Greetings, I have been enoying the bonanza a lot! I like going through the checklists and starting it from cold and dark. However the fuel selector kind of confuses me, hopefully I can explain my issue effectively.Scenario 1. I load the aircraft in FSX in "default" mode. The engines is running and the aircraft is ready to go! In this situation, the fuel selector loads in the "off" posistion, yet the engine is running fine. If I execute my flight without touching the fuel selector, it pulls from both tanks equally and everything is hunky dory. If I play with the selector at all this falls apart... As expected, when I move it to the "right" selection, it pulls from only the right tank, and same for the left. But when I put it back in the "off" position, it cuts the fuel to the engines, instead of pulling from both like it did previously.Scenario 2. Cold and dark startup. One of the steps in the startup list is to check the operation of the fuel selector knob by moving it. When I load cold and dark, the selector is in the "off" position. I turn the knob to the "left" then "right" positions, then I put it back to "off" I hit the fuel pump switch and pfft, no fuel to the engine. If I rotate the switch to either the left or right positions, fuel flows to the engine and it starts fine, I can fly this way, but then I end up only pulling fuel from one tank and it becomes difficult to fly when the right tank is half empty while the left is still full (for example). If I set the switch to right or left to start, and then try to put it back in "off" after the engine is running, so that the fuel is consumed evenly from both tanks, it cuts the fuel and the engine dies. If I start up from cold and drak WITHOUT touching the fuel selector (leaving it in the off position) and just kind of skip that step, It starts and pulls fuel evenly from both tanks. I know that "off" should cut the fuel to the engine, but why it does the fuel flow to the engine if I leave it in the "off" position when it first loads? The off position seems to act like a "both" setting until you move it and try to put it back. Is there supposed to be a "both" setting on the aircraft and carenado just kinda missed it (with their attention to detail I find that hard to believe). Is the off setting working as a both switch due to FSX weirdness, and the aircraft isn't supposed to have a "both" switch? Is there another way to get even flow from both tanks, or is the pilot supposed to just kinda, switch from right to left tanks while eyeballing the gauges in order to keep the weight balanced?Thanks, for any insights, for now I am just starting cold & dark and just not touching the fuel selector,

The answer is quite simple. I think: the fuel selector is bugged and needs patching. It indeed works as you described and obviously this is wrong and should have been patched immediately (if I remember well I posted about this shortly after the release already). Apart from that all, I also do think that the way you move the selector is wrong too: the handle should move along the red arrow, but it doesn't: it moves the other way around. Odd.One of those things that should have been fixed in SP1, obviously, but we all hope it will eventually be fixed in SP3... :(

The answer is quite simple. I think: the fuel selector is bugged and needs patching. It indeed works as you described and obviously this is wrong and should have been patched immediately (if I remember well I posted about this shortly after the release already). Apart from that all, I also do think that the way you move the selector is wrong too: the handle should move along the red arrow, but it doesn't: it moves the other way around. Odd.One of those things that should have been fixed in SP1, obviously, but we all hope it will eventually be fixed in SP3... :(

Oh, okay, I see your post now, at least now i know it isnt me... Still a remarkable add-on, but ya I'm with you, that should be fixed, that a pretty big bug, ie. engine quits lol.

Not exactly, pretty much all low wings like the bonanza either run on the left or right tanks, not on both. Ive noticed like you said that when you start the airplane running in the sim it puts the valve on off but it simulates it running on both and if you turn the selector to the right or left tanks and back to off it shuts off the fuel. So carenado did it right. If you are having problems keeping the aircraft balanced when running it on the left or right tank try running it on one tank for an hour and switch to the other and run it for an hour. That way it keeps both tanks nice and balanced. Anyhow I hope this helps you out.

Not exactly, pretty much all low wings like the bonanza either run on the left or right tanks, not on both. Ive noticed like you said that when you start the airplane running in the sim it puts the valve on off but it simulates it running on both and if you turn the selector to the right or left tanks and back to off it shuts off the fuel. So carenado did it right. If you are having problems keeping the aircraft balanced when running it on the left or right tank try running it on one tank for an hour and switch to the other and run it for an hour. That way it keeps both tanks nice and balanced. Anyhow I hope this helps you out.

Interesting stuff! there isint SUPPOSED to be a both setting, I wondered why the pre-flight checklist WOULDN'T say to put the selector in the both posistion if there was one. Simple answer, there isn't SUPPOSED to be one. Thanks, are you a real world pilot? (just curious)

Hi...OK - I'm not up to speed on FSX - but - in FS9 - the simulator did not handle balancing fuel tanks very well... Run a few gallons out of one side - you wound up in a constant turn if left uncorrected... Pretty unrealistic... I don't know if FSX has improved on this at all... I always modified my FS9 planes to run on both... I have no idea if that was Carenado's intention...Regards,Scott

Not exactly, pretty much all low wings like the bonanza either run on the left or right tanks, not on both. Ive noticed like you said that when you start the airplane running in the sim it puts the valve on off but it simulates it running on both and if you turn the selector to the right or left tanks and back to off it shuts off the fuel. So carenado did it right. If you are having problems keeping the aircraft balanced when running it on the left or right tank try running it on one tank for an hour and switch to the other and run it for an hour. That way it keeps both tanks nice and balanced. Anyhow I hope this helps you out.

I didn't mean to say there should be a both setting: but imho it's wrong that the off setting lets the engine run on both... Not really 'simulating' imho. That's all that should be fixed. And the way the handle turns too. But maybe it's indeed what Scott said: that balancing doesn't work well. But in that case I'd rather had they added a both setting... Maybe not realistic, but more realistic than having fuel from both tanks with the selector set to off.

Yeah, this is an FSX bug that can't really be worked around. Carenado has that problem on the 206 as well, but there's not much any developer can do to fix that issue. The issue is with FSX, not Carenado (or any other developer). The best thing to do is as soon as you get in the cockpit, rotate the fuel lever once to the various tanks then set it back on the side you want to draw from. We often do that in the real thing anyway to make sure the fuel cocks are working, so this is not an unrealistic procedure anyway. Anyhow, this isn't a Carenado failure or bug. Just an "FSX-thing"

Interesting stuff! there isint SUPPOSED to be a both setting, I wondered why the pre-flight checklist WOULDN'T say to put the selector in the both posistion if there was one. Simple answer, there isn't SUPPOSED to be one. Thanks, are you a real world pilot? (just curious)

Glad I could help. Yes I am a real world pilot, my Dad and I had an old 50s bonanza before we bought the mooney we currently own.