Hovercontrol 412 Personal Edition - Non-Commercial Entertainment Use Only HOVERCONTROL 412 PILOT REFERENCE Introduction Saving a Working Flight Pop-Up Panel Keys Weight Limits Airspeed Limits Endurance   Fuel Management Throttle Management Some Turbine Concepts Known Issues More about the 412 Things to Avoid Visit Hovercontrol.com for more information. INTRODUCTION Return To Main List The Hovercontrol 412 is a limited, yet fairly accurate representation of the Bell/Textron 412 Helicopter. It represents a long journey in the helicopter flight simulation community. An attempt to incorporate as much detail and realism into a PC-based helicopter simulation as possible. For those with real-world 412 experience, we hope that you will appreciate the details. For those that are new to helicopters, or perhaps new to helicopters of this caliber, we hope you will appreciate the opportunity to learn new things and enjoy flying with a new sense of accomplishment and immersion. This helicopter is not like other default helicopters in flight simulator and will require you to understand quite a few principles and terms in order to get the most out of it. We look forward to providing as much useful information as possible to help you out during this process, and to help everyone get the most out the Hovercontrol 412 flight simulation experience. Important information resources regarding this helicopter can, and will continue to be found at Hovercontrol.com Return To Main List SAVING A WORKING FLIGHT Return To Main List The Hovercontrol 412 is not like other default helicopters in flight simulator. If you wish to create and save your own flight in flight simulator from scratch, it is most important that you start with the following steps. You can also begin by using one of the included Hovercontrol 412 pre-saved flights which can be found in the Hovercontrol category of your saved flights option under Flights->Select Flight->Choose a Category->Hovercontrol. After choosing one of the included flights, aircraft location can be changed, and the flight can be re-saved with the name of your choice. FAILURE TO START WITH A WORKING FLIGHT WILL LEAD TO PROBLEMS SUCH AS THE GENERATOR SWITCHES NOT REACTING TO YOUR INPUTS Steps for saving your own working flight from scratch. 1. Flights->Select a Flight->Choose a Category->Other->Meigs Field 2. Let this default Meigs/Cessna Flight Load 3. Confirm that the Cessna is RUNNING (should be by default) 4. Aircraft->Select Aircraft->Select Any Hovercontrol 412 Model 5. Wait for Flight Simulator to load the 412 aircraft. 6. Once Hovercontrol 412 Loads, Engines will be spinning up/running. 7. Next, you can shut down the 412, or move it to another airport. 8. Save Your Flight. Flights->Save Flight 9. Your flight will be in the "My Saved Flights" Category for future use. After loading a flight that uses the Hovercontrol 412 (one that you save using the steps above, or one that was included). It is important not to assume that any systems are ON or OFF. It is highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with the included checklists and use them before operating this aircraft to ensure that the aircraft systems, fuel, and engine settings are as they should be before and during flight. Failure to do so could lead to unexpected aircraft system behavior or failure. Return To Main List POP-UP PANEL KEYS Return To Main List While using the Hovercontrol 412, various sub panels can be accessed using the following key commands. F10     THIS KNEEBOARD SHIFT+1     Main Panel SHIFT+2     Stand-alone Radio Stack SHIFT+3     GPS SHIFT+4     Collective/Throttles SHIFT+5     Overhead Panel Left/Right SHIFT+6     Whiskey Compass SHIFT+7     Attitude/HSI Magnified SHIFT+8     Pedastal (Center Console) SHIFT+9     Cockpit CLICK-MAP Click On AP MODE SELECTOR     Autopilot and AutoHover Panel The Cockpit Click-Map can also be used to bring up a magnified set of Engine Gauges as well as most other panels. Main Panel This panel features most of the important in-flight gauges as well as the engine and electrical gauges. This panel also contains many clickable icons below the HSI that are useful for quickly accessing other panels. Radio Stack Available as a stand-alone panel, or part of the Pedalstal, this set of communications equipment contains your COM, NAV, ADF, and Transponder Radio Equipment. GPS This is the default Garmin 500 GPS included with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. For more information visit the Flight Simulator Learning Center. Collective The collective on the Hovercontrol 412 contains many important functions. Most importantly your throttle grips can be found on this panel. In addition, important start-up functions such as the starter and idlestop switches are located here. Engine Governer Trim, Landing/Search Lights, and Emergency Float switches as well. Overhead This panel contains several important electrical and lighting switches. Your master battery, generators, invertors Position/Anti-Coll Lights, Panel Lights, and Pitot Heaters can be found on this panel. Whiskey Compass Standard Whiskey compass as found in many default flight simulator aircraft. Useful for various navigation tasks. Attitude/HSI Blow-Up This will provide you with a slightly magnified view of your