Mixture Behavior Mod for Turbo Arrow, Seneca V, and Turbo Bonanza

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I’ve created a mod to improve the fuel mixture simulation for three turbocharged piston airplanes in Microsoft Flight Simulator (Just Flight Turbo Arrow, Carenado Seneca V, and Turbo Bonanza). I originally reported on the mod in the bug thread linked below, but I’m creating a dedicated thread for the mod here to keep the bug report separate.

The fuel mixture lever in turbocharged piston engines in Microsoft Flight Simulator requires leaning with altitude to maintain engine power. This is not true-to-life for a turbocharged engine. Check out the bug thread for lots of additional details about this topic.

While I hope for a bug fix to the core sim, I created a mod to produce more realistic mixture behavior for the three turbocharged planes listed above. I repurposed Working Title’s FADEC code to control the mixture axis. The code will detect the mixture setting from your hardware axis and set the core-sim mixture to an appropriate level based on the plane’s altitude, and the density of air inside the intake manifold. This will allow you to follow the standard operating procedure for a turbocharged engine, which generally involves keeping the mixture at full-rich throughout the climb and leaning after reaching cruising altitude. Here is a link to the Github page for the mod, including installation instructions:

Please note that this is not a simple drag-and-drop community folder mod. It requires editing and/or replacing configuration files for the aircraft. As stated in the included instructions, please back up the original files so you can restore them in case you have a problem. If you do not feel comfortable editing the config files, I do not recommend trying the mod.

KNOWN ISSUES: The mixture lever displayed in the virtual cockpit will not reflect the mixture setting on your hardware axis. The virtual cockpit lever displays the mixture setting in the sim, which the controller code calculates based on your hardware axis position and the density in the intake manifold. At high altitudes, it is quite possible to see the virtual cockpit lever set to 25% mixture while the hardware axis is set to full-rich. This is an artifact of the incorrect mixture logic in the core sim. It is possible to map the virtual cockpit mixture lever to the hardware axis, but this controller currently does not implement that feature.

DEPENDENCIES: This mod requires adding a WASM file to an airplane’s panel folder. In order for MSFS to recognize the new WASM file, the layout.json file for the airplane needs to be updated. I recommend using MSFS Layout Generator to do this. It is a simple app that allows you to drag-and-drop the existing layout.json file to update it once the WASM file is added. You can download the MSFS Layout Generator here:

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Continuing from the other thread about my hardware mixture not doing anything, could this be related to me having the Arrow bundle, and possibly a different layout.json file?
I have no idea how these files and bundles work and interact, but I have just one common folder with all the Arrow variants in a single folder.

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Is there a single layout.json for the entire bundle? Or are there separate layout files inside each aircraft folder?

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Basically, the layout.json tells MSFS all the different files that are part of an aircraft add-on. In order for the mod to work, the controller wasm file needs to be listed in the layout file, or else MSFS will simply ignore the controller and fail to load it. But the fact that the virtual cockpit lever is moving suggests to me that the controller is at least partially working.

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There’s a single layout.json for the entire bundle.

I’m not allowed to attach a .json file here, so I’ve uploaded it to my share if you want to have a look:

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Ok, thanks for the clarification. The layout file I included with the mod will probably not work for the bundle, then. Could you try using the MSFS Layout Generator, which I linked in the top post on this thread to generate a new layout.json? It’s a simple process: download the MSFSLayoutGenerator.exe. Drag the existing arrow bundle layout.json file onto the MSFSLayoutGenerator.exe. The generator will update the layout file as needed. Try that and let me know if it solves the issue.

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Yep, that solved it. Now I can adjust mixture for EGT, AND it is pulling back as I climb.

Thanks! :slight_smile:

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Awesome! Good news!

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The Carenado C182T is also turbocharged. Any plans to make this mod work with that plane?

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I don’t have plans to purchase the 182T, but I could create a version of the mod for it if someone is willing to test it. I will be away from my development computer for a few days this week, but by the end of the week, I could throw some code together.

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Took me FOREVER to find the zip file on the Github page. LOL

Looking forward to trying this out, I’m flying the TN Bonanza a lot, but the mixture behavior always bothered me!

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Any idea why the prop and gear are frozen since installing this mod? Gear goes up as far as sound and performance of the plane are concerned, but visually, it stays down. Prop blurs as though it is spinning, but blades are also frozen, as you can see.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 11_2_2021 8_10_10 AM (2)
Microsoft Flight Simulator 11_2_2021 8_10_10 AM (2)1117×423 38.3 KB

EDIT: Tried with default livery, same issue.

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That’s very strange. Did it start happening immediately after installing the mod? If so, try using MSFS Layout Generator (described in the top post) to repair the layout.json file for the Turbo Bonanza.

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I’ll do that thanks.

UPDATE: That did it! Thanks VERY MUCH for your help!

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Glad it worked. I will plan on updating the mod and instructions later this week to remove the layout.json files and instruct everyone to use the MSFS Layout Generator. Evidently, the folder layout varies between users, so the layout files I included are not universal.

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I don’t see how the folder layout would differ. It’s the same folders for everyone. How could it change from user to user?

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I’m puzzled too. For the Turbo Arrow, there are two different installations (a bundle installation with the regular arrow and a standalone installation) there are unique layouts for the two types. But I would expect the Seneca and the Turbo Bonanza to have standard layouts. In each case, I’ve had at least one user who was unable to use my included layout file.

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Since Carenado updated their Seneca today I had to reinstall the mod, as some of the edited files were overwritten with new versions. I can confirm that after reinstalling, it still works great!

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I’m glad to hear it!

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I’ve updated the included files and instructions on the GitHub page in line with what I was thinking a few months ago. I removed the layout.json files which I originally provided with the mod and edited the instructions file to explain using MSFS Layout Generator to update the layout.json file. I hope this will be only minimally more difficult than the original. It will also standardize the installation process. Hopefully it will avoid trouble with broken installations that occurred with the provided layout files.

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