Starting the Aerosoft/Digital-aviation Piper PA-31T

[jerryuscg 1]

Would some one who knows how to start the Piper PA-31T, PLEASE list all of the "keystrokes" need to start it from "cold and dark". Even with the book, I've tried and tried to do it WITHOUT sucess! A couple of times , by accident I did get the engines to start but on each time there were NO AMPS on the Amp meter and after flying for 25-30 minutes, the generator "popped" off and the flight ended. I just cann't figgure out what I'm doing wrong. If you know how to start it from cold and dark will you please make the effort and tell me how ? Thanks, jerry

[ailchim 206]

I think this is a case of RTFM but as this my favourite aircraft of the moment:Throttle panel Advance throttles a fraction from Idle Propellor levels (blue ones) to Feather (all the way to the bottom) Overhead panel Battery on Anti-collison lights to beacon*>Left engine - Ignition to manual Left Engine - Starter/generator switch to starterPilots panel When Compressor Turbine %age steadies at 10% (4th pair of gauges from top)Throttle panel Left Condition Lever (the red one) to low idleOverhead panel Left engine - Ignition to automatic Left Engine - Starter/generator switch to generatorRepeat for right engine from *>, thenOverhead panel Left & right bleed air switches onPilots panel (bottom right) Inverter to on - (anywhere but where you find it from cold & dark) Bus tie switch to on - (anywhere but where you find it from cold & dark) Instrument panel should come to life Co-pilots panel Avionics master switch on (just below the TV screen) Avionics come to lifeYou have the following yet to set Radios & transponder Pressurisation (bottom of pilots panel) Aircon (bottom of co pilots panel) Heading & course if you need them (bottom half of pilots panel) Flight director on (throttle panel, bottom right) Take off trim (throttle panel, bottom left)And.... off you goIf that's not absolutely as per the checklist, sorry, but it works for me!

[zfehr 1]

You can also have difficulty with this aircraft if you are not using the original default flight FS shipped with (C172 on runway at KSEA). If it is imperative that you have a set of key commands only to operate this aircraft you might have to go with an additional program called mouse2key or key2mouse (don't have it in front of me right now) and set it up using 2d panel popups to read from.

[jerryuscg 1]

Thanks a MILLION, MILLION to "ailchim" who took the time and the effort to list all of the steps to start the Aerosoft/Digital Piper CheyennePA-31T. I can now start it !!!!!!! I looked agian at the instructions in the "manual" and no-way are they the same. I did learn that in the step where you have to turn the "generator switch to generator" , because it is a 3-way switch, I was NOT doing it correctly. It takes TWO right clicls of the mouse, not one click to put it in the correct position. I also assume that you are flying a version other than the "1(IFR)" that I was using as it does NOT have the "BLEED AIR SWITCHES". Now I can start the engines in all versions thanks to you.Just for drill, When, if ever do you use the "FLT Switch )power supply) in the overhead panel and to the other friend who advised, I'm starting the flight from the default flight at Seattle with the C-172. (I dont ever remember having to do this with other aircraft and I wonder why you have to do it with this aircraft?? Thanks again for taking the time and putting forth the effort to help me ( and maybe others) with this problem. This is my "new" favorite aircraft to fly. Thanks again..... jerry

[Guest Foxtrot 125 Tango]

I know how you feel! I have the Piper Cheyenne and it is indeed among my favorites for flying! What a Beauty! I still haven't mastered everything yet but I sure am having a good time learning.Glad to see you got it running. I had some problems too, (my engines caught fire and started smoking bad from overheating.Had to make a forced landing!), so I was unable to give any real good advise to you about your problem. Enjoy.:-) Cheers,Mark.

[ailchim 206]

I use the IIXL mostly - it's the only one with a UK reg, so that explains why I have bleed air switches and you don't I expect (but in the IIXL they are on the overhead panel outboard of the ignition switches).It's not FLT, it's ELT switch - which I think stands for Emergency Location Transmitter - the thing you'd flick on just before you crashed into the sea!Obviously it doesn't do anything in FS9 - in all the crashes I've had, a rescue helicopter has never once appeared.So in the Cheyenne, it's used to control external power, used if you are sitting on the tarmac for long periods of time with the engines not running. You'll notice that if you switch it on, you get electrical power even if the battery is switched off. Also, in the external view, a small generator or power pack of some sort appears in front of the aircraft. Not something you'll use much, but it's extra eye candy which is available.It is advised to start from a default flight with a default aircraft.I personally don't start from Seattle as changing locations and times once in FS9 has a tendency to give me a CTD. So I take the default Cessna to what ever airport I want to start from, switch everything off and then load the Cheyenne on top of it from the 2D cockpit view.That seems to work OK, I think it's the default aircraft that matters, not the default location.

[zfehr 1]

ailchim, You are correct in your startup procedure. By keeping the default C172 you can move it to the aiport of choice, shut it down and then load up whatever add-on aircraft you want to use and even save that as a flight for later use (just don't set it as a default flight). I have had good luck taking the default flight, moving the aircraft to a parking space at KHIO (where I fly out of in real life) shutting the engine down and electric off and saving that as my default flight. That way when I want to set up a flight I am already at the location I normally fly out of, just have to set up which aircraft and program a flight plan.

[jerryuscg 1]

Before your post. I was loading a flight straight from the "LOAD" in Flight Planner and then when the desired airport came up, I switched to the Piper. What is the "bad" or undesireable event that happens if this set up is NOT done correctly?? jerry

[zfehr 1]

Hi Jerry,In the case of the DA Cheyenne the GPS database preloads from the coordinates present when you select the Cheyenne and has a limit to its range (you would exhaust the fuel before you could get there). If you select the DA Cheyenne first and then select an airport in another part of the world you might find that your GPS database won't work correctly or at all.Depending on what you have set for your default flight in MSFS the procedure you are using above should work fine. I was merely explaining that by keeping the default Cessna 172 but moving its location to where I usually start a flight from and then pulling mixture off and power off and saving that as a default flight I haven't experienced problems. I almost always use the "create a flight" menu for starting any flight and since I frequently fly using VoxATC rather than default ATC that flight has to be fully set up, saved as a flight and then you have to select that saved flight so the proper information is loaded into VoxATC (sounds like a lot to do when written down but it's really just a few keystrokes).Off the subject but I thought I might add that in FSX VoxATC X is one more step, since Microsoft programmed some variables to load from the previous flight even when using the above procedure you have to once again select and load the saved flight for VoxATC X to have all the correct information about the current flight... would be nice if Microsoft fixes this little annoyance.

[ailchim 206]

I sort of don't know and don't care, isn't life full enough of aggravation without ignoring the designer's instructions?