radios and auto pilot

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Nick - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Nick - A2A »

Okay, generally whenever you load a complex add-on Pete, FSX will need you to confirm that you wish to load any extra modules (*.dll files) which it uses. In the case of the A2A add-ons, these *.dll files are generally used by the A2A developers to program the avionics.

However, if the default FSX GPS is also 'dead' this may be a red herring. Can you confirm it's the default FSX GPS you're using and it's also completely dead.

Also, when you use the T-6 in the sim, do you load a default FSX aircraft like the Aircreation Trike or C172SP first, then switch to the T-6?

Not sure what else to suggest, except unplugging hardware as Lewis recommends. Would it be possible for you to post some screenshots showing the position of switches in the VC? Instructions on how to do so are here.

Thanks,
Nick
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Lewis - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Unplugging and getting back to basic t-6 + sim should be step 1 for troubleshooting. Without starting at step 1 its just wild guesses and stabs in the dark. And having been through that befor ein threads that last pages going back and forth only for the issue to be a simple one that should have been picked up at step 1-2 it can be frustrating all round.

thanks,
Lewis
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pmesmer
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by pmesmer »

I HAVE DISCONNECTED EVERYTHING. NO RADIOS, NO AUTO-PILOT, NO CONTROLS. OPERATED EVERYTHING WITH KEYBOARD AND MOUSE. STILL NO RADIOS, GPS OR AUTO-PILOT. TRYING TO FLY THIS THING WITH THE MOUSE AND KEYBOARD IS A REAL CHALLENGE. SORRY GUYS____ I THINK WE'RE OUT OF IDEAS. I APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME AND EFFORT TRYING TO HELP. I'M STILL AN A2A FAN. LOVE MY P-47 AND P-51. THEY ARE MY FAVORITES. I'M GOING TO RETIRE THE T-6 TO THE BACK OF MY HANGAR. I HAVE ANOTHER T-6 MADE BY ANOTHER COMPANY THAT PERFORMS VERY WELL. I'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE FORUM. BY THE WAY____WHOEVER WROTE THE AIRCRAFT MANUAL FOR THE T-6 HAS MADE A MISTAKE.
ON CROSSWIND APPROACHES AND LANDINGS, HE RECOMMENDS CROSS CONTROLLING. (LINING THE NOSE UP WITH THE RUNWAY, DROPPING THE WING AND USING OPPOSITE RUDDER TO STAY LINED UP). THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. ONE SHOULD NEVER FLY AN APPROACH UNCOORDINATED. CRAB INTO THE WIND AND FLY COORDINATED. AS YOU CROSS OVER THE THRESHOLD DROP THE WING INTO THE WIND AND USE OPPOSITE RUDDER TO STAY LINED UP. TOUCH DOWN ON ONE MAIN GEAR AND AS THE SPEED DECREASES, LOWER THE OTHER GEAR TO THE RUNWAY ALWAYS KEEPING THE AILERON INTO THE WIND. ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT LIKE THE 727 WITH A SWEPT WING, THIS IS CRITICAL. IF YOU ARE FLYING UNCOORDINATED, THE TRAILING WING WILL BE BLANKETED BY THE LONG NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING THE TRAILING WING TO STALL. THE AIRPLANE WILL ROLL AND THERE IS NO RECOVERY. HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL TO ALL YOU SIMMERS. PETE
Last edited by pmesmer on 19 Jun 2016, 13:26, edited 2 times in total.

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Lewis - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Ok great. So do they not power on, or is nothing showing?

Whats the maintenance hanger look like?

Which GPS?

thanks,
Lewis
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pmesmer
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by pmesmer »

THEY SHOW ON THE PANEL BUT DO NOT OPERATE. WHEN I CLICK ON THE GPS, IT SHOWS ON THE SCREEN BUT IS DEAD. I HAVE A LITTLE OVER 3 HOURS ON THE BIRD AND THE MAINTENANCE HANGAR SAYS THE AIRPLANE IS IN GREAT SHAPE

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Nick - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Nick - A2A »

Pete,

There must be something which is preventing the avionics master from coming on as I believe that's the the only switch which would kill all three systems you mention whilst leaving other stuff working.

Have you tried cycling the avionics switch or trying the auto-start option in the shift + 3 menu?

If that doesn't work, I'd recommend you try deleting the contents of this folder: My Documents\A2A\FSX\T6.

This will cause you to lose your accrued hours, so you may wish to make a back up, but it may resolve the issue if the log.dat file has been corrupted somehow.

Cheers,
Nick
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pmesmer
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by pmesmer »

OKAY NICK____ I FLEW THE BIRD AGAIN. THIS TIME I CYCLED THE AVIONICS SWITCH ON AND OFF. THE AUTO-PILOT LIGHT ON THE PANEL BEGAN FLASHING INDICATING IT WAS TURNING ON AND OFF BUT WOULD NOT STAY ON. SO THE AVIONICS SWITCH DOES SEEM TO BE THE CULPRIT BUT HOW DO WE FIX IT? PETE :cry:

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Nick - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Nick - A2A »

Good, there's life in the system somewhere Pete! I think that proves that the T6.dll is indeed loaded successfully. :)

Leaving the autopilot aside for a while, let's get back to the radios. Have you made sure the radio itself is switched on? I mean turning the switch on the bottom left of the KX 155 itself? Forgive me for the basic question as you've real life experience with the T-6, but this is something that seems to catch out a lot of people used to default FSX radio behaviour.

