FSDZign's connie engines stopping in flight

W3CPR wrote:

Hi... I know that anyone that dowloaded the FSDZign Connie has experienced the same problem as I..

Not necessarily.*
I saw your previous post on the same subject and was hoping you would provide us with more information such as filename and the library where you got it from.

*Presently I can see v1 at Avsim which is not to say that it hasn't been updated and uploaded elesewhere.

Hi... Thanks for your reply. Here is some further information that might be helpful. The Connie was downloaded from the Flyawaysimulation site with the file name fsdzl049a_v1.zip. This zip file was released by FSDZign. I have not modified the aircraft in any way shape or form but fly it as is out of the box so to speak. One time the engines totally stopped when I clicked on the map Icon and then went back to the aircraft but this might have only been coincidental. There are two separate problems but this is the worst of all. The engines will stop randomly but usually within 10 minutes of flight.

Thanks for your interest and possible help

w3cpr

W3CPR wrote:

One time the engines totally stopped when I clicked on the map Icon and then went back to the aircraft but this might have only been coincidental. There are two separate problems but this is the worst of all. The engines will stop randomly but usually within 10 minutes of flight.

I'm not too sure what you actually mean by "the engines totally stopped"...what I do know is that clicking on the map Icon or on the Kneeboard during flight can cause problems, I used to experience this on an old computer. This problem was solved by adding RAM. If your computer has outdated hardware such as graphics card, CPU and not enough RAM all kinds of unpredictable things can happen. If memory serves right, this Connie first appeared under FS2002 (later updated for FS9) and was not developed with G-Max which would explain why it takes a heavier toll on your hardware in comparison to default aircraft or more recent ones developed with G-Max.

Hi... I cannot seem to get the Connie to follow the GPS flight plan. The GPS is displaying the solid red line from point to point and I have both the NAV1 and NAV2 set correctly to the airport to which I am traveling. When I takeoff and at 4000 feet, I select the GPS button on NAV1 but nothing happens. All of my other aircraft will lock to the GPS and turn to align the aircraft with the GPS read line from point A to point B. I have read the instructions contained in the download and am doing everything as the manual states but no dice. All of my other aircraft will lock to the GPS
immediately when switching on the NAV/GPS switch and the NAV button on the radio at any altitude. Any suggestions and thanks for the help.

I just completed a flight with the Connie using direct GPS and had no problems at all. Sometimes we miss the obvious and I'll take a stab in the dark: Did you find and press the 'Auto Pilot Master' switch?

Also remember that saved flights can cause problems. I would suggest that you delete the 'Flight Simulator Files' folder located in 'My Documents'. If you don't want to delete your 'Flight Simulator Files' folder, at least Cut and Paste it to your desktop for the time being. This way FS9 won't find it and will build a new one when you first start the sim.
I hope we can find a solution as it would be a pity to ditch this beautiful aircraft. Let us know.

Hi Tailhook... Thank you for your reply. After much reading and paying careful attention to the manifold pressure, engine rpm and a few other items I can now fly the connie without any problemsl It appears that I was stressing the engines a bit too far and they just gave up. This is a fine aircraft by FSDZign and I would recommend it to anyone. The only problem I can still see is the system will not lock to the NAV1 GPS when a flight has been planned and the GPS system shows the line between the two airports. If I use the NAV2 frequency which the radio can pick up very quickly and use it for NAV1, then the system will lock as soon as the beacon is acquired but when you use the NAV1 frequency for the airport which is 200 miles away, it will not lock to the GPS/NAV system until you can hear the NAV1 frequency which will be at about 20 miles. All of my other aircraft will lock to the GPS/NAV system immediately upon takeoff and over 500 miles away. I wonder how you got yours to lock to the NAV/GPS system so quickly?

Thanks once again

w3cpr

Ok, I did the same dept several times just to make sure. I'd suggest you lodge the same flightplan as an experiment:

HKJK - FAJS
IFR
Direct-GPS
Cruising Altitude should be 12000FT by default.

I hand-fly until at safe AGL and gear and flaps retracted. Now:

AP Masterswitch ON

ALT and V/S adjust

NAV HOLD Switch on AP Console (ON) --wait until the light comes on, it might take a few seconds, if it doesn't, try again.

