2018.2

Features:

• Major overhaul of the 3D model, including:
  • Thicker wings with a more rounded leading edge
  • Improved taxi and landing lights, VHF antennas and recessed fuel caps
  • Model ribs to show through broken wing
  • Improvements to tail and rudder, including animated rudder cables
  • Cowling now protrudes around the nose
  • Front windshield redesign to allow for proper vent fittings
  • Tie-down connections on the wing look a little more realistic
  • Added a vent line pipe to the left wing
  • New landing gear strut steps and improved strut to fuselage connection
  • Improved textures of air intake, cockpit bars, trim wheel, propeller, glare shield, tires
  • Add two sided prop blur to livery system
  • Moved panel upwards
  • Improved flap model and animation
  • New exterior door handles and relocated bottom door hinges
  • Added GPS device with a new texture and added mount
  • Added rudder pedal push rod model, sump port models, animated cabin air vent, engine compartment vent, wing vent holes, elevator trim tab
  • New disc brakes, cowling handhold, animated oil door and cap, animated fuel caps
• Improved ground equipment
• The f key can be used to toggle the flash light
• Changes to the FDM:
  • Allow aerodynamic interaction between the aircraft and AI traffic models
  • Make the pitch axis less sensitive to control. Increase the adverse yaw, also results in a better slip-skid-ball behaviour
• Added a new HD livery: N73429
• Improved sounds:
  • Better engine sound based on a real recording
  • New idle engine sound which is cross-faded with the regular engine sound so that it is only perceived at low RPMs. It has that characteristic "rumbling" of low RPM
  • New crank and engine start sounds, much improved from the default ones. In particular, the engine now starts with a large "thump" just like a real engine does
  • New sound for when the engine is cut, also based on a real 172 recording
  • New sounds for the primer lever, a low volume squeak sound based on reference videos of startup procedures
• Added registrations to the bottom wing of all liveries
• Implemented engine damage when flying at a RPM higher than the red mark
• More advanced oil management and consumption calculation
• Improved hydrodynamic modeling
• Support mooring (including rope and buoy animation) and spawning at a seaport

Fixes:

• Animation of primer and carburettor heat levers so that they don't just flip between their binary positions
• Autopilot buttons are now animated
• Applied shadow effect to more objects in the cabin
• Fixed a bug with the control lock being added to a hidden yoke
• Fix some switches in the KMA 20 instrument changing the dials in the two radio's below it
• Improved DME clickspots
• Nose wheel is no longer buried in the ground
• Fix collision of beacon lights with beacon lamp model

Major thanks to @wlbragg and @gilbertohasnofb for improving the 3D model, textures and sounds so much!

People who have contributed to the 2018.2 release:

• @wlbragg (3D model) and @gilbertohasnofb (textures and sounds)
• @dany93 (FDM, HDM)
• @andgi (HDM, mooring code)
• @mathieugouin (radio stack)
• @legoboyvdlp (engine damage)
• @ltoenning @edward-p @Zaretto @it0uchpods @gftg85 @bcoconni (miscellaneous fixes)
• @tonghuix @okroth (opening issues and advice)

See release/2018.2 for any additional fixes added to this release.

Note: this aircraft is the default aircraft in FlightGear. Manually downloading it is not necessary.