Malibu / Navajo magneto's .............u/s

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day all,This is a spin off from another thread. I just thought that it deserves a more prominent position in the listings, maybe catch more peoples attention.Is it just me (fully patched, Win 98 SE) or can someone confirm that the magneto switches for Tri's Sahara (Malibu) and Kodiak (Navajo) serve absolutely no function whatsoever. ( magneto's permanently live :-eek !!). - some maintenance guy has neglected to connect the wires to the switches :-)Hopefully thats all thats wrong within Fly! II also. Could someone in the Know please take a look at this.Cheers,Roger

[Leen3131cs 107]

Hi Roger,Saying the magneto switches are not active when engines are startedis not correct.BUT they do not work correct.All these planes have two sparkplugs per cylinder connected to two magnetos.So when one magneto fails the engine is still running on one sparkplug per cylinder.Switching off ONE magneto should result in a little worse combustion and a drop of rpm of the engine the magneto is assigned to.This only works OK in the Cessna 172.In the Navajo and the Malibu an engines is killed by just switching of ONE magneto per engine.So when someone states FLYII! to work improper on this ,he`s right.RegardsLeen

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Leen,>Saying the magneto switches are not active when engines are>started is not correct.>>BUT they do not work correct.>>All these planes have two sparkplugs per cylinder connected to>two magnetos.>So when one magneto fails the engine is still running on one>sparkplug per cylinder.>>Switching off ONE magneto should result in a little worse>combustion and a drop of rpm of the engine the magneto is>assigned to.Thanks for the lesson on magneto's Leen but I fear that we have a communication problem. :-)>>This only works OK in the Cessna 172.ONLY..ONLY on the Cessna 172 ????On my installation of Fly! II this is NOT a true statement. See the attached pic , Screenshots of me doing a magneto drop check @2000 rpm. As you can see there is a small drop in rpm as each magneto is selected individually. Sure doesn't look like a Cessna 172 to me :-lolOn my computer the magnetos work perfectly on quite a few (not all) aircraft.>In the Navajo and the Malibu an engines is killed by just>switching of ONE magneto per engine.Yes these two aircraft and the Seneca are the three (probably 4 if you include the Dragonfly) aircraft that the magnetos do not work correctly.BUT. On my setup the Seneca is the ONLY aircraft where the engine stops if only one magneto is selected.With both the Malibu and the Navajo the engines will start and run with all magnetos OFF >So when someone states FLYII! to work improper on this ,he`s>right.Not if he's sitting where I sit! :-lolAnd that's the whole point of my thread. Why I'm I getting different results to others?I'll check my data and world folders to make sure that there is nothing hanging around that may be causing my differences. I am suspecting it's an operating system feature but until someone else with Win 98SE replies that's only a theory.Cheers,Roger

[Muklum 28]

Hi Roger and Leen,In my case the situation is slightly more complicated than that. In fact, I find that the Navajo and the Malibu can behave as BOTH of you describe.If I begin with the C172 with the engine off and switch to either of the other two, the behaviour is as follows:Malibu: either switching mag off kills the engineNavajo: either left mag switch off, or BOTH left mag switches off, gives a drop in rpm; either right mag switch off kills both engines.If I start the engine in the C172 the change to one of the others, or if the Navajo or the Malibu is the sim startup aircraft, the behaviour is different: in both cases I get the expected rpm drop if I switch off any mag, but in both cases the engine (or engines) will continue to run with all mags off.The C172 mag settings are on the starter switch, so it is no surprise that they work correctly every time. However, I think that some information is being carried over from the Cessna to the other two aircraft and causing them to misbehave - at least, that's the only explanation I can see.Regards,Dugald

[Leen3131cs 107]

Hi guys,In reaction to Rogers first post about this issue, I simply tested a few aircrafts and came to the conclusion as I stated above.I did not test all planes as I remembered having this magnetoswitch problem seen before.Strange enough it has something to do with the initial airplane setup.( very hard to make sure )It`s not always the same.One thing we can agree about , it isn`t always OK.RegardsLeen

[Guest Fly II Pilot]

Gents,I've got to try it, but maybe the problem can be solved by changing the name of the unique identifiers for the different aircraft.It is possible that Fly! is retaining certain settings of the previous aircraft upon switching. I'll make some tests with the Flyhawk and the Malibu (since they're both single engines).Will let you know how it goes...Regards,http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/banneraa.jpg

