Downloaded and testing.
Thanks!
Compatibly issue with latest Discus was fixed in 0.8.4.1
Perfect.
I just tried the discus and almost died. 
Btw, am I correct in assuming that the current flaps bug of MSFS2020 also heavily affects the DG808?
It sure feels like it.
However I guess it won’t/shouldn’t be fixed in the plane since Asobo will fix it in the sim soon.
(Except if there is a quick way to fix it by modding a file. I haven’t looked into that yet).
yes, It does.
new DG update will be released this week, but I think it safer to not touch flaps values as we are making competitions, lets pass it with same conditions for everyone. like “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer” and so on 
We wish to thank everyone who participated in our last event!
And today we are happy to invite you to a new gliding competition - Race 220 LSTS - ALBATROSS Racing Club
Difficulty level above average, so take your time to learn the map and plan your route.
Please get the latest version of ALBATROSS app ALBATROSS MSFS competitions - Touching Cloud as it contain a lot of improvements - better checkpoints passing calculations, improved user interface, online pilots counter for each competition (please select preferred server to make it accurate), and task export button into “TSK” format, so you can load flight plane into your favorite glider nav client, like XCSoar. Also, you can send training flight data to the same as in competition, just press SAVE button after finish and your record will be stored under leaderboard.
See you in the skies of Switzerland!
Another interesting event is over, thanks everyone!
We are adding some cool features into ALBATROSS. See you next weekend!
We are ready for the new gliding competition - Race 250 LSZE !
250 kilometers long task in Swiss Alps a good challenge for the brave glider pilots. 20 knot S-E wind, 25 Celsius degrees ground level temperature and 9 000ft clouds will help you to stay airborne for a long time.
Please update ALBATROSS to the latest version as we are applying changes continuously. In the new version “nav screen” was introduced in its early form, not very fancy but still useful for points rounding or thermals searching.
Next Kinetic update took a little longer than expected, but looks like most issues were finally eliminated. Most important change is the nav screen - now it’s much easier to search for thermals, attach tow rope to near planes or read the wind.
NMEA and XCSoar data export option unlocked, still experimental so feel free to report about issues.
AI towplane behavior improved - now it does not follow North right after take off, and also holds selected airspeed. Some improvements are still in plans but it became usable already, just ensure that you are pointing in the right direction.
If you have a problem with dramatic performance drop - you can decrease data exchange frequency, not a solution but temporary workaround until required optimization steps will be applied.
[UPDATE] hotfix 0.8.5.1
- glider leveling before winch start happen on any surface, not just runway (avoid using winch on non-flat surface)
- leveling happen while towing by plane as well
- tow plane vertical speed limited by 10% of desired airspeed
- pause (ESC menu) detection disabled while aircraft on the ground due to compatibly issues (disable towing before go to the options screen)
[UPDATE2] We have started to work on a new feature of Kinetic Assistant and ALBATROSS - Ghost Replay . It is quite a special feature for MSFS - unlike other replay tools, it does affect not your aircraft but insert and animate AI aircraft instead.
First and simplest usage of it - animate the tow plane so it will follow recorded route instead of pulling your glider into the bushes. Please read the latest ALBATROSS version about how to make it work. Leave a comment if you know a better way how it can be used.
Record/play buttons are also available but they are poorly tested, so we not recommend to use them, but you still can try. By any cost don’t use these buttons during competition (recording happens automatically).
Now bad news. We experience various freezes during the competition. In my case I have a slideshow started right after I reach start gates. First thought - something is wrong with ALBATROSS , but step by step it became clear that issue in the game itself - even without any SimConnect programs running and empty Community folder, it is still doing it. It may happen on the first waypoint, or last, so we have not found any clear reason. Let us know if you will find any dependency.
Happy gliding! If MSFS will allow you…
Just as a heads-up:
Newer versions of the Discus and the Falke are available on Flightsim.to
https://flightsim.to/file/6768/discus-2b-glider
https://flightsim.to/file/7745/wip-scheibe-sf28-tandem-falke
Looks like time comes - we have created ALBATROSS & TouchingCloud Discord server. We spent a lot of time to keep discussion with all our testers and users as everyone has own preferable way to communicate, so we propose to get together on Discord: ALBATROSS Racing
Several purposes for this server - we can publish testing updates privately and you will be able to get notifications quickly, and also provide feedback easily. If you are just flying, you can contact other pilots in text or voice channels created for each of our competitions.
See you online!
Yet another version of the Discus, with a lot of improvements.
https://flightsim.to/file/6768/discus-2b-glider
New updates available for our programs - Kinetic Assistant (0.9.1) and ALBATROSS (0.5). Most improvements in replay functionality was made this time. Now you can use manually created track files for the tow plane, so no more weird AI behavior. More various routes will be added soon. You still can enable ATC controlled tow plane in options, but prepare for troubles as it does not work properly on many airfields.
If competition contain tow plane track (currently Race 100 LOIJ and Race 159 EDFY), to start towing process just open Aerotow tab, press AI TOW button and prepare for takeoff.
You can test out recording/replay functionality, but it is very unfinished at the moment - you can’t perform some aerobatics and expect the program to play it properly. Further improvements will be applied soon, but our first goal - to make the plane follow proper route - is reached.
And we are ready to introduce a new gliding competition - short range race in the skies of the Central Eastern Alps. Home airfield - LOIJ Sankt Johann Airport based in Austria, well-known glider airfield nestles in an open valley basin in the Kitzbühel Alps.
100 kilometers long route, 10 knots S-E wind, lower clouds layer at 8000ft. Wonderful views and perfect weather will make this trip truly enjoyable. Unfortunately, we haven’t finished all planned ALBATROSS features, but a new version will be released tomorrow anyway.
See you in the air!
We almost finished with textures replacement, fixing interactive elements animation and make them clickable. Thanks to David Fairhurst’s artist skills we’ve got an incredible level of gauge details. No advanced materials or geometry added yet, so you can expect it will be even twice better in the end.
Made by Ian Lewis precise TE and netto calculations helps to catch the wind and stay airborne as long as possible. Currently, default navigation screen used, but in the future it will be replaced with custom code.
Smooth flight model of Michael_Rossi , which we have enjoyed many months since MSFS release, improved by ANRI so it get realistic stall and overspeed simulation.
We have several major issues left to fix and then will pass properly working glider to the testers group, just to find out which problems we have missed and get some feedback. Quite soon new testing version will become public available. Stay tuned!
Awesome!
After months of the development and adjustments, we are finally close to the end of the process. Most features work smooth, the user interface is simple and logical.
Several things still should be improved - like ghost recording, and maybe new thing will be added soon - it has experimental status right now, if will work well - could be passed to our testing team soon.
New tow option was added in this version - ground crew push. It is really helpful for gliders and navy pilots, so you can park your aircraft, or move to the runway/catapult, by yourself.
In-game panel now included - you can see and control zoom of navigation screen inside of the game (works in VR!). No tutorials on it yet, but it’s enough just enable the “Kinetic Panel” option in settings (scroll down available options first), and click on Install link - drag and drop archive content into Community folder and you will see a new panel option with glider picture.
ALBATROSS updated as well, check out our new gliding competition - Race175 Oloron-Herrere ! Don’t forget to get France add-on to have the ultimate level of scenery quality. We are all here for breathtaking sight viewing, right? =)