FSX Turboprop issue...

[Jason Terry]

Hi guys, I'm stumbling into problems with a turboprop im working on in fsx. Normally in real life I fly piston twins, and from what I gather I can basically throw all that out! Evidently mixture is not the same, and the prop lever doesn't control the prop, except for when it does...

According to what I know about real life turboprops so far is that as the engine spools up during start, it briefly surges over your throttle setting before it settles down to idle. This seems to happen on all the turboprops I've flown in fsx. Good!

The problem I'm having is that the plane I'm working on doesn't weigh much of anything (picture an Extra 300 with a Kingair engine) and that initial power surge that, in a kingair or caravan would be a minor thing, threatens to put me into orbit unless i set the condition lever at low idle (which I assume is the proper procedure anyway).

My startup sequence with the condition lever at ground idle is fairly fine and uneventful. But why is it that I can start up the kingair and caravan and even with the cond. lever at full,...and they just dont move on their own? I know they weigh more, but I don't think this can be simply because of that. If it is though, are there any settings I can change to make the plane slightly more forgiving when the condition levers are full on the ground?

The biggest problem (and why I've never released this plane) is because when i set the condition levers to full on the ground, it will takeoff eventually.

Any idea's? Other than stick with pistons and jets? :-/

[Fozzer]

When I get confused with the operation of an unfamiliar aeroplane, I get out the "Aircraft Owners Operating Manual", (sometimes included in the Aircraft Folder), which details all the operating parameters for the aircraft, and its engine(s).

Paul...I love reading Instruction Manuals!... 8-)...!

[Jason Terry]

True. But I should back up... It's a concept plane, there is no manual and only 2 aircraft in real life that I know of that are similar and they were actually converted from pistons.

http://rcavi8tor.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v5/p744239762-3.jpg
http://www.geocities.jp/digitalbarnstormers2/renoa18_l.JPG

I'm actually in the process of writing the manual - for my own use at first, but when I get it wrung out it will be probably the final manual if I figure out the problems and release this. It's always been a problem project, so it doesn't really break my heart not to release it. It still needs panel and model work, but those things I can do in time... but I'm to a point where the ground idle issue is the only thing annoying me and preventing me from completing it.

There has to be a way to meddle with ground idle. :-/

[Speed of flight]

Hoo boy! Ok, I'm going to try an help as much as I can. Here goes:
Singles and twins of any engine types all behave differently conditionally.
For example, if an engine quits on a twin turboprop, typically that prop will default to feather (0* pitch to relative wind) which means leading edge of blade into the wind.
Singles can, but it depends on the prop governor and which system is used for changing pitch, eg power-to-increase pitch or the alternative power-to-decrease pitch. Typically, a single turboprop will default to a low pitch. Depending, the blades will be counterbalanced to default to a reference pitch, and that will be defined by the engine/prop combination and manufacturers specs. This is where it affects you:

If you're using a model that copies a Pratt & Whitney PT-6, then pair it with a Hartzell or McCauley (I think that's how its's spelled) constant speed prop, you can check either of their info referencing say, a King Air, or a Cessna Conquest. Somewhere, you'll be able to find (the important figure) the idle blade angle. Most multi-engine turboprops will default to feather @ idle, but that's not necessarily true for all.
Finally, if none of that gets you the answer you need, I can do some research for you.
It sounds like a prop idle pitch issue, though.
Not really sure how to plug all that in to FSX, but I can get you the data for a real engine/prop combo, if you can tell me what you might need.

Hope that helps,
The Speedfreak.

[Speed of flight]

As for controls, there is no mixture control.
On a turboprop, that part is taken care of for you.
You have engine power setting, or RPM by effect, and once set, typically left alone till cruise.
You have the prop pitch setting, which in turn typically becomes the primary speed control for a turboprop pilot.
And finally, fuel cut-off levers.

Best of my knowledge, that's the quadrant.