Hi..I cannot seem to get the fuel selector to work on the Howard 500.Didn't know it wasnt working untill I started looking more into my problem with landing this bird.It seems the gauge will only select the front tank and the rear/main. This result in the rear tank being empty before the main tanks, wich in turn make the Howard really hard to land because the C.G is to far to the front.Anyone else have this problem?I haven't touched the files for the Howard after installing it.Please someone help.RegardsJT

Have the same problem...Jozef http://pluizig.ath.cx/signature.jpg

It seems not many fly this aircraft or they dont have the gauge problem?I guess I have to mail the creators about this and see what they say.JT

>Hi..>>I cannot seem to get the fuel selector to work on the Howard>500.>Didn't know it wasnt working untill I started looking more>into my problem with landing this bird.>>It seems the gauge will only select the front tank and the>rear/main. This result in the rear tank being empty before the>main tanks, wich in turn make the Howard really hard to land>because the C.G is to far to the front.>>Anyone else have this problem?>>I haven't touched the files for the Howard after installing>it.>>Please someone help.>>>Regards>JTI fly the Howard with a different panel so its never been an issue with me but...what your describing isn't any different than what many pilots have to do--constantly monitor their fuel tanks and switch between them to keep the balance and COG in check. In the .cfg file you could easily change the amounts the tanks will hold to even them up or making the mains go dry faster.

Switch to the front tanks for takeoff, then switch to the rear tanks on climbout, and the wing tanks once at cruise altitude. I think that's what the checklist says to do. The wing tank setting also takes fuel from one of the other tanks, but I can't remember if it's the front or the rear. I haven't flown a flight that long with the Howard 500 in a while, unfortunately.Lewis "Moose" GregoryColumbia, South Carolina

1. Use shift+5 to bring up the tank selectors2. The checklists spell out specifically which tanks must be used for flight phases.Pre_Takeoff = Front TanksClimbout = Rear TanksCruise = Main TanksApproach = Front TanksWing tanks fuel is used last when needed to maintain enough quantity to support the high wing loading on this aircraft.The tank selection setup allows for many combinations of cross feeds so if anything is not working (rw), fuel can always be drawn from alternate sources.Since the fuel selectors work fine here in each of my versions, can you be more specific about the version you are flying and indicate if it is the original downloaded archive. Also, are you saying that the fuel selectors move to the proper location, but do not draw fuel from the indicated tanks? (EDIT: I have asked Scott to check this out and respond here.)As to the comment about not using the original panel (OUCH!!! LOL), we have over 600 hours in this panel, custom gauges, and VC all blessed by the real world pilot. :-) Hope this helps.Milton Shupe

Hello Mr. ShupeThanks for the reply here. I was actually going to mail you but figured I'd give it a couple days since I've seen you on this forum.The file I downloaded is called hw5vc4.zip dated 7/24.I follow the checklist to the letter so when Im at cruise altitude I select main tanks.But here is the question...When main tanks are seleceted is the rear tanks supposed to be drained first? That is what happen. As long as there is fuel in rear tanks they will be used first even if main tanks are selected. Front tank work as it should though.Then there is another thing I am wondering about. I may be way off here since I don't know much about flight dynamics. Anyway...The Howard have a aft and forward limit for C.G, but when using AFSD by Herv

>Then there is another thing I am wondering about. I may be way>off here since I don't know much about flight dynamics.>Anyway...The Howard have a aft and forward limit for C.G, but>when using AFSD by Herv

JT,Thank you for your questions and interest. The CoG can be corrected by changing the following aircraft.cfg parameter in the Geometry section to read:wing_sweep=1.0This will keep the aircraft CoG in the allowable range with all fuel loads. Note that this change will affect trim and flight operations slightly. Thank you for using the checklists as well. Scott put a lot of time in modifying the real world checklists for this project.The RW fuel system is highly integrated and Scott worked within our limitations to simulate the real world operations. The front and rear tanks are used as noted in the checklists. Then the main tanks, that are actually side by side and drain equally in our setup, drain from the outer wing tanks through the inner wing tanks. Various combinations of crossfeeds are available.I hope this helps.Milton Shupe

