Propeller windmilling with engine off in strong wind

[Cpt_Piett 4,544]

Experienced this today in the Seneca at Innsbruck after parking and shutting down the engines. Props kept spinning quite fast. It was quite windy, 120° 20kt, gusting 33kt according to the METAR. Made for a challenging crosswind landing at rwy 26!

Should have taken a video. Anyone else experienced this? Do pilots do something to secure props at windy airports in RL?

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

Turbo props tend to windmill, piston engines not so much.

I am not sure, where I come from they only strap the props as a security anti-theft thing, if the do at all.  but in coastal more windy locations it might be more common.

[hangar 661]

1 hour ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Anyone else experienced this?

Yes I have...try to ignore it (I know its ridiculous as 20-30kt winds cant do this)...just a silly quirk of the msfs physics.

Edited May 11, 2021 by hangar

[fppilot 4,355]

1 hour ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

Turbo props tend to windmill, piston engines not so much.

But don't seem to match what he descibes.  Unless during a severe storm, gale, or hurricane.

Edited May 11, 2021 by fppilot

[jpe828 624]

I noticed this in a video of the feathered engine in flight. Totally inaccurate. In fact, I have feathered an engine in a Seneca V on purpose multiple times (training) and it doesn't move. 

[DavidP 1,408]

It would have to be a pretty strong wind to windmill a shutdown piston engine 🤣🤣

[WestAir 2,522]

I feel like it takes me maybe 5 - 7 lbs of force to turn the prop whenever I do my inspection of the blades. Any science wizard want to calculate the windspeed needed to achieve that amount of force on the airfoil?

[kaha 205]

The Top Rudder Solo is windmilling.

Karl

[Kassu62 30]

Motor glider Fournier RF-4 do not have start motor and in the air the motor is started using kind of slope start. Gentle dive and the propeller start moving at speed 150 km/h. I have used same method with Grob-109b just for fun. When you stop the motor in the air, the propeller will continue windmill at much lower air speed, let's say about 50-60 km/h?

[meerkat 86]

11 hours ago, kaha said:

The Top Rudder Solo is windmilling.

Karl

The aircraft might have a centrifugal clutch which decouples the prop from the engine when it's not running.

[robert young 2,897]

You should all know that it is almost impossible to stop the windmilling in FS 2020 without upsetting a whole lot of other more important prop parameters. I've no doubt several 3rd party developers have spent many hours of tweaking to get rid of it. You can almost stop it, but then you get violently twitching props that look demented. Don't blame the 3rd party devs. They are dealing with a core system which has multiple unsolvable aspects to it. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

Sounds like it needs a bug feature to vote on.

[Mace 1,902]

21 hours ago, kaha said:

The Top Rudder Solo is windmilling.

Karl

Maybe it has very low compression and very little weight holding back that prop?

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

2 hours ago, Mace said:

Maybe it has very low compression and very little weight holding back that prop?

The Top Solo has a clutch that disconnects the Propeller whenever the throttle is retarded.

[in2tech 588]

On 5/10/2021 at 7:59 PM, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

I am not sure, where I come from they only strap the props as a security anti-theft thing, if the do at all.

Wait, people steal propellers? Did I read that right? So next time ( like I have seen one before ) I see a guy dressed in Black next to a GA plane, call the police 🙂

For some reason this made me laugh out loud! I'm picturing a guy walking down the street with a big ole prop 🙂 Wait for it, there will be a video or article next!

Of course a guy did steal a tank one time. So anything is possible 🙂