Hey,I'm wondering if any other Eaglesoft Cirrus drivers out there can help me out here --- how long does the battery last when the Engine isn't running? Lately I seem to be having this problem where I can barely get the preflight stuff done and get my flight plan filed before the battery quits on me (probably < 5 minutes from battery on to totally dead.) Of course, starting the engine makes everything come alive again, but it's annoying to reset all the stuff again.Is this what others are experiencing? Can any real Cirrus pilots out there comment on how long the real battery lasts?In any event, is there some config file entry I can adjust to get a little more juice out of the batteries?-- Dan

This is a common Flight Simulator issue which is not restricted to Eaglesoft products. A known solution is contained in a utlility called FSUIPC.If I recall the solution is called "Extend Battery Life"...

FS's battery is indeed weak. There is an entry you can make in the aircraft.cfg file, but if you do then you can't shut OFF the battery at all... In the [electrical] section:electric_always_available=1

It's possible to extend the battery life without having to resort to the electric_always_available switch. If you lower the amperage and voltage settings in the [electrical] section, the battery life extends. For example, this is how the default looks:flap_motor = 0, 5, 17gear_motor = 0, 5, 17autopilot = 0, 5, 17avionics_bus = 0, 5, 17avionics = 1, 5, 17pitot_heat = 0, 2, 17additional_system = 0, 2, 17marker_beacon = 1, 2, 17gear_warning = 0, 2, 17fuel_pump = 0, 5, 17starter1 = 0, 20, 17light_nav = 0, 5, 17light_beacon = 0, 5, 17light_landing = 0, 5, 17light_taxi = 0, 5, 17light_strobe = 0, 5, 17light_panel = 0, 5, 17I have mine reset as follows, and the battery works for at least 15-20 minutes - long enough to start a 737, going through the extended overhead startup routine, program the FMS (or FSNav), push back, start the engines and go onto the generators. (In fact with this setting, the gear won't retract unless you've switched over onto the generators as the gear runs from the left alternator.)[electrical]//BusType, MaxAmpLoad, MinVoltage BusTypes:0=MainBus,1=AvionicsBus,2=BatteryBus,3=HotBatteryBus,4-7=Generator/AlternatorBus(1-4)//Amended to extend battery life at startupmax_battery_voltage = 28generator_alternator_voltage = 28max_generator_alternator_amps = 60electric_always_available = 0flap_motor= 0, 1 , 1gear_motor = 4, 1 , 1light_wing = 0, 1 , 1light_logo = 0, 1 , 1autopilot = 0, 5 , 1avionics_bus = 0, 5, 1avionics = 1, 5 , 1pitot_heat= 0, 2 , 1additional_system = 2, 1, 1marker_beacon = 1, 1 , 1gear_warning = 0, 1 , 1fuel_pump = 0, 1 , 1starter1 = 0, 1, 1light_nav = 0, 1 , 1light_beacon = 0, 1 , 1light_landing = 0, 1 , 1light_taxi = 0, 1 , 1light_strobe = 0, 1 , 1light_panel = 0, 1 , 1;)

Of course resetting the amp load will affect the ammeter's realism, but sometimes 'ya just can't have everything!

Thanks for the tips. Didn't realize it was an FS wide problem since I only fly the Cirrus almost exclusivelyDan