Secret Fuel Procedure FS2002

[Doug]

A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
time....

Doug

[Al Denelsbeck]

(Doug) wrote in
om:

> A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> time....


The fuel trick has been around since FS II, the SubLogic days, but at
least they documented it then. It was the 'proper' way to refuel - well, at
least to top off the tanks. Weight, balance, and all that hoohah wasn't
exactly taken into account.

Elevations were an interesting concept back then. The elevation was
tied to the airport, and existed for a certain radius around it. When you
crossed that line, the airport details became visible and the ground level
jumped to match the airport; no gradual transition. This wasn't a visible
effect, it simply changed how soon you would contact the ground.

One time, doing one of the experiments from an FS adventure book, I
brought the aircraft in for a 'hands-free' landing off-airport. No yoke, no
rudder, just throttle and flaps, trying to achieve a smooth touchdown. I
was successful (we won't go into what attempt this was), and as I'm rolling
out, I crossed that line where the elevation changed. With a lot of
bouncing and the repeated screeching sounds of a hard touchdown, the plane
gained 120 ft in altitude while grounded and rolling forward at 30 knots.
Took me a bit to figure out what had happened.

By the way, I often use the fuel box as a helipad. The standing pump
can give a better visual reference for sneaky things like drifting sideways
or backwards.

- Al.

--
To reply, insert dash in address to separate G and I in the domain

[JT]

(Doug) wrote:

> A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> the square and you will get refueled.

These yellow refueling spots have been there for quite some time IIRC -
maybe even since the sublogic days. With FS 2004 they have replacd these
with a proper fuel station model.

jt

[Bill]

long time documented feature...really no secret :-)

Bill


"Doug" > wrote in message
om...
> A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> time....
>
> Doug

[H M]

> Elevations were an interesting concept back then. The elevation was
> tied to the airport, and existed for a certain radius around it. When you
> crossed that line, the airport details became visible and the ground level
> jumped to match the airport; no gradual transition. This wasn't a visible
> effect, it simply changed how soon you would contact the ground.

i guess that explains the strange effect i ran into: i took off from
lake tahoe (>5000 ft MSL) and flew down towards oakland (sea level). i
was cruising along, thinking about nothing evil when suddenly the
altimeter and VSI went wild. they kept swinging up and down,
contradicting each other (one said i was climbing while the other
claimed i was descending). another flight produced exactly the same
result...

[Doug]

Ok, but where is it documented in FS2002? All I have is help files and
a little manual, nothing about fuel stations in there.....

Doug


"Bill" > wrote in message >...
> long time documented feature...really no secret :-)
>
> Bill
>
>
> "Doug" > wrote in message
> om...
> > A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> > look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> > the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> > about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> > fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> > airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> > idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> > Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> > Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> > outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> > time....
> >
> > Doug

[Bill]

I would have to double check where in 2002, but its been known from previous
versions. I guess if one starts with 2002 and its not there, then thats an
oversight from MS.

Bill


"Doug" > wrote in message
om...
> Ok, but where is it documented in FS2002? All I have is help files and
> a little manual, nothing about fuel stations in there.....
>
> Doug
>
>
> "Bill" > wrote in message
>...
> > long time documented feature...really no secret :-)
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >
> > "Doug" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> > > look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> > > the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> > > about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> > > fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> > > airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> > > idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> > > Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> > > Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> > > outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> > > time....
> > >
> > > Doug

[Bill]

You are correct Doug, I checked 2002 and could not find any reference to
refueling on the ground. That must be an oversight, and newcomers to FS
would not know about it, so I guess calling it a secret isnt way off :-)

I been around FS for more years than I care to think about, and it was
documented in previous versions.

Bill

"Doug" > wrote in message
om...
> Ok, but where is it documented in FS2002? All I have is help files and
> a little manual, nothing about fuel stations in there.....
>
> Doug
>
>
> "Bill" > wrote in message
>...
> > long time documented feature...really no secret :-)
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >
> > "Doug" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> > > look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> > > the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> > > about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> > > fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> > > airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> > > idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> > > Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> > > Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> > > outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> > > time....
> > >
> > > Doug

[Doug]

Thats interesting, but not surprising, lots of oversights and bugs in
FS2002 but I sure get alot entertainment value out of it. Thanks for
checking into it.

Doug

"Bill" > wrote in message >...
> You are correct Doug, I checked 2002 and could not find any reference to
> refueling on the ground. That must be an oversight, and newcomers to FS
> would not know about it, so I guess calling it a secret isnt way off :-)
>
> I been around FS for more years than I care to think about, and it was
> documented in previous versions.
>
> Bill
>

[JasonSJbird]

Since at least FS2000, you could look for the fuel pump at any medium to large
airport, and find it at the corner of a large yellow square demarkating auto
refuel area. You may do this day or night, but you must come to a stop with all
gear within the square boundaries. Refueling itself happens in the blink of an
eye at this point

[Ludlow Johnson]

The darndest thing.........after I read this online I went flying from
my local airport and found it. But you really had to look for it.



On 21 Sep 2003 20:50:24 GMT, (JasonSJbird) wrote:

>Since at least FS2000, you could look for the fuel pump at any medium to large
>airport, and find it at the corner of a large yellow square demarkating auto
>refuel area. You may do this day or night, but you must come to a stop with all
>gear within the square boundaries. Refueling itself happens in the blink of an
>eye at this point

[Mark Cherry]

In om,
Doug wrote:

> A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> time....
>
> Doug


Nobody else mentioned this yet, so I will....

The fuel box also does a bit of repair and maintainance on the plane, so any
faulty gauges on the panel, or fuel leaks, or whatever, get repaired.

You'll not encounter these faults unless you have the 'reliability' slider set
at less than 100%. I'd imagine most users don't experiment with it more than
once because it's a right royal p.i.t.a. In FS5.1 (last version where I tried
it), at 1 notch back from 100%, you could expect to see at least two instruments
fail within 10 minutes of taking off and fuel tanks draining dry if you press on
for longer than another 10 minutes or so. So much for having failures sneak up
on you when you least expect them....

I'll say one thing though at least FS doesn't give us simulated rental, fuel
and maintainance bills! :-D


--
regards,

Mark

[Mark Cherry]

In om,
Doug wrote:

> A guy I work with told me you can fly over an airport at night and
> look for a lit up yellow square, then land and go there and park in
> the square and you will get refueled. I couldnt find out anything
> about this in the help files, so I was doubtful, I always adjusted
> fuel through the menus. Anyway I tried it at Vancouvers International
> airport and it works!!! Ive had this software for 2 years and had no
> idea you could do that, Am I the only one that didnt know about this?
> Why don't they mention this in help? Does FS2004 have the same setup?
> Now I he says you can open the door on the Cessna 172 by going to the
> outside view and shutting off the engine. I will have to try that next
> time....
>
> Doug

Nobody else mentioned this yet, so I will....

The fuel box also does a bit of repair and maintainance on the plane, so any
faulty gauges on the panel, or fuel leaks, or whatever, get repaired.

You'll not encounter these faults unless you have the 'reliability' slider set
at less than 100%. I'd imagine most users don't experiment with it more than
once because it's a right royal p.i.t.a. In FS5.1 (last version where I tried
it), at 1 notch back from 100%, you could expect to see at least two instruments
fail within 10 minutes of taking off and fuel tanks draining dry if you press on
for longer than another 10 minutes or so. So much for having failures sneak up
on you when you least expect them....

I'll say one thing though at least FS doesn't give us simulated rental, fuel
and maintainance bills! :-D


--
regards,

Mark