Simviation Forum - Newbie Question

Jan 4^th, 2009 at 10:22pm

StarRuler Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
Fly FS

Posts: 6

Hey all, I'm brand new to FS2004, and i've been reading tutorials and such, all very confusing Tongue

I have 2 questions actually, First off, just recently, any time I try to take off, the plane auto banks to the right and attempts to take off on its own. Huh

I've turned all the autopilot options off and such, all weather is clear, no winds, nothing. I also checked my joystick calibration, all is fine. What am I missing here? Thanks.

And for my second question, What's the easiest way of locating the runway I want to land on, on the GPS? Please explain to me step by step, thanks guys! Grin

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #1 - Jan 5^th, 2009 at 7:24am

Fozzer Offline
Colonel
An elderly FS 2004 addict!
Hereford. England. EGBS.

Posts: 24861

First of all....take the lessons in the FS 2004 "Learning Zone", using the Cessna 172 Trainer... Wink

...!

Learn in small, easy stages, step by step...

...!

Its what real Pilots have to do, to earn their Pilots Licence... Wink

...!

Paul...G-BPLF.... Cool

...!

Dell Dimension 5000 BTX Tower. Win7 Home Edition, 32 Bit. Intel Pentium 4, dual 2.8 GHz. 2.5GB RAM, nVidia GF 9500GT 1GB. SATA 500GB + 80GB. Philips 17" LCD Monitor. Micronet ADSL Modem only. Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. FS 2004 + FSX. Briggs and Stratton Petrol Lawn Mower...Motor Bikes. Gas Cooker... and lots of musical instruments!.... ...!
Yamaha MO6,MM6,DX7,DX11,DX21,DX100,MK100,EMT10,PSR400,PSS780,Roland GW-8L v2,TR505,Casio MT-205,Korg CX3v2 dual manual,+ Leslie 760,M-Audio Prokeys88,KeyRig,Cubase,Keyfax4,Guitars,Orchestral,Baroque,Renaissance,Medieval Instruments.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #2 - Jan 5^th, 2009 at 8:18am

Apex Offline
Colonel
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 732

Hello and welcome aboard.

Paul's advice is good. Yes, take the flying lessons, slowly. And also practice outside of the lessons, just try this and that, it'll come easy after awhile, just gotta practice.

Does the takeoff problem happen with all aircraft, or just one? Try downloading some aircraft from here and see if it still happens. It could be your joystick, even tho you cal'd it, but not really sure about that. In general, that shouldn't happen. Sometimes some aircraft might not stay straight on the runway on takeoff, I find that varies even with the same aircraft. Maybe someone else here knows more.

GPS question is best left to those who know, I think there are landing tutorials here.

Best of luck

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #3 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 7:47am

Nav Offline
Colonel

Posts: 717

Quote:

First off, just recently, any time I try to take off, the plane auto banks to the right and attempts to take off on its own. I've turned all the autopilot options off and such, all weather is clear, no winds, nothing. I also checked my joystick calibration, all is fine. What am I missing here?

Welcome to SimV, StarRuler.

Probably the problem is 'engine torque.' A spinning propeller creates an 'equal and opposite reaction,' as you increase power it will tend to turn the aeroplane. To make things worse (or 'more interesting'

) American and British engines turn opposite ways....

The answer is to counteract the turn with a touch of rudder. With a two-axis joystick this is done by moving it to one side or the other, with a 'twist' or 'force-feedback' type it's done by twisting it.

As to 'taking off on it's own,' any aeroplane will take off once it reaches flying speed - whether you like it or not! Best, before you fly any aeroplane, to go into the Learning Centre,' use the Index, and look up the aeroplane you're flying (Cessna under 'C,' Boeing under 'B', and so on), ant take a note of the takeoff and landing speeds. Then watch the Air Speed Indicator and, as you get close to takeoff speed, ease back on the stick and she'll take off for you........

About the autopilot, you say that you've turned off the 'options.' Be sure to turn the whole autopilot off at the master-switch, otherwise it will go on 'interfering.' The proper use of the autopilot is only to use it when you're properly 'established' in the climb, with gear and flaps up and the aeroplane 'trimmed and balanced.' It is not designed to do takeoffs (or landings, in the case of the FS versions - they can't even land in 'real life,' unless both the aeroplane and the airport are specially-equipped).

Paul and Apex are dead right - do the first six or seven 'Flying Lessons' - they only take a few minutes and they are quite well done, they'll quickly get you versed in the basics.

Lots more we could say. But give us a bit more information, what you're 'flying,' what you've tried so far, etc., and we could give much more specific advice.

Don't hesitate to come back on and ask about any other problems you have. We're all happy to help as much as we can.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #4 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 8:56am

Groundbound1 Offline
Colonel
No, I don't work for Mythbusters...
Michigan, USA

Gender:
Posts: 1745

The engine torque effect that Nav refers to, can be eliminated by reducing the sim's realism settings.

