WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

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LimaPapa
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WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by LimaPapa »

Hi A2A, firstly thanks for some incredible work and producing some amazing Sim aircraft. I 'am returning to FlightSim after quite a few years absence and am running FSX on Windows10. I recently purchased your gorgeous wop3 P-51 Military + accusim, via JustFlight, and was just wondering if there are any known issues or conflicts with running the Sim on Windows10. Specifically I noticed over time that the model started to become unstable with such things as gauges not functioning correctly, runaway throttle with no input and occasionally crashing FSX altogether. I can find no specific mention of issues across other Forums but perhaps some suggestion that the P-51 may not be wholly compatible with Windows10, on some machines dependant on setup,,, On discovering your community site I took advantage of your free P-40 to use as a comparator. All seemed to downloaded ok, and I also downloaded the accu-sim update, 02/04/2019. This seemed to compound my woes to some degree in that although able to start the P-40, I was unable to access the pilots notes, fuel, maintenance hangar etc, via the shift + keys, this was also the same with the P-51,,, and also back to occasionally crashing FSX. At this point I have uninstalled both P-40 and P-51 + accusim, whilst I have a bit of a headscratch! So just wondering if you are able to offer any advice or do I just accept that the sims may indeed not be fully compatible with my setup or Windows10? All other GA aircraft seem to be functioning fine. I notice that your AT-6 Texan is listed with JustFlight as Windows10 compatible so maybe I'll give that a go and still get my warbird fix, in the interim I'm back to the PA38 Tomahawk,lol,, Kind Regards, JohnC (LimaPapa)

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MkIV Hvd
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by MkIV Hvd »

Hello John,

Both P-51s, Military and Civilian as well as the P-40 and T-6 work fine with FSX on Win 10. I have two suggestions; first please ensure you're starting the sim with a default airplane as your saved flight, as saving a flight with the A2A airplanes is a known issue that will cause strange behavior. The other suggestion is to run FSX as Administrator.

If doing both those things doesn't fix your issue, someone a lot smarter than I will be along shortly, no doubt... :wink:

Cheers,
Rob
Rob Wilkinson
A2A: Civilian Mustang, T-6, Bonanza, Comanche, Cub, C182, Spitfire, P-40, Cherokee, P-51 - VATSIM P4 and some other stuff...

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Nick - A2A
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hi John - welcome to the A2A forums.

The Accu-Sim P-51 (and the P-40 for that matter) run fine under Windows 10. In fact this is the OS we recommend since MS ceased official support for Windows 7.

Rob's advice above is spot on. The only thing I'll add at this stage is that you should also run the Accu-Sim update for FSX which can be downloaded from this pinned topic.

Thanks,
Nick

P.S. I moved your topic into a more appropriate sub-forum to make it easier to keep track of.
A2A Simulations Inc.

LimaPapa
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by LimaPapa »

Hi Rob and Nick,

Firstly many thanks for responding to my post, your advice has proved really helpful and has fully allayed any concerns over A2A products and FSX Win10 compatibility,,,

To address your comments in order of your posts:

1. Hadn't even thought along the lines of the default flight setting,, I had been placing the P-51 at a favourite location, in a ground engine-off, pre-start configuration then using the ' ; ' key to save the flight. Then using the 'Load' option when starting FSX at the start screen to open the saved flight. So just so as I 'm clear in my own mind, once I've saved my preferred starting configuration using the ' ; ' key, I should also save this as my FSX default flight? and if this is the case do you suggest that this should be a general rule I should follow when saving any flights for immediate use.

2. This one was easy and I've now set FSX to run as Administrator.

3. Hmmm, loading the accu-sim update 02/04/2019 seemed to make things worse, first time around. Also been thinking on, if I downloaded the wop3_P51 from the UK provider Just Flight on 31 March 2020,,, should this already have the latest accu-sim update(s) embedded within it?

I may also have been the master of my own downfall to some degree as I had also been doing a few tweaks to the fsx config file based on favourite tweaks to graphics and fsx performance gained from various sim forums,,, though only applying those that seemed to be universally suggested. Though the overall effect may have been a wee bit too much too soon,, running before walking etc

I've now stripped back all the tweaks and re-installed the P-51 + accu-sim, fully taking on board points 1 and 2, and will start again from there, slowly building in any additional tweaks to fsx, one at a time,,, so as to better know which ones work, and which don't,,, and doing a few flight tests before tweaking anything else.

