April 23, 201412 yr Hello everyone. I am new to the forums and flight simulation in general. Thanks for taking the time to check out my thread. I am trying to start up a default FSX Cessna 172SP from cold and dark. I have managed to do his successfully but I have one question: what is the purpose of the Fuel Control Switch and how does it differ from the Fuel Pump switch on the main panel? Also, should this be set to "Cut" or "Open" during shutdown? My cold and dark actually starts with it Open. Thank you very much for your help!
April 23, 201412 yr Author For what it's worth I have Googled this and found no mention at all of this particular switch. Rather strange! Of course leaving it at it's default open position seems to work fine.
April 23, 201412 yr Hi Arawn, See if you can find (google) a C172 POH / Information Manual. Then look for the term "auxiliary fuel pump" in the manual. Shouldn't take very long and should answer your questions.
April 23, 201412 yr what is the purpose of the Fuel Control Switch and how does it differ from the Fuel Pump switch on the main panel?Most all airplane engines have engine-driven fuel pumps. Some are simply gravity fed. The panel switch controls an electric pump that primarily provides some pressure to the fuel system for engine startup. The electric pump(s) are commonly also turned on for takeoffs and landings to insure fuel pressure should the engine driven pump decide to fail at those critical times. The Fuel Control Switch is a cutoff valve that stops fuel at the firewall. This would be used in case of an engine fire to stop fuel from entering the engine compartment. As Rob said, for real world ops you would have to check the POH. In the sim I would not worry about it and leave it open. If you were to close it at shutdown, I would wait until the engine is fully stopped before closing it. regards, Joe The best gift you can give your children is your time.
April 25, 201412 yr The electric fuel pump on the 172 is only a back up, in case the engine driven pump is broken. It also facilitates the primer, which is electric in this model. It should normally not be used, unless the engine driven pump has failed. just in case you are still curious, here is the actual POH for a 172R, which seems to be the one in FSX. http://www.training.northwestflightschool.com/172R%20POH.pdf You can find all the normal procedures, including the shutdown procedure, in section 4.
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