primary attitude indicator and HSI systems. Useful for particularly challenging IFR flight operations. Pedastal (Center Console) This the main center console mounted on the floor between the pilot and copilot. In addition to a functioning Radio Stack It contains two particularly important system panels. The Fuel control panel, and the Misc component panel. These panels will be used to access your Fuel Valves, Fuel Booster Pumps, Fuel Transfer Switches, and Hyrdaulic Systems. Cockpit Click-Map This is a small visual representation of the cockpit environment with several clickable areas highligted to help you gain quick access to the important panels listed above. It can be used as an alternative to remembering the key-commands for each panel. A magnified set of Engine Gauges can also be accessed via this tool, which is helpful for careful engine start sequences. Return To Main List WEIGHT LIMITS Return To Main List The amount of weight you can safely fly with is highly dependent upon your environment. Factors such as outside air temperature and pressure/density altitude will factor in greatly. Engine Temperature, RPM limits, and Torque limits should always be observed. Max Gross weight limits should not be exceeded. EMPTY WEIGHT: 6,959 lbs. MAX GROSS WEIGHT: 11,900 lbs. MAXIMUM EXTERNAL LOAD: 4,500 lbs. USEFUL LOAD: 4,941 lbs. Your helicopter can be configured for weight via the flight simulator Aircraft->Fuel and Payload menu. This will allow you to adjust your fuel load, as well as several passenger and cargo loading options. Return To Main List AIRSPEED LIMITS Return To Main List The Hovercontrol 412 is a powerful helicopter, capable of maintaining sigificant cruise speeds while carrying up to its Max Gross Weight of 11,900 lbs. Max cruise speed is limited by several environmental factors to include density altitude, and outside air temperature. Engine and Torque limits should be observed when attempting to maximize your cruise performance. NEVER EXCEED (VNE): 140kts EFFICIENCY CRUISE: 125kts MARGINAL LOAD (9,000lbs) MAX CRUISE: approx 125-135kts MAX LOAD (11,900lbs) MAX CRUISE: approx 115-125kts Return To Main List ENDURANCE Return To Main List Approximate Fuel Flows (70 degrees F Outside Air Temp, both Engines Running): 43% TORQUE: 575 Pounds Per Hour 53% TORQUE: 625 Pounds Per Hour 70.5% TORQUE: 725 Pounds Per Hour Maximum Range: 423nm Fuel Capacity: 330.5 US Gallons. (Weight 6.6 lbs per gallon) Max Fuel Weight: approx 2180 LBS. Return To Main List FUEL MANAGEMENT Return To Main List The fuel containment and burn order sequence systems of the 412 are complex. The 412 has a self managing, self-balancing burn sequence that is nearly entirely beyond the control of the pilot. For general purposes you will not need to be concerned with the 10 separate fuel tanks arranged beneath the floor boards and inside the transmission housing. Instead, you can basically treat the 412 as if it has one large fuel tank, much like the car you drive. With one filler cap, and no complicated fuel selectors to manage. The Fuel quantity gauge can be located on the main panel and is your source for checking your current fuel load. The fuel quanity selector switch has three positions, in addition to a digits test button. Do not be fooled by the fuel quanity selector switch. Although, it has the appearance of displaying different fuel tanks, these are not tanks that you typically manage individually, the way you might do on a cessna (or other aircraft with separate wing takes, etc). The MID and FWD tanks that can be viewed using the fuel quantity selector switch are actually just a set of tanks in the over-all fuel-burn sequence over which you have little control. In the event that a fuel transfer failure occurred within this sequence, it could lead to a condition where a small amount of fuel (when compared to the total) can be trapped in the FWD and MID tanks. The fuel quantity selector switch's purpose is to help the pilot inspect those tanks, and to take the amount of "trapped" fuel into consideration should there be a transfer failure in the fuel burn sequence. Although internally, there are 10 separate fuel tanks within the 412, the fuel burn sequence in the 412 is self-balancing in nature, and as a result your fuel will be carried neutrally around the center of gravity throughout the duration of your flight. Important fuel control related switches can be found on the center pedastal within the Fuel Control panel. Here you will find the: FUEL VALVE SWITCHES FUEL BOOST PUMP SWITCHES FUEL TRANSFER SWITCHES Return To Main List THROTTLE MANAGEMENT Return To Main List The throttle controls for both engines can be found on the base of the collective. The top (darker) grip is ENG1 and the lower (lighter) grip is ENG2. The percent that these throttle are opened has been displayed on the grip for your convenience. Each grip has a PLUS and a MINUS symbol for easily incrementing and decrementing the amount that the throttle is opened or closed. There is also a combined PLUS/MINUS for incrementing/decrementing the throttles together. Idle Stops The Idle Stop's purpose is to keep you from inadvertantly rolling the throttle all the way closed, and shutting down the engine accidently. The 412 has a single bi-directional idlestop switch. When