Hi all. I did a search and didn't find anything on this specific issue. I know the wing tanks are supposed to drain to the feeder tanks once the feeders get to 600lbs, but that didn't happen in last night's flight. The L/R feeder tanks got all the way to 0 when there was 1700 lbs in each wing tank. I ended up landing with about 50lbs left in the center tank, and the wing tanks still full.

Any idea what I might have done (or didn't do) that caused this problem?

 

"Each wing tank has a XFER PUMP transfer pump which aids in (speeds up) the transfer of fuel to its feeder tank whenever the fuel in the feeder tank drops below 600lb". So it sounds like you should of used the XFER pump when the feeder tank started getting low? I'm just leaning the fuel system now myself.

Cheers

Martin

Yes, the XFR pumps should be on. I put them on after engine start and leave them on. Perhaps counter intuitive, but note the XFR pumps are ON when the XFR lights are OFF -- the XFR light on is a warning that the pump is off.

My understanding is that in the real Falcon50, the main tanks are pressurized higher then the feeder tanks, so even if an XFR pump should fail fuel will flow (although at a reduced rate) from the main tanks to the feeders when the feeders drop below 600lbs of fuel. I don't think this XFR pump 'fail-safe' feature is modeled in the FSW Falcon, and if the XFR pump is off, no fuel will flow through it. I will try to double check on this.

Jim Barrett is the expert on how this all works in the real a/c. Hopefully he will correct any of my misconceptions.

Al

Edited April 4, 20197 yr by ark

I tried the XFR pump switches in both positions. After the L/R feeder tanks were empty, I noticed that when switching XFR from off to on the feeder tank readout (in the popup tank monitor) briefly read something like 375 pounds each and then went back to 0 after a few milliseconds.

I also tried cycling the boost pumps just for fun. I tried all iterations of XFR and boost pump switches, but never got the feeder tanks to fill. I ended up opening all the crossfeeds in the hopes that the center tank would feed the outboard engines, which worked until I landed (though I'm not sure if it should have worked). All three engines shut down upon applying reverse thrust, even though the center feeder still had 205lb in it, but I suspect that's because I had royally jacked up the fuel panel setting trying to get the wing tanks to feed.

 

Incidentally I've noticed that all three engines spool up when reverse thrust is applied even though only the center has a reverser. Not sure what that's about.

 

 

26 minutes ago, eslader said:

I tried the XFR pump switches in both positions. After the L/R feeder tanks were empty, I noticed that when switching XFR from off to on the feeder tank readout (in the popup tank monitor) briefly read something like 375 pounds each and then went back to 0 after a few milliseconds.

I also tried cycling the boost pumps just for fun. I tried all iterations of XFR and boost pump switches, but never got the feeder tanks to fill. I ended up opening all the crossfeeds in the hopes that the center tank would feed the outboard engines, which worked until I landed (though I'm not sure if it should have worked). All three engines shut down upon applying reverse thrust, even though the center feeder still had 205lb in it, but I suspect that's because I had royally jacked up the fuel panel setting trying to get the wing tanks to feed.

 

Incidentally I've noticed that all three engines spool up when reverse thrust is applied even though only the center has a reverser. Not sure what that's about.

 

 

When did you start having this fuel problem? Where things working correctly at one point and then you did something, like maybe updated to a new version of the Falcon, or ......?   

What sim are you using?

Your problem could be from a bad install, or you need to change your default aircraft that is loaded before you switch to the Falcon. A number of folks, me included, have found that what you use for the default a/c (before the Falcon is loaded) often solves a 'weird' problem with the Falcon 50 -- must have something to do with how things are initialized. If you are using P3Dv4 suggest you try using the F-35 as the first loaded default a/c. An easy thing to try.

Regarding the Reverser on engine 2. You cannot use the standard FSX or P3D control for this or as you have found out all 3 engines will spool up. If you look on page 8 of the latest FSW Falcon50 manual under key assignments, you will see G1000_PFD_SOFTKEY11 has been set up to activate the reverser for engine 2. So try assigning the key or button you are using to activate the reverser to this softkey.

Al

 

Edited April 4, 20197 yr by ark

Last night was the first time I had this problem, but it was also the first time I ever flew this plane for anything more than a quick hop around the pattern. I bought it several months ago at the pre-release price and then put it away until it was farther along, so I can't tell you if it was doing it under the previous version or not. I'm using the most recent version now.

It's on P3dV4. The default aircraft is an addon - maybe that's indeed my problem. I'll try the F-35 instead.

Good to know about the reverser. Thanks!

 

OK, tried starting with the F35. Still having the fuel problem, but now the autopilot buttons won't light up. 😕

Grabbed a screenshot:

https://imgur.com/a/Un5FwC7

 

 

53 minutes ago, eslader said:

OK, tried starting with the F35. Still having the fuel problem, but now the autopilot buttons won't light up. 😕

Grabbed a screenshot:

https://imgur.com/a/Un5FwC7

 

 

Hmm... seems like a bad install may be a reasonable possibility.  So at this point if I had this situation I would uninstall the Falcon50 using the Control Panel Programs and Features (assuming Win10). I would then go to the SimObjects location where the Falcon had been installed and delete any folders or files that survived the uninstall process. I would then reinstall the Falcon50, use a sim default a/c like the F-35 as my first loaded a/c, and see how it goes.

Also note you need the latest versions of the GTN750 and Rex WX Radar if you are using those addons. However, the initial install will use the FSW default GTN 530 GPS which will not cause any problems. Once things are working OK you can use the Falcon50 Management Tool to switch to a different GPS if you own one. The Management Tool is located inside a folder that after the install should be on your desktop called Flysimware Falcon 50 Info.

Don't know what else to suggest at this point.

Al

Did the reinstall and everything's working! I'm glad that was it - it means I didn't screw up. 😉 Thanks very much for the help.

 

2 minutes ago, eslader said:

Did the reinstall and everything's working!

Ah, glad to hear that!!     😃

Al