IRL Caravan Systems/Characteristics
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Hello,
Specifically to Nick, I had recently sent you some feedback on Caravan discrepancies via Just Flight support (had no idea this forum existed lol) and wanted to follow up on a couple points we discussed.
I hadn't even considered the simulator's limitations when it came to high/low idle, bleed air, or propeller governor characteristics, that's pretty lame it doesn't let you really fine tune any of that and that's totally understandable. That did remind me though I noticed that the aircraft does seem to really want to roll easily in low idle w/o brakes applied. I didn't say anything at the time as with my experience the Caravan's do not really roll very well without a little bit of throttle, however my airport's ramps/taxiways are not totally flat and typically i'm going uphill when i'm repositioning aircraft, plus I am dealing with winds typically above 10 knots which definitely could skew my experiences.
For all Caravans equipped with autopilots, the electric trim was included as part of the A/P system, as realistically there was no point in installing control cable servos/clutches for a singular switch. The autopilot is also required for the trim switch to begin with as it's more or less the communication link between the switch and the servos, which is why when the autopilot is off the electric trim doesn't function. I will note that my experience is mostly with KFC 150/250 autopilots as the KAP 140 (to my knowledge) was not factory installed, or atleast the AMM does not directly reference anything for it. However considering it's still a Bendix/King product like the others, it's probably pretty safe to bet it's system is set up pretty similarly.
The standby alternator switch was what I had referred to, yes. When the switch is on, the power does go from the battery > generator > ? > annunciator panel. I'd have to do a little digging as to why exactly this is or if there are any other systems also enabled from this connection, but as of right now I know i've accidentally left on the standby generator switch when the power is off and the annunciator is still lit up lol.
One more thing I wanted to ask about, is there a particular reason as to why engine start takes so long? Fuel flow is introduced at a minimum of 12% as I'm sure you're aware, however it seems it takes a significant amount of time for the Ng% to more or less hit it's max rotation under starter power. I'm not sure how most operators typically handle this, but I was trained to only introduce low idle when Ng% is above 12% and stable as to avoid hung/hot starts. Usually this first half of the start process takes less than 10 seconds on a good battery, and your addon seems to take around 20 ish seconds. In the grand scheme of things it's not that big of a deal especially if the simulator works against you on this, but something else I noticed.
Hopefully this all makes sense. Thanks!
Tayler
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Hi Tyler!
I appreciate this post, and maybe you can confirm some things regarding the Power Management in the Caravan Pro.I Really enjoy the BKSQ aircraft, and see them as some of the best for the game. I have the whole steam gauge series, 2020 version of BKSQ 208, and the 2024 version of the TBM850, and those aircraft wrongly do not stay in feather during start-up when the prop lever is in Feather. Looking at the blades both from inside and outside views, one can see that they immediately go to their low pitch stop (FI), which is wrong as I understand the system and remember from all operations of PT6A engines in general.
Does the Pro Caravan still have these issues?
I Also wonder how the power management and prop governing / Beta mode is, compared to the real thing. Are the sound scapes correct for the modes etc?
Thanks! David.
