Bob BGAN005
Member
4 motors are better then 2
Posts: 52
|
Post by Bob BGAN005 on Aug 23, 2013 10:21:31 GMT -5
Thanks Ed but the problem is not the type of autopilot but getting it to turn on and stay on. The Pilot's A/C is payware and is set up different. It uses a hydraulic Sperry type autopilot that is older then the normal Sperry. It is controlled by 3 hydraulic valves below it on the panel. I cannot get other autopilots to stay "on" so they can work. I think something is different in the Pilot"s config or air file causing this, electrical maybe? I have tried but I do not have enough knowledge to find the problem.
Bob
|
|
Ed Burke
Member
Healthy living is fine, but it's having fun that keeps us going!
Posts: 433
|
Post by Ed Burke on Aug 24, 2013 1:46:41 GMT -5
Bob, if you wish you should be able to block out details of the original a/p in the panel file, eg:- gauge06=//B314KM!SPERRY_COMPASS, 1147,799,222,283 gauge07=//B314KM!SPERRY_HORIZON, 1369,799,225,283 yours will differ from this example of course. Put in the new a/p with the next consecutive number after "gauge". You will also need a heading indicator with a 'bug', "gauge01=Cessna!Heading_Indicator, " is a nice plain instrument and does the task very well. Have fun,
Ed
|
|
Bob BGAN005
Member
4 motors are better then 2
Posts: 52
|
Post by Bob BGAN005 on Aug 24, 2013 15:19:14 GMT -5
Ed, I get the big DUHHHHHH (picture me slapping myself on the forehead with the palm of my hand!)!!! I reloaded the Pilots aircraft to remove all I had done to it. With the original panel I replaced the Mike Stone A/C at cruising altitude. It took me about 1/2 hr to get the Pilots A/C to fly straight and level without the autopilot. Then about the same time with the autopilot. I saw vertical speeds of +- 2000 feet per min. but finally gained control and flew about 6 hrs. with no problem. I landed at Trincomalee and the plane handled almost as good as a DC-3 in the landing. I then decided to try the KMM panel again so I loaded it. I looked at the panel and saw the switch ( electrical) below the manifold pressure gage and above the autopilot. I have never had to turn it on in other panels but I noticed it was off. Turned it on and most everything works great. When I was flying the A/C with the original panel, I saw it did not need the heavy trim at slow speeds. I have just done the engine out flight and now I will go to Karachi. I will give you a better report on it's flying after I land.
Bob
|
|
|
Post by dhulick on Aug 24, 2013 22:03:20 GMT -5
Leg 6, Noumea to Gladstone. 4.9 hours. Overweight on take off, so a long slow climb to cruise alt. I think that will be the norm from here on out...
|
|
|
Post by dhulick on Aug 25, 2013 9:34:09 GMT -5
Leg 7, Gladstone to Darwin. 9 hours. Navigationally, this was a walk in the park. There are enough NDBs along the route that I flew from one to the next. I don't know how many were available in 1941, or how many of those were still active, due to the war, but I flew them any way. Looked for the Four Archers, but didn't see the, maybe I'll come back? Now on to Surabya, 1100 miles, 7+ hours.
|
|
Bob BGAN005
Member
4 motors are better then 2
Posts: 52
|
Post by Bob BGAN005 on Aug 26, 2013 10:21:33 GMT -5
Flight from Trincomalee to Karachi. Used the Pilot"s A/C with the KMM panel. Very good combination. I am running 3000 lbs. overload and the A/C is now tail heavy so the trim starts about +15 but the plane fly good at 112 to 115 KIAS. I have found the combination that I will fly the rest of the way. Next flight is to Bahrain. Since I do a cold start, I found out that the NO panel Avionics master switch has to be on also for the autopilot to work. I cannot use the HFADF on thes flights so I am using dead reckoning by my navigator (FSNavigator but not locked to it).
Bob
|
|
Ed Burke
Member
Healthy living is fine, but it's having fun that keeps us going!
