How (if possible) can we correctly set up FS Economy flights with the CRJ?

[turbohawk 2]

Hi all,

 

I've done a quick search for this and although someone briefly mentioned FSEconomy and weights & balance in another thread, it wasn't quite clear just what/how this should be set up.

 

So TLDR: I'd like to fly the CRJ in MSFS for FSEconomy, but the way the FSE SimConnect client sets up the weight/load on the aircraft seems to break everything. Does anyone know just how FSE flights should be loaded with the CRJ? i.e. when to "Start Flight", what do we do about weight, balance, amount of passengers, fuel, etc?

 

The not so TLDR version:

So I've done my due diligence before anyone asks. Though I certainly won't pretend to be any sort of expert, perhaps not even intermediate yet in CRJ knowledge, I HAVE however gone over The Dudes Fly With Me tutorials 3 times over now, have successfully done the Tutorial flight and another 2 (non-FSE) CRJ flights that were all successful as I followed what I've learnt from the dude.

 

That said, the problem I'm having is trying to do a flight with FSE. Those of you familiar with FSE will know that the FSE SimConnect client sets the load and fuel on your aircraft when you click "Start Flight" in the client. Naturally given the complexity of the CRJ, I don't expect it to be quite that simple with the CRJ. So in my FSE attempted flight, I've gone through the trouble/steps of setting up the flight as follows:

1. Find and pick up FSE job including renting a CRJ.

2. Plan flight using SimBrief and Navigraph charts.

1. Converted the number of FSE passengers to SimBrief passengers. To account for weight, I've done the following math: SimBrief Passengers = (FSE Passengers * 77kg) / 104.33kg
2. Based on the resultant amount of passengers, I generated a flight plan with SimBrief which then provided me with a block fuel amount in kg.
3. Converted the amount of fuel on SimBriefs flight plan to Gallons to be used in FSE to refuel the rented CRJ.
4. With load and fuel in hand, we move on:

3. Follow usual procedures/checklists for CRJ in MSFS, set PERF data to previously calculated values.

4. "Start Flight" in FSE SimConnect client.

5. Thinking the FSE SimConnect client should have reloaded the aircraft now, I reset the FMS data via the EFB by using the option "COPY PERF INIT DATA TO FMS", I also reset my Takeoff Speeds.

 

At this point, happy that nothing crashed, and neither MSFS nor FSE SimConnect client was complaining about anything, I carried on. So here's the issue. Once in flight, for whatever reason, I could not, for the life of me climb past 7000 feet. I did manage eventually by fiddling around with the controls but something seemed way off. The CRJ simply wasn't performing at all how it should have been. With 43 passengers on board and around 4000kg of fuel, it should have had a relatively easy time climbing to cruising altitude, but it was acting almost like there was some sort of invisible ceiling at 7000 feet. Now let me rule out some thing and give more info on other variables:

0. Throttle was set to MAX, Flaps were fully up and AP disengaged.

1. Weather was set to Few Clouds.

2. Flight was in Canada and outside air temp was around 9*C at departure.

3. Even though there were few clouds, ALL Anti-Ice systems were ON and at no point did I experience any Icing (i.e. anti-icing was working as expected).

4. I tried every climb angle from straight and level to 20+ degrees pitch.

 

Here's what I observed:

1. Indicated air speed was extremely low 150 - 180 Kts even when straight and level.

2. As a result, I obviously could not really climb.

 

Results of flight:

I eventually managed to climb slowly at about 100 FPM and then gained some speed once leveled out, however I had to maintain nearly MAX throttle and maintain straight and level flight and it still struggled, like A LOT, like MINUTES of waiting to reach 300 Kts, it mostly stayed around 250 Kts.

 

At this point, after a quick internet search, it dawned on me that somewhere between the CRJ, the FSE SimConnect client, and perhaps the flight conditions, the CRJs performance was broken. Perhaps I'm just inexperienced and this should've been expected performance, but having done 3 other very successful non-FSE flights, I could only conclude that the FSE SimConnect client is clearly, somehow, breaking the CRJ OOOOOOOOOR, I'm setting it up wrong somehow. So for anyone that bothered to read all of this, question is the same:

 

What are the correct procedures to follow to set up the CRJ for an FSE flight? Are there even any? Or does FSE always break the CRJ at this point in time?

 

Thanks!

[RF pilot 35]

I think you are doing a few things wrong. Firstly anti ice should be off unless it is needed. Anti ice takes bleed air from the engine so reduces available thrust needed for the climb.  Second, why was throttle at max? This will over stress the engine. You should use toga up to around 3000 ft and then climb detent up to your cruise. You should also set climb speed of 250 up to 10000 and then 290 up to cruise and then around 300 for cruise. Dont let speed fall otherwise nose pitches up and very difficult to rectify without turning off AP and pitching down.

[JRBarrett 675]

I don’t think it is possible or recommend to use FSE or any other third party load manager to directly load fuel or pax/cargo into the CRJ. The Aerosoft CRJ uses a highly customized layout of weight stations and CG, and the EFB load menu is the only way to insure that the load will be put in the proper places. FSEconomy is probably corrupting the weight and CG which would account for the poor flight characteristics. I have not used FSE - is there any way to set it up to give you a text readout of total pax/cargo/fuel load, but prevent it from actually trying to load the aircraft? You could then use the EFB to enter the actual passengers and fuel. Default passenger weight is 185 pounds.

[turbohawk 2]

Thanks for the replies guys! Those are some fair observations @RF pilot, I will be polishing up my procedures and trying again tonight.

 

As for FSE being an issue @JRBarrett, I have also consulted with the fellas over on the FSE forums and indeed it does appear that FSE and the Aerosoft CRJ aren't the best of friends by default, but some solutions were suggested that I will attempt tonight, clearly weight and balance of passengers/cargo and fuel is the most likely culprit here, so I'll be doing some troubleshooting to see what works best.

 

For any future CRJ + FSE enthusiasts stumbling on this thread in the future with this same issue, here's the FSE forum side of this issue, hope it helps (you'll need to be logged into FSE forums to see it). I will also try and report back any of my own findings from troubleshooting, assuming I can figure out the easiest way to get this all working.

 

Thanks again for the replies fellas!

[Herman 1591]

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