Virtual carburetors ice up too
Killing time with FSX while MSFS2020 updates yet again
After a long day of sermon preparations and pastoral care telephone calls, it was time to get a little virtual stick time. Electronic flying is a wonderful way for me to unwind at the end of the day, but I have not spent as much time simming as I typically do. Unfortunately, this meant that when I went to start up Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, it had a lot of updating to do. The studios have been hard at work refining the maps and providing for virtual reality support. I look forward to experimenting with all of those features, but while the auto update was doing its thing, I headed back to FSX for a short hop from Sikeston, Missouri to Cairo, Illinois.
Nearby Dexter, Missouri, is my real life home airport, so Sikeston is a place I have have flown out of many times. However, it has been many years since I did so at night. It proved to be a good refresher as I had to relearn where the simulator light controls were.
Engine roughness and backwards flaps
Once I got airborne things when smoothly until I was nearing the Mississippi River. As I throttled back to cruise the engine started to run rough and then began to cough. It had all the symptoms of carburetor icing. Simulated temperatures were low enough that this was real possibility. Unfortunately, the stock FSX Cessna 172 does not seem to have a carb heat, so I simply had to throttle up and try to thaw the icing. Eventually, it smoothed out and the rest of the flight proceeded smoothly.
The final adventure of the flight occurred as I lined up for final at Cairo. As I went to lower my flaps, nothing happened. My descent rate was far too high and my speed was not bleeding off. After hitting several buttons I discovered that my typical control mapping had somehow been reversed. Up was down and down was up. Fortunately, I discovered the problem early enough that I was able to use the “wrong” buttons to get on the ground safely. As I exited the flight I reset my inputs back to their usual settings so hopefully this will not happen again.
It was nice to virtually get back in the air, even for just a few moments. A great way to unwind at the end of the day.
