PSA: Check your Aux tank fuel load if plane is super unstable

(Also, turn off the turbo)

Been seeing a lot of people having issue switch the plane being super unstable in flight. I have not found it in the ED manual yet, but several of the period manuals state that acrobatics are prohibited with more than 15 gallons of fuel in the Auxiliary tank. As of the EA there is also a psuedo-bug where the main tank acts like it only holds 200 gallons of fuel, so if you fill it with more that 66% full/1200lbs then it fills the auxiliary tank.

This basically moves the center of gravity further aft than is really great and makes the plane extra fishy at low speeds.

Also, the turbo currently has a lot of lag, which tends to lead to power surging when throttling up, and the resulting torque wobble. For takeoff in particular, unless you need more than 45" for a heavily loaded plane you can take off entirely without the turbo boost at all. For a clean aircraft you should not need more than 42". (Note I haven't tested if it can do the full 52" without boost. I think it could but the aircraft manuals typically had you engage water injection when you were in that regime, and I don't think that is implemented yet.)

Both of these make the plane much more docile on takeoff and in the pattern. It's still a bit on the tail heavy side and does not like to be roughly handled, but does a lot less of the crazy porposing you get with a full aux tank, a light main tank and the engine surging on every orbit.

Thank you,

Harry Voyager

Aux tank :doh:

Completely forgot about it and was flying entirely on the main with a full aux...

Thanks for reminding me.

I didn't see any direct way; in ME or at refuel on the ground, to control the filling of the aux tank. So the only way is via the total quantity? I.e., if I want to fill the main tank only, I have to request 73% ?

What exactly is PSA? Pretty sure it's not Peugeot Société Anonyme in this context... and I see it every now and then, still wondering.

I never had any fuel in the aux to begin with BTW since I don't take more than half in the DCS maps.

And I still giggle at that autocorrection there...

Been seeing a lot of people having issue switch the plane Beijing super unstable in flight.

PSA = Public Service Announcement

I didn't see any direct way; in ME or at refuel on the ground, to control the filling of the aux tank. So the only way is via the total quantity? I.e., if I want to fill the main tank only, I have to request 73% ?

66/67% fuel for full main tank anything else will go to aux. Also there is a conversion chart for actual fuel in tank.

66/67% fuel for full main tank anything else will go to aux. Also there is a conversion chart for actual fuel in tank.

I guess that's how it's supposed to work. Currently, it fills the AUX tank to 100% and puts the rest into the main tank.

66/67% fuel for full main tank anything else will go to aux. Also there is a conversion chart for actual fuel in tank.

I'm not familiar with conversion charts in this context? Are we talking about weight to fuel, or percentage full to fuel load? I'll have to check the manuals for actual fuel in tank. The pilot handbooks mostly just note that the main tank indicator isn't that accurate, which is why you keep a 15 gallon reserve in the aux tank. There is an actual expectation that you'll run tanks dry in WWII aircraft. The indicators were not necessarily great and piston engines, as long as the crank is still turning, should not have any issue resuming power after losing fuel flow. Jets and turbines are a rather different kettle of fish.

Right now the main tank appears to only hold 200 gallons, with the rest going into the aux tank. The 200 gallon main tank would be the right size for the razorback models, but the bubbletops, as far as I know, all had the 270 gallon main tank. All of them had the 100 gallon auxiliary tank.

Yes, PSA means Public Service Announcement. I'd been seeing a lot of instability threads, and found if you load up 100% fuel and follow the takeoff procedure it is rather early to forget to turn over to the aux tank and end up flying around very tail heavy.