No engine start, 'Airship Docking CFS2'

[arfyhun]

Hello simmers all,
   Has anyone had the above problem with the Sparrowhawk fighter in 'Airship Docking CFS2'? I cannot fire the engine up at all. Checked the Settings, shows 'E' for engine start and have sent an Email to the Author which was returned undelivered.
I have looked in the planes properties but cannot and am not experienced enough to find the location to check.
The USS Akron airship story has got me really interested in the game and the history of the real thing but  I'm beaten. Anyone have a clue please?
Graham.      

[Hagar]

Hi arfyhun. I remember checking this mission out when it was first released. Everything worked as advertised & it was a lot of fun. As I recall, the package came with detailed instructions. This was a long time ago & there could well be specific instructions on starting the engine when releasing from the airship. If you still have problems after reading & following the instructions carefully I would have to download the package & check it out myself to refresh my memory.

[arfyhun]

Thanks Hagar,
 The instructions say 'E' for engine start. It also mentions launching off the back of the ramp puts you in the water. That's the only bit I've got right!
Is there anywhere in the aeroplane properties I can look to see how the start instruction is defined?
Graham.

[Hagar]

Not sure now. It's been a while since I messed around with this stuff. Unless there's a patch or fix posted for it the package should work straight "out of the box" without any tweaking. I might download it later & check it out myself.

[Hagar]

OK, I checked it out. All works fine for me. Make sure you follow the instructions & set the parking brake as soon as the mission loads. If you don't do this before starting the engine you will probably get a prop strike. I suspect this is the cause of your problem.

Copied from F9C-2 Sparrowhawk_Readme.txt.

*** A) Takeoff Procedures for Airship operations: (Simple if you don't roll off the deck)

0) PAUSE THE GAME
1) Ensure that radio communications are turned OFF!
2) Set Parking Brakes. (Shift + 'b' keys)
3) Set Throttle to Idle position. ('1' key)
4) Start Engines ('e' key)
5) Unpause the game
6) Release Parking Brakes ('b' key)
7) Advance throttle quickly ('9' key)
8 ) When clear of trapeeze, decide if flaps are required to maintain climb attitude.

Note: It's easier to take off forwards than letting your aircraft slip off the back.

[arfyhun]

Nice one Hagar, knew it was me all along but couldn't sus why. I passed over the 'Park brake' part without thinking it was different to 'f11:f12' for brakes, which was what I was doing. Will try Akron again soonest and will offer complete apology then!

(Great sim though ain't it)?

Thanks for the bailout.   Graham.

[Hagar]

Hi Graham. It should work if you set that parking brake. Bear in mind that CFS2 has 2 keyboard options.

I use the familiar FS/CFS1 keyboard myself. F11 & F12 control left & right brakes. Both brakes together are controlled by the Period key. Parking brakes would be Ctrl + Period. When brakes are selected it should display at bottom left of your screen.