REALISTIC ENGINE START SYSTEM 

***** FOR FS2004 ONLY *****

By Doug Dawson and Tom Gibson

Version 2  11/2017

This set of gauges will provide unprecedented realism during engine starting.  It is for FS2004 ONLY, since the RPM control gauge will CRASH FSX.  There is no gauge planned for FSX, since the technique used to control RPM has been removed in FSX.

This system is now activated by default in FS2004 panel.cfg files so no installation is required.

Table of Contents:
IF THIS PLANE CRASHES YOUR COMPUTER
DESCRIPTION
IF YOUR ENGINE CRANKING ROTATION IS TOO SLOW (OR FAST)
ADAPTING THIS SYSTEM TO OTHER AIRCRAFT
HOW TO PERFORM REALISTIC PISTON ENGINE STARTS USING THIS SYSTEM


IF THIS PLANE CRASHES YOUR COMPUTER

If you get a crash when loading this plane: 

1.  Open the relevant panel.cfg file and edit it.  You can find this panel's panel.cfg file by going to the plane's folder, opening the panel folder, and opening the panel.cfg file.  This will provide an alias to the actual panel.cfg file's location, which you should then open.

1.  Find the following lines near the bottom of the panel.cfg file, in a VCockpit section:

gauge38=CC_Engine_Control!Engine_Control,  8,8,5,5
gauge39=cv340!ENGINE_AUTOSTART_2,  5,5,11,11
gauge40=Z_DC6KMTG!AIRCRAFT_RELOAD,  10,10,11,11

Note that the gauge numbers may be different.

2.  Edit these lines by adding a // in front of each line to inactivate them.

//gauge38=CC_Engine_Control!Engine_Control,  8,8,5,5
//gauge39=cv340!ENGINE_AUTOSTART_2,  5,5,11,11
//gauge40=Z_DC6KMTG!AIRCRAFT_RELOAD,  10,10,11,11

3.  Open the plane's aircraft.cfg file and find this line in the [piston engine] section:

normalized_starter_torque=0.30  //can be 0.035000 for no RPM Control Gauge (FSX, etc.)

Change the 0.30 to 0.035:

normalized_starter_torque=0.035  //can be 0.035000 for no RPM Control Gauge (FSX, etc.)

4.  Save the file and check if the plane still crashes your computer.  If so, you can post a message at my Discussion forum for more assistance.

http://calclassic.proboards.com/


DESCRIPTION:

There are 5 gauges involved in this engine starting system.

1.  The Engine Control gauge.  This C++ gauge by Doug Dawson receives commands from the XML gauges below and controls prop RPM directly.

2.  The Engine Starter gauge.  This creates realistic RPM during manual engine starts using the overhead panel.

3.  The Magnetos gauge.  Used with the Engine Starter gauge above.

4.  The Engine Autostart gauge.  When you press Ctrl-E (start all engines), it creates a realistic engine start sequence, complete with the starting order 3-4-2-1.

5.  The Aircraft Reload gauge.  Due to a quirk in the Engine Control gauge, the plane must be reloaded once after the sim has loaded before engine control is properly achieved.  This gauge performs that task automatically.

All required gauges will be installed upon the use of the installer in this package.  The gauges are "commented out" in the panel.cfg files, inactivating them.  You will activate them using Notepad or Wordpad.

First, you have to make a choice.  Do you want the panel to automatically reload the plane upon loading the panel to "fix" the RPM gauge?  While convenient, if you plan on using the engine start system only rarely this auto-reload will delay the panel loading process each time you load the plane.  If you do not activate the Aircraft Reload gauge, you will need to reload the plane manually when you want to use the engine start system after starting up FS2004.  If you have already loaded another plane or reloaded the same one, this is not necessary.  

You may manually reload the plane two ways:

A.  Use the menu - Aircraft/Select Aircraft/OK.
B.  Assign a key to the Reload User Aircraft command in Options/Controls/Assignments and use that key combination (I use Ctrl-Shift-P).

************ See the instructions on how to perform a realistic engine start below the Installation section. *************


IF YOUR ENGINE CRANKING ROTATION IS TOO SLOW (OR FAST)

The speed of the engine start will vary on different computers.  To adjust the speed of the slow cranking rotation, do this:

1.  Measure the amount of time it takes for one complete slow cranking engine rotation.  Quit FS

2.  Open the ENGINE_AUTOSTART_2.xml file found in the FS2004/Gauges/cv340 folder by double clicking it - if a list comes up, choose Word Pad.

