Never again on PE - share your mistakes

[Steven Winslow]

Ian, as has been stated, just as in the real world, when your battery is dead while on PilotEdge, your radio is dead, too, so you can't transmit or receive. There are lost communications procedures as in FAR 91.185. You should squawk 7600 and fly the standard IFR lost communications procedures.

As I understand it, when flying VFR on PilotEdge, the default CTAF frequency is 122.75. When you are approaching a non-towered field, you should tune in the CTAF frequency for that airport and make your calls on that frequency. If you want any kind of radio contact while flying VFR on PE, the best thing to do is ask for VFR with flight following. It's almost like flying IFR, but without the need to file a flight plan. By choosing flight following, the controller will instruct you when to change frequencies and give you altimeter settings and such. At this time, there aren't any FSS services. If you want ATIS information, you can tune your COM2 radio to the ATIS frequency of a nearby airport. Make sure to activate your COM2 radio when you want to receive on that frequency. This is why it's important to either have your sectional handy so you can get the frequencies you need as you travel. I also have Flight Guide in book form which contains all the airport information I need including traffic patterns and frequencies. You can use several online services, too, like AOPA's website or SkyVector to get airport information.

Your first mistake was actually not asking the ground controller to repeat the instructions. If you are unsure of the instructions you should always ask the controller to "say again, please." All you need to say when making that first call is "San Luis Ground, Cessna 4975 Foxtrot at west ramp, VFR to Santa Monica, request taxi."

When San Luis said you could leave his frequency, you would then tune to 122.75 en route. I believe your procedure was appropriate as you approached Class C airspace at SBA, but all you needed to respond would be something like "At or above 2600 ft, Cessna 4975 Foxtrot" to let the controller know you understood.

A quick fix to your alternator problem would have been to go to your failures menu and click the button at the top to reset all systems to functional. I know that's cheating a little, but at least you would have had your radios back for a bit.

I think I'll be studying up on the lost communications sections of the FAR/AIM. Thanks for the heads up! Could happen to anyone.

[Daddy O]

I have left the starter switch on my Saitek panel with the starters switched to START, and it killed my battery in Xplane. Oddly enough the stock B200 cocpit does not include a guage or idiot light. I only found out because Kieth popped into the cockpit to tell me what he could see from his end.

[Jeff N]

Same thing happened to me in my Carenado Mooney. I was on the downwind at Ontario waiting for landing clearance and suddenly I hear Keith informing me that ATC lost contact with me.

On my end, I think it was due to spending too much time on the ramp with the battery and avionics on without the engine running while I planned my flight, tuned radios/etc, which drained the battery beyond the generator's ability to charge it in flight. Since that plane doesn't have a separate generator switch (supposedly it comes on with the master switch), I've assigned it to a toggle on my Saitek TPM panel. Hasn't happened since. Also, I don't sit with the battery and avionics on without the engine running anymore.

[arb65912]

Jeff, reading your reply made me thinking again and I wonder how others are dealing with it. I also turn on battery and Avionics only to make sure my radio on PE is working and I set my radios then turn the battery and avionics off until I am ready to start the engine.
I used to start the engine do everything else but it is a waste of fuel.

I wonder , in P28A, how long is it "safe" to have battery and avionics on before I lose the radios. Any advise? Cheers, AJ .

[ianbennett]

Thank you for all your help

[Colin Payette]

Jeff, reading your reply made me thinking again and I wonder how others are dealing with it. I also turn on battery and Avionics only to make sure my radio on PE is working and I set my radios then turn the battery and avionics off until I am ready to start the engine.
I used to start the engine do everything else but it is a waste of fuel.

I wonder , in P28A, how long is it "safe" to have battery and avionics on before I lose the radios. Any advise? Cheers, AJ .

I usually only have them on for a minute, and the battery does seem to die faster in FSX with Carenado's Archer than in real life. Generally, I get the plane started and get the ATIS while I go through my after-start checklist.

As for tuning nav/com frequencies for departure, I do that while I taxi or during the run-up. If you're pushing the fuel to the limits where doing after-start checks with the engine idling will put your flight in Jeopardy, that may not be the best idea.

[toosox]

Just had a little misshap, Been flying with FSX ( I know I know ) and just decided to go back to x-plane now fseconomy seems to be working right again.
So I set up my flight from Catalina to Van Nuys Via the coastal route started the cessna and txied to the runway took off and changed to Socal appr.
Gave my position alt ect and route i was taking , Got a squark code like normal ........... Then it happened engine cut out went into a nose dive with a spin tried to pull out had over stressed the plane dropped like a lead block. Didnt have time to let approch know i was going down like the titanic ( well faster than that ship) Hit the water hard .

Check the fail pages of x-plane and seems i put some jetA fuel in and didnt replace the fuel cap also my rudder seemed to have stuck.
Felt real stupid telling the controler that the squark code was not needed anymore as i was in the drink

Going to hide under a rock for a few hours

[Keith Smith]

3 failures in one flight leads me to believe you might have your MTBF setting _way_ too low. Try boosting that up to 10,000hrs, that might be a good start

[toosox]

its a fresh install so i forgot to turn it off/down i like a few things once in a while but that was nasty last night mde me feel like thats it, never speaking again or logging onto PE ( well for at least 12 hours lol)

[Daddy O]

Going back to the battery issue, a lot of real world pilots do all their pre-flight work before starting the plane because once the engine is running, so if the HOBBS meter. If you are renting, they charge you by the HOBBS. At $100+ an hour, you don't want to burn a half hour just dinking around in the parking lot.