Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post any technical issues here. This forum gets priority from our staff.
robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

Well .... that really messed things up. The default is starting in the air with AirTrike at Friday Harbor. Everything works Ok with the AirTrike. But when I load the Cub, the engine is off and the prop is windmilling. When I start the engine, the whole airplane shakes so bad it is like it is running with only one blade on the prop. Both blades are visible of course, but the vibration is extreme. If I shut down the engine, I can glide to a forced landing on the runway, but any restart causes the terrible vibration. Rendering seems to work, but the engine issue is not solved. All of my graphics settings are messed up as well. I went through the settings so they match what is in the J3 manual, but that did not help.

I have the STEAM Edition 10.0.62615.0

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

Just for reference, my A2A Cherokee 180 no longer works after the Accu-Sim upgrade. The hat switch on the joystick works, but the yoke controls don't work at all. When I press Start (Cntl-E) I get a puff of black smoke on the right front side of the cowl, but no engine start. The Accu-Sim upgrade you suggested upgraded the J3 and the Cherokee 180 .... the two planes I purchased from you. In the past, the Cherokee has worked great!
Rob

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

FSX has a J3 that works just fine. It's the A2A J3 and Cherokee that don't work.

User avatar
Nick - A2A
A2A Captain
Posts: 13728
Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
Location: UK

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hi Rob,

Sorry to hear you're having problems with the J-3 installation and thanks for your patience. However, regarding the vibrations, have you tried a simple overhaul in the maintenance hangar (Shift 7)? If you're having problems with the Cherokee too, the same thing might be worth a try.

You could also go a step further an manually delete the *log.dat files in the "Documents\A2A\FSX\PiperJ3" directory in case these have become corrupted at some stage since installation.

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

Well overhauling the engine fixed the Cub. That's both good news and bad news. The airframe/engine was only showing 6.6 hrs when this happened so there is a "bug" somewhere.

The Cherokee still does not work. The controls don't work (but the hat switch and buttons DO work) and the engine won't start. I tried to get into the maintenance hangar of the Cherokee but it gives the message "You must be on the ground with the engine off to enter the maintenance hangar. Click to bypass". However, I AM on the ground with the engine off and "Click to bypass" does not work. I tried deleting the log.dat files in the Documents\A2A\FSX\Cherokee180 folder but that did not help.

The problem with the J3 occurred BEFORE the Accu-Sim update. I had not flown the Cherokee for a while so I don't know if something happened to it before the update or not, but it certainly does not work now. So we need to fix the Cherokee but it would be nice to find the root cause of why an engine overhaul was required at 6.6 hrs on the Cub and the Cherokee now appears to need engine and airframe (contols) maintenance, and why I can't get into the maintenance hangar to fix it.

Thanks, Rob

User avatar
MkIV Hvd
A2A Mechanic
Posts: 1214
Joined: 11 Mar 2019, 21:36
Location: CYYC

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by MkIV Hvd »

This seems squirrely enough to me to suggest running Simconnect to see if that solves the issue. I've found a couple of times in the past that when the sim issues are somewhat goofy as you describe, running Simconnect often cures the issue. I think I've read that A2A airplanes are very dependant on Simconnect for Accu-Sim and I don't know if it gets corrupted or whatever... :?

By default, it's located in "C:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5\redist\Interface\FSX-SP2-XPACK\retail\lib". Cross your fingers :wink:

Cheers,
Rob
Rob Wilkinson
A2A: Civilian Mustang, T-6, Bonanza, Comanche, Cub, C182, Spitfire, P-40, Cherokee, P-51 - VATSIM P4 and some other stuff...

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

I am running the Steam edition of FSX. Where is Simconnect located for FSX?

User avatar
Nick - A2A
A2A Captain
Posts: 13728
Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
Location: UK

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by Nick - A2A »

The legacy SimConnect installer for the Steam version of FSX is located in the following folder by default Rob.

C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\SDK\Core Utilities Kit\SimConnect SDK\LegacyInterfaces\FSX-XPACK

The other Rob's suggestion to install it is a good one and it certainly won't do any harm.

It's possible the sim triggered some damage to the Cub at some point (something like a prop strike), hence the need for the premature overhaul.

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

In that folder is SimConnect.msi.
Clicking on that starts the installer, but it only flashes up the install message box for less than a second .... says gathering information .... then the message box disappears and nothing else seems to happen.
Rob

User avatar
Nick - A2A
A2A Captain
Posts: 13728
Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
Location: UK

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by Nick - A2A »

That sounds about right Rob, the SimConnect.msi is a silent installer. So no change to your Cherokee functionality after running this file?

If not please can you let us know if you're launching FSX via any external programs (other than the Steam client itself, of course) or if you have any other FS utilities running?

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

The Cub is working great. The Cherokee is NOT. It seems like if I could get into the maintenance hanger, it would probably fix it. I tried deleting the log.dat files that you mentioned but that didn't help.
When I go to the maintenance hangar is says "You must be on the ground with the engine off to enter the maintenance hanger. Click to bypass". I AM on the ground with the engine off, but it won't let me in. Clicking does not bypass the entry requirements. Is there a way we can get back to a "good" default version of the airplane?

Yes, I am launching FSX via Steam, not through some other mechanism.

Thanks, Rob

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

Any ideas about how I can get the Cherokee180 back to a working status?
Thanks, Rob

User avatar
Nick - A2A
A2A Captain
Posts: 13728
Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
Location: UK

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hello Rob, sorry for the delayed response.

The behaviour that you describe suggests that the software is having difficulties writing to one of more of the files that the add-on uses to record information. One culprit which has been responsible for this with a few other customers is Microsoft OneDrive. However, this typically affects Prepar3Dv4/v5 users where aircraft are actually installed within the "C:\Users\[UserName]\OneDrive\Documents" folder.

In your case, is your Documents folder (which contains the "A2A" folder) being synced by OneDrive, or any other software for that matter?

If not, I think a simple reinstall of the Cherokee is probably the best bet. One thing to bear in mind is that once you've done this, you'll need to manually delete the following file...

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\A2A\Cherokee180\Update_fsx\client.wyc

...Before you run the Accu-Sim update which you downloaded previously.

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

Thanks Nick.

I renamed the client.wyc file to $client.wyc before I re-installed the Cherokee180. Once the re-install was complete, I was able to operate the controls of the Cherokee, but the engine still would not start. But this time, I was able to get into the maintenance hangar and overhaul the engine. The Cherokee180 now runs and flies as it did before the update.

Since the update seems to be what may have made the Cherokee unusable, I'm reluctant to try that again since it's now working satisfactorily.

I am not using OneDrive, but I do use Google Sync for some Documents. But A2A should always be writing to the local files, so I should never see a sync from the cloud back to my local machine since I don't change any of the A2A files in the cloud.

Rob

robjahnke
Airman
Posts: 25
Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 20:39

Re: Tail Wheel Retracted on J3 FSX

Post by robjahnke »

BTW, the Instrument Panel is not correct for the J3. I have been flying the J3 (real) for 55 yrs and unless someone has modified the panel, the instruments from left to right should be: Tach, Airspeed, Compass, Altimeter, Oil Press/Temp. You have the Airspeed and the Oil Temp/Press swapped on the panel of the A2A Cub. Is there a way to fix that?
Thanks, Rob

new reply

Return to “Piper J-3 Cub Tech Support”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests