Suggestions for Q400 Enhancements

edited November 2020 in General

Fellow Airmen,

The Q400 has been an operator in the virtual skies for over 7 years, and while we continuously work to improve the product we thought it would be a good idea to reach out to the community to get a feel for what possible enhancements you would like to see added to the Q400.

I'll give it a kickstart:

  1. True Glass rain effects
  2. PBR
  3. FMS functionality

While we can not guarantee that all requests will be granted we will certainly make a thorough analysis and see which ones are practically feasible.

We will leave this thread open for TWO WEEKS.

Comments

  • edited November 2020

    Most airplane lovers are aware that the dry operating mass varies from aircraft to aircraft, among the same type.
    My suggestion would be; having the possibility of having the DOM of an "individual" aircraft, being saved in an ini file according to the airline texture in use. Similar to what is being done with the maintenance states and times, already.
    Oh, and maybe the fuel remaining after a flight is completed or the sim is shutdown after a session.
    Cheers, Jax

  • @Jax_in_BC said:
    Most airplane lovers are aware that the dry operating mass varies from aircraft to aircraft, among the same type.
    My suggestion would be; having the possibility of having the DOM of an "individual" aircraft, being saved in an ini file according to the airline texture in use. Similar to what is being done with the maintenance states and times, already.

    >
    Allowing the user to change the DOM would also require you to have the DOI. We ahve discussed this in the past, will have to see how we can implement this.

    Oh, and maybe the fuel remaining after a flight is completed or the sim is shut down after a session.
    Cheers, Jax

    So in essence, the livery that you are currently flying, the remaining fuel state would be reloaded the next time the aircraft is used.

  • edited November 2020

    Yes. It's a bit of a selfish request, as I sometimes like to do multiple legs using a particular airline routing, and am often called away before I can complete said legs.
    It's the giant nerd I have inside. :D Thanks for the response, Kroswynd. Stay safe.

    Jax

  • Maybe some sharper textures outside, and inside?
    :smile:
  • Thank you for asking!

    Here would be my suggestions, from a maintenance guy point of view :)

    1- Slight parameters variations between LH and RH engines. Typically, for the same torque/rpm, you will often have one engine showing a little higher NH, ITT and fuel flow. Oil parameters are also slightly different.

    Operationally, engines changes/swaps happen relatively often on a given airframe. So it is common to have engines that don't have the same age, generating further parameters difference (an older/more worn engine will require more fuel and show higher ITT/NH to achieve a given thrust)

    2- GSX integration (automatic opening/closing of doors, refueling)

    3- weight and balance import from simbrief flight plan
    (remove the need to manually specify number of pax and luggage in each area)

    Thanks!
  • edited November 2020

    Updated Virtual Cockpit panel textures. More sharp
    PBR Outside.
    More GSX Integration
    Windscreen water effects (But hopefully not using TrueGlass as it is unstable)
    Snow on outside of airplane.
    That's my vote

  • It would be nice to see an updated MTOP button logic. In the real Q400 MTOp is deselected by pressing the MTOP button again, whereas in the MJC Q400 MTOP disappears after a few seconds by itself.

    Another nice feature would be a steep approach button, as the EGPWS in normal mode is quite annoying during steep approaches.

    Thank you! :)

  • I am building my own dash8 q400 home cockpit, I noticed that there is no possibility of having the 2 PFDs and MFDs unlocked simultaneously in 2d, moreover what MUCH more important, (I'm running into it these days) in such a program valid it would be advisable to have all the variables of the annunciator panel (I know there are many, about 98) to have the possibility of building the announciator panel as the real one, with single lights, also because given the position of the overhead it is impossible to put a second monitor to unlock the announciator panel in 2d and use it via monitor.
    thanks.

  • edited November 2020
    The first three suggestions should be adopted!
    I sincerely hope. Concentrate on creating the training edition first!
    Thanks!
  • Not shure if it's not too much work but maybe EFB?

  • True Glass
    PBR inside and out
    Updated FMS version
    EFB with takeoff/landing perf app + loadsheet abiltiy to just set ZFW in payload manager.
    Integration with PMDG Flight Operstions
  • Interior and Exterior PBR Textures

    True Glass rain effects

  • True Glass rain effects

  • Interior shadow model (so you see the external model casting a shadow from the cockpit).

    EFB (for navigraph charts and performance).