3.  In the top section, you will see the number 25 (the default speed).  Change this number to a higher number for a faster rotation (50 would be twice as fast).  You need to get about 1 rotation in about 3 seconds (one prop blade per second for a 3 bladed prop).

4.  Save the file, but keep it open for now.

5.  Start FS, and try it out.

6.  If incorrect, quit FS again, change the number, and save the file.  If correct, close the file.

IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE INTERVAL BETWEEN ENGINE STARTS

The interval between engine starts is currently set for 1 second.  To to increase this interval, do this:

1.  Open the ENGINE_AUTOSTART_2.xml file found in the FS2004/Gauges/cv340 folder by double clicking it - if a list comes up, choose Word Pad.

2.  In the second to top section, you will see the number 1 (the default interval).  Change this number to a higher number for a longer interval (2 would be 2 seconds).

3.  Save the file, but keep it open for now.

4.  Start FS, and try it out.

5.  If incorrect, quit FS again, change the number, and save the file.  If correct, close the file.


ADAPTING THIS SYSTEM TO OTHER AIRCRAFT

You can use the *automatic* engine start system (using Ctrl-E) in many other aircraft as well.  

1.  Add the three lines below to the VC section of the plane's panel.cfg file (if there is no VC add them to the main panel section):

4 engines (you must have downloaded and installed the UAL DC-6B):

//gauge73=CC_Engine_Control!Engine_Control,  8,8,5,5
//gauge74=Z_DC6KMTG!ENGINE_AUTOSTART_4,  5,5,11,11
//gauge75=Z_DC6KMTG!AIRCRAFT_RELOAD,  10,10,11,11

2 engines (you must have installed the AAL CV-240 or UAL CV-340):

//gauge38=CC_Engine_Control!Engine_Control,  8,8,5,5
//gauge39=cv340!ENGINE_AUTOSTART_2,  5,5,11,11
//gauge40=Z_DC6KMTG!AIRCRAFT_RELOAD,  10,10,11,11

2.  Change the gaugenn numbers so they are in numerical order with the rest of the gauges.

3.  Activate the gauges as described in INSTALLATION above.

4.  Change the line in the plane's aircraft.cfg file to:

normalized_starter_torque=0.30

5.  Change this line in the upper section(s) of the plane's aircraft.cfg file to:

prop_anim_ratio=0.9



HOW TO PERFORM REALISTIC PISTON ENGINE STARTS USING THIS SYSTEM

If you press Ctrl-E in outside view (use the S key) you can watch an automatic and realistic start sequence.

If you want to do it manually, go to outside view (use the S key) and press Shift 5 to bring up the overhead panel (or the airplane icon on the overhead panel will take you to outside view).  Then follow the checklist below:

   C = Pilots  F = Flight Engineer

F  0.  Ignition (Magnetos)			OFF
F  1. Cowl Flaps					OPEN
C  2. Throttles					1/4 OPEN (1000 RPM)
C  3. Manifold Pressure				NOTE BAROMETRIC (for runup)
F  4. Fuel Boost Pump				LOW
F  5. Mixture					Idle Cutoff
F  6. Engine Selector Switch			ON to engine being started
F  7. Start and Safety Switches		PRESS
C  8. After 8 Blades				order START
F  9. Ignition (Magnetos)			BOTH
As engine comes up to speed - 
C 10. Mixture Control				AUTO-RICH
C 11. Throttles					ADJUST to 800 RPM (DC-6) 1000 RPM (DC-7)
F 12. Engine Oil Pressure			CHECK
F 13. Fuel Boost Pumps				OFF
Repeat 4-13 for the other engines (typical sequence is 3-4-2-1 or 2-1)
F 14. Hydraulic Pressure			CHECK
F 15. Vacuum Pressure				CHECK
F 16. Door Warning Lights			CHECK
C 17. V1 and V2 Speeds				DETERMINE from Notepad
C 18. Fuel Dump Time				DETERMINE (456 gal/min DC-6, 218 gal/min DC-7)
F 19. Inverter Switches				ON LOWER
C 20. Seat Belt Sign				ON
C 21. Ramp Agent's Salute			ACKNOWLEDGE WITH SALUTE


Tom Gibson 11/2017
