No carb heat on 172 or twins?

[Guest]

It would be great to know if the (well known) incorrect drop in FS2k2 of 300rpm for carb heat could be altered, I practice using the carb heat modelled on the Dreamfleet Archer 11 and have to over correct on the throttle to make it realistic.

[Guest]

Now THAT is a home cockpit!!! ;-) Looking at it gives me that same feeling I had when I first met my wife (what are the odds she's checking this forum?). Seriously a beautiful piece of work. Are you going to share any of the details with us? My hesitation with building something like this (besides the money!) is with every project I've ever built I am always keenly aware of my mistakes and its weak points. I can imagine flying along thinking "man, I wonder if that bolt that I cross-threaded is going to hold".David

[blave 0]

1998 and later 172's are all fuel-injected, as are all of the other piston Cessnas that have been built since they re-started their Little Airplane production. The designators are 172R, 172S, and 172SP.The '98s and maybe the '99s are quite prone to vapor lock on hot days - in other words, they start reasonably easy when cold but if you do a flight, get out and shut down, and then try to restart a few minutes later it can be "interesting". Later models (2001 and on?) seem to be less persnickety in this regard - I think Cessna tweaked the injection system on those. On all of these though, the key is not to prime the engine with the fuel pump when it's warm on a re-start - just crank and go.But I'd much rather put up with injection than a carburetor. IMO a carbureted engine in a modern airplane is like a rotary dial phone - it works but why put up with it? Carb heat is just another thing that you have to keep in mind when flying, and the cockpit workload is high enough as it is. This is exacerbated in helicopters such as the Schweizer 300CB, where you need to apply carb heat on descents - trust me your hands are already full and it's a drag having to let go of something, reach up to the instrument panel, and turn on the heat. *And* then you need to turn it off in the flare as you get ready to land, so that max engine power is available, and that's probably the highest workload point of normal helicopter flight.If you don't stay on top of potential carb icing, it can ruin a previously great day. It's killed more than one person, and is especially dangerous in helicopters. Unlike an airplane, whose engine will continue windmilling if the carb ices up, the rotor system will just slow down and stop if the pilot doesn't lower the collective control *immediately* (within a second or so, in the R22) upon engine failure. (And even then, you'll be landing *soon* and *nearby*.) It's killed people in fixed wing aircraft as well.Sorry, I got on my pilot workload soapbox there... But I much prefer fuel injection!BTW, IMO FS2002 doesn't model the start sequence in the 172SP very well. It's way too easy 8^) .Dave Blevins

[brucek 38]

Hi Larry,The next time my wife and I fly out to SLC to visit our daughter there, I must get in touch with you- I'd love to see that machine!Bruce.