C441 - a few issues

[twharrell 38]

I am experiencing a few issues in the 441 in P3Dv2.5:

 

1) Whenever I pull my power levels back to flight idle I get these small power bursts/oscillations (torque will fluctuate from 5 to 10).

 

2) During shutdown I put my power levels in the reverse position to engage start locks (like the video), but start locks don't engage.

 

3) I get a lag between advancing power levers and the engine actually responding, i.e it acts more like an indirect drive rather than direct drive.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[twharrell 38]

I figured out my issue. When selecting the C441 from the P3D menu, the aircraft loads with engines shutting down without start locks engaging.  Instead of engaging the start locks manually and creating a manual C&D state, I found it best to select the cold and dark state from the C441 settings popup. Everything works now.

 

Todd

[capceo 117]

Glad you got everything worked out!

[twharrell 38]

Actually, hold on. Still getting power oscillations when power levers back to idle or just above idle.

 

Todd

[capceo 117]

I cant reproduce the issue Todd. Is there any chance its a hardware issue?

[twharrell 38]

You know, I am using the Elite throttle quadrant, but that shouldn't be a probldm. Af least I hope that's not the issue because it's a great TQ.

[capceo 117]

I use the PFC TQ myself. Fantastic piece of hardware. Keep at it and see what you can find out. If you get me some more info, I can hopefully point you in the right direction.

[twharrell 38]

I have some Saitek throttles laying around - I'll try those and see if I can reproduce the issue.

[capceo 117]

I have some Saitek throttles laying around - I'll try those and see if I can reproduce the issue.

 

Keep me in the loop!

[twharrell 38]

After more testing, it appears the engine surge issue only happens with my Elite TQ's. No problem with the Saiteks. Bummer.

[capceo 117]

After more testing, it appears the engine surge issue only happens with my Elite TQ's. No problem with the Saiteks. Bummer.

 

 

That's quite interesting. I use a PFC quadrant and don't have any issues. Its only happening with the 441 for you?

[twharrell 38]

Yup. Unfortunately.

[capceo 117]

Yup. Unfortunately.

 

I've done some brainstorming about this issue. The best I can come up with is that when you're pulling the throttles down into reverse to engage the start locks, you aren't going far enough into reverse for them to engage.

 

Setting the start locks on shutdown requires full reverse. It's hypothetically possible that you aren't achieving that due to a calibration issue.

 

Unfortunately, the turbine lag is something that is basically hard coded into FSX. We really have no way of getting around that. The faster we make the throttle response, the less stable the engines become. We decided to compromise and give you a stable response with a bit less lag than a normal turboprop in FSX would have.

 

As for the fluctuations at flight idle, I can't come up with a solution to that. I can't even think of what the root cause might be.

 

 

I'll keep at it.

 

Joe

[twharrell 38]

Joe,

 

I'll shoot a short video and send it to you so you can see it firsthand. If you don't mind, PM me your email. No rush, by the way.

 

Todd

[twharrell 38]

Joe,

 

I figured out the issue.  I use the King Air TQ, so obviously the prop levers are not used. What I didn't know is the prop levers were somehow affecting the power setting. I always keep the prop levers in the idle position when flying the C441. So, I decided to experiment and try the prop levers full forward. Sure enough, that was the issue. I then went inside the Elite config utility and was able to disable the prop levers for C441. Problem solved.

 

Todd