If this is linked up-thread, I apologize, but this is a GOLDMINE for airplane nerds:
https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/items/show/46674
Be sure to click the download link icon at the top part of their embedded PDF viewer to save your own offline copy.
Ahh - yes, after reading a bit more I see that the military (took? Commandeered?) a bunch of them that were released back to where they came from later on.
Saw the RAF operated them too!
Additionally I don’t see any change in oil temp when I open or close the coolers
Oh WOW! Thank you for the link, @LameLefty!
It sounds like your PHLI - PHNL was fun. Jeez I hope I can get on the computer and try the plane out finally.
Me neither. I only seem to be able to control the carburetor heat.
Yeah its very strange and I wish I could fix it. Tried reinstall and deleted the state save file to no avail
I tried again this evening as I had last evening with all realism setting within the aircraft on and the default MSFS damage/failures set to off. I took off from Lihue with temp of 60 F and clear skies and oil tanks topped up with SAE30. Could start the engines no problem. High idled until oil temps around80-90 F. Took off without issue. Similar to my two attempts last night about 15-20 min into cruise flight the oil pressure just slowly started to drop ; oil temps remained 80-100 F. CHT never climbed above about 100-120F. FInally once oil pressure basically bottomed out, the engines caught fire and ultimately failed. I have read the manual from cover to cover, was monitoring everything carefully the whole time. Never exceeded performance limits other than the unexplained oil pressure dropping.
At this point I cannot figure out what I could be doing wrong and have to assume (unless someone can clearly explain it to me) that there is a bug somewhere.
Yeah that seems to be the consesus. Def some kind of bug. Wish I could fully enjoy this awesome bird!
I was having the same issue too. What I’ve been doing lately is opening the slats a little bit when the oil pressure starts to drop below 70 and that usually brings it back up. The oil temperature was still far from the 165F limit, but I think as the oil gets hotter, that specific oil you used starts to drop pressure even if the oil temperature is still in the green. Give that a try and that may work. I also use carb heat to keep the CHT temperature as close to 200 as i can.
Any idea if this is compatible with the SU9 beta?
Completed 3rd VR flight. This was my first flight with realistic engine start and damage enabled. No problems starting or managing the engines during flight. Oil temperature did not seen to budge, like others have reported. Other than that, it was a beautiful and relaxing flight from KORD to KGRR. I love the 30’s music on the radio! Finding a radio station pulls you in and transports you to a bygone era. This aircraft is spectacular!
Edit: This aircraft really does transport you back into the 30’s. The aircraft does not have an auto pilot, as it shouldn’t. It does not have modern navigation and communication equipment, as it shouldn’t. This aircraft offers a truly unique experience and I encourage all who buy it to embrace that experience. Fly the plane; learn to manage her engines; trim her out properly; relax, and listen to some 1930’s music. Most of all, enjoy her beauty.
For those reporting that the primer and / or wobble pump are not working, please check out section 2.2 (page 5) of the aircraft’s manual. It discusses the modeling of dynamic resistance in many controls. For example, the wobble pump. If you try to engage the wobble pump with a fuel selector closed, as in real life there would be too much pressure built up to actuate the handle. You must select the switch to open the value so that the pump may operate. I think there may be a bug in the state saving from flight to flight in that one must change the state of a control for its correct state to be recognized. Therefore, if the wobble pump does not move, simply toggle the fuel selector switch and then put it back into the correct state. The wobble pump should them move freely again.
Just parked this in my virtual hanger and sat down in my recliner for the evening to read up on how to properly take care of this aircraft.
The price of admission - for the documentation alone - is worth every single penny. I do not remember any mention of the database of 277 Thirties-era radio stations that comes with this model. That piece of history alone leaves me in amazement… I am grinning ear-to-ear!
I can’t wait to fly this beauty from radio station to radio station, using the period-correct instruments for navigation. This looks like it will be “seat-of-the-pants” flying at its very best.
For those folks asking for a definition of study level look no further. 
It is rather interesting that no-one demanded the Bleriot, in regular use less than 20 years earlier, have a modern GPS and autopilot but somehow the 247D (maybe because it looks “modern”) has people complaining that it lacks one.
According to Wikipedia it actually should have an autopilot.
According to Wikipedia, everything you read on the Internet is true. 
Joking aside, the blurb on Wikipedia is referenced from a 1979 book and reads like marketing fluff. I’ve not been able to find any further information regarding that supposed autopilot. Materials on Boeing’s own website include the same reference from the same page of the same author’s book. I’m willing to concede that perhaps one Boeing 247D had some experimental equipment that provided the fledgling beginnings of what may be considered an autopilot. Regardless, I’m glad the Wing42 version does not have an “easy button” and requires my full attention to fly her from point A to B.
I’ll confess that I’m happy on occasion to use GPS in other period aircraft - I’ll sometimes fly the Flying Iron Spitfire or P-38 as though it was a restored airplane in modern airspace. But I’m not tempted to in the case of the 247D, Otmar and team have given us a fully developed period solution. It has a complete nav system - just not the usual kind.
I don’t care about the lack of an autopilot because the A2A Constellation taught me to loathe the Sperry Gyropilot, which would be the right choice of period equipment for the 247. It’s a balky thing that can barely hold altitude. I remember spending so much time trying to fine tune it that I eventually gave up and decided it was easier to hand fly. Happy to do the same in this case.
Thanks to the Smithsonian I wasn’t totally unfamiliar with it - they’ve got a nice one in their collection. Not sure where they’re going to display it in their new America By Air gallery, but in the old one it hung from the ceiling near the DC-3 and the Ford Trimotor, acting as sort of a missing link between them. Also, as a B -17 fan, I’ve had to stop and admire all the design cues in the 247 that point the way to it. The cockpit windows are almost identical.
But I never expected I’d be exploring it in this kind of depth. I love that kind of surprise - it’s one of my favorite things about simming.
Nice find about the USAAF examples. Time to get some repaint requests posted!
It does sound pretty terrifying. There are a few moments in Fate is the Hunter where Ernest describes this situation. He also describes losing friends and colleagues in this way.
These pilots and crew paved the way for the airline industry today there’s no doubt - the cost was high but every loss was reinforcing the need for new technologies to make air travel safer.
I’m yet to try it with the 247 but I think it makes sense to get confident with the aircraft first! That’s my excuse anyway.
That is part of the value of this model for MSFS, that we appreciate the risks taken by those first aviators. There are some good books mentioned in this thread that beautifully describe the work they did.