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Dugald,Thanks for the input. You have just saved my sanity :-)I was starting to wonder what the hell was up with my installation of Fly! II.>If I start the engine in the C172 the change to one of the>others, or if the Navajo or the Malibu is the sim startup>aircraft, the behaviour is different: in both cases I get the>expected rpm drop if I switch off any mag, but in both cases>the engine (or engines) will continue to run with all mags>off. I have set up Fly! II to have the Cessna as default startup aircraft with engines running. Then if I subsequently switch to the Malibu or the Kodiak I can do correct mag drop checks. Sure the engines will continue to run if both mags are OFF but as a pilot would not normally do this it's not a problem. The engine is normally shut down by selecting lean cut off with the mixture lever.Thanks for getting me back on the right track.Cheers,Roger

[Guest Fly II Pilot]

Gents,I have bad news and good news:- The bad news is that the 'igni' tag doesn't seem to be working properly. I tried in all imaginable ways and the engine just reports that ignition=1 if one or both magnetos are selected and 0 if a mageneto is turned off. It should report 1 if right magneto is ON, 2 if left magneto is ON and 3 if both magnetos are ON.- The good news is that the Flyhawk's rotary magneto/starter switch does work and it can be manipulated externally, so I've added the logic. What's even better is that now the Malibu PERFORMS better because it was running on a single magneto!!!You can download the fix for the Malibu here:http://www.f2fdesign.com/downloads/TRI1.zipPlace the TRI1.AMP file in your world folder, the MALI10.PNL in your data folder, and make sure that you have searchPodFilesFirst=0 in your systemfly.ini file.See if it works in your installation. If it does then I can easily fix the Navajo and any other piston aircraft that doesn't already use the rotary switch.Enjoy!http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/banneraa.jpg

[Muklum 28]

Hi Alejandro,Thanks for the fix. I now find that in every situation I've tried (with regard to previously selected aircraft), the Malibu works correctly in the magneto test, and that the engine stops if both mags are switched off.However, when I switch from the Cessna to the Malibu, one of the Malibu's magneto switches (the one on the left) is always in the "off" position and the other is in the "on" position; this happens whether the Cessna's engine is running or switched off at the time of the change of aircraft. If I exit the sim with the Malibu's engine shut down (and both mag switches off) then restart Fly!2, one of the mag switches is off and the other is on. I don't normally use engine autostart, but as a test, I tried several autostarts with "accurate engine start" with the magneto switches in various settings, and although the correct action is indicated in words, the positions of the mag switches always stay as they were before the engine startup sequence (so if both mag switches are at "off" before the autostart, the engine will fail to start).You seem to enjoy problems like these, so I hope this feedback gives you an opportunity for more "fun"!Regards,Dugald

[Guest Fly II Pilot]

Dugald,I also noticed that problem with the switch position but the switch works correctly (i.e., if you switch it off it does what it's supposed to do. I think I know how to fix that...As far as the autostart is concerned, I need to change the CKL (checklist) file but I haven't gotten that far yet. First I wanted to make sure that the switches and logic are working correctly.Off to have some more "fun"... ;-)http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/banneraa.jpg

[Guest Fly II Pilot]

Dugald,Take a look at it now, I've added the checklist function and set the default position of both magnetos to OFF.http://www.f2fdesign.com/downloads/TRI1.zip.PNL goes in data.AMP and .CKL go in worldHope it works now...http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/banneraa.jpg

[Muklum 28]

Hi Alejandro,Many thanks. As far as I can see, it all works perfectly now in all situations (or at least in all situations that I can think of). We're very fortunate to have someone as knowledgeable as you contributing to this forum.Regards,Dugald

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Alex, Thanks for the fix. Your skill in working with the Fly! II systems files is amazing.Time for me to unpod the Malibu and put the fixes into the pod before I lose them.Many thanks,Cheers,Roger.

[RandallR 444]

>- The good news is that the Flyhawk's rotary magneto/starter>switch does work and it can be manipulated externally, so I've>added the logic. What's even better is that now the Malibu>PERFORMS better because it was running on a single magneto!!!This is great news! Now we know why the Malibu has been below spec in all modes of performance since Fly!II came out. Any chance this may also be the situation with the Navajo? It has also suffered performance issues to the point of not being that flyable.

[Guest Fly II Pilot]

Randy,ABSOLUTELY! The Navajo suffers the same problem, all the ignition reads with the current settings is =1 which means "Left (or Right-can't remember) Magneto Only", it needs a 3 to "understand" that both magnetos are on.Tonight I'll try to fix the Navajo and the Seneca... I can't think of any others...Take care,http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/banneraa.jpg