Incorrect fuel display (or stupid pilot alert)

[quadraspleen 7]

Hi All,

 

Just noticed this last night. There was a bit of confusion with me and my Maule reserve tanks previously, so I'm prepared to accept this is me.

 

I turned the HUD on to get some wind info, and noticed the fuel discrepancy - or is 50% really 20% in a Maule? Is the HUD not counting my reserve?

 

See below:

 

 

 

Thanks

 

jake

 

p.s Jeroen, could you correct the title typo for me, please?

[RoboRay 126]

I don't use the HUD, but it wouldn't surprise me if the HUD only shows the Main fuel tanks in the Maule.

 

Otherwise, somebody who doesn't know to turn on the Aux tank transfer pumps would run out of fuel with 50% still showing on the HUD.

 

EDIT: But your picture shows 20% for the HUD and around half full on the left/right gauges. That looks to me like the HUD is showing total fuel for all tanks and your Aux tanks are empty. :Thinking:

 

Did you hit the buttons to verify you had anything in the Aux tanks?

[quadraspleen 7]

somebody who doesn't know to turn on the Aux tank transfer pumps would run out of fuel with 50% still showing on the HUD

 

cough

[RoboRay 126]

cough

 

Don't feel bad. I put a Maule into the trees 5 miles short of the field because I didn't pay any attention to the Caution about there being 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel in each Main tank!

 

Oh, and I did a little panel explanation for the Maule in the Tutorials section, if you want to see if you missed anything else. It's been recently updated with a little more detailed info. :Peace:

[quadraspleen 7]

Don't feel bad. I put a Maule into the trees 5 miles short of the field because I didn't pay any attention to the Caution about there being 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel in each Main tank!

 

LOL, thanks, Ray been there, done that..It's great we can make these mistakes in FLIGHT and not smear ourselves across a distant field as a result..:Big Grin:

 

I am loving the Maule more and more now..The throttle and prop controls still feel a bit odd at times..The FSX one seems to have better propeller pitch modelling, but again; I've never flown a real Maule (or any variable prop plane), though I'd love to now, so I have no idea really

 

j

[Bobsk8 12,717]

LOL, thanks, Ray been there, done that..It's great we can make these mistakes in FLIGHT and not smear ourselves across a distant field as a result.. :Big Grin:

 

I am loving the Maule more and more now..The throttle and prop controls still feel a bit odd at times..The FSX one seems to have better propeller pitch modelling, but again; I've never flown a real Maule (or any variable prop plane), though I'd love to now, so I have no idea really

 

j

 

 

I am flying the Maule about 80% of the time and the Stearman the rest. I like the avionics in the Maule and the handling, and the view. It is a great flying aircraft. I wish the Stearman had at least one Nav receiver in it.

[RoboRay 126]

I am flying the Maule about 80% of the time and the Stearman the rest. I like the avionics in the Maule and the handling, and the view. It is a great flying aircraft. I wish the Stearman had at least one Nav receiver in it.

 

At least the Stearman has that GPS to give LAT/LONs. Break out your sectionals! :Nerd:

[Bobsk8 12,717]

Don't feel bad. I put a Maule into the trees 5 miles short of the field because I didn't pay any attention to the Caution about there being 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel in each Main tank!

 

Oh, and I did a little panel explanation for the Maule in the Tutorials section, if you want to see if you missed anything else. It's been recently updated with a little more detailed info. :Peace:

 

Nice job on the panel explanation. I have a general question on the Maule, how does one lean out an aircraft like the Maule with the mixture, the same as say a C-152 or 172 where you lean until rpm's start to drop and then, increase slightly?

 

At least the Stearman has that GPS to give LAT/LONs. Break out your sectionals! :Nerd:

 

Didn't know the GPS was functional......Will have to look at that,.

[RoboRay 126]

Nice job on the panel explanation. I have a general question on the Maule, how does one lean out an aircraft like the Maule with the mixture, the same as say a C-152 or 172 where you lean until rpm's start to drop and then, increase slightly?

 

Thanks!

 

I've been leaning by guestimating, as the EGT doesn't work and the RPMs don't seem to fluctuate correctly with mixture, until you lean all the way to starvation.

 

Somebody just introduced me to the concept of Lean-of-Peak/Wide-Open-Throttle leaning and am experimenting with that now. Using this technique, you do not touch the throttle at all until you’re descending for landing; instead, you leave the throttle wide open the way it was for takeoff, and then you use the mixture exclusively to control power, going leaner to reduce power, or richer to increase it. That way, you’re always flying the leanest possible for any given power setting

 

I did a flight from Kodiak Muni to Homer last night, leaving the throttle all the way in, turning 2400RPM, and pulling the mixture back very lean to set my usual cruise-speed of about 144kts at 4400' (skimming just below the haze at 4500'). It seemed to work well, but I want to do some comparison flights both ways, watching the fuel-consumption, temps and everything else to see what's really going on.

 

But in the absence of any way to actually find the Peak, LOP/WOT may be the way to go.

 

Didn't know the GPS was functional......Will have to look at that,.

 

It's on the little hand-held VHF and it a little hard to see unless you lean in close. Man, I love TrackIR.

 

[Guest]

Nice job on the panel explanation. I have a general question on the Maule, how does one lean out an aircraft like the Maule with the mixture, the same as say a C-152 or 172 where you lean until rpm's start to drop and then, increase slightly?

 

+1 (on RoboRay's panel explanation). About the mixture: I simply pull it back to something like 50% when I am at around 3500 feet or so... To me it's impossible to set the mixture properly because as RoboRay said, EGT doesn't work and I hear and see no difference (apart in fuel flow) until I bring back mixture to 20%. I simply can't set the mixture rich of peak because I haven't got a clue when I hit the peak.

