I don't own the Spitfire, but I'll give these a shot...>- What is the fuel c-o-c-k control (filter won't let me>actually spell out this word)? All the instructions say is to>switch it on before starting the plane. Is there ever a>reason to switch this off?Sounds like a shut-off valve between the fuel tanks and the engine (the RealAir SF.260 has a similar one). I doubt there would ever be a reason in normal flight to switch this off, but you would probably turn it off when you shut down the airplane after landing, and turn it back on before starting. If the plane comes with checklists, they would tell you when to turn it on and off. It may default to on, I know the fuel shut-off valve in the 260 defaults to on even in a cold and dark cockpit.>- What is the fuel booster pump switch? I do not see mention>of it anywhere in the manuals.Generally that's an electrically-driven auxiliary fuel pump used to better provide a consistent fuel flow to the engine either at idle, startup, or perhaps in aerobatic situations where gravity flow might be unreliable.>- What is the pressure-head heater/pitot heat switch? I do>not see mention of it anywhere in the manuals. I assume that>it is in case the intake valve on the carburetor gets iced up.> Is this modeled correctly with the spitfire, so that if the>temperature is freezing and you are in the clouds, your speed>goes down and you have to turn on pitot heat?Not sure what a "pressure-head" is, but pitot heat doesn't have anything to do with the carburetor. Pitot heat keeps ice from forming in the pitot-static system, which would affect your airspeed, altitude, and attitude indicator readings. In FS2004, if your pitot system ices over, the only thing that happens is that your airspeed indicator drops to zero (the altimeter isn't affected). Carb heat is modeled, but normally it's on a different switch than pitot heat (default carb heat is "H", pitot heat is "shift+H"). Again, I don't own the Spit, so I don't know exactly how RealAir modeled things, but pitot heat and carb heat are generally separate.>- What is the windscreen de-icing pump? I do not see mention>of it anywhere in the manuals.Sounds like a system where they'd pump glycol or something similar out onto the windscreen to melt ice. FS2004 doesn't model windscreen icing normally, so unless RealAir's got some fancy custom coding in there, I expect that's a non-functional system.Lewis "Moose" GregoryRichmond, Virginia

And getting back on track...Why does a low wing or fuel injected airplane have a "boost pump"?A: it's usually uphill from the wing tanks to the engine, and fuel injection engines need higher pressure than gravity feed. That's why the newer Cessna 172's have a pump, while some older ones did not.And why isn't a fuel selector "both" selection the norm for low winged airplanes?A: fuel will tend to transfer from the right wing tank to the left, and visa-versa. Then it sometimes ends up overboard from the fuel vents. Of course MSFS isn't going to model all these "what if's"Just adding these quick & helpful tutorial comments, in case someone wants to know... :D L.Adamson

I appreciate folks answering these questions. My main question was whether they were modeled in the Spitfire because I did not see mention of these items anywhere in the manual. I know that aircraft designers can sometimes go beyond the basics provided by Microsoft. I posted the questions here because I do not believe that there is a dedicated forum for the RealAir products. Thank you for correcting me on my pressure-head heater/pitot heat switch explanation.Thus, I have gathered that:- The oxygen indicators and regulators are not modeled in FS- The fuel control should merely be to switch it on to start the flight, and switch if off when the flight is complete- The fuel booster pump switch is not modeled in FS- The pressure-head heater is merely the pitot heat switch, which is modeled in FS- The windscreen de-icing pump is not modeled in FSI had asked because Rod provided a list of items not modeled in his documentation, and these were not on the list. I was just clarifying that. It is correct that I could research how these work in the real world, but I was just clarifying whether these did anything on the Spitfire.Thanks again for everyone's input. This is an outstanding aircraft.Scott

Actually the fuel booster pump *may* be modeled...sort of. There are many planes that actually model the pump, and when you flip it on you see fuel pressure gauges (if so equipped) go up. Now whether FS2004 models a situation where the pump will keep the engine from cutting off...that, I don't know. Guess I'll just have to buy the Spitfire someday and find out. :)Lewis "Moose" GregoryRichmond, Virginia

Hi papatango,Any sim forum can be used for asking and answering questions, as far as I know.I did send you an e-mail reply to original questions which I answered as best I cold.Kind Regards,Rob Young www.realairsimulations.com

The fuel booster pump is modeled as part of the start up sequence. If the pump is not on on a cold start then you'll have a much harder time getting the motor turning. The fuel petcock (the actual, filter-friendly name) is actually useful in RealAir's Spitfire. For instance, if you're cruising along (or racing, as I was) at a high RPM for an extended period your engine will eventually catch fire. If you catch it quick enough you can just the engine down AND shut the petcock to try and reduce the extent of the fire. If you don't do these steps then the fire will quickly consume the plane. I love the Spitfire! It's one of my favorite add-ons. Cheers,

Alright, woohoo! I've been here 12 hrs and already a juvenile argument. Can't you guys just let it go? What is it about internet forums that makes people go retarded? Would you behave like this in the real world? If people would learn to handle "wasted" questions (those repeated every few months when a crop of noobs shows up) by simply ignoring them then the forum world would be a better place. If you ignore wasted questions then that is usually all the motivation needed to get the noob to do his own research. The questions leading this thread are not noob questions though. They are not wasted. He asked for details about a specific add-on that he is trying to get the most enjoyment from. I've been flying sims since before the first "Landing Simulator" on the Atari 800, and I was interested in the respones to his question because I have the same add-on. Experience matters not when the docs are lacking. So, let's stop arguing and start flyin, k? Cheers,

I have some questions on some of the RealAir Spitfire gauges. I have also emailed [email protected]. The plane is great fun to fly. Whenever I buy a plane, I want to understand every gauge that comes with it. These gauges mentioned are not in the list of gauges that are not modeled, so I curious what they do:- What are the oxygen delivery indicator, oxygen regulator and oxygen supply indicator used for? Are they modeled with the airplane? I see no mention of their use and what they mean in the documentation.- What is the fuel c-o-c-k control (filter won't let me actually spell out this word)? All the instructions say is to switch it on before starting the plane. Is there ever a reason to switch this off?- What is the fuel booster pump switch? I do not see mention of it anywhere in the manuals.- What is the pressure-head heater/pitot heat switch? I do not see mention of it anywhere in the manuals. I assume that it is in case the intake valve on the carburetor gets iced up. Is this modeled correctly with the spitfire, so that if the temperature is freezing and you are in the clouds, your speed goes down and you have to turn on pitot heat?- What is the windscreen de-icing pump? I do not see mention of it anywhere in the manuals.Thanks RealAir for a truly excellent aircraft to fly.Scott