As with most things, it's only easy if you know the answer,,

Thanks again for your time, much appreciated and I'm a little more hopeful of fully enjoying the P-51,,, I particularly like the cold start sequence, counting through the six turns and lighting her up. A great authentic sound too,,

kind regards,

John C (LimaPapa)

LimaPapa
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by LimaPapa »

Hello Guys,

Still having a few problems and to summarise activity over the last 10 days or so:

1. re-installed p51 + accusim: No access to any 2d panels using 'shift keys 2-7', briefest flicker on the screen then panel disappears. Also unable to manual start the engine using the prescribed checklist, however the engine would start using 'Control + E'.

2. uninstall, then re-install: This time as per point 1, + also no sound now.

3. Attempted uninstall with error message, 'Could not open INSTALL.LOG file',,,, way out of my depth now

4. Reviewed p51 and p40 tech support threads + faq's. discovered similar ish threads and began attempting to search and manually delete all A2A related files. Also discovered your cardinal rule,,, do not attempt repeated uninstall / reinstall etc,, (oops)

5. Chatted through with Brother who is also Flight Simmer, though not FSX (DCS), and an IT manager by trade. Who suspected possible issues as I had not been installing using windows compatibility mode. On setting up my PC he had installed Macrium Reflect and suggested rolling back the C:\ drive prior to installing p51.

6. residual elements of p51 were removed using 'revo uninstaller' to get a clean sheet and get around the 'INSTALL.LOG file' issue.

7. Once completed, p51 + accusim was reinstalled using compatibility mode and FSX started. Eureka p51 back on line and all 2d panels visible.

8. Snapshot taken using 'Macrium reflect' to gain a default setting then the 'accusim update 02-04-19' was applied and seemed to go ok. p51 updated to v2.16.

9. Opened FSX and all still visible, also have sounds and 2d panels, however I cannot start the engine no matter how many variations of the checklist I apply and it doesn't sound like it is trying to start either. Flatten battery, however now have access to Maintenance (shift +7) panel to re-charge or controls (shift +3)to hook up the GPU,,, all to no avail?? However the auto start within the 2d panel @ Shift +3, or keyboard Control + E, will fire up the engine. Start procedure I'm using: 1-hyd pressure reset, 2-Battery switch to on (off if using gpu), 3-Generator switch to on, 4-prop control fully forward, 5-Throttle open 1", 6-Mixture control to ICO, 7-Oil & Coolant shutters to open, 8-supercharger switch to auto, 9-Fuel shut-off to on, 10-Fuel pump to on, check pressure 8-12 psi then to off, 11- fuel primer, 3-4 secs, 12-starter switch to start, count six blades then ignition (magnetos) to both. 13- if engine starts, mixture to run, 14-starter switch to off.

At this point I've stopped (to avoid getting back into previous mess) and thinking two options:

10. Hope A2A community can spot the issue and provide the necessary guidance or fix

11. or I roll back to the pre-p51 update (02-04-19) state using the saved image on Macrium reflect.

Unfortunately I did not try a manual engine start at point 7, above so cannot confirm if the issue was evident at that stage or not. However, going back to the initial thread, I did have a functioning p51, with manual engine start at that stage.

I've kinda summarised the events leading up to this point hope it makes sense and that you can pick out what might or might not be the cause and advise on possible next step(s).

If nothing else this has certainly proved to be a learning exercise.

Thanks in anticipation,

John (LimaPapa)

AviationAtWar
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by AviationAtWar »

If the electric pump isn't on when you prime then you're injecting little or no fuel with the primer switch. The engine is started with the mixture in idle cutoff so if there is no prime fuel then it won't start. Leave the electric pump on throughout startup and I think you'll be ok.

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Nick - A2A
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hello John - sorry I missed your post on the 17th.

On the matter of the saved flights, it's always best to keep a simple default FSX aircraft for the default flight, saved at your preferred starting location. Unfortunately, if you use a complex add-on (such as the P-51) for this default flight, there's more likelihood of initialisation errors when the flight is loaded.

