I had my first real vacuum failure last night, fortunately in VMC. The VAC annunciator lit up and the suction gauge went to 0 when I was 10 nm back from my runway -- by the time we touched down, the HI was very sluggish, and the AI was showing a 20-degree bank when level.
My daughter and I both noticed the VAC annunciator instantly -- that's good news for early recognition if it ever happens in IMC. I asked myself what would have happened in IMC, and in that particular case, I think it would have been a non-event -- we were already lined up for the approach, in calm wind and smooth air, so the AI would barely be included in my scan anyway, and the TC was more than stable enough. In turbulence, however, it would be much more difficult. The other good news is that the AI and HI spun down just like they do in FlightGear, so the whole panel looked very familiar to me. The bad news, of course, is that I have to pay for a new vacuum pump. All the best, David _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel
