I'm having a slight problem with the turboprops on FS KBT's L-188. I find it very hard to taxi properly as the plane just shoots forward when I open the throttles even a little bit.

 

There's a switch in the cockpit that has 2 positions: "Low RPM" and "High RPM". I tried the switch and in "Low RPM" mode it moves the mixture levers down to 1% (low / ground idle?) which should reduce the RPM a lot, but it has almost no effect whatsoever. Even after flipping the switch, opening the throttles a little bit makes the plane accelerate so much that it's difficult to control because I have to use the brakes all the time.

 

Has anyone else had similar problems with this plane or a similar one? Does anyone know how to fix this?

 

 

~CK

If you have a licensed copy of FSUIPC you can create a custom throttle mapping for this plane that is non-linear. I have mine set (to slope 10) that about the first 25% of the axis counts result in only 10% change in thrust; in effect a 1:2.5 reduction in sensitivity. This Electra model is also quite sensitive to the weight/loading and I usually fly with full wing tanks and 50% of the center tank (yielding about 77% total) and the throttle mapping tweaked as noted to reduce the excessive thrust/weight ratio.

 

The Electra II has an electronic engine controller that automatically regulates the fuel flow/torque versus the pitch in order to vary the HP/thrust delivered with the huge propellers maintaining an almost constant RPM in flight. The switch you noted reduces/increases the engine core and propeller RPM regime for ground/flight operations.

 

Also, be sure to give yourself enough time and distance to bleed off speed at idle/flat pitch in order to get down into the gear and flaps range. While the thrust reverser makes the appropriate sounds in the KBT model, the FS model deceleration is much lower than the real airplane.

 

Hope this helps as I think this is a fun model to fly; wish I could find a decent National Airlines livery though.

 

Todd

Alright, I tried the slope trick and it made the plane handle a little bit better, but it's still quite hard to control. What I can't understand is the fact that even the FSX default King Air is easier to operate on the ground. I guess I'll have to fly something else then. Thanks anyway.

 

 

~CK