pmdg dc-6 doesn't speed up in cruise

[737_800 434]

Hi,

I am flying with the AFE and am at cruise but the aircraft doesn't speed up, it stuck at 271 kt. GS. I deactivated AFE Cruise Mode and pushed the throttle full forward.

[Dominique_K 10,138]

When leveling off, keep the climb setting to accelerate then when the cruise speed is reached, set the cruise setting.

[737_800 434]

I have already activated the cruise setting, how can I reverse that so I can still accelerate.

[Dominique_K 10,138]

271 GS is not bad. If I wanted a little more speed I would put the aircraft on a descent 

[Bobsk8 12,702]

GS can depend on the winds at your flight level, direction and speed. A GS of 270 knots sounds pretty normal to me unless you have a very strong tail  wind.  Common airspeed in MPH is 310. That is exactly 271 Knots. 

Edited July 21, 2021 by Bobsk8

[737_800 434]

1 minute ago, Bobsk8 said:

GS can depend on the winds at your flight level, direction and speed. A GS of 270 knots sounds pretty normal to me unless you have a very strong tail  wind. 

Sorry I meant it's like 205knots Indicated Air Speed. I would like to fly with 280-300kn to save some time.Maybe I need to decend to speed up a bit, right now at FL180.

[Bobsk8 12,702]

6 minutes ago, 737_800 said:

Sorry I meant it's like 205knots Indicated Air Speed. I would like to fly with 280-300kn to save some time.Maybe I need to decend to speed up a bit, right now at FL180.

When I climb to cruising altitude, I leave climb power on for about 10 miles, to allow aircraft to accelerate, before switching to cruise power. 

[Tektolnes 184]

I also go a few hundred feet above my cruise altitude and then put it into a 100-200fpm descent while on climb power just to help it build up speed a bit quicker before switching over to cruise power. I think Allied bombers during WW2 did something similar.

[Dominique_K 10,138]

14 minutes ago, Tektolnes said:

I also go a few hundred feet above my cruise altitude and then put it into a 100-200fpm descent while on climb power just to help it build up speed a bit quicker before switching over to cruise power. I think Allied bombers during WW2 did something similar.

I had forgotten about this. Thanks for the reminder.

[CaptainNick 575]

Your cruise sounds about right for what it should do on average. Have to remember cruise isn’t max performance. If you want faster, make sure your super chargers are in high, and push the mp up. Of course you are going to chew through gas that way though.

Edited July 21, 2021 by CaptainNick

[Haddock69 16]

52 minutes ago, CaptainNick said:

make sure your super chargers are in high

My bet is on this one. IIRC the AFE doesn't switch the superchargers to high gear when passing 16 000 ft ; did you do it ?

[Chock 17,769]

I dunno if the AFE uses the superchargers, so this might be something to do with it. Personally I do all that malarkey myself and if you get the thing up high enough, you can get it right up near Vne no problem, especially in a slight descent.

[Bobsk8 12,702]

1 hour ago, Haddock69 said:

My bet is on this one. IIRC the AFE doesn't switch the superchargers to high gear when passing 16 000 ft ; did you do it ?

The AFE does not switch superchargers on, pilots job.

 

[flyinion 280]

44 minutes ago, Chock said:

I dunno if the AFE uses the superchargers, so this might be something to do with it. Personally I do all that malarkey myself and if you get the thing up high enough, you can get it right up near Vne no problem, especially in a slight descent.

It won't turn them from low (default setting) to high, but according to PMDG's video on the superchargers the AFE will swap them from High to Low at the appropriate time during the descent phase.

[JRBarrett 3,070]

6 hours ago, 737_800 said:

Sorry I meant it's like 205knots Indicated Air Speed. I would like to fly with 280-300kn to save some time.Maybe I need to decend to speed up a bit, right now at FL180.

No DC-6 will ever do 280 knots indicated airspeed at FL180 / that would be a true airspeed of almost 380 knots at that altitude. 205 IAS at FL180 is 280 knots TAS, which is well within the DC-6 performance envelope.

Edited July 21, 2021 by JRBarrett