Some weird flight characteristics ?

A

Aussie Pilot

I need more ammo
Now I am close to my final setup settings and configurations i have had more time to take more notice of the actual flying.

In my last few campaign trial flights flying both the Sopwith Camel and Se5a in good weather i have had something weird happen.

Twice, not long after takeoff flying at good speed and straight and level my aircraft decides it wants to just make a sudden dive for the ground. In most cases i have caught this in time before death. It has also happened several times during combat at low levels and again in both cases at 3000ft plus, sometimes so much so that i can't pull it back and get red out while going into an outside loop instead...then death.

Any ideas? I do have the wind option on in my workshop, actually my realism is at 100% according to the workshop settings. I have "In cloud effect" off in the config, but there was no cloud anyway.
I thought it may have been a joystick issue so i went and flew some other sims, but all was ok.
Surely this isnt a wind issue, it's got to be something i have done (or is it)... but what.

Anyone else had this?

As i said weird...teething problems, don't you just love em.
 
Common problem old boy, you clearly haven't been tipping your mechanics.
 
Aussie Pilot said:
Damn...i thought one bottle between them was enough.
Click to expand...

Ah, well that's another problem, tipping them with grog. They were so tipsy they forgot to hook your elevators back up properly after patching the bullet-holes in your tail.

Dirty lucre and small boys, you won't go far wrong with those.
 
No idea on that AP, not seen that anywhere, maybe something odd with the controller as you say, or maybe if you upgraded from P2 a full clean out
(via control panel add/remove programs) of P3, and clean out registry and any remaining files,
reinstall so nothing old from P2 is interfering (see FAQ Misc questions Q21)
 
Just a shot in the dark...

...but I have had this happen. I think I know the cause though, in my case.
I use a Saitek X52 HOTAS setup and mapped the elevator trim to one of the dials available. With P2, I would trim out once in flight (I know, I know,... unrealistic) and all would be well. Now with P3, my trim is EXTREMELY sensitive. That is, it seems to react if I even touch the dial without moving it. When I checked the Z key readout, it looked like the trim dial was giving crazy fluctuations in both the positive and negative. I thought my stick was sending false info to my computer, like when a potentiometer fails, but in other sims, the dial seems to work fine. Perhaps one of the devs can say if they changed the way trim works for P3...?

Try using Autotrim (Crtl+A) and see if it still happens.
 
Thanks Zommov seems to be a combo effect there, not sure we have a X52 on the team to try, but we'll look at if we can see it happening. Check through the controls too to make sure there aren't any odd mappings for the axis in there too? I never use trim so will have to go try it.
 
I have an X52 also, but that doesn't seem to be my problem. I have a Saitek rudder pedal set up, and if I inadvertently hit the right toe brake it gives me a sharp down, I mean full down elevator. I try to avoid it ;)

Beard
 
....hhmmmmm... because of what Burningbeard says, maybe my problem is due to the Saitek drivers. I don't use the SST software to program the stick, I just use the in game key mapping, so it can't be that.... sorry, just thinking out loud

Pol; I have found that it happens more readily when flying the older planes like the Scout or the EIII. For me it's no biggie, though... I just stopped using the trim dial! Were I really there, I wouldn't have one anyway.
 
Hi there

AP and Zommoz ... can you tell us if you took of from the ground or air launched when this problem happened?

...thanks ....rex
 
For me it was always after a ground start and ONLY after I had already tried to trim out. I can always get it to settle back into level flight, though with very small tweaks to my trim dial.
 
I think its has more to do with the X52 then the trim. I use a X52 and get the same effect and I don't have any of the trims programed to the stick.

I don't trim at all, and I still get this effect.
 
Guy's.

Pol, my install was supposedly on a clean PC. I did uninstall on everything to do with cfs3 and P2 using the add/remove option, as well as folders via the data application route and in my Doc's folder. I couldn't find anything anywhere else before my new P3 install. I just did a clean 3.1a cfs3 and then P3. But even after doing all that the install disk still said it had to upgrade what was left of my P2 even though it was all gone.

Burningbeard, i do have Saitek pedals and will look into that toe braking as you said, but seeing these aircraft don't have brakes it seems odd, i'll let you know.

