Tube and Rag

I bought this airplane as a Christmas present for myself; very much looking forward to it as I really enjoyed the original JF 146. Since then, I've spent too much time flying it, and offer the following observations: I've been trying to learn to use the TMS, and find it useful on takeoff. Otherwise, it seems to cause the throttle inputs from the keyboard to sometimes get wonky (sorry, I don't have a better description of the problem). Making lots of throttle changes in sync mode has twice caused the master engine to get waaay out of sync! The FMS is as useful as a bucket of warm spit. I'd rather the airplane either had no FMS at all, or one that actually had more realistic functionality (and an EFIS to go with it). If there's one thing that really needs fixing, I submit the autopilot. Here are its known faults: From level flight in altitude hold, with the GS armed, the AP will often make a short climb to join the GS. When climbing or descending at lower rates, example 700 fpm, toward a selected altitude, the capture logic will change to a 1500 fpm rate with about 500' to go. No direct way to get from altitude hold to pitch mode. IAS and VS modes are sketchy at best, generally sloppy enough to be useless. That's enough for now. More reports as I progress....

You could try using just 50% or so power until you get the tail off the ground, then apply takeoff power.

ZFW is a limit, a fixed value. It is the max weight allowed after adding the empty weight and the payload.

If you really want to do this as a complete non-radar approach, the simplest way is to fly to the VOR and do a right teardrop turn in the holding pattern airspace to reverse course, then fly outbound on the 177R past DISNY and do the procedure turn. And keep saying to yourself, "Turn, time, twist...."

Sorry, there is no such thing. It's very high on my wishlist.

"Have numbers" is used--in the U.S.--at tower-controlled airports, and is shorthand for the pilot telling the controller he has the runway, wind, and altimeter setting, thus keeping the controller from having to repeat these things. It is correct, approved phraseology. You don't have to take my word for it: http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/PCG/H.HTM

It slows down too easily, but otherwise I believe the CS Herk does just fine. What did you want it to do that it couldn't?

R is for radial, as in the Seattle VOR 168 degree radial, Yes, when you take off, you will have to initially fly a heading that takes you to the radial. So if you did take off on runway 16R (R for right, in this case), the VOR is to your left, so you could just pick up a 160 degree heading until the OBS centered on the 168R. When the needle does center, turn to heading 168 degrees. For now, your course (the 168R), and your heading (168 degrees) are the same. In the easy FSX weather schemes, there is a wind aloft from the west. This will slowly move the airplane left of course, and the needle will deflect to the right. When you notice it doing so, turn 5 degrees towards the needle (173 degree heading). When the needle centers again, take out some--but not all--of that 5-degree correction; try turning left 3 degrees to a heading of 170. Now your course is 168, but your heading (170) is corrected for wind. Repeat this process as often as necessary to keep the needle centered. You'll quickly learn how to "bracket" wind corrections. Ask all the questions you need, most of the folks here are happy to help, If you use the Skyvector flightplanner, use your cruising speed.

Go to www.skyvector.com - at the top of the page, click on the globe labeled "charts" - next click on "Enroute Lo" - next click on the box over Seattle, this is Enroute Low chart L-1. This chart actually provides many of the answers you seek, but it will take you some time to learn to interpret it. CIDUG is located by the intersection of the SEA168R and the TCM134R. So you would put TCM (109.6) in VOR2, and dial the second OBS to 134 degrees. As you're flying along V495 (with the needle centered, of course), when the VOR2 needle centers, you're at CIDUG. The next intersection on V495, ADLER, can be located as the SEA168R at 37 DME, or alternately by crossing the OLM095R. The next thing on V495 is a changeover point (COP), located 82 miles from SEA and 20 miles from BTG. This is the point you'll stop navigating outbound on the SEA168R, and start navigating inbound on the BTG345R. COPs aren't typical. Usually on a straight airway, you changeover navigation halfway between VORs. If you're keeping a navlog, you are hopelessly hooked! Yes, you have to factor some climbing time into your planning. You could compute this down to something quite precise, or maybe just flightplan the first leg at 75 knots instead of 115.

Sounds like there are discontinuities in the FMS flightplan. When you load the approach, the waypoints don't insert themselves, you have to help them.

At FL350, you would be referring to Mach no., not IAS. So if you're cruising at, say, .78, maintain that speed while descending. Typically, you aim for a 300 ft. per mile descent, so your vertical speed needs to be groundspeed x 5 (400 kts. GS x 5 = 2000 fpm). As you pass through about FL270, look for that .78 Mach to equal 280 KIAS (or any number you choose to use, but these days most economy descents are done at about 280 kts.), and you can maintain 280 KIAS all the way until it's time to leave 10,000 ft. Try this for an exercise: be in cruise at FL350 direct to a fix that's 100 miles away; your goal is cross that fix at 10,000 and 250 KIAS. You need to lose 25,000 ft. (rule of thumb, 3 miles per 1000), so that's 75 miles, plus give it another 10 miles as a fudge factor and room to slow from 280 to 250, so start descent 85 miles from the fix. Use whatever power setting it takes to maintain desired airspeed and vertical speed.

When hovering, a helicopter pilot is constantly making minute pitch and roll adjustments to maintain position. Yaw is in there too, but no so much unless it's windy. It's not that the fuselage stays level, but rather the the control inputs are so small (if the pilot is doing his job!) that you won't notice. Program your joystick to do pitch and roll in its X and Y axes. Put yaw control somewhere else.

What percent engine RPMs are you seeing?

To descend at 300 ft. per NM, the required rate of descent is 5 x groundspeed.

You're right, Jon. I should have said FADEC, not autothrottles.

Sounds like a interaction problem with the ERJs autothrottles; be sure to switch 'em off or get out of the takeoff setting.

I bought the Strike Flanker. I have spent several hours trying to figure out the autopilot and various nav systems, and haven't had much luck. I have not looked at the weapons systems or radar at all. It is a complicated aircraft and the manuals aren't much help, at least to me.

Stormy, Reading comprehension not your forte? Give it another try. Regards, B.

Seems like you're waiting too long to arm NAV/LOC on the autopilot; you don't need to wait until the needle is alive. Use a heading of 060 and arm the autopilot as soon as the 060 heading is established.

To the OP, the answer to your question is that nothing on a PC adequately simulates a moving real-life conventional-gear airplane. Have fun flying FSX or P3D, but nothing you do there comes remotely close to genuine tailwheel flying (or landing!).

I always thought that laptops were not the best for FSX due to the reduced size of their graphics hardware, not because of the CPU.

CLS offered a free Arrow through the usual retailers. I got mine at FSPilotshop.

Dragonmount, There must be more to it than this. If you're flying the Jetprop, you should be lifting off around 90 with half flaps, and the airplane simply won't accelerate that fast. If everything else with your software and hardware is correct, you'll have plenty of time to get the flaps up. The Jetprop isn't going to exceed Vmo in a moderate climb. Perhaps you're overspeeding the engine. Set the takeoff torque between 1100 and 1150.

Spin the knob once to get the characters alive and changing, then the keyboard works.

Don't hold your breath.