The flashing AP 'ALT' light is part of the initialisation process, and quite normal. You should see some red characters on the AP unit itself though after it stops. Either "---" or "OFF" depending on whether the GPS is active.

Thanks,
Nick
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pmesmer
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by pmesmer »

HOORAY!!!!! THE RADIOS WORK. YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE SWITCH ON THE RADIO. I HAD TO USE THE + BUTTON TO BRING THE RADIO UP CLOSE SO I COULD SEE IT. DUUUHHH. NOTHING SO BASIC AS TURNING IT ON! SHOT 2 ILS APPROACHES AT MACARTHUR R/W 6. I ASSUMED IT WASN''T WORKING BECAUSE I COULD NOT CONTROL IT WITH MY SAITEK RADIO. (STILL CAN'T). HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO FIX THAT. STILL NO GPS OR AUTO-PILOT. YOU SAY I SHOULD SEE SOME FLASHING LIGHTS ON THE AUTO-PILOT BUT WHERE IS IT? I DON'T SEE IT ANYWHERE ON THE PANEL.

pmesmer
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by pmesmer »

FINALLY GOT THE AUTO-PILOT TO WORK BUT IT LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED.

ONLY ISSUE LEFT NOW IS THE GPS. THAT IS DEAD. :)

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Lewis - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Lewis - A2A »

the AP is a pretty simple though effective system modeled directly over a couple used in real T-6's.

For the GPS, which GPS is it exactly you are using?

Is it powered on? If using the mobile one are the batteries charged?

thanks,
Lewis
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Nick - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Nick - A2A »

Aha! Glad we got there in the end Pete. The autopilot simulated a pretty basic retrofitted unit (you'll have to control pitch trim yourself) but should be easy enough to use if you have a read of the relevant section in the manual.

As Lewis says, let us know which GPS you're trying to use and remember that the default FSX GNS 400 also has to be powered-on with the small switch at upper left. Batteries in the GNS 295 can be replaced via the shift 3 menu.

Regards,
Nick
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pmesmer
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by pmesmer »

OKAY _____NO SWITCH ON THE GPS 235 BUT SWITCH ON THE GPS 400 ACTIVATES BOTH OF THEM. EVERYTHING WORKS NOW. THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP. PETE :P :P :P

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Nick - A2A
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Nick - A2A »

You're welcome Pete - good to hear you're sorted. :)

Nick
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Great Ozzie
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Re: radios and auto pilot

Post by Great Ozzie »

pmesmer wrote:BY THE WAY____WHOEVER WROTE THE AIRCRAFT MANUAL FOR THE T-6 HAS MADE A MISTAKE.
ON CROSSWIND APPROACHES AND LANDINGS, HE RECOMMENDS CROSS CONTROLLING. (LINING THE NOSE UP WITH THE RUNWAY, DROPPING THE WING AND USING OPPOSITE RUDDER TO STAY LINED UP). THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
No, actually Pete, it is not. It is completely safe when done correctly. By the way, the "author" that recommends this cross-controlling is the USAF... that section comes right out of the USAF Flight Handbook for Series T-6G Aircraft (AN 01-60FFA 30June52, rev 25Aug53).
pmesmer wrote:ONE SHOULD NEVER FLY AN APPROACH UNCOORDINATED. CRAB INTO THE WIND AND FLY COORDINATED. AS YOU CROSS OVER THE THRESHOLD DROP THE WING INTO THE WIND AND USE OPPOSITE RUDDER TO STAY LINED UP. TOUCH DOWN ON ONE MAIN GEAR AND AS THE SPEED DECREASES, LOWER THE OTHER GEAR TO THE RUNWAY ALWAYS KEEPING THE AILERON INTO THE WIND. ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT LIKE THE 727 WITH A SWEPT WING, THIS IS CRITICAL. IF YOU ARE FLYING UNCOORDINATED, THE TRAILING WING WILL BE BLANKETED BY THE LONG NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING THE TRAILING WING TO STALL. THE AIRPLANE WILL ROLL AND THERE IS NO RECOVERY. HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL TO ALL YOU SIMMERS. PETE
The B727 aside...

You might be describing a top-rudder stall, but you have to get abusive with the rudder. Or you are confusing "cross-controlling" with respect to the diabolical Skid. If you are trying to tighten a turn e.g. from Base to Final with Rudder - yes that is bad news. Bill Kershner covers this in his The Student Pilot's Flight Manual. And from that - abusing the controls & entering a spin from such a low altitude - recovery is unlikely... especially given one is not expecting nor realizing the peril they are placing themselves in. In that case tho, it's the inside wing that stalls.

You can mash the rudder pedal and use opposite aileron to slip down and/or compensate for a crosswind. It's a common technique - one that I learned as a Student Pilot, and used to when I taught my own students.

-Rob
Rob Osborne
Flight Instructor - CFI, CFII, MEI, MEII
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