Halo's Pelican in Microsoft Flight Simulator is such a great idea... but after testing it. It struck me: this aircraft is not as cool and powerful and great as it could be!
Since the release of the Pelican and the first version of this MOD, a few things have been improved.
Now, this "Pelican Improvement Mod" includes its own custom flight model and behaviors too. No need for another mod, it's all done here. (And I didn't take the same flight model as "Pelicans in Space", I made my own).
Key Binds:
- Shoot Flares: TOGGLE RECOGNITION LIGHTS
- Fire with Machine Gun: TOGGLE LOGO LIGHTS
- Open/Close Cargo Door: TOGGLE WATER RUDDER
Important:
Now, incompatible with BufordTX's "Pelicans in Space". But since all the features from Pelicans in Space (and a few more) have been reworked and natively implemented in this mod, you can safely remove Pelicans in Space mod from your community folder if you prefer the flight model and other stuff provided by this Pelican Improvement Mod.
Incompatible (currently) with TouchingCloud's Bell Nexus. (Thanks, Serena, for figuring this out!) So chose wisely if you're on the great Halo team or on the boring volocopter+ team ;)
Current features:
- Panel lights (green) > 7 new light sources.
- Cockpit lights (purple) > 4 new light sources.
- Pedestral lights (orange) > 8 new light sources.
- Landing lights (strong, all around the ship) > 8 new light sources.
- Toggle for cabin lights (white) > already existing, but broken in default aircraft.
- Spoilers / Speed brakes : lever in the cockpit + 6 animated outside panels that extend/retract.
- You can use your "toggle speedbrake" key bind or the "speedbrake" axis. But there is no interaction (yet) with the lever in the cockpit. It just shows the position for now.
- Labels on dashboard for a lot of switchs and knobs (MODs and default switches)
- Downwash effect when hovering close to ground/water.
- Suggested by Cammy9r: open/close the cargo door with "TOGGLE_WATER_RUDDER" key bind.
- Flares.
- Machine Gun (still to be improved).
- Suggested by KomradeKD: Light indicators for Fuel Valves status.
- Cortana copilot: show/hide her with the toggle in front of her seat. (Pelican's battery must be on).
- Flight model and fuel efficiency revisited:
- Cruise: Mach 7.78 at FL1200.
- Autonomy: 5000 / 5200 NM.
- Perfectly controlable at "low" speed (between 160 and 250 KIAS).
- PDF user guide included.
Maybe, some day:
- Master Chief in the back of the cabin.
- Depending on payload: a Warthog (jeep) attached under the Pelican's tail.
- Visible bombs/missiles?
kwmcb
Do you use a customized cfg file for setting your camera views with this mod? If so, what is the file name? I ask because using CTRL-ALT-0 is not saving my modified view. I need to change it so the pop out panel manager can see all three screens.
Thanks
erfon1
VoicefulRiver
5 months ago
Anthony96
MorphoZR032
Thank you so much for making all these improvements to the Pelican, really enhances the experience of flying it!
I notice in other comments you say you have mostly moved on from working on this project, but if you ever find the time to make some enhancements I thought I'd leave some ideas here.
While the capability for hypersonic flight is very nice to have for this (and a feature the Pelican would have to make it more lore accurate) I find that when trying to cruise at lower speeds, it will stay at 300+ knots even at idle throttle, unless you use spoilers or turn 3 of the engines off.
A possible solution would be to incorporate a multi engine mode like the Darkstar has, where you have the more conventional turbofan / turbojet type engines for lower speed flight and Scramjets for Hypersonic.
I find that when using full throttle at low altitude, it is easy to overstress the aircraft as well as the autopilot not being able to compensate for all the thrust. The addition of a G-limiter may help to resolve this (though previous mentioned engine modifications may help alleviate this).
Finally a nice addition would be a HMD like in the F-35 (and hornet), so that you can get airspeed, altitude, etc, without having to look down at the displays (plus I assume a futuristic aircraft like this probably would have it as standard.
I understand that you probably won't add any of these features, but thought I'd mention them none the less.
Again many thanks for making this mod! 😊
Edit: Remembered a video that goes in depth about the Pelican, including some details about the propulsion at 17:43.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dwrAroz00Y
LordFrites author
Thanks for the nice comment. But as you wrote, and you know, I won't add too many more details to this machine.
I really want to add a Warthog at the back, as an optional payload. I don't know when I'll allow me some time to do it, but that's probably one of the rare updates I will do.
I considered adding other engines, but it's too much work and really not compatible with all I have in my mind. So this Pelican is probably close to its final form :)
1 years ago
ThankfulDeadman
"Thank you so much for the incredible addon and the remarkable improvements you've made to the Pelican in Flight Sim! It's absolutely thrilling to witness the spaceship now reaching its true potential with a blazing speed of mach 7.80. This enhancement truly captures the essence of its role as the UNSC's main shuttle for interplanetary travel. Your dedication and attention to detail are truly commendable.