    Apart from that maybe higher rez. textures and then we are good to go.

  • In all honesty, I’m mainly patiently awaiting for my Q300 ;). I’m more than ready to island-hop with Liat and Caribbean Star.

    But regarding the beloved mighty Q400, here’s my contribution to the suggestion box:

    1. An EFB would be neat

    2. More GSX integration I guess

    3. Something about the friction with the nose wheel steering needs some updating In my opinion (heavy tiller input at high speeds seems too easy to accomplish)

    4. Effectiveness of “MAX REV” on deceleration

    5. A livery manager would be a great addition to the CPAN

    6. TrueGlass and PBR

    7. Updated cabin announcements to match the airline name, destination and “estimated time enroute”

    8. I still think the engine sounds are not the best best, but a third party team did some better ones so duces

    9. Inclusion of airframe option would be fun, similar to PMDG’s work with the 737 (Might be more suited to Q300) (lights, avionics, etc).

    10. Lastly, some general touching up on cleaner and sharper textures etc

    Thank you for producing such as an amazing product, and ofc, TurboProps rule 💪🏼
    1. I would love to control the tiller with the native P3D steering axis.
    2. EFB with Performance calculations
    3. More GSX integration
  • Single cue flight director
  • Please, do not include trueglass. I rather preffer do not have rain in vc than to get a thousands of CTD's an continues delays on compatibility platform updates because trueglass. Is not an option the vcrain from A2A? I think is free for 3ds parties.

    I love the Dash! I love your work!
    Keep up!
    Richard

  • I would love to see the following version in the sim:

    Bombardier Q400 NextGen

  • I fly the Q400 for real. Biggest request from me is enhanced VNAV capability in the FMS. In the actual aircraft the FMS will calculate a VNAV path based on a pilot set glide path angle eg. 3 degrees or whatever you choose. This VNAV path respects restrictions that are preprogrammed in STARS and approaches, and also respects constraints put in by the pilots. Furthermore the Path respects ground speed changes, the path will actively update itself to maintain the parameters the pilot has set. This allows for seamless enroute to the ground navigation. You can simply arm the VNAV at top of climb and fly from cruise to the ground without touching anything in the FMS or manually calculating altitudes to cross.

    Right now you need to manually calculate individual crossing altitudes on every waypoint in order to keep VNAV active to the ground. Not a big deal but it would be cool to have the accurate functionality.

    Otherwise I have always been very impressed with how accurate the aircraft behaves. The system depth is outstanding. The fact that I can fly a hand flown CAT3 to the ground with the HUD is pretty amazing in a flight sim.

    Thanks for all you guys do.
  • EFB with performance calculations is a must

  • edited November 2020

    Agree on the EFB for performance and sending weights to the aircraft if possible.

    -Wind uplink for the FMS, not sure if thats part of the enhanced FMS functions.
    -HD textures for inside and outside.
    -A bit more of GSX integration.
    -CPDLC/ACARS

    Still impressed by this ac after 7 years, always a joy to fly <3

  • EFB w/ W&B and Take-Off/Landing Calculator...Navigraph w/ chart integration would be a nice treat too.

  • Thanks for this open brainstorming.

    What about a detent (like a small dead zone) or at least a sound in throttle when you reach the Flight Idle detent, preventing you to go too far back when airborne and entering "beta" mode?

    The icing logic seems a bit exagerated as well. There is a lot of clear sky icing in my opinion.

    Still it remains a damn excellent simulated aircraft. Thanks guys.

  • edited November 2020

    I think a bug fix for the FMS feature is a priority.
    We can't select Enroute Transition with SID/STAR Runway selection.
    and FMS 1/2 synchronization is needed.

    When it's done, please publish the API to allow users to control ACARS.
    Some airlines allow pilots to request and input various data of flight plans, fuel, weight calculations, winds, etc., so I think the perfection will increase dramatically if users can design their own design.

  • It doesn't even take an EFB to do the performance calculations. On Air Canada Jazz (and I'm sure even more carriers), pilots send a perfomance request using the FMS, and then receive a performance report. That would indeed be fantastic to have.

  • I have one more thing to say.

    Please add function of cabin configuration customization.
    With it, We can fly with Q400 as Q400CC(CARGO COMBI) and simulate various airlines.

  • On system panel, for the called "instructor mode", some addition to fail other system types, like pressurization, to be possible to simulate an emergency descent.

  • Would love to see like the images above - ACARs functionality with perf and other data implemented like the FSLabs stuff. Very realistic.

    Also printer implementation to print ACARs messages

  • @plhought said:
    Would love to see like the images above - ACARs functionality with perf and other data implemented like the FSLabs stuff. Very realistic.

    Also printer implementation to print ACARs messages

    agree. With pushover support like the md80 and fslabs also

  • edited November 2020

    @dustingrantham said:
    I fly the Q400 for real. Biggest request from me is enhanced VNAV capability in the FMS. In the actual aircraft the FMS will calculate a VNAV path based on a pilot set glide path angle eg. 3 degrees or whatever you choose. This VNAV path respects restrictions that are preprogrammed in STARS and approaches, and also respects constraints put in by the pilots. Furthermore the Path respects ground speed changes, the path will actively update itself to maintain the parameters the pilot has set. This allows for seamless enroute to the ground navigation. You can simply arm the VNAV at top of climb and fly from cruise to the ground without touching anything in the FMS or manually calculating altitudes to cross.

    Right now you need to manually calculate individual crossing altitudes on every waypoint in order to keep VNAV active to the ground. Not a big deal but it would be cool to have the accurate functionality.

    Otherwise I have always been very impressed with how accurate the aircraft behaves. The system depth is outstanding. The fact that I can fly a hand flown CAT3 to the ground with the HUD is pretty amazing in a flight sim.

    Thanks for all you guys do.

    Thank you for the suggestion, however why would you need to calculate individual crossing altitudes ? If the FMS VNAV does not have information on the waypoints it overflies, it will calculate it's altitudes automatically

  • @Struggle_Crow said:
    I think a bug fix for the FMS feature is a priority.
    We can't select Enroute Transition with SID/STAR Runway selection.
    and FMS 1/2 synchronization is needed.

    When it's done, please publish the API to allow users to control ACARS.
    Some airlines allow pilots to request and input various data of flight plans, fuel, weight calculations, winds, etc., so I think the perfection will increase dramatically if users can design their own design.

    Both functions should work, please provide an example of the procesure (transition). Also would be good to have some info on when the FMS fail to syncronize, for us to verify it.

  • @Boss said:
    Both functions should work, please provide an example of the procesure (transition). Also would be good to have some info on when the FMS fail to syncronize, for us to verify it.

    Hi, Boss.
    As far as I know, this issue affects almost all SIDs with ENROUTE TRANSITION.

    Example:
    Check the KLAS BOACH8 DEPERTURE with TNP TRANSITION.
    With Runway selection(RW08L...etc), We can't select TNP TRANSITION and can only choose the route to BOACH.
    The issue has been confirmed by several people.

    In addition, I'm talking about FMS1 & FMS2 synchronization supported by FMS version 1000. I'm not talking about a bug.

  • @Boss said:

    @dustingrantham said:
    I fly the Q400 for real. Biggest request from me is enhanced VNAV capability in the FMS. In the actual aircraft the FMS will calculate a VNAV path based on a pilot set glide path angle eg. 3 degrees or whatever you choose. This VNAV path respects restrictions that are preprogrammed in STARS and approaches, and also respects constraints put in by the pilots. Furthermore the Path respects ground speed changes, the path will actively update itself to maintain the parameters the pilot has set. This allows for seamless enroute to the ground navigation. You can simply arm the VNAV at top of climb and fly from cruise to the ground without touching anything in the FMS or manually calculating altitudes to cross.

    Right now you need to manually calculate individual crossing altitudes on every waypoint in order to keep VNAV active to the ground. Not a big deal but it would be cool to have the accurate functionality.

    Otherwise I have always been very impressed with how accurate the aircraft behaves. The system depth is outstanding. The fact that I can fly a hand flown CAT3 to the ground with the HUD is pretty amazing in a flight sim.

    Thanks for all you guys do.

    Thank you for the suggestion, however why would you need to calculate individual crossing altitudes ? If the FMS VNAV does not have information on the waypoints it overflies, it will calculate it's altitudes automatically

    I have not yet fully understood what is being criticized here. In many flights I did not see any problem in this regard, i.e. maintaining a vertical profile. Restrictions were observed, and the VS was adjusted if necessary. The same happens with fluctuations in speed, which was also compensated for by changing the VS. So far I have sunk to the FAF / FAP without any problems and the subsequent RNAV GPS approach using VNAV went just as smoothly. Would be really nice to see what works even better in the real Dash.