Thanks a lot for a quick reply Mr. Shupe.I got some more questions about flying the Howard and thought I would post them here instead of starting a new thread.Please don't take this the wrong way as being critics on the FDE because I wouldn't know. Only way to learn how to fly her properly is to ask questions and practice, so here I am asking questions :)When I start my descent the airspeed increases fast and as I understand this is normal. But if Im at say FL19 I keep getting overspeed warning. Am I using a to steep descent? I'm using 1000fpm, 2200rpm and 30" MAP. Even 500fpm trigger overspeed.Then when I am at say...3000ft and trying to slow down to get the gear and flaps down, I cant seem to get below 190 KIAS using 30" MAP. Is this to much? Only way I have found is to use 25" MAP, but I'm not sure this is the right thing to do. Trying to fly as close to specs as possible you see :)On approach I'm getting a nose down attitude, around 1-2 degrees. 120 KIAS with full flaps will do this. To high airspeed? Full flaps to early?Hope someone can help me with these questions.Thank you.Now if only I had a copilot :)Edit:Just a couple things I forgot.First the fuel gauge. Just to clear that up in case It wasn't clear. The selector itself move to the proper positions, but when main tanks are selected the rear tanks will empty before main tanks. I just remember that I think this worked fine the first few times so I am going to try delete the folder and copy again from the zip file. Will report back if that fixed it.The other thing is just a minor cosmetic thing. The altimeter is showing an increasing error the higher you get. At 20000ft its around 50-100ft below the actual altitude.JT

JT,The Howard 500 is a heavy, fast, slippery aircraft.Descent from FL19 starts 95 miles out.You have about 15 minutes to drop 17000' at around -1130 fpm in 80nm.Reduce Map to 28%, leave props at 2200; Manage your descent speeds by throttle (watch CHTs) or rate;Descend and maintain true airspeed below 320 knots to 10000' then slow to 250 knots indicated. (You may have to level out to achieve this).Note that the rw pilot says she will descend up to 369 knots in smooth upper air no problem. Also, I set the overspeed at the documented settings even though it seems the rw pilot descends faster. Change as you wish.Intercept localizer 12-15 miles out; slow to 220kias then to 190kts and drop gear (flaps 1 at 204); You may pull power back to 21" as necessary.Then slow to 170kts at 7 miles out; Flaps all down at 147 kts, slow to 135; add power (if necessary) to maintain approach @120 knots;Descent rate at 800 FPM and slow toCross the fence at 105 knots;Keep power on until touchdown to keep the tail flying.Descent is always fun. Have you read the real world pilot report on the website? This really helps understanding.http://www.flightsimonline.com/howard500/Howard500Flying.htmDave Cummings (rw pilot of the Howard) did the final flight testing for us and after a week of tweaking, he was very pleased with the flight dynamics and performance. The notes above are his.As to your gauge and fuel questions, I must leave for Scott to answer.

Hello again.First I have to thank you for your little tutorial. It helped me get a better understanding of how to operate the Howard.I have read the notes by Mr. Cummings several times to learn more about how to fly her. Bet the project wouldnt have been a reality without his assistance. Pass on my gratitude in case he doesnt visit these forums.Today I finally found what the fuel gauge problem was. I had the fuel pump switch in the OFF position. The switch have 3 positions and to be able to operate the tank selectors properly the switch has to be in the middle position.I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and Mr. Scott looking for an error. It was my fault as I suspected.Thanks a lot for your assistance and wonderful work with the Howard 500.JT

You are welcome JT. I wish you many hours of fun with the Howard 500. :-)

Hi,I'm having trouble with the tank selector on the Howard too, but strangely enough it's the other way around: my front tanks are emptying when the mains are selected.- If I select front tanks, all is OK- If I select rear tanks, all is OK tooBut,- If I select the mains, the FRONT tanks are emptied first, then the mains!This way, I cannot select the fronts for landing when I'm low on fuel (the engines die :-) ). In other words, if I want to fly according to checlists, I'm pretty limited in range.The position of the fuel pump switch does not seem to affect this bahaviour here, by the way. I'm checking fuel status both on the copilot's fuel gauge and in the FS fuel menu.Very puzzling, but just a small annoyance in an otherwise excellent aircraft!Cristian.

Cristian,It would be helpful to know which sim version and which Howard version you are running. Milton