Rex, it happened after ground takeoffs for me and then later again during the flight at greater heights, i wasn't doing anything with trim or auto pilot at anytime during this, it even happened in a turning dog fight and made my go straight into the deck.

As a routine start up i usually hit auto trim anyway and did in all cases here even though it's really of no use here anyway.

My joystick is a MSFFB2 stick and calibrated again, it is working fine in my other sims.

I'll try it all again today including a fly in my stock cfs3 (installed for P3 ) to see what happens, it could just be my PC not liking all the constant changes i was making to the game while looking for the best set up. You know how touchy PC's can be sometimes.
 
OK I found the problem.

Guy's, when installing from scratch the game has recognised i had a joystick and rudder pedals and therefore assigned it's usual stock standard key commands to all possible options.

I didn't realize it at the time (been to busy getting my graphic issues set up) but as Burningbeard said "when touching the toe brake it makes the elevator go down".
So i looked into this from the outside view on the runway and what I have found is that the game has set eveything to work.

So not only do i get my rudder pedals working the rudder, but my right toe brake works the elevator up and down and my left toe brake makes the ailerons (spelling) work as well. Not only this, but whereas the rudder option on my twist stick was normally turned off (because i have rudder pedals), now i find it has been turned back on as well.
So with all these working at once, it's a wonder i got off the ground to begin with let alone survive a dog fight.
And here's me thinking i was flying crap or the FM on these planes was either really really full on or had something wrong.

So, if you are having the same problem, here is the fix. Go to your "Mine.xca" file via My PC/C drive/Doc &Setting/your name/application data/microsoft/CFSWW1.
Open it with notepad and under the rudder pedal section down the bottom delete the following.
<Axis ID="X" Action="Set_Bank" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="Set_Pitch" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>

If like me you also have a twist stick and your rudder is still working on that at the same time then delete the following in the joystck section of the same file.
<Axis ID="Rudder" Action="Set_Yaw" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>

Save and your away. Now go back to your game, load a plane and check it all from outside view.

Pol, Winder, this may be a good one for your FAQ section for those who have rudder pedals and do a new clean install from scratch like i did.

Guy's thanks for all your input with helping solve this one.

Burningbeard, hope this fixes yours as well.
 
I have a Saitek X45, and I also fly using all the trim tabs to get a "hands off" condition so I can go grab a beer during long climb-outs :ernae:

Anyway, I've noticed that periodically my plane will suddenly give a good jerk: up or down, left or right, or some combo. Usually this lasts only a second and the plane steadies back to the attitude I have it trimmed for, but is now off course so I have to turn it.

I've actually enjoyed this as a realistic touch. I've been ascribing these bumps to turbulence (I have all the wind and weather options full real). On a nice day, it might only happen once or twice in a sortie, but on crappy days it happens fairly often. I don't think it's my joystick spiking because I've got sufficient deadbands on all the axes to account for that.

Another thing I've noticed is that the wind appears to change in speed in direction during a sortie. On a long leg between waypoints, the plane will drift to 1 side or the other for a while, then drift more or less, or perhaps in the other direction for another while. Again, I was just thinking this was a cool realism feature ;).

The only time I've had something go really haywire was when I came within about a mile of a large, dark, angry-looking cloud. I didn't fly into it, I just got close. I got snatched upwards tumbling end-over-end for about 2500' in about 15 seconds. Quite a ride :jump:

I mention all this to say that just because your plane goes in directions you don't expect, it might not be your joystick :173go1:
 
Wind gusts are modelled so that's what you are seeing Bullethead.

Thanks AP. Clashing with twist stick and rudders is mentioned in the FAQ actually, but I'll make it more obvious and add your extra detail thanks.
 
Thanks, Aussie Pilot!

I've been just keeping my toes off the CH pedals and ruddering with the heels of my feet. Great to know how to use the toes again!

I've been tempted to toss my TM Cougar due to some of the control issues discussed. I actually thought about going back to a Saitek, but perhaps I don't have to!

Thanks again!
 
Thanks Aussie Pilot, now the only thing I have listed under Rudder Pedals is:

<Axis ID="Rudder" Action="Set_Yaw" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>

everything works properly now.

Beard
 
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