Simviation Forums

I hate this... I know it's been posted before... I've done searches for Dark and Quiet , Cold and Dark, Cold & Dark, Cold Dark... and got no matches.

How do I get my aircraft to load up Cold and Dark?

The easy way:

Position your Aircraft where you wish.
Switch EVERYTHING off.
Save the flight and make it the Default Flight.

Paul...G.BPLF...FS 2004... 8-)...!

..otherwise you have to insert the "Cold and Dark Gauge" in every aircraft you wish to use...>>> http://simviation.com/fsgauges_7.htm

The easy way:

Position your Aircraft where you wish.
Switch EVERYTHING off.
Save the flight and make it the Default Flight.

This method works well, but one word of caution from my experience: If you mostly fly default/non-complicated add-on aircraft, this will work like a charm, but if like me you fly a lot of complex (and high-priced) payware, I'd suggest utilizing the Cold/Dark setting for each specific aircraft. The former method tends to mess some things up...

In Issue Number 19 of my Tips and Tricks for FS2004 is a discussion about cold and dark and it's implications - especially a dead battery situation - on other aircraft you may select to fly.

Might be worth reading.

The "cold and dark", or C&D, start-up is dependent on the user-saved default flight, which can be found in the FS9.cfg file on the line Situation=.

So why not have two FS9.cfg files, one for

In an airliner you're not likely to ever get a cold & dark aircraft unless you're the lucky schmuck who gets the first flight of the day out of Greenland after a week of sitting on the ramp.

Most will already have power applied and the packs will be blowing by the time you get to it, but not always. In the old days, the FFOTD had the engineer out on the ramp powering up the airplane, doing the walk around, setting radios, W&B, etc, etc, etc, ad infinitum, while the pilot and FO were getting weather and flight planning if they didn't already have a canned flight profile for their route.

Not sure how it's done today, but with crew changes, and almost non-stop running of the aircraft for revenue, C&D isn't as common as it was in the past.

When I get to the aircraft, it's already running on APU,   packs are on...before start, and only minor set-up is needed on the FE panel. I expect my Virtual FE to have taken care of the mundane but important part of setting up the aircraft.

I still check everything including the FE panel by checklist, but it's usually pretty quick...unless I'm the unlucky schmo who gets the FFOTD! 

If you fly certain aircrafts such as the PMDG 737, or CAPTAIN SIM 757/767, all high quality high priced software that do NOT seem to come with a cold and dark setting to start up, this is what I do.


I first select my airport, gate etc, and load up by default.
Next, while at the ramp, press "alt - > aircraft - > select aircraft". Then, choose the default Cessna 172. Once you've loaded the C172, you need to do three things. 1, turn the magnetos into the "off" position. 2, pull the mixture full lean (all the way out), and 3, Turn the master battery off. After doing that, go to "alt->aircraft->select aircraft and select your airplane that you wanted cold and dark, and WALA its sitting at the gate cold and dark. It may be a pain in the you know what, but thats what I have to do when I load aircraft that do not have a cold and dark feature.

All very good responses, thanks everyone!

All very good responses, thanks everyone!

So......Who was the winner, Skittles?... ... ... ...!

Just had a peek at your Location in Ca.
Westover Field. Amador County. Jackson. Cal.

Airfield

Nearest large City: Sacramento.....(and Fulsom Prison!... ...).... ....!

...looks quite isolated (wild) on the Map. What is the local countryside like?

Paul...G-BPLF...FS 2004... 8-)...!

So......Who was the winner, Skittles?... ... ... ...!

Everyone wins with me, though I went with a post on another forum about modifying the FSLTSIM.FLT.

Just had a peek at your Location in Ca.
Westover Field. Amador County. Jackson. Cal.

Airfield

Nearest large City: Sacramento.....(and Fulsom Prison!... ...).... ....!

...looks quite isolated (wild) on the Map. What is the local countryside like?

Well, sometimes things are green. Other times, they're white, but most of the time they're brown.

Seriously though, I love it here. I moved in with my dad to keep him company after my mother passed, so I'm living at my vacation spot. I believe the population is around 2000. Mostly trees but the growth of homes has risen considerably in the last 20 years. My 102 year old Grand-mother lives in Sacramento. We get plenty of Deer, Raccoons, Jack Rabbits & Foxes. Thanks for asking.