[REQUEST] Making preflight checks actually meaningful

[aviationenthusiast]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Well the problem is everything always works as expected.

Describe the feature you'd like to see implemented

So basically we perform a lot of checks in the cockpit to see if the aircraft systems are functioning properly. But what's the point of that if the aircraft is always in a perfect condition. Why would I do fire tests or flight controls checks for example if I know they always work fine.

I would like to see a penalty system down the road in which random errors may occur so that the checks actually have a purpose. In other words you will be rewarded if you uncover an issue that could affect your flight and maybe then call a virtual engineer or a mechanic to fix it. And punished if you don't uncover it by flying a faulty plane with consequences depending on the type of fault you missed because you didn't perform your checks.

I think that would spice things up a lot and give you more sense of achievement and control of your flights.

References

IRL problems are possible, that's why pilots perform checks.

Additional context

We could start by implementing parallel codes that simulate some faults, and take effect according to a ratio that the user can decide from never to always, depending on how much realism they want, similar to the vanilla failures menu. In addition to a simple mechanic/ engineer menu that names systems in the aircraft and the option to call or fix when you uncover a faulty something. The fixing button will just revert to the original system code from the "faulty" code.

[derl30n]

Do you mean like a wear system to simulate wear for various mechanical components like Carenado does on their aircrafts? Would be a nice additions, not gonna lie, but I think this would need a better basis to work nicely. E.g. exceeding TOGA duration limitations will increase wear which then can lead to mechanical or internal failure at some point.

Defensively a good idea and a nice addition for those who pay attention to the details.

I like it.

[AndreyAdamovich]

It's simple, enable all faults in the FS main menu.

[aviationenthusiast]

It's simple, enable all faults in the FS main menu.

These are very straightforward, limited and come no where near the amount of tiny problems that could appear in a real aircraft.

[aviationenthusiast]

Do you mean like a wear system to simulate wear for various mechanical components like Carenado does on their aircrafts? Would be a nice additions, not gonna lie, but I think this would need a better basis to work nicely. E.g. exceeding TOGA duration limitations will increase wear which then can lead to mechanical or internal failure at some point.

Defensively a good idea and a nice addition for those who pay attention to the details.

I like it.

I also want this eventually. The closer to the real experience the better.

But I figured maybe we could start with simpler stuff. Maybe for some reason the wipers were on in cold and dark state and you didn't pay attention and just powered on the aircraft. Now you have a scratched windshield in especially in dustier environments.

Or maybe the engines didn't power on correctly and you didn't notice it because you didn't pay attention to the engine ECAM. Now you get abnormal performance that may lead to complications.

Maybe the flight controls don't work properly but you didn't test them while taxiing.

Maybe the flaps don't extend or retract correctly. and so on.

[derl30n]

oh, these are all major to me. What about minor, like a fuel pump stops working, that actually happens quite a bit, and maybe it starts working again/or not and needs to be replaced.

[aviationenthusiast]

oh, these are all major to me. What about minor, like a fuel pump stops working, that actually happens quite a bit, and maybe it starts working again/or not and needs to be replaced.

That's alright.

We could start building the systems slow. The wiper situation only needs a simple code as a start. something like a 5% probability (or whatever a more realistic percentage) that you spawn C&D in a plane with wiper switches on. Later on we could add mechanics for scratching.

Flight controls could start easy as well. maybe a probability that rudder doesn't doesn't go all the way full left or right. and to fix it you press a button in a modded menu, after you notice it in the ECAM of course.

[derl30n]

Not sure about the scratching because that would need the change of textures and/or models and may not be possible at all.

[aviationenthusiast]

Not sure about the scratching because that would need the change of textures and/or models and may not be possible at all.

We'll work with what we have then^^