I wanted to express an idea that could potentially elevate the experience even further. Have you considered incorporating a dynamic fire effect to simulate the intense speed of the Pelican? For example, when flying in first-person view, it would be amazing to see subtle fire effects gradually appearing on the windshields, adding a visual element of the incredible velocity. Similarly, in third-person view, having the fire effect dynamically appear on the wings would further emphasize the raw power and speed of the spacecraft. like the darkstar.
Once again, thank you for your hard work and for bringing this iconic spacecraft to life in Flight Sim. Your passion for detail and your willingness to enhance the addon is truly appreciated. Keep up the fantastic work!"
LordFrites author
Thanks for your comment. It's really nice to read! I'll be honest, I will probably manage to find time to add the one or two things that are still on my list for this add-on... But I don't know when. And I'm not sure I will add flames or glowing exterior like for the Darkstar.
My priorities are right now on the Scrapyard Monster and my other future complete and own planes.
But I want to add the MasterChief and the buggy hanging under the tail... I have no clue when. 😁
1 years ago
Hopfot
Something to look into, I noticed that all 4 engines are tied to Throttle 1 Axis. Would it be possible to make it so that Throttle 1 Axis is just the throttle for Engine 1, for those of us with multi-axis Throttle Quadrants.
LordFrites author
That's a good idea! I'm not sure when I'll make the next update for this mod, but I'll try to see if I can do anything about that.
1 years ago
Capricorn0716
A superb, payware-quality addon at a freeware price! I just had to leave a five-star review for your amazing work LordFrites and BufordTX for your collaboration; thank you for creating such an in-depth, fun aircraft/spaceship to fly! You have made the Pelican even better than the default, and I just had a really smooth, enjoyable flight from Tahiti (NTAA) to Hawaii at FL800, covering approximately 2500nm in just over an hour (I cruised at FL800 at about M5.6 as the autopilot could only maintain FL800 and nothing above).
The autopilot is very forgiving, with a gradual transition from manual/'hands-on' flying at speeds <250KIAS to an approximately-5000-feet-per-minute climb to FL800 at M5.0. The additional functionality and lights that you have provided really make this an outstanding aircraft/spaceship, which I had a lot of fun flying. It may not be realistic or study-level, but I will definitely be flying your Pelican again the next time I need to get somewhere fast. Kudos!
LordFrites author
Thank you for your comment Capricon :) I had a few other ideas that are still on the backlog of this project. But I've got so many other things to work, I got so tired lately and nothing is progressing as quick as I would like to...
But now that I'm done drinking my new year's Champagne and digesting tons of chocolate, I'll start working hard on my mods to go back to cools additions to this one and to the 747 SCA soon!
1 years ago
Nekrobob
The gun is pink?
LordFrites author
Is it appearing pink?
2 years ago
BluFrost8888
Thank you for the SU11 update, SU11 completely broke the previous version of this mod
LordFrites author
Yes, and I don't know what they've done. The Pelican doesn't appear in the release note (or I read it too quickly) 😅 so I'm wondering what they changed.
2 years ago
Deleted Account
How do you get the warthog on the back?
LordFrites author
It's not done yet. I will add it some day :)
2 years ago
Vingilot
This is just getting better and better! If I can make a suggestion have you considered making a HMD style HUD? That would be a big upgrade.
LordFrites author
Thanks! Actually, this new info screen took me already so much time and effort... I also have other projects I'm working on. So, for now, learning all about HUDs and HMDs are not at all in my list of priorities.
Maybe in a few months, who knows :)
2 years ago
HypePerformanceGroup
Love your work, keep it up!
LordFrites author
Thanks again for your continuous support 😊👍
2 years ago
Josephm700
Never try a flight plan file, can someone teach me how to install a flight plan file ?
LordFrites author
On Xbox, I don't know if you can. On PC, just type "msfs load flight plan" on YouTube and check the first result: "Tutorial | how to load a fight plan into msfs | pln file", by "Pie in the Sky Tours", published on february 2021. It's really easy to do (basically, press space from the world map).
2 years ago
DennyAtkin
Really makes the Pelican a lot more interesting to fly. Great job on Cortana! I was expecting a tiny Cortana on the dash, not a full-size copilot.
LordFrites author
And there is still Masterchief and a Warthog to come... some day, because I'm super busy :)
2 years ago
sonicviz
I haven't tried this latest update, but the last one seemed to have some Flight model issues. Transitioning from high speed to low speed, it dropped like a brick at one point, while still in the high 100's to 200 kt zone iirc.
Can you provide some v speeds for your modified flight model, as a guide to what you should expect - especially in the transition points between flight phases?
Thanks.
LordFrites author
You should take a look at the PDF I provided with last update: It explains how you should (or could) fly the Pelican for take-off, low speed flight, climb, cruise, descent, regular landing and vertical landing.
2 years ago