Hi there,I finally got the JS4100 running. However I never hear the Call out: "Startlocks removed"Sure I am doing still something wrong, but what?

Do you mean that the start locks are being removed and you don't hear the callout, or you can't get the props off the start locks to begin with? If it's the latter, just move the throttle into reverse until you hear the callout. If you just aren't getting the callout period, are you sure the props are on the locks to begin with?

Hi Mike,In the first attempts, I did blow up several engines.I did follow the instructions carefully and start with the Cold&Dark Tutorial 1 at KHPN. So, I assume that the props are at Start Locks.

Does the engine still produce full torque after you follow the procedure to release the locks (dumping them into reverse).Are you dumping the thing into reverse with the condition lever only set at 72%/"Condition Levers Taxi"?Ensure your realism settings are all cranked in FSX...this sometimes plays wonky tricks on things too.It could just be an issue somewhere with a corrupt sound file not playing, but the start locks are actually being removed...

Hi Patrick, My first problem was: "To be feathered or not to be feathered".The pictures in the manual and on the pinned one on the forum "JS41 Startup Guide" are not so clear (for me). So I was looking for how to see the difference and I found it.It's really AMAZING! Power levers idle.Fuel pump left ON.Start left engine.Wait till Start light extinguish.Fuel pump OFF.Stop engine with STOP button and have a look outside to the left engine propellers.Slowly the blades turn from unfeathered into feathered.If you look right in the front of the blades, you see at least one blade very thin. Reverse the left power lever.Click the unfeather pump to the left and see how the blades turn into the unfeathered position.Again: AMAZING! Nevertheless: I get a call out with the Avionics "System test OK" but not "Startlocks removed"Realism settings on medium.Where can I find the sound files?Frans