[EastCoastGuy 0]

Also, I found out that the fuel pumps in the Maule don't work as I'd expected. One time, I took off with 100% fuel (full mains and reserves) and decided to experiment with the pumps. After a few minutes, I turned them on -- they refilled the mains just fine -- but then (apparently) proceeded to pump the rest overboard. After 20 minutes, I was down to 80% fuel. So "turning the pumps on then ignoring them" would be a bad plan on a long trip. :Doh:

[RoboRay 126]

Also, I found out that the fuel pumps in the Maule don't work as I'd expected. One time, I took off with 100% fuel (full mains and reserves) and decided to experiment with the pumps. After a few minutes, I turned them on -- they refilled the mains just fine -- but then (apparently) proceeded to pump the rest overboard.

 

This is exactly what would happen in the real plane. The excess fuel being forced into the Main tanks would spill right out the vents.

 

After 20 minutes, I was down to 80% fuel. So "turning the pumps on then ignoring them" would be a bad plan on a long trip. :Doh:

 

Indeed it would be!

[quadraspleen 7]

The excess fuel being forced into the Main tanks would spill right out the vents.

Great tut's Ray..well done!

 

re the aux tanks; I'm going to do that when I next fly (like in about 90 seconds when I've psoted about Gmap) Thanks for the info! (again - I love AVSIM)

 

Now it makes such a real difference to the FD when you fly full-up w/ gas (which is the default state in FSX, though I'm sure someone knows how to fix that - prolly in the relevant A/C FDE LOL)

I am having to watch my fuel load (though he always tells me I'm overweight - I'm starting to feel a little self-conscious now. and keep looking in the mirror)

 

Reserve comes into it's own with the crazy weather themes..I find I am using about 1/5 more than i would be in clear skies..Is this correct?

 

Still fighting with the prop and MP controls in heavy weather..I like to trim at nearly cruise then use prop to finalise the trim in incremenst along with the trim wheel (is this ok?) Can't seem to find a sweet-spot and trim properly (I think this is normal).

 

Also the excellent PIREP link you posted about the Maule seems a little different from the way the Maule is in FLIGHT (obv. the RW one is correct LOL) esp the approach characteristics..It may be me, but the Maule seems to be very slippery; but in concordance with the article, has absolutely NO ground-effect whatsoever..when you dump the revs on short final, you glide like a rock LOL - "testing out the landing gear, eh?" as The Man puts it

 

Much more fun than flying the default Maule in FSX (ymmv obv.)

[RoboRay 126]

Reserve comes into it's own with the crazy weather themes..I find I am using about 1/5 more than i would be in clear skies..Is this correct?

 

I haven't done any real fuel-burn tests in Flight. You obviously should burn more flying with a head-wind.

 

I normally take fuel for my Job distance multiplied by 1.5, as that distance doesn't include any you burn flying a non-direct course or maneuvering to get into position to land. I'll try to take distance x2 for smuggling runs, as I fly way off the direct course. I haven't run out yet, other than that early lesson on the implications of "unusable fuel," but I have cut it close a few times, shutting down with just a couple of gallons left.

 

Still fighting with the prop and MP controls in heavy weather..I like to trim at nearly cruise then use prop to finalise the trim in incremenst along with the trim wheel (is this ok?) Can't seem to find a sweet-spot and trim properly (I think this is normal).

 

With trim being limited to 1° increments, you are going to have to tweak your power output a bit to find the right airspeed for that trim setting. I've been doing it with the throttle all along, but on my WOT leaning test I found it's actually easier for me to find the sweet spot with the mixture. That may be because of the way I control them, though... My throttle is a moving lever while my mixture is a rotating wheel on the side of the throttle handle. The wheel may just be giving me finer control.

 

But anyway, on my 100nm cruise from Kodiak to Homer the VSI sat in the single digits most of the way, with only slight oscillations in either direction. That was in the fairly smooth lower-level air of Low & Threatening, however.

 

Also the excellent PIREP link you posted about the Maule seems a little different from the way the Maule is in FLIGHT (obv. the RW one is correct LOL) esp the approach characteristics..It may be me, but the Maule seems to be very slippery; but in concordance with the article, has absolutely NO ground-effect whatsoever..when you dump the revs on short final, you glide like a rock LOL - "testing out the landing gear, eh?" as The Man puts it

 

I found the M7 at landing speeds pretty much the way they described it... floating pretty good in the upper 60s (MPH) and dropping like a rock in the lower 60s. That's what encouraged me to land at higher speeds and they got much gentler. I hear a lot less screaming from the backseats now.

[quadraspleen 7]

That's what encouraged me to land at higher speeds and they much gentler.

 

Agreed. I am tending to land c. 70-75MPH esp when overloaded..a little hairy in wind, that extra few MPH can make it seem like you are going way faster..And the fact that you're crabbing at higher speeds and it can all go a bit pear-shaped (and you miss the landing cue and have to do a GA)

 

it was the higher approach speeds I found a little weird 1000AGL or so..the speed can suddenly drop off..obviously, on approach I am full prop forward, so just using MP.

 

It's great when also fighting the wind (I am still getting my head round CS prop and MP concepts - It seems a little different to the characteristics in FSX that I've become used to - and never having flown one, too it's all good learning)

 

I've been flying almost exclusively in heavy weather or changeable weather (which just seems to go really windy for ages, then about two minutes of calm, then windy again) so I'm usually fighting winds of c. 30-40mph. All over the shop, I am LOL

 

Somebody just introduced me to the concept of Lean-of-Peak/Wide-Open-Throttle leaning

Another great link! Thanks