Canadair DHC-515 "Croatia AF 877": realism update + Wildfire firefighting plugin 2.0

Canadair DHC-515 "Croatia AF 877": realism update + Wildfire firefighting plugin 2.0

An update of the freeware Canadair DHC 515 by jpb63. Original aircraft: [ORIGINAL LINK]. All credit for the 3D model, cockpit and base systems goes to jpb63, FMOD sounds by Dan Hopgood.

The package contains the complete updated aircraft, an optional Wildfire plugin (extinguishable wildfires, real satellite fires from NASA FIRMS) and a complete flight manual in English and Czech. It focuses on three things:

• a flight model and systems as close as possible to the real CL-415 / DHC-515;
• realistic water operations: scooping, takeoff with water, drops, foam;
• an extinguishable wildfire you can actually fight, including real fires from NASA FIRMS.

What's new in 2.0 (the aircraft itself is unchanged since 1.0)

• Real fires from NASA FIRMS, fully automatic. Satellite hotspots appear as distant smoke columns (300 m to 2.3 km high by fire power), so you find the fires by eye. Within 15 km the fire ignites by itself, pauses when you fly away and resumes when you return. Extinguished fires are remembered; a fire flares up again only if a satellite sees it again. Industrial heat sources (OpenStreetMap) stay on the map only.
• Several fires at once. You choose how many FIRMS fires burn together (default 1; above 5 the frame rate may drop). Manual and random fires burn alongside them; every drop is evaluated for the fire it hits. New datarefs for mission scripts: wildfire/fire_count, fires_lat/lon/intensity/spots, spots_fire.
• New settings window (Plugins → Wildfire → Settings…): quick actions, FIRMS key with Paste and Test, every change saved automatically to Output/preferences/wildfire.ini, so settings survive plugin updates.
• Reorganised menu, denser and more coherent smoke; Clear all fires fades the columns within 15 s.
• Many fixes after a full code audit (stability, FIRMS handling, windows incl. VR, texts).

Aircraft and water operations (since 1.0)

• Flight model and systems from EASA TCDS IM.A.643, the 2022 DHC-515 data sheet and flight tests: masses (MTOW 19,890 kg, 6,137 l of water, fuel 4,626 kg), water tank at the CG, flaps 25°, stall and Vmca close to the real values, corrected PW123AF engines, hydraulics 3,000 psi, electrics 28 V.
• Trim bug fixed: the autopilot now holds altitude at any power setting.
• Scooping with spray, takeoff with water, a rebuilt drop "veil" compared with real photos, foam injection (about 1.7× more effective water).
• New livery Croatian Air Force 877, 8K with PBR; cockpit textures 8K. Paint kit (layered PSD) as a separate download.
• New commands (search "dhc515" in Keyboard / Joystick): ARM, drop, ARM + drop on one press, DOORS selector, foam.

Requirements

• X-Plane 12.4.4 or newer.
• Wildfire plugin (optional): XPPython3 4.7 or newer; 4.8 recommended and needed only for the settings window. 4.8 is currently a beta (4.8.0b4+): https://xppython3.readthedocs.io/en/beta/ . Internet only for the optional online features.

Installation

1. Back up your Aircraft/Canadair DHC-515_XP12.04 folder.
2. Copy the aircraft folder from the package into X-Plane 12/Aircraft/ (overwrite). Updating from 1.0: the aircraft is the same, you can skip this.
3. Wildfire: quit X-Plane, install XPPython3, delete an older PI_wildfire.py and wildfire folder, copy the new PI_wildfire.py and wildfire folder into Resources/plugins/PythonPlugins/.
4. Start X-Plane: Plugins → Wildfire. Enter your free FIRMS key in Settings… → FIRMS. Updating from 1.0: the old settings are not carried over, enter the key again.

Quick start

Scoop into the wind at 85–90 kt, flaps 15°; probes down at 70–80 kt on the step (full in ~11 s). Place a fire (Plugins → Wildfire), set ARMED, fly over the fire at about 110 kt and 120–150 ft AGL and press drop just before it. A typical fire needs 3–4 drops. The full manual (EN / CS, PDF) is in the package.

Known limitations

• DOORS selector is cosmetic (every drop is a salvo); EMERG WATER DUMP and MAN PROBES RETRACT have no function yet.
• XPPython3 4.8 is a beta; with 4.7 the settings window is not available (everything else works).
• Many burning fires (above about 5) or many smoke columns reduce the frame rate; smoke lingers 1–3 minutes after a fire is cleared; OpenStreetMap servers are often overloaded and may time out.

Credits

Original aircraft, 3D model and cockpit: jpb63. FMOD sounds: Dan Hopgood. Wildfire sounds: CC0 / public domain (USC Sound Effect Archive, BigSoundBank – Joseph Sardin, OpenGameArt – AntumDeluge). Fire data: NASA FIRMS. Vegetation: © OpenStreetMap contributors.