Howdy,I think people are trying to get into this airplane, and I personally believe a little understanding on what's actually going on in the Garrett will allow you to understand much more what is going on. So please bear with me as I go on a bit of a crazy technical rant. I'll try to make some easy points for you to follow so we can help you figure out your problem.First of all, I'm pretty sure you want to have your realism settings cranked up. Don't worry, the J41 can be flown no problemo. It even has counter rotating propellers so you don't have to worry about all that "critical engine" stuff. Without the realism settings up, I think with "Torque" or "P-Factor" settings in FSX are playing havoc with the J41's engine model...which sorta plays around with a lot of FSX engine logic to get a feeling of what a fixed-shaft turbine plays with.So crank those realism settings! Gotta fly the plane some day ;)Yes, the distinction between 'feathered' and 'unfeathered' is not really clear some times. Just before this was doing some rigging on a Turbo Commander and me helper here had his head wrapped around the wrong idea...So even in the industry sometimes people hoop it up! Don't worry.Feathered - Props are 'in-line' with the normal airflow of the aircraftUnfeathered - Props are set at the "0 degree" or "flat" pitch angle.Nice Garrett Caravan!Now the thing is, the starter has a hard enough time moving the whole fixed-shaft-turbine-prop-everything-else mass that a fixed shaft turboprop features. Introduce the aerodynamic loads if the propeller is feathered, and you'll burn out a starter real quick. If you add fuel to the equation with the prop feathered, you won't be able to move enough air through the engine and you'll hot-start the thing real easy.So, you're probably asking..."what's actually happening when i'm doing this in FSX?"The propeller uses a system of engine oil pressure, springs, and counterweights to allow the propeller blade angle to change. In our case, Engine Oil Pressure is driven through a Beta Tube, which acts against the propeller dome, forcing the blades into a fine or flat pitch.Spring and counterweights drive the propeller to a coarse, or feathered pitch.So, if we have the engine shut off, or shutting down, there obviously no oil pressure. Spring pressure will drive the prop to a feathered pitch. But we can't have this! We can't start our noisy Garrett with the prop in feathered!We need a method of keeping the prop at the flat or 0 degree pitch with no engine oil pressure. Hence, the "start latches". Start latches are a set of centrifugal stops, which are sprung loaded to press against a ramp with an edge inside the propeller hub. When the engine is not rotated, the start latch pins are forced beyond the ramp and locked there from springs. Don't forget the spring pressure in the propeller hub is also still acting, forcing the pins/latches against the edge of the "ramp". As the engine rotates (ie starting or running), the latches are forced outward, releasing the propeller to move freely. The problem is, with the latches locked, it cant release itself until the load is taken off the latches (like you can't pull a trailer hitch out of the receiver with the trailer still on the ball), hence the bringing the the props into reverse. So, our engine is running, we bring it into reverse, no load/friction force on the start latches, and the centrifugal force drives them the pins off the ramp/latch, and the prop can now move freely.Now the opposite applies when the engine shuts down. As the engine spools down, engine oil pressure decreases. The spring pressure in the propeller hub (from above) in combination with the counterweights, wants to drive the prop to a feathered pitch. But then we can't start. So the sequence of events is: - Engine spools down; Engine oil pressure begins to decrease - As engine speed dips below 60ish %, we dump power lever into reverse - The power lever, connected directly to the propeller pitch control, moves the Follower Sleeve on the Beta Tube, opens a path for oil pressure (which we still have a bit of, as the engine is still turning as it spools down) - The propeller governor goes to an "underspeed condition" which opens a pilot valve to allow what's remaining of the engine oil pressure to be pumped by the prop governor into the propeller hub, forcing the blade back to a negative or flat 0 degree pitch.]- The oil travels through the now open port in the beta tube into the propeller hub.- the engine spools down more, with the propeller at or less than 0 degree pitch.- With less engine speed, the start latches are forced down with springs, as the centrifugal force keeping them away from the ramp/edge is no longer high enough to overcome the spring.- the latches engage, and the propeller can not move beyond 0 degree or flat pitch, despite the spring pressure in the propeller hub trying to drive it to feather.- our props are now not turning, and locked in a flat pitch ready for next start.If your props are slowly returning to a feathered pitch after shut-down, it's because you're "missing the latches" as they call it when you shut down. The spring and counterweights are pushing the prop to a feathered pitch remember. Ensure you dump the power lever into reverse as the engine is spooling down. I do it after 70%.Now, how this engine works, is your power lever is connected to two things, the Propeller Pitch Control, and the manual fuel valve on the FCU. So when you move the power lever forward but not beyond flight idle(the BETA range), it moves the Follower Sleeve around the Beta Tube, opens a port, and allows oil pressure to drain out of the propeller hub. Spring and Counterweights move the propeller to a coarser pitch. At the same time, the fuel valve opens, and more fuel is introduced into the combustion chamber. Your torque goes up (coarser pitch on prop), and your ITT goes up (more fuel). Now recognize this is a fixed shaft engine. The engine does not "speed up" with power lever position. Beyond flight idle on the power lever (the ALPHA range), the power lever is no longer in control of the propeller pitch directly through the Propeller Pitch Control, as the Follower Sleeve is moved far enough it can't cover the port in the Beta Tube any more. The engine will not "speed up" with power lever position. The Propeller Governor now is direct control of what speed the engine is turning (remember it's fixed shaft...so EVERYTHING'S turning together), which is controlled through the Condition Levers. The Power Lever is simply controlling fuel flow to the engine through the FCU. Inside the prop governor (long sentence ahead), a pilot valve, linked to a set of centrifugal fly-weights, driven by the reduction gear box, inside the Propeller Governor, is opening and closing to control engine speed. The pressure on these flyweights is changed with a "speeder spring" which is controlled by your Condition Levers. The engine oil pressure is ported through this pilot valve.So: (Prop Gov. Functionality)- Condition Levers set to "Condition Levers Flight", the speeder spring pressure is increased, which means it takes more speed to move the flyweights out, to allow the pilot valve to move and oil pressure flows into the propeller hub (through the port in the Beta Tube), which allows the blades to go to a finer pitch and finally balance to 100%. Until the flyweights reach this equilibrium or "on-speed condition" the oil pressure is being ported from the prop governors own gear pump into the prop hub. - Condition Levers set to between 100% and 96% - the speeder spring pressure acting on the flyweights is reduced, and the flyweights are now in a "overspeed condition". The flyweights move outward moving the pilot valve to a dump line to the engine oil reservoir. Oil pressure is released from the propeller hub, and the blades coarsen, slowing down the engine, but also perhaps increasing torque.As you play with the Power Lever in Alpha, the Propeller Governor is constantly moving throughout overspeed, and underspeed conditions, to find that equilibrium to maintain the engine speed set by your condition levers. - Power lever forward, more fuel, engine wants to turn faster, but, the Propeller Governor coarsens the pitch (overspeed condition), increasing torque. As we all know, Work = Force x Distance. You are imparting a greater amount of force, and increasing the distance moved with each blade rotation (coarser blade pitch), so your Horsepower ( a unit of work) goes up.- Power lever back, less fuel, engine wants to slow down, but, the Propeller Governor (underspeed condition now) makes the prop pitch finer, reducing torque = reducing work. Less Hp.Phew...don't know where we really are now...sorta went on a Garrett rant...whoa.So back to your FSX problem:Are you hearing any callouts from your co-pilot as you move the props from 72 % "Condition Levers Taxi" to full 100% "Condition Levers Flight"? if you can't, there may be a sound/software issue. May require a re-install or something.The call out may not work if you've missed the locks after shut down and used the feather pump just to get the blades flat enough to get a successful start. If, that's the case, then your latches are good and you should be able to go. This could be a little bug or just a limit of the J41's functionality.Can you still get full power (100% torque) just following the tutorial even if you don't hear the call out. I mean..can you fly the thing or are you stuck on the ground? If so, then it's just a software issue somewhere with the sound or simulation/install.So quick and dirty procedure, assuming props not on the locks (ie: feathered):Aircraft cold and dark.Battery on.Ensure Condition Levers set to "Taxi". NOT feathered.Power Levers to reverse. Just go full it won't hurt it. (remember this moves the Follower Sleeve to allow oil pressure to be ported to the hub via the Beta Tube)Toggle the Left and Right Unfeathering pump switch.You should see the props start moving to fine or "flat" pitch.Now bring Power Levers to idle. Heck, move them around a bit in Alpha range if you want.Start the engines and such normally.With engines running and condition levers in the "Taxi" position, ease the Power Levers into Beta/Reverse with gentle taps of the F2 Key. Keep and eye out on Torques and EGT temps to avoid cooking things. You should now hear the "Start locks removed" sound from your Co-Pilot.IF YOU DO NOTThen something's hooped somewhere.Try full power - Move Condition Levers to Flight, and move the Power Levers forward. Do you get full power (up above 80ish percent torque?) If you do, then your start locks are actually removed and something is just preventing from the sound playing.Besides the huge technical blabbery above, report back and let me know if the above little procedure worked for you.

Wauw!!! What a nice explanation and nice pictures! Lot of tnanks for that! It gives really a better understanding of the working of these engines. Also more and more respect for PMDG who did develop such a complicated machine. I did everything you suggested and I found out that the problem is in FS2Crew. It was configured to "Config Files & Crew Callouts to FS2Crew". In FS2Crew configuration it does not give these Call outs. A last question (for this moment): is it really so simple that, if the 1st officer thinks (in his dreams when he sleeps) that he pushes the cat away but it seems to be the condition levers, that the engine is on fire? Thanks Patrick!Frans

I think people are trying to get into this airplane, and I personally believe a little understanding on what's actually going on in the Garrett will allow you to understand much more what is going on. So please bear with me as I go on a bit of a crazy technical rant. I'll try to make some easy points for you to follow so we can help you figure out your problem.............

Thanks for an incredible post. Some of it went "beyond my pay-grade" but I now have a much better understanding of the JS41.Also Rajah, I also use FS2crew and I hear the start locks removed callout when going into beta (usually 3 or 4 clicks of the F2 button) after engine start.

Thanks for an incredible post. Some of it went "beyond my pay-grade" but I now have a much better understanding of the JS41.Also Rajah, I also use FS2crew and I hear the start locks removed callout when going into beta (usually 3 or 4 clicks of the F2 button) after engine start.

Good remark: I think you have the Voice Control Edition. FS2Crew Voice is NOT usable in the Netherlands with Windows 7 Home edition. So I use the Button Control Edition.Forgot to mention that.Frans