Also, what joystick are you using? I had an issue with mine (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro) not long ago, were it calibrated and checked out just fine, but it was causing a similar issue. Just a steady hard pull to the left. All I had to do was unplug it from my machine, and plug it in to a different USB port. This made Windows detect it as "new hardware" and it reset everything back to normal. I never found out how the controls or calibration had gotten messed up to begin with, but doing that set it back right. Being such a simple thing to do, I though it might be worth a try.

Specs: Asus Crosshair nForce 590 SLI,
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ w/ZeroTherm BTF90,
4GB G.Skill PI Series DDR2-800,
Sapphire HD4870 512MB,
PC P&C 750 Quad, in a CoolerMaster HAF932

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #5 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 9:05am

Fozzer Offline
Colonel
An elderly FS 2004 addict!
Hereford. England. EGBS.

Posts: 24861

I've spent the past 10+ years, daily practicing, and developing my flying skills, in my little Cessna 150 Trainer......

...I think I've got the hang of it now!... Roll Eyes

..

...

...!

.... Grin

...!

Paul...G-BPLF...FS 2004... Cool

...!

Dell Dimension 5000 BTX Tower. Win7 Home Edition, 32 Bit. Intel Pentium 4, dual 2.8 GHz. 2.5GB RAM, nVidia GF 9500GT 1GB. SATA 500GB + 80GB. Philips 17" LCD Monitor. Micronet ADSL Modem only. Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. FS 2004 + FSX. Briggs and Stratton Petrol Lawn Mower...Motor Bikes. Gas Cooker... and lots of musical instruments!.... ...!
Yamaha MO6,MM6,DX7,DX11,DX21,DX100,MK100,EMT10,PSR400,PSS780,Roland GW-8L v2,TR505,Casio MT-205,Korg CX3v2 dual manual,+ Leslie 760,M-Audio Prokeys88,KeyRig,Cubase,Keyfax4,Guitars,Orchestral,Baroque,Renaissance,Medieval Instruments.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #6 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 11:36am

dave3cu Offline
Colonel
Procrastinate now, don't
put it off.
3CU, Northern Wisconsin, USA

Gender:
Posts: 3077

Welcome StarRuler,

GPS (Garmin 500)-for airport runway and other info:

Press NRST
Use inner arrows (on PUSH CRSR knob) to select 'Nearest Airport' list.
Press PUSH CRSR to get list cursor.
Use outer arrows to move list cursor to desired airport.
Press ENT
Use inner arrows to cycle thru airport/waypoint info to find the simple airport diagram

The proceedure is the same on the 295, just the buttons are arranged differently.

Nearest Airport list is limited to about 30nm. Beyond that range use the map.
The airport diagram gives limited info on the primary runway. It gives no info on runway in use. For that you'll have to tune AWOS for an uncontrolled airport and make your decision based on wind conditions. At controlled airports, to get the info prior to contacting the tower, tune ATIS. You can receive these, prior to them becoming available on the ATC menu, by manually tuning the freq (from the map).

Of course, normally, for planned flights you would have all this info assembled prior to departure. Wink

Dave

At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation. Igor Sikorsky

I intend to live forever....so far, so good. Steven Wright

You know....you can just rip up a to-do list.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #7 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 11:45am

beaky Offline
Global Moderator
Uhhhh.... yup!
Newark, NJ USA

Gender:
Posts: 14187

The problem with torque and prop effects being the cause of StarRuler's right-turning tendency is that the vast majority of piston engines rotate clockwise (as seen from behind it), causing the plane to want to rotate, and of course yaw, the other way (to the pilot's left)... which requires right rudder to compensate.

The question of whether or not this happens to you with all aircraft is very important...in a jet, you won't get this torque effect.

So... if it's not that... are you sure you have not inadvertently applied rudder trim (I think there are default key commands in the sim for that, and sometimes even planes that don't have rudder trim in real life have it in the sim)?

And are you absolutely sure the autopilot is off? All you need to do to turn the autopilot on or off is to hit "Z" on the keyboard. With most FS models, when you turn off the AP you will hear a tone (three beeps, if I remember right). That's the simplest way to be sure: hit Z until you hear those beeps.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #8 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 1:18pm

Apex Offline
Colonel
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 732

Interesting feedback from Groundbound1 re: Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, which is the one I use. I've gone through several, after a lot, I mean a lot of use, I found that they developed a slight left yaw, that is, let go of the stick while ailerons are level, and the aircraft will slowly tilt left. All aircraft, even jets. Realism settings all off. Sometimes a restart helps, but I had not thought of trying another port. The 3D I currently have has not developed that problem, but thanks for that, good for future reference, and thanks to everyone else for other tips here.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #9 - Jan 6^th, 2009 at 8:03pm

StarRuler Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
Fly FS

Posts: 6

thanks a lot for all the helpful info. im training in the learning center now =)

Back to top

IP Logged

	Search the archive: