Need your help with Comet 4 autopilot swap

[aeroart]

Hello,

I'm new here and would appreciate your help with the following:

I downloaded and installed a Comet 4 from DM Flight Sim’s website. The pop-up autopilot that comes with the Comet works, but I’ve been trying to replace it with an autopilot that is easier to use. I was able to install the autopilot, complete with NAV/GPS switch, from the FS2004 Lear 45. But this autopilot, as well as others I tried, does not work in the Comet. When I click on the AP button, the AP light flashes momentarily, then nothing. All the autopilot functions appear to accept my inputs: HDG resets the heading on the heading indicator; NAV changes the VOR’s OBS; ALT and VS accept settings. Each function’s green light stays on when clicked, but the light doesn’t stay on when I click the AP button.

When I saw that it wasn’t working, I searched for, and REM’d out (commented-out?), all the other Autopilot references in panel.cfg, thinking something else was taking priority. And even though I know that aircraft.cfg is all about flight dynamics, I tried replacing the original Comet [autopilot] section with the Lear’s. Neither attempt worked.

I was able to incorporate the Lear’s autopilot into the C-133B that (I think) Mike Stone did, and it works perfectly. In fact, the VC-10 uses this autopilot, and it also works well.

Any ideas what I may be missing that would get the Lear autopilot to connect with the 1950’s Comet?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Art

[Garry Russell]

Hello Art

Welcome aboard...glad you made it eventually

You usually get an answer pretty quickly here so good luck

Enjoy your stay

Garry

[Nigel H-J]

Not techie minded but I know with the Comets' autopilot when it is switched on there is a warm up period before it is ready to use, you may very well need to change something in the cfg connected to the autopilot settings.

Hope this will help.

Regards
Nigel.

[DaveB]

Hi Art and welcome

Sri for your membership delay too but I guess you know the reason for that by now

I've put a basic AP (similar to the Lear) into the Comet in FS9 and it works fine. I'll have a look tomorrow to see exactly what I did but it works and you should have a little more control. Hang in there.. will get back soonest I take it it's FS9 you're working with and not the 'New Pretender' (not so new Pretender)

ATB

DaveB

[aeroart]

Nigel, you were an inspiration. Even after rummaging through the aircraft and panel cfg files over and over, your reply triggered another look. Your comment that the original Comet autopilot took some time to warm up convinced me to start it again and, while I was waiting and hoping it would, I repositioned the autopilot panel so it would be centered at the top of the Comet’s center windshield. Damned if it didn’t work! I flew it and it coupled with VORs, the GPS, and did a perfect ILS into Seattle’s Sea-Tac Intl. Airport. Thanks for your reply.

Dave, the above-mentioned recovery was slightly marred by a moment of the autopilot not working that may have been caused by my placing the separate Lear NAV/GPS switch in the autopilot panel. So if it’s not too much trouble, I would appreciate if you would take a look at your Comet installation and let me know what you find out. Thanks for your help.

If I knew how to take and send a screen shot, I would be glad to do that. Aside from a slight perspective error, the autopilot panel looks great hanging from the top of the center windshield panel. My BOAC fleet includes the VC-10, B707, and the Comet.

I think Garry got me into a great place!

Art

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Art, just a pure guess on my part as the autopilot has to warm up before coming on-line and I felt this would still be the case if you imported another auto-pilot into the Comet without altering the aircraft cfg file. Very pleased it has worked for you.

Regards
Nigel.

[DaveB]

Art..

Had a look at what I did on the Comet and found it wasn't much really..



The AP sitting up on the top right of the main panel is listed as Nimrod AP but I believe it's a simple repaint of the old default gauge. I didn't rem out any of the original stuff and this works just fine

ATB

DaveB

[aeroart]

Dave,

I would have liked to send an image of my Comet instrument panel, but it's posted only in my computer, not on an outside website. It's interesting how, a quarter of a world away, we had the same idea.

The autopilot doesn't always start immediately. Maybe there's a "vacuum tube warm-up delay" from the original Comet autopilot lurking in the background that I can't delete. But it eventually does stay on, and I am glad to have found another group of people who are willing to help.

Thank you.

Art

[Garry Russell]

HI Art

To place a pic up here we use a site like Photobucket and link from there

Garry

[MALTBY D]

Seems like we all had a similar idea.

My own personal version has a pop up window with the default 737-400 autopilot in it.
I only use the modern version when doing longer flights with the VA, where I like to have autothrottle.

If you use the default Lear A/P you will not get autothrottle to work unless you modify the aircraft.cfg.
[autopilot] setting 'autothrottle_arming_required=0'.
Or you can add an 'Arm Autothrottle' switch to the panel instead. The default 747 has one that works.
The default 737 autopilot has an A/T switch already on it.

You will always have to power on the original autopilot and wait for it to boot up though, no matter what A/P you use.
I'd never noticed that before, as I always use the original autopilot's AIRSPEED mode for the climb.

DM