2 selected.

The HSI flags: the right one (HDG) indicates we don't start up the suction (switch and engine switched on), the left one indicates we receive no signal of Nav 1. The starting button of the rear cabin is located at the botton, just in the right of the Panel rheostat. It is not an easy access button, but in reality it is very small.
The GPU is not functional. On the left NW view, the adjustment buttons of the artificial horizon and of VOR work. The wings lights starting are visible on the E and W views. The Grd Clr (Ground Clear) light lights up only we switch on the Radio Master even though the battery is on OFF. It is switched off the rest of time.
The ADF 2 is functional. Now we can pass directly from the NE view to the overpanel and to the console and vice versa with the low or up Ctrl key from the NE view. Right Ctrl from the overpanel or the console. The trim nose is functional with the mouse but not the wheel animation. The ailerons trim is not functional out of the keyboard.

photos album

Download: a first for Simvol and the ROTW, we propose you an automatic installation file thanks to the "Mr Setup" installer of François Lamèche. Thus, the pod files, dll (and other) will be automatically unzipped in the appropriate Fly! II folder. In choosing the language, you will have also chose the version of the manual and the lisezmoi file. You have just to give the name of the folder containing Fly! II.

Warning: users working with Windows XP must absolutely read the paragraph concerning them in the "lisezmoi.txt" file.

Good flights with the Socata TBM 700 !