  • Hi,
    I got the Q400 since the beginning and even that I flew RW before it took me a long time to understand the logic, or should I say illogic, of that particular plane.

    Anyway I love her and I do not fly anything else.

    We all would like some extra features and I understand that it is not easy to implement everything.

    Anyway I would love:

    • Slight different parameters between engines as in RW.
    • GSX integration mostly with the GPU and doors.
    • LPV CAT1 approaches as they are more and more common nowadays.
    • Performance calculations through the FMS as they have at Air Canada Jazz but I would think difficult to implement but if it could be done I would not mind paying extra for that particular feature.

    Regarding the EFB, I think the Navigraph one is working with the Q400 but as far as I am concerned, getting a bit old now, I still prefer the old paper charts.

    Just a bit off topic, but as mentioned Struggle Crow in a post above:

    As far as I know, this issue affects almost all SIDs with ENROUTE TRANSITION.

    Example:
    Check the KLAS BOACH8 DEPERTURE with TNP TRANSITION.
    With Runway selection(RW08L...etc), We can't select TNP TRANSITION and can only choose the route to BOACH.
    The issue has been confirmed by several people.

    This is true and a bit ennoying but is it only with the Q400 or is it a problem with the data provider?

    Santa can land in my garden with his Q400 equipped with some new features, he would be more than welcome..

    Regards,

    JP

  • edited December 2020

    I’ll echo some of the points above first and then add my own:

    Fix the SID/STAR runway transition issue. I have experienced this as well, coming out of LAS is a good example.

    Slightly different engine parameters

    EFB / performance calc. Would love to see takeoff &landing distances included

    Just an idea, but not a necessity: MJC has provided a Q400F model, can the W&B section of the System Panel be updated to reflect the Q400F in addition to the pax version?

    I’m building a Q400 sim so naturally I’d like to see more in the way of a user friendly interface to program inputs and particularly outputs. I am builder, not a programmer. I have been getting by using LINDA for inputs and haven’t started any projects yet with outputs simply because I have no idea where to start with programming those. I definitely appreciate that MJC has opened up the back end for home cockpit users but making that data more accessible via a user interface may make things easier. I plan on upgrading to the training version when it becomes available, so I’m definitely willing to pay for that accessibility. If a user interface is not possible, maybe some tutorials and some expanded documentation on how to access these outputs via UDP / XML might be sufficient.

    On the topic of outputs, I’d like to make a functioning Annunciator panel but those individual lights are not included in the outputs. I’ve seen some others mentioning that they would like to have this functionality. Would love to see these outputs.

    Not sure of this will be included on the training version or not, but the ability to run the PFD / ND / ED / ARCDU / FMS screens on a networked PC would be amazing for the home cockpit community. Definitely a feature I’d be willing to pay for. Also right now I believe it is not possible to run the left seat PFD / ND at the same time as the right seat PFD / ND. This would be crucial to home cockpit users.

  • @q400sim said:
    I’ll echo some of the points above first and then add my own:

    Fix the SID/STAR runway transition issue. I have experienced this as well, coming out of LAS is a good example.

    Slightly different engine parameters

    EFB / performance calc. Would love to see takeoff &landing distances included

    Just an idea, but not a necessity: MJC has provided a Q400F model, can the W&B section of the System Panel be updated to reflect the Q400F in addition to the pax version?

    I’m building a Q400 sim so naturally I’d like to see more in the way of a user friendly interface to program inputs and particularly outputs. I am builder, not a programmer. I have been getting by using LINDA for inputs and haven’t started any projects yet with outputs simply because I have no idea where to start with programming those. I definitely appreciate that MJC has opened up the back end for home cockpit users but making that data more accessible via a user interface may make things easier. I plan on upgrading to the training version when it becomes available, so I’m definitely willing to pay for that accessibility. If a user interface is not possible, maybe some tutorials and some expanded documentation on how to access these outputs via UDP / XML might be sufficient.

    On the topic of outputs, I’d like to make a functioning Annunciator panel but those individual lights are not included in the outputs. I’ve seen some others mentioning that they would like to have this functionality. Would love to see these outputs.