pressed to one side or the other you will have a limited amount of time (10-15 seconds) in which you can roll the throttle below 4%. Without using the idlestop switch, you will only be able to roll your throttle grip down to approximately 4%. When starting at 0% on the throttle grip, you will be able to increase the throttle as high as 3% without going past the idlestop. In this case, you can roll the throttle back down to 0% as desired. Should you increase past 3%, you will have to use the idlestop switch in order to roll back down to the CLOSED or 0% position on the grip. Return To Main List TURBINE CONCEPTS Return To Main List Especially during the startup and shutdown sequences, it will be important for you to understand a few simplified principles of turbine powerplants. Keep in mind these are simplified, and you can learn more by visiting the web. N1 (also called Gas Producer or the Compressor Section) This is the first stage of the turbine and its RPM is responsible for compressing the air that will be used during the combustion process that also takes place in this section. It is this section of the turbine that the starter directly spins during startup. The RPM at which this section spins determines the amount of force that hits the next section of the turbine and is determined by the amount of fuel and air being introduced. You will monitor the RPM of this N1 section by looking at the "Gas Producer" gauges at the top of the engine gauge stack on the main panel. These gauge are very important during all operations. N2 (also called the Power Section) This is the next section in the turbine. It is spun by the high pressure exhaust being created by the combustion occuring in the first section. This section is what is responsible for driving the gear box, transmission, and ultimately the rotor system. You will monitor the RPM of this N2 section by looking at the Tachometer gauge on the main panel. This gauge displays the N2 RPM of each of the engines, as well as the rotor RPM. Typically, your rotor RPM will be the same as your highest engine N2 RPM. During flight you would expect all 3 needles to be together, and between 97-100% depending on your governer trim settings. For example, by opening both throttles to 100% OPEN, you are asking the system to maintain 100% N2 RPM on both engines (typically this means 100% rotor RPM as well). As you raise the collective, the N1 section of the turbines will have to recieve more fuel, and spin faster in order to maintain 100% RPM in the N2 section. Return To Main List KNOWN ISSUES Return To Main List The following are known issues regarding the Hovercontrol 412: 1. You must start with a properly saved flight. The checklists and this reference describe how to save the correct type of flight to work with this helicopter. Failure to use one of the included flights, or a properly created flight will result in problems such as the Generators not responding (they won't move at all). 2. The included Easy Autopilot gauge (3rd Party Freeware by Antti Pankkonen) will cause a condition by where the front doors can not be opened. This condition will also cause the HSI course knob to increment/decrement by 10 degrees at a time. This can be gotten around by using your mouse wheel on the course knob. This issue will only happen if you have loaded the panel containing the Easy Autopilot gauge. It is not a critical issue. 3. Starter sound loops when throttle is not opened on time, and combustion is delayed. This is normal flight simulator behavior. In order to get the sounds to work as good as possible under normal startup circumstances, this condition was necessary. 4. Secondary Attitude Indicator does not droop when failing. This indicator is not handled like the main default attitude indicator, and does not have this feature. 5. Certain Switches do not retain their positions when reloading a previously saved flight. There are many customized portions of this helicopter. Flight Simulator does not retain the values of these custom components. Follow your checklists for every flight to ensure that systems are set as you expect them to be. 6. My Fuel Valves are always ON when reloading a previously saved flight. Flight Simulator appears to favor this behavior. Simply turn them off as indicated on your prestart checklist. Return To Main List MORE ABOUT THE 412 Return To Main List More information regarding the Hovercontrol 412 can be found at Hovercontrol.com Return To Main List THINGS TO AVOID Return To Main List The following is a list of conditions that will cause you problems while flying the Hovercontrol 412: 1. Leaving the Battery Buses On while learning the checklists. Your Batteries will die after 15-17 minutes and you will have no choice but to reset your flight and start again. 2. Forgetting to turn the Generators on once the engines are started. This will cause all systems to run off of the battery. In which case it will eventually drain completely. 3. Forgetting to turn the Invertors on. This will keep your cockpit from having AC power available. Important instruments such as the Attitude Indicator, HSI, and Torque Meter will fail to indicate. 4. Forgetting to use the checklist when starting this helicopter. It will lead to problems like those listed above. Return To Main List