Spark plugs fooling, is it simulated at all?
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You ported the new fouling behavior to the older aircraft like the Piston Duke already, so we should notice the RPM drop not being 100% normal every time? Was there a patch? haven't seen any notices of one.
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That's interesting. I've tried fouling the sparks several times, but I've never been successful. I don't have a Commander 114 yet, but I tested it today on a Baron and Bonanza with the following settings for 10 minutes:
OAT -8C, Alt 2900, RPM 600, Mixture full rich, Coldest CHT 106C
No fouling whatsoever. Aren't these conditions enough to foul the sparks? I use MSFS 2024 version.
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@Teritio @Voxen I wanted to test this for myself before I said anything, and I'm currently watching the fouling variable tick up under those exact conditions with the release version of the Bonanza. I know the 114 is working, because I routinely encountered fouling while recording my aerodynamics video. Feel free to take a look at the variable, if you can. It's
L:var_engineFouling. -
@Teritio @Voxen I wanted to test this for myself before I said anything, and I'm currently watching the fouling variable tick up under those exact conditions with the release version of the Bonanza. I know the 114 is working, because I routinely encountered fouling while recording my aerodynamics video. Feel free to take a look at the variable, if you can. It's
L:var_engineFouling.@Black-Square Thanks for confirming it works. What would be the best conditions to make plugs fouling happen quite fast?
I'm so used of A2A Comanche spark plugs fouling happening very frequently that maybe I have the false impression that it does not work on the Commander 114.
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And another test under different weather conditions - it seems that the outside temperature is the most important factor, and even a closed engine cowl can have a significant enough effect to prevent fouling. In this test, the right engine ran at 1,000 rpm on a full-rich mixture with the cowl closed and managed to reach a temperature high enough to stop and burn out the fouling. It seems to me that you’d have to really mistreat the engines for this to become a serious problem. Sorry for the spam, but I'm really happy to be able to see how it works and what effect it has on the engine.
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Keep in mind that it also takes a while for the effect to dissipate, so short flights or staying in the pattern may not be enough to eliminate all fouling. This means that it may slowly get worse even though you are "flying" the airplane. Also, 30% is about the limit for normal operation, 50% is unflyable, and 60% is backfiring and severe degradation. Ten percent should be noticeable during the magneto tests, and audibly different (in the 114, and after the next update to all my reciprocating engine aircraft).