    Not sure of this will be included on the training version or not, but the ability to run the PFD / ND / ED / ARCDU / FMS screens on a networked PC would be amazing for the home cockpit community. Definitely a feature I’d be willing to pay for. Also right now I believe it is not possible to run the left seat PFD / ND at the same time as the right seat PFD / ND. This would be crucial to home cockpit users.

    Just a heads up, you project would be more suited for the Cockpit Edition as the TRAINING will not have everything that you desire.

  • edited December 2020

    @Boss said:

    Thank you for the suggestion, however why would you need to calculate individual crossing altitudes ? If the FMS VNAV does not have information on the waypoints it overflies, it will calculate it's altitudes automatically

    If there is no crossing altitude for a waypoint on an arrival VNAV will maintain the last known altitude at that waypoint. It will do so for every waypoint until it encounters a leg that leads to a waypoint with a new crossing altitude and then probably disconnect because it can't achieve the path or you better hold on tight. It will not continously descend through the waypoints that don't have a specific altitude entered. I'm pretty sure that's what that post was referring to, at least I know that's what has me calculating crossing altitudes manually. As best as I know, currently you cannot select a desired decent angle in the MJC-8 FMS as the poster explains you can in the real one.

  • -A shortcut key assignment for radio panel,
    -a shortcut key assignment for Left CDU,
    -more clear PFD and ND panels in VC...
  • Santa, what I really, really want for Christmas, is to have the the Q400 send haptic feedback through the direct input api of P3D, to an haptic enabled controller. (aka, force feedback). It would be really cool to feel the effects of flying through turbulence at the yoke. I know this has been mentioned before, many moons ago. Just thought I would ask again to see if that particular option is still on the table. Even as a paid update, would be fine. I know that there aren't many people who have haptic controls.

    Cheers, and hope you are all well,
    Jax

  • @Jax_in_BC said:
    Santa, what I really, really want for Christmas, is to have the the Q400 send haptic feedback through the direct input api of P3D, to an haptic enabled controller. (aka, force feedback). It would be really cool to feel the effects of flying through turbulence at the yoke. I know this has been mentioned before, many moons ago. Just thought I would ask again to see if that particular option is still on the table. Even as a paid update, would be fine. I know that there aren't many people who have haptic controls.

    Cheers, and hope you are all well,
    Jax

    This feature has been available but is reserved primarily for the professional version sold to airlines at an additional cost.

    Cheers

  • call me simple. But raindrops and a more HD like virtual cockpit is all I want. PBR exterior would just be an added benefit.

  • The other thing I forgot to mention that would be nice is a descent banana. would make planning manual descents a tad easier. But this is probably a somewhat major mod

  • @micstatic said:
    The other thing I forgot to mention that would be nice is a descent banana. would make planning manual descents a tad easier. But this is probably a somewhat major mod

    I never flew the Q400 in real life, but given the high level of detail and what’s been simulated by Majestic it may be safe to say that there isn’t a descent banana because its real world counterpart doesn’t have that feature. 😉

    For manual descents, the 3 to 1 rule works greats. Plan to be at 10,000 feet AGL 30 miles from your destination. 3,000 AGL 10 miles out etc. you can even put those fixes into the VNAV page on the FMS to get vertical guidance, but if you don’t want to do that Vertical Speed mode and some math work great.

  • @q400sim said:

    @micstatic said:
    The other thing I forgot to mention that would be nice is a descent banana. would make planning manual descents a tad easier. But this is probably a somewhat major mod

    I never flew the Q400 in real life, but given the high level of detail and what’s been simulated by Majestic it may be safe to say that there isn’t a descent banana because its real world counterpart doesn’t have that feature. 😉

    For manual descents, the 3 to 1 rule works greats. Plan to be at 10,000 feet AGL 30 miles from your destination. 3,000 AGL 10 miles out etc. you can even put those fixes into the VNAV page on the FMS to get vertical guidance, but if you don’t want to do that Vertical Speed mode and some math work great.

    I think I read somewhere that our version uses an older version of the actual software the plane fms uses. I believe the newer real life q400's have the feature. One of the resident RW pilots can correct me

  • We thank all of you who provided us with ideas/suggestions. We will review the discussions and make a determination as to which items may be feasible contenders for implementation for future updates/enhancements.

    Also bear in mind that there are some items that will not be practical/feasible without re-programming some aspects of the systems for which we are not willing to forego further delaying the Q400's tentative release and the further development of the Q300 v2.

    This thread is now officially closed.

This discussion has been closed.