I prefer to set up my aircraft in the "Cold and Dark" configuration. The FSX Carenado C208B defaults to engine running upon loading. Following the Caraendo "Shutdown" procedure from the manual, I should feather the prop. Can the prop be feathered? If so, how? I read elsewhere in this forum that setting the park brake on this aircraft automatically feathers the prop, but I don't see any visual confirmation of that.

 

I can move the Power lever below the notch and into the reverse position (F2), but how do you move the "Propeller 1 Control" lever (teal-colored lever) below the notch into the "FEATHER" position? It also doesn't appear that the prop has any pitch animation, which is unusual for Carenado to omit.

 

Maybe I'm being too picky, but attention to details is one of the reasons I love Carenado GA aircraft.

You can only drive the prop blade angle with some oil pressure being present. Means that if you don't have that pressure, the prop blades won't move, regardless of the lever position. So the not moving blades when the engine isn't running is a feature.

 

If you load the default trike first and shut it down, the C208 will be loaded without a running engine and with some feathered prop. With the engine starting up and oil pressure building, the prop will then start moving its blades and react to the prop lever. Since the prop is already spinning, you can't see that, but one can hear it. Maybe not with the default sounds though. The rpm gauge also shows the difference.

 

I think the prop arrangement will always feather the prop with loss of oil pressure due to the way the counterweights drive it against the now falling pressure of the oil. So the shutdown should always result in a feathered prop. However, the checklist says that you should also command 'feather' before bringing the condition lever to cutoff, so you will receive a feather prop after shutdown either way.

 

For example, my DA Cheyenne moves the props without the engines running. That's a glitch or a missing system detail so to speak. The real plane can't do that.