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Engine start - where are the switches???

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Engine start - where are the switches???

Postby HFC3 » Wed May 23, 2018 2:21 am

Where can I find the location of the switches for each aircraft during engine start? For instance, 737 - you need to turn fuel pumps on, etc, then start each engine in sequence, etc. When I run through the engine start process, it doesn't show me where the switch is that needs adjusting :( Even the Cesna default - trying engine start it flashes "Use the Primer!" notice, but doesn't tell me where that is!

It's even worse on the larger commercial aircraft with multiple engines. If I use the "AutoStart" the engines do start, but no matter what throttle setting I use I cannot get the spool up higher than idle. This is true no matter what "brake" settings are used (suggested in manual).
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Re: Engine start - where are the switches???

Postby wlbragg » Wed May 23, 2018 3:38 am

In the case of the c172p (Cessna) it has a complete set of tutorials to help you learn how to inspect, start, fly and land the aircraft. Look under Help/Tutorials. As far as the other aircraft in FlightGear it depends on the stage of development as to how much help they offer. This is a simulator and the user is expected to have a reasonable amount of aircraft knowledge in order to be able to operate many of the more advanced aircraft, If not, then that is what the auto-start is for. Even then you still have to have some general knowledge of aviation.
One hint for spooling the engine up to full throttle is to do it slowly or you can kill the engine. If you hear the engine rpm increasing and you are not moving, chances are you have the parking brake on. Or in the case of some aircraft so equipped (c172p), the wheel chocks or tie-downs in place.
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Re: Engine start - where are the switches???

Postby Thorsten » Wed May 23, 2018 6:10 am

Where can I find the location of the switches for each aircraft during engine start?


It really depends on the aircraft.

Some come with zero documentation and you have to figure things out by reverse-engineering the code, some are lavishly documented with hundreds of pages of manual, some come with in-sim tutorials which indicate the position of controls, some have at least tooltips which tell you what a control is when you hover the mouse over it, some assume you know the flight manual of the original plane,...

This is a volunteer effort, each developer does things according to his own vision and pace.
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Re: Engine start - where are the switches???

Postby wkitty42 » Wed May 23, 2018 2:32 pm

wlbragg and Thorsten have covered most everything as to how to learn where the switches are in the craft... the only other thing i can offer, at this time, is to use CTRL-C to turn on the hiliting of all clickable switches, toggles, sliders, and knobs... then you can go and look at each of them to read more about what they are for... some craft do not implement all the switches even though they are in the model...
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