B58: Engine Condition Health
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Hi all!
I'm facing a weird situation and I think the problem is the way I'm operating the plane, not from the software itself.
Can someone explain why the engine's condition degrades when not running? I noticed this immediately after finishing a flight. As soon as I turn the engines off and leave the battery on, I observe that their condition continues to degrade when I check the status page on the weather radar.
I also noticed that if I start a new flight from the main menu and only turn on the battery, the engine degrades as well. Shouldn't the engine only degrade when operated beyond its limits? Why does the system continue to degrade them even though they are turned off?
I've read the manual but didn't find anything about this behavior.
Thanks a lot!
Rodrigo Amorim
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@digoamorim I'm seeing the same with the KingAir turbine engines. Care in staying well within limits published in the plane's manual seems to make no difference. Loss of engine health without even starting them is really puzzling. I've had to add reset engine health to the check list.
I also would like to know what is affecting the engine health.
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@anderson
I ran MSFS today, and as part of the process, I had to update it to the latest available version. After that, I tried the B58 again to record the video you requested, and mysteriously, the error stopped occurring.
I'll keep monitoring to see if it happens again in the future.
Kind Regards,
Rodrigo Amorim -
@anderson I don't know how to present this in a video, but I tried it a few times and can describe what is happening.
I start flights by turning on the battery master and beacon then use the key command to start engines. As each engine starts, it decreases in health by 9%. during the process. If the engines are shut down and restarted, health decreases another 9%. Why?
And, as long as I have the attention of a KingAir expert, why do I have the banging noise in the dark cockpit. The rudder pedals move with the sound, so I thought it was the wind blowing the rudder, but eliminating the wind has no affect.
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@digoamorim Video is way too much trouble to explain a situation. Sorry to highjack your post to discuss this issue with the KingAir, but I saw no one was responding to the initial post. It wasn't thought to be necessarily aircraft specific anyway. Trials were done today, after the update.
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@art_p Don't worry about that. I hope someone can help us because it's so weird, by the way. It doesn't make sense for engines to degrade their health without even starting them.
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@art_p regarding the rudder pedals moving in the dark cockpit I had a similar issue and I found out the problem was the hardware, so to fix it I had to setup some dead zones in the FS2020 Sensitivity menu. I recommend you check if that may solve the issue for you.
About the engine health decreasing you must be very careful when starting the engine and observe a couple of instruments before injecting the fuel, otherwise you will see engine damage. Later I am going to get some screenshots and post them here to better illustrate what I mean.
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@art_p when starting the engine before moving the condition lever to low idle position make sure these two instruments are as indicated (20% and green arc, respectively), otherwise you will experience engine damage.
For shutting down the engine make sure ITT is as indicated
only then you move the switch below back to off position
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@anderson Thanks for the information. Adding dead zones on the rudder pedal toe brakes and increasing the rudder dead zone seems to have eliminated the knocking.
Starting the engines is a bit more of a challenge. I am old with poor eyesight, so I have to zoom in on switches and gauges to see them. I also have to pause TrackIR and use the hat switch since I can't hold my head still enough to move switches otherwise. With all the active spots on the instrument panel, zooming in takes extreme care not to flip switches or turn knobs while zooming (maybe even impossible). It seems the only solution is to build a home cockpit with physical switches or figure out key assignments. For now, I'll just have to reset engine health after starting engines with the key command.
One thing I'm curious about though is the Ignition/Start switches are three position. How exactly are they to function during start-up and shut down?
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@anderson Okay, I am managing to move my view around the cockpit without moving unwanted switches and can report that I can start engines without losing engine health.
I cannot replicate any instance of starting a flight without starting engines and experience engine degradation, at least with the KingAir. Perhaps there is an issue related only to the Blacksquare Baron, which I don't have.
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From the developer...
'The only legitimate cause of an engine losing health after being shut down is rapid cooling of the cylinders. For this reason, it's best to let the engines idle at low RPM for a couple minutes before shutting them down, unless your descent and landing were conducted at low power settings. This can be particularly noticeable in very cold environments. I reduced this effect a bit based on user feedback, but it has not been released in an update yet. The Bonanza does have this updated, though. Loss of engine condition during starting is most likely due to holding the starter switch too long after the engine is already running. This can cause a precipitous drop in engine health, especially if RPM is high after starting. If anyone does upload a video with symptoms that do not look like either of these effects, I am always happy to take a look.'
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@voice-of-reason Thanks a lot for your valuable answer. I've just finished my second flight since the latest MSFS2020 update and I'm not experiencing this issue anymore.
IMO, It's doesn't maky sense a MSFS update to solve this specific issue, but it seems okay for me now.
Have a good weekend!