Press the GPS button on the NAV1 radio to GPS (Mode) -- the green light should come on.

At this stage the aircraft has started turning and you should be locked on.

Hi... I did exactly what you said but got the same results. It appears that no matter what I do, the NAV will not come on and change to green. When I get the the desired altitude manually, I set the altitude correctly
on the altitude readout and leave the heading in the direction that I took
off from the airport. When I turn the Autopilot on, the HDG comes on with it as well. I then click on the NAV but it will not turn green no matter what I do. Usually I am going away from airport that I wish to fly to. I have the NAV1 and NAV2 frequencies set before takeoff. The GPS switch will turn green however at any time I click on it. The problem is that the NAV
switch will not turn on. I am using all the original installation gauges and
GPS. This should be something simple to do according to their instructions but it has a problem in my machine for some reason or another. I really don't want to waste your time if it is cockpit trouble but this is a really nice airplane to fly and keep your mind on what you have to do to keep it flying.

Thanks for your kind help

w3cpr

W3CPR wrote:

I did exactly what you said but got the same results.

Hey Captain,
can you confirm that you tried the flight HKJK - FAJS?

I am using exactly the same aircraft, that's why I asked you initially for it's source. Don't worry about wasting my time, I am as keen as you are to find out what's going on here. I am certain that the problem is not caused by your machine or your installation of the aircraft.

Please confirm HKJK - FAJS

Hi Tailhook.... Yes, I did try the flight that you suggested and got the same results. In the meantime I tried an experiment. I replace the radio that came with the connie with a Bendix unit and the system worked perfectly including the NAV/GPS when I was only 400 feet above the runway. It is telling me that there is something different in the way my machine is looking at the NAV/GPS system on the connie. If the small GPS indicator was on the NAV2 in the connie the system would work just fine as I used the receiver that came with the connie except I used the frequencies for NAV2 in place of the NAV1 frequency and the system locked to the NAV/GPS at the same altitude. Perhaps this will help. I am using a Pentium IV, Window 2000, SP4, 750 meg of ram and 128 meg of ram on the video card. I am sure at this point that it is something in my system rather than the aircraft.

Thank you for your kind time and interest

w3cpr

Hey W3CPR,

It's getting weirder by the minute. You're probably curious why I insisted on the HKJK - FAJS flight. Well, this particular flight works with the method I've outlined above, at least from where I'm sitting. All the others I've tried don't. I'm running Windows XP Pro compared to your Windows 2000... I guess everything is possible, but I just don't understand how the difference in the Operating System could affect how any of the panel functions are addressed in the sim.
Yesterday I looked at everything "Connie" related at flightsim.com both fs9 as well as FSX and recall that one file description referred to a fix re the "reported GPS problems". Was unable to determine which version of the Connie the fix pertained to and finally decided to try out the FSX version in fs9. This didn't work, I guess I was missing some of the default FSX gauges in fs9.
I've just placed the Bendix radios into the Connie like you did, good idea, everything seems to work except of course the Bendix doesn't include a GPS on/off switch. In the updated FSX version they've changed the AP panel and obviously some of the gauges have changed. I'm going to try out this version in FSX. I've noticed that sadly, though some more textures have been added, the quality of the .bmps are still the way they were which now renders them a bit smudgy.
One of these days I'm going to learn how to paint and make it all better. 😀

Hi Tailhook... Well at least I'm not alone with this problem. When I placed the Bendix radio in the connie, I took one of the GPS/NAV switches from another aircraft to make it work properly. I finally decided to leave the connie as-is. Adding anything would take away from the entire aircraft and the nice layout the author produced. I will always wonder about the problem but I guess unless we can get in touch with the author, FSDZign and let them know of the problem, it will go unsolved. If we could only get the GPS button from NAV1 down to NAV2, the connie would work just fine. Anyway I appreciated your time and effort and hope I haven't added this nagging problem to your problems.

Have a great day and it's nice to know there is someonw out there that will share your problems and try to help. This is a great site and has tons of really helpful information and I for one certainly appreciate the person or persons who are in running it.

All the best

George w3cpr
Whitehall, Pa