Adding a engine start up

[Reco]

Hi all

If an aircraft model only has the default engine startup is there anyway to make the startup on a helicopter a litle more realistic. I'm building a helicopter simulator and wanting to add a push button start on the collective
The sequence I'm looking at is , battery on, master avionics on, fuel on and then using fsuipc to assign a command for engine start then use another control to shut off the fuel on shut down

 
Anyone have any ideas

Cheers

Rhys

[N4208T]

There are commands for starting a turbine engine which it sounds like what you are looking for.  Are you wanting to sequence these with a single push-button or use switches and toggle them in sequence?  The latter is straightforward. If it is the former than I suspect you are going to need a script with some built in pauses to allow the sequencing.

Similarly, if you want to use the same single pushbutton to shut the engine(s) down I think you could do it by basically reversing the script.  EG- if it checks first to see the status of the battery, master avionics and fuel on and finds them all on, then the script would run to turn them off.  If it found them off, then the script would run to turn them on. EG- it would be conditional.

I think it is doable but is probably a bit beyond my capabilities if you want that single pushbutton to control everything.

LUA anyone?

Steve

[jackpilot]

Start sequence:
As you said,
1)check Battery full charge
2) Boost pumps on
3) Push starter button on the collective (and hold) with FSUIPC jet starter1 assigned
4) When compressor reaches preset value turn the collective handle to idle to inject fuel (FSUIPC Mixture rich1)

To shut down:
Turn back collective handle to idle
Wait 3 minutes for temperatures to stabilize lower
turn collective handle to cutoff (FSUIPC Mixture lean1)

In other words you will not have one button for all (irrealistic) but will have
1)to assign the starter button to jetstarter1 (from memory, to be confirmed)
and 2) the collective top handle axis to 3 positions . Mixture lean, mixture rich, idle,  and throttle in between
That will be the tricky part but 100% doable with FSUIPC on an axis with a pot.

[bernard S]

its a helicopter     3 greens good to go 😉  dont forget it has an intend as well.umless your helicopter has throttles ? ..yup they do

[Reco]

Thanks team
Sounds like what you said jackpilot is what I'm trying to do
My cockpit setup is collective with throttle  and the start button on the end
 
My panel has switches for

Battery on/ off
Gen on/ off
Avionics master on/ off
Start pump on /off
Plus some other minor switches

The throttle is hooked up to a potentiometer the start is just a single push button
I have worked out how to set the panel switches for battery gen etc.
You mentioned jet starter 1 does that assignment needs to be added to the aircraft config file for it to work and be assigned via fsuipc

Cheers

Rhys

[jackpilot]

All assignements through FSUIPC ONLY

[Reco]

Thanks jack

To get the engine started on the helicopter I am using the engine start is on the collective. In the 3d cockpit when I hover the mouse over the switch on the collective it is "fuel valve on" to start the engine.
If I assign jet start via fsuipc to my push button on my cockpit collective will that still activate the engine start
Also mixture lean mixture rich,idle
Is that under mixture 1,2 and 3 in the menue

Cheers

Rhys

[jackpilot]

Whatever happens with the mouse on the 3D cockpit will always happen.
We are talking here interfacing real hardware, yes ?
So this goes through FSUIPC.
Assign the button to the starter
Assign the rotating handle of your collective to the mixture axis. (assuming you have a rotating handle linked to a pot)
Or have buttons for that (lean/rich/idle/full throttle) Which is irrealistic but can work.

Maybe some Helo simmer can chime in ?

[Reco]

Thanks Jack

My collective is off a MD500 with twist throttle and start button at the end
The collective throttle is hooked to a potentiometer.
In regards to mixture settings, mixture lean mixture rich,idle
Is that under mixture 1,2 and 3 in the menue?
I assume I can assign lean rich idle by moving the throttle to three positions and then assign each position and what is the correct order for mixture setup
Thanks for all your help

Cheers

Rhys

[jackpilot]

I think your good with that..
Use the engine #1 mixture settings as you have just one "burner"

[Reco]

Hi jack

Had a play, jet start didn't seem to do anything so assigned my start button to mixture 1 engine. When I started the engine with throttle in idle the n2 gauge goes straight to max. I'd like to have the n2 gauge slowly climb up if at all possible

Cheers
Rhys

[jackpilot]

Will check FSUIPC today, I'm away from the sim.

I think you have to HOLD the start button on and wait for N2 to climb to about 25% before opening the fuel flow (mixt rich)

[navymustang]

I have found with many P3D helicopters that the developers did not use P3D engine models and made their own that do not follow standard startups. For example, the Blackhawk I am using  in my sim doesn't start like a real blackhawk at all (we are talking turbins now). The APU is also a complete fake job. So to give my heli sim some level of realism I wrote my own turbine start up and APU start up procedures including sounds to make it "somewhat" realistic. Using Lua coding.
An example of bad  coding on my heli sim, when you start the APU, it is running at full power and generating electricity in just 4 seconds. I would bet that most heli sim providers never intended for their software to run in an actual sim with hardware. Which is really a shame compared to some of the very realistic fixed wing models out there.

[Reco]

Cheers navymustang

Lua coding is way beyond my level of skills ha ha

I've held the jet starter botton but the n2 gauge doesn't move

Cheers
Rhys

[jackpilot]

Try assigning this one to the button
Starter1_set
Check syntax
Try all "starts/engine" you can find in the scrolling of FSUIPC.
I cant really remember which one works
But holding it "on" should start  N2 spinning

[Reco]

Hi Jack

Thanks for the help with this. I made a mistake regarding gauges its the N1 not N2 I have being trying to work out re start up
I have assigned my controls to the correct assignment in FSUIPC
the assignments for helicopters controls are

collective up / down is throttle
Collective throttle is Prop pitch

I have managed to get all the panel switches assigned to give me some sort of start up in order of how its done
Heres a youtube clip
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KVA3GXiK2s&t=24s

I am probably limited to how I can get it anywhere  close to the start given the model Im using

Cheers

Rhys