Brian writes:

As a rule of thumb, that probably developed from just where I see the
majority of pilots fly is to run about 2400 RPM and about 23 to 24
inches of Manifold pressure for Cruise. Every pilot develops there
prefered Power Settings for each airplane as they fly them more, But as
a Rule of them this is a good starting spot for Non-Turbocharged
engines with Constant Speed Propellers.

The RPM I see in the cockpit is the speed of the propeller, right?
And the pitch adjusts the angle of attack of the propeller blades,
right? So if I increase the pitch, the propeller slows, but it pushes
the same amount of air. If I then increase the throttle until the
propeller gets back up to its former RPM, it's again spinning at the
same speed, but it is producing more power because of the deeper
pitch--right?

Is 2400-2500 RPM a magic number for propellers? I seem to see it a
lot in discussions of various different aircraft. Or maybe it's a
magic number for engines (?).

Do the aircraft I'm trying to fly have constant-speed propellers (A36,
Baron 58)? The fact that there's a pitch control implies not, if I
understand the principle of constant-speed propellers.

Also note that the Manifold pressure will decrease with altitude, so
you will have to increase throttle as you climb to maintian the 23-24
inches.

Is the reading on the manifold pressure gauge constant, or do I have
to mentally adjust what it says for altitude? I know the altimeter
setting but I don't necessarily have the current external air pressure
figure floating in my head, so calculation would be difficult.

I'm also not clear on whether this pressure is below or above outside
air. Is it a vacuum created by the engine (which means it would be
increasingly below ambient pressure as the engine power increases), or
is it a pressure _above_ ambient pressure? The gauge seems to imply
that it's a positive pressure.

Also some pilots will either reduce the RPM setting either before take
off or immedialty after lift off when the engine has a particalary high
RPM setting and large prop. They do this to reduce the amount of noise
made during the take-off if they really don't need 100% power.

Are GA aircraft subject to all the noise-abatement rules, too?

Yes I understand you are flying a simulator, But Learning is Learning.

Thanks.

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