I fly with service-based failures on all the time.

 

I realize that this does not mean that something HAS to go wrong in that period or even if you fly far beyond the 250 hour service period, but I was just curious about something...

 

Have you ever had a catastrophic failure in flight? as modelled by the sim? Engine fire, Flame out, Critical decompression of the main cabin or flight deck, primary hydraulic failure? I mean, without having the particular catastrophe "scheduled" in either the specific failures page or the random during a set time period...

 

I was just wondering... While on a flight to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic from Miami, I was reading a book in front of the computer, with half an eye on the screen and suddenly an alarm went off and I almost jumped out of my skin! It was actually just my iphone alerting me to an appointment the next day, but still, it really got my heart rate going for a moment :)

 

I can't even imagine what it must feel like initially for real pilots to have the serene engine drone sound in the cockpit suddenly shattered by a loud bell or alarm klaxon while over the open ocean! At least until their training kicks in :)

I got the NGX on release day and have only ever had a brakes failure after a rejected take-off. I didn't know this and I done another take-off but when it came to landing I saw a red message that read brakes failed and this was 200ft from touch down so I landed at minimum speed and full reverse. It was quite scary despite it only be brakes!

 

Aaron G.

Nothing other brake failure from the abuse I was giving them. I would like to see a flameout or something that would cause a divert but I do not think I will. I fly many different liveries so I'll never see anything over 50 hours on any particular tail number. It would be nice if PMDG could implement a way for us to have a middle aged NG with normal wear and tear a thousands of hours of flight time. There just something about flying in a cockpit that looks like it has thousands of hours with brand new system components with 0 hours on them.

Ever since PMDG started modelling random failures (I believe with the 747?), I always fly with them turned on (I vary the probability based on whim), and have had many scores of failures, many of which were "catastrophic" - although I've never had any lead to a crash.

 

Even after all that experience, I still find my adrenelin rushing when a bell goes off. I recently had an engine fire during an approach with the NG on VATSIM, and that got my attention "real quick like".

I wonder if there is a way to modify the "time till next service" value somehow. I don't want to fly 250 hours before I have to repair the thing; I'd much rather modify it to 50 or 20. Possible?

I wonder if there is a way to modify the "time till next service" value somehow. I don't want to fly 250 hours before I have to repair the thing; I'd much rather modify it to 50 or 20. Possible?

 

You can adjust how many failures on average you get an hour.

 

Aaron G.

The only failures I had since now were an brake failure after exessive usage on a landing and once my right IRS went mad while in cruise. But nothing worse.

You can adjust how many failures on average you get an hour.

 

Aaron G.

 

True, but that's different from the service based failures system.

In flight the right engine was affected by some vibrations that caused an 'engine failure' just before the approach lol. Had to land this baby manually with 1 engine, successfully :D

Have to pay more attention by looking more often at the engine indications on the lower DU..

I was having trouble with my FSUIPC controlled throttles and red lined my right engine. The very next flight I lost the right engine on take off. I once had my engine fail in real life in a 172 and even though the NGX is just a sim I had the same sinking feeling in my stomach. "Just fly the plane"

I just watched that Nova documentary on the crash of AirFrance 447 after it had left Brazil... And how the cause was discovered to be all three Pitot tubes freezing solid after weather radar had failed to see a massive thunderstorm behind a much smaller one and they flew right into it.

 

Apparently the plane simply lost it's mind and thought all of a sudden it was going 0 knots and knew nothing about the air temperature and pressure altitude, and so it simply fell out of the sky into the ocean as each of the major flight control systems and computers shut down one by one. From the ACARS data, the flight crew had to deal with 24 critical flight system failures in 4 minutes, all in the middle of a major thunderstorm. I can't even imagine the stress...

 

I always wondered why they get those tubes blazing hot enough to sear flesh in an instant if you touch them while they are operating, now I know They showed a demonstration of how pure water at high altitude can "flash Freeze" when it comes into contact with any impurity... That was amazing, and frightening...

I recently flew transatlantic with failures enabled, and realizing I was entering the ETOPS flight regime my heart rate definitely increased. 2.3 hours (ETOPS 138) away from the nearest landing field definitely gave something to think about. I was more aware of my position on the transatlantic segment than during the rest of the flight.

 

Atlantic/Pacific plotting charts are highly recommended, if not to raise the realism level another notch.

 

Best regards,

Robin.

My B autopilot broke down 2 seconds before touchdown at ENBR. I was testing the autoland, so it became pretty critical. The autoland turned off and I hand landed okay. It wasn't untill i'd parked that I found out what had gone wrong. At first i thought it was a bug. But it wasn't. The failure showed in the failure management page. Cool!

My only failures have been to start and finish a flight before my 21 month-old son wakes up from his daytime nap...

The only failure I had was the cabin pressure system. On 2 flight after each other both auto pressurization systems failed and I had to manually control the pressure with the outflow valve. Nothing catastrophic.