From the post above, sounds like you're all updated successfully. However, to make sure you've got a brand new P-51, it's probably best if you manually delete the contents of the folder "Documents\A2A\FSX\P51" before you next launch FSX.

As a general rule, if the plane starts with the Ctrl E 'auto start' but you're not able to start manually it points to a change needed somewhere in technique. In addition to the point mentioned by the previous poster, if the engine is still reluctant to start once you've moved the mags to "both", you could try another quick shot of primer. I also recommend you check out the starting tips which Dudley posted here.

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

LimaPapa
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Location: UK

Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by LimaPapa »

Hi Nick,

Thanks again for your time, it is much appreciated.

SIM time has been a bit limited over the past week but have managed to implement your points and deleted the Folder contents A2A\FSX\P51, etc,, and FSX and A2A P51 now seem to be back in good running order, phew.

What time I've had has mainly been spent in bottoming out the engine start procedure with the following results:

Read through Dudley's starting tips, which confirmed the technique I was generally employing, though possibly overusing the primer. I had also trawled the internet and studied a few P51 cockpit tours and start sequences, namely Kermit Weeks and Planes of Fame,, plus reviewed my own DVD of the opportunity I had to get some hands on in TF-51 'Contrary Mary' courtesy of Ultimate Warbirds @Sywell airfield in Northamptonshire (re-skin downloaded and ready to go). Pilot Mark Levy talking me through the procedures. So:

1. Tried the technique suggested by A@War above, but found not to be wholly successful often resulting in what I can only describe as a flooded engine. I say that because the remedy seemed to be fully open the throttle and wait for the engine to clear, then she would cough and fire into life. Had to be ready and quick to retard the throttle on that one.

So spent a few days on GPU starts to save flattening the battery, and searched out the sweet spot for the throttle position and employing the following techniques (abridged versions):

2. Fuel pump on, check pressure then set to OFF,, blip of primer,, Magnetos to BOTH and engage starter,, approx 4-6 turns of prop then engine would begin to kick,, bit more primer, then hey presto,,, fuel pressure observed on gauge during the sequence, which indicated to me that the engine driven pump (EDP) was feeding.

3. Fuel pump on, check pressure then off,, 1-2 quick blips of primer,, engage starter,, watch approx 4-5 turns of prop,, then set magnetos to BOTH,, engine begins to cough and kick,, sometimes starts or maybe bit more primer,, then we're away. Again fuel pressure observed on gauge,, so EDP working?

This also mirrors the procedure to some degree when flying the Tomahawk, Fuel pump on, check pressure then off,, prime and start. Electric fuel pump is next switched on for take-off,, off again above approx 1000ft,, on again for switching fuel tanks then off,, stalling and general handling,, and finally on again to rejoin circuit to land. I'm certainly not experienced enough to call this one way or the other for a P-51, but happy to learn.

Once I gained consistent starts with the GPU, I move to battery only and mainly employing technique (3), which I felt to be more realistic. So now I have a throttle start position which settles at approx 1000rpm on engine start. So I wonder if my previous success (before my problems began) was bit of luck or perhaps the success parameters for engine start have been narrowed a little with the 02/04/2019 update?

I've managed a couple of quick local sorties and am very impressed with the immersive feel of the sim and I'm now looking forward to really getting to grips with her during my (sim) conversion training,,,

As an aside, I also really enjoyed a few hours further researching 44-73304 'Blondie' and the history of the 334th FS during WWII, particularly the link to RAF Eagles squadrons and origin of the QP-U codes. Really interesting and informative bringing a little more context to my sim world and thanks for such a faithful reproduction.

Hopefully, I'm up and running now and look forward to enjoying many sim flying hours without too much more trouble.

Thanks again for all your help and advice, John C (LimaPapa)

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Nick - A2A
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Re: WOP3 P-51 versus Windows10

Post by Nick - A2A »

Thanks for the update John - sounds like you’ve got it cracked but please let us know if you have any further problems.

Also, please excuse my rather brief reply: I’m having to use my phone for forum browsing this morning due to ‘technical reasons’!

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

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