SuperConnie

Hi Peter I was writing about how the stuff works in the REAL airplane. If I remember right the FS model does not have this functionality... I have to ask the programmers how they solved that problem. Christian

Well... I will have to ask a pilot to be sure but as far as I understood it, the propeller pitch can be changed by a small lever next to the throttles. But normally you don't need that because the pitch is adjusted automatically. Prop feathering is done by pushing a big red switch or if the engine RPM drops below a certain value. Prop reverse is activated by the switch that is connected to the reverser lever. It does in fact set the props to a negative pitch which causes them to work backwards. But for this you don't have to change the pitch lever setting. If the reverser is deactivated then the propeller goes to the normal pitch that is set by either the automatic or the pitch lever. The Super Constellation has many cool features for an airplane of those days. Even stuff like auto throttle was available but I'm not building this into my sim.

A picture says more than 1000 words: There are 4 reverser levers linked to the throttles. If you pull them up, the switch is activated that tells the prop to go into reverse pitch and in the same time the throttle is opened to increase engine RPM. This is independent from the settings of the prop pitch lever. Let's see if I understood you right... You say that I can use the propeller pitch adjustment to create a negative pitch in the MSFS... I have the possibility to connect a potentiometer to the pitch input of the Simkits Central Control Unit (CCU). If I would use a fixed resistor and the switch to turn it on or off (or to switch between two values) then I could use FSUIPC to assign a corresponding normal or reverse pitch. If that works, my problem is solved :-) What about the "Joysticks settings 11"... separate reversers... is this not what I need?

I am now in the "hot" phase of my Connie Sim project... all kind of wiring and programming. I have now the necessary interfaces from Simkits and so far there are no problems except one: I would like to have working propeller reversers and I don't know how this could be done. I have to explain that I'm using original hardware from a real airplane and therefore I am a bit restricted with the possibilities. The original prop reverser works with electric switches that tell the propeller to go into reverse if you pull the reverse levers. If you pull them further, the throttles will be opened up to approx. 30%, causing the engines to power up and blow lots of air backwards to slow down the plane. In fact it is possible to taxi the plane backwards (in reality!) but "you have to be very careful with the brakes or you will fall on your tail" (Flight engineer) Now... is there a possibility to tell the MSFS to reverse the props by a switch (or 4 switches for 4 engines) and to create "negative thrust" with the throttle levers??? If that does not work, the prop reversers will do excactly the opposite of what they are intended for because they open the throttles. Christian PS: If interested in my work progress, please visit http://conniesim.blogspot.com

I got an answer from Simkits and they say basically the same... I think I can start building now. Thanks again for your patience... Christian

Thanks for your answer Peter Realistic simulation is only a secondary goal in this simulator. The primary is to build a cockpit with original parts that looks like the real Connie inside. The instruments for the copilot shall only copy the data from the pilots instruments. All settings will be done by the pilot only. The copilots instruments are only "for watching"... slave instruments one could say. This simulator will be mobile to take it to airshows and events where our real Connie is. Visitors will have the possibility to try a short flight themselves. Most of them are people who use airplanes only to fly into vacation... there is no problem if some parts don't work perfectly like real. After this explanation, would you say that WideFS and FSUIPC is the right choice to link the two computers?

I'm planning to build a Super Constellation simulator. I have all the original panels, instruments and controls. I'd like to use the Simkits instruments for that but there is a problem... I need to have the same instruments for pilot and copilot and therefore two central control units (CCU). According to Simkits support it is not possible to have 2 CCU's on one PC, therefore I need 2 PC's... no problem so far. But how can I synchronize these two PC's? Is WideFS and FSUIPC the correct choice? Some people say this and other say that. WideView was also named but according to it's inventor it will not work. It seems that no one has ever built such a big cockpit with mechanical instruments. What do you mean? Will the instruments on the second computer work correctly if it is linked with your software? Have you ever seen an installation like I plan to build? Maybe tried yourself something like that? Christian Mueller http://www.superconstellation.org mueller2000@swissonline.ch