Posts: 433
|
Post by Ed Burke on Aug 27, 2013 16:22:03 GMT -5
I'm now in Noumea after the Auckland stopover. The aircraft is behaving very well with some real predictability in the combinations of power and speed settings vs range.
|
|
|
Post by dhulick on Aug 29, 2013 7:18:17 GMT -5
Leg 8, Darwin to Surabaya. A little rain, a little cloud, a little clear, a little intercept by the RAF. Winds aloft were flukey the whole way, so trying to maintain any kind of constant ground speed was a challenge, and it shows in my fuel consumption. Burned just a bit less than half the available fuel on this run. Might get interesting on the next leg, Trincomalee is 2300 miles away...
|
|
|
Post by Allen Peterson on Aug 29, 2013 17:41:05 GMT -5
Hi All, I'm flying Stone's Dixie Clipper with Tom Goodrick's FDs and panel from 2008. Tom set it up for a 314A. I flew direct from NZAK to YGLA, and then to YPDN. I was a little concerned about the long overland flight so from YGLA I flew northerly along the coast almost to Mackay then turned to the bearing to YPDN. That way the mid part of the flight was near the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, just in case. Actually, is didn't make much difference because it didn't look there was many places to land any type of plane anyway. I'm on the way to WRSJ now. My wife got a mini IPAD and I inherited her Windows notebook. Now I can fly and post at the same time. Neat.
|
|
Ed Burke
Member
Healthy living is fine, but it's having fun that keeps us going!
Posts: 433
|
Post by Ed Burke on Aug 29, 2013 18:28:05 GMT -5
Lots of flat country out there Allen, landing would be a breeze but getting off again------?? I am now in Darwin after a smooth run from Gladstone at 11,000 feet. Adverse winds at first gradually came around to being friendly while there was just enough cloud to make the sky interesting. A good flight
|
|
Bob BGAN005
Member
4 motors are better then 2
Posts: 52
|
Post by Bob BGAN005 on Aug 29, 2013 21:55:29 GMT -5
I made the flight from Karachi to Bahrain with no problems. The A/C and panel combination seems to fly like the one in the book “An American Saga”. My time and fuel consumption seem about the same. At Bahrain I set up a flight to get altitude and set full overcast at 5000. After getting into the full overcast, I turned for and Khartoum landed there. There was no refueling at done at Khartoum. This probably a planned stop because having to fly around Arabian peninsula due to the Arabian denial of access. They probably landed there to keep everyone happy and not let the authorities know that they had cheated and crossed Arabia illegally. I took off after a few hours and flew to Leopoldville. Landed on the Congo river. I refueled with about 4,800 Gals of fuel. The book said he refueled with 5,100 gals. Not bad on my part. The next stop will be Natal in South America.
Bob
|
|
Ed Burke
Member
Healthy living is fine, but it's having fun that keeps us going!
Posts: 433
|
Post by Ed Burke on Sept 2, 2013 17:01:54 GMT -5
Darwin-Surabaya-Trincomalee went well with a degree of care to stay clear of the high ground in Indonesia. And what a wonderful harbour in Trincomalee, no problem finding a patch of sheltered water to operate from there. Fuelling up with a mixture of mogas and off to Karachi soon.
|
|
|
Post by Allen Peterson on Sept 2, 2013 18:25:19 GMT -5
Made it to Trincomalee OK but touched down a tad too hard and ruptured the left hydro-stabilizer. First time that has happened. So I had to fly an amphibian from the airport and land in the bay so I could switch to the Clipper and restart the flight. Off to Karachi and landed according to the book, no problem. Off to Bahrain.
|
|
Ed Burke
Member
Healthy living is fine, but it's having fun that keeps us going!
Posts: 433
|
Post by Ed Burke on Sept 4, 2013 6:56:49 GMT -5
Away we went for Karachi and we had barely reached our cruise level when number three began to run rough and the CHT was showing problems. Reluctantly we turned back for China Bay hoping that they know something about Cyclone GR-2600s there.
|
|
Bob BGAN005
Member
4 motors are better then 2
Posts: 52
|
Post by Bob BGAN005 on Sept 4, 2013 10:33:46 GMT -5
Well everyone, I have finished. I am setting at LaGuardia at the Marine Air terminal on the South West corner of the airport. I am using LaGuardia 1959 scenery. It has the terminal and docks. After landing in Natal, I continued on with no problems. I used the timing in the book and completed the flights. I am curious why they did not cross over to the Pacific in Central America and go back to the LA area. They may have had orders to stay on the East Coast because the A/C was needed more for the European war. There is another book on the flight. Some day I may get it to see what it says. Now I will go fly my C-97 and relax for a while.
Good flying and it was fun!
Bob
|
|