Hello Gents,

 

When I start a flight I always prefer Cold and Dark startup.

It just keeps you sharp when it comes to the planes systems.

There is however a problem with this when you create a night flight.

You can not see a bloody thing (sorry about the bloody)

Why can't we have a simple one key stroke flash light ?

Like a small spot light that shines on the overhead panel so

we are able to locate the batt switch and start up the systems at night?

Anyway, just a thought.

 

Cheers, Guys Rick Melcher

Turn the battery on and then the dome light? Probably what real world crews would do.

Are the dome lights turned on with the battery or APU? I always turn them on after I have the APU generators running in the NGX. I know in real life they use torches to look around before they turn on the dome lights.

Turn the battery on and then the dome light? Probably what real world crews would do.

 

IN real life usually when the crew goes in the plane the plane is not completelly off, usually it is stuck to external power. The more u cant simulate completelly what is done in real life as this is a simulation. In real life there is lamps in the airport and the switch are turned on with hands so it is easier than turning them on with a mouse. Of course it is not that complicate but sometimes even with cockpit lights on u cant see a lot. In the 737NGX the overhead panel with all light on at night is not completelly readable..

Turn the battery on and then the dome light? Probably what real world crews would do.

 

Good luck trying to find the battery switch in a winter night with the aircraft C&D.

Good luck trying to find the battery switch in a winter night with the aircraft C&D.

 

Not too difficult. I know that in some places, part of training is to be blind folded and told to touch a certain switch or button. This is to get used to the layout of the flightdeck and could even come in handy during extreme emergency situations.

Good luck trying to find the battery switch in a winter night with the aircraft C&D.

 

Then you don't know the plane well enough. If you did, you'd be able to deduce it's location on the panel based on the position of the camera. And let's be reasonable: even in the darkest night, the view doesn't get plain black. You can still see faint shapes of some switches. And no, it's not my monitor brightness that is too high. I keep it low becouse it hurt my eyes at night.

Hello Gents,

 

When I start a flight I always prefer Cold and Dark startup.

It just keeps you sharp when it comes to the planes systems.

There is however a problem with this when you create a night flight.

You can not see a bloody thing (sorry about the bloody)

Why can't we have a simple one key stroke flash light ?

Like a small spot light that shines on the overhead panel so

we are able to locate the batt switch and start up the systems at night?

Anyway, just a thought.

 

Cheers, Guys Rick Melcher

 

You haven't setup your monitor correctly, or your ENB.ini file needs some work. Nothing in FS should be that dark that you can't see the switches.

Walking into a completely dark airplane at night is really not something a real life pilot is going to encounter very often, if at all. Simmers tend to think the whole "cold and dark" thing happens a lot more often than it really does. The long and short turn conditions are what you see most of the time in real life as a pilot on one of these airplanes. If a C&D startup actually does have to be done, usually maintenance will have gotten to connecting the ground power after the plane is towed to the gate. That happens long before the pilots get there.

even in the darkest night, the view doesn't get plain black.

 

That's in your system.

If you are assuming the same rule apply for any other...well, let me tell you: you're wrong.

Then you don't know the plane well enough. If you did, you'd be able to deduce it's location on the panel based on the position of the camera. And let's be reasonable: even in the darkest night, the view doesn't get plain black. You can still see faint shapes of some switches. And no, it's not my monitor brightness that is too high. I keep it low becouse it hurt my eyes at night.

 

And every pilot I know carries a flashlight in his flight bag so there should be no need looking for the switch in the dark.

That's in your system.

If you are assuming the same rule apply for any other...well, let me tell you: you're wrong.

 

You know... One thing that really helps when you're flying at night in flight sim is to dim the lights in your room. If it's daytime in you city, try closing curtains to make you room as dark as possible, but allow some light in so you can see the keyboard. That's what I do (at least on preflight, takeoff and landing). At night, I turn my room's lights off and leave the living room lights on. Because of the angle they make with the door, they only shine on the keyboard, so there's no refections on the screen and I can still see keyboard with enough clarity. It works perfectly for me.

Hot meals & drink trolley!!

Walking into a completely dark airplane at night is really not something a real life pilot is going to encounter very often, if at all. Simmers tend to think the whole "cold and dark" thing happens a lot more often than it really does. The long and short turn conditions are what you see most of the time in real life as a pilot on one of these airplanes. If a C&D startup actually does have to be done, usually maintenance will have gotten to connecting the ground power after the plane is towed to the gate. That happens long before the pilots get there.

 

Exactly, the short/long panel states are the ones you'll want to use if you want to be realistic. C&D takes up too much unnecessary time if I'm honest.

I only use cold and dark if I'm flying a maintenance ferry or if I'm just taxxing from the hangar to do a run up test if I don't have time to actually fly.