I bought a set of Thrustmaster TPR pedals a while ago but never got a chance to set them up until I recently set up a more permanent Sim station. I was looking forward to turning off rudder assistance and practicing coordinated turns, but I’ve learned the aircraft in the Sim (for the most part, or completely) employ auto-rudder while in flight. The ball is always centered.
Are there any GA planes that allow close-to-realistic rudder action in flight? Otherwise, I just spend $600 for better taxiing. Thanks!
Tiger Moth? needs a lot of rudder work to get it to do anything. Never flown one myself, but a friend did his tailwheel training in one & said it’s a pretty OK representation.
I can’t comment as to how realistic each particular aircraft is, but this is a list of all the aircraft the have some adverse yaw:
In the table, TA is the amount of adverse yaw an aircraft has. But I must once again stress that this table just tells you whether an aircraft has adverse yaw or not. It does not tell you whether it is realistic.
Rudder pedals are amazing for much more than taxiing! They’re awesome for things like crosswind landings, crosswind takeoffs, side-slipping, aerobatics, stall/spin recovery, and corrective rudder for asymmetrical thrust on multi engine aircraft
Except the Comanche doesn’t require much rudder in the first place. From what I understand it’s mostly handled aerodynamically due to a linkage of the rudder and ailerons.
But it’s the first time I hear about any issues with the rudder in the game. It definitely doesn’t do anything for you if you turn off all assistance. I would try the C152 or C172 G1000. They have a reasonably good flight model.
Rudder input is needed during steep turns but most importantly during takeoff (right rudder) to counter the gyroscopic effect of the prop.
Where did you get this idea? I don’t believe this is correct. However, it often takes very little rudder input to stay coordinated in a turn, especially with slow movers like most GA aircraft. With airliners you want your turns to be as gentle as possible to avoid tossing the passengers around.
Try something made for racing or a warbird made for dogfighting. I like to go river racing. Find a long, windy river and try to stay between the shores as you fly along it. For the hairpin turns you will often need to perform the Immelmann turn where you toss your aircraft up into the turn and use rudder to bring the nose around. Lots of fun. The rudder pedals really add to full immersion.
Auto-rudder no, not needing rudder, yes, most of them can be flown feet-off. The Tiger ( and the Comanche ) can be flown with just the rudder & throttle if you want, the Tiger just needs a lot of rudder input to persuade it it wants to maneuver - it’s an aerobatic trainer, the Comanche is not.
IRL a Warrior is a great trainer for all phases of flight.
Some aircraft - notably straight tail bonanzas - don’t require much rudder input to be coordinated.
In the sim YMMV. Sorry I don’t have much by way of help. If it was me I’d try each of the non complex singles you have and keep an eye on the turn coordinator ball for the one that behaves properly when not using the rudder pedals.
Make sure you have good pedals. My CH pedals are 20 years old and dusty and frankly don’t do the job anymore.
Turn off Rudder Assist and re-calibrate the rudder, the flight models have far too much rudder authority in most GA aircraft.
The C152 and Pipers I flew required a boot full of input and finesse was easy in steep turns. Standard rudder in MSFS is far to sensitive and any GA aircraft wants to veer wildly off course on take off
I agree the rudder authority in FS is way too much, I flew a real world Cessna 172 the other day and only needed very little rudder inputs to remain coordinated, needed it mostly for takeoff and landings. Also you need a good amount of rudder control when doing steep turns.
One other item to practice is flying down the runway at about 10-20 feet, and use the rudder to slip right and left of the centerline. This is good practice for lining up your landings and understanding how much rudder is needed.
I agree with everything @Speed1994 wrote. The Adverse Yaw thread has a good list of planes that need rudder to stay coordinated. The Just Flight Warrior and Arrows definitely require some rudder in turns. The DA62X mod also does, if you prefer to stick with free addons.
Rudder inputs for turn coordination in the real world are generally not large. Slip and skid can be felt in the butt, so coordination is accomplished by feel, with the occasional glance at the turn coordinator for confirmation (at least in visual conditions). In instrument conditions, the turn coordinator is part of the scan, but the focus is more on what the wings are doing; i.e. standard rate turns. Good pilots have a feel for the aircraft and for the most part keeping turns coordinated is an automatic reflex.
All of this is to say that you can’t really practice coordinated turns in the sim. Without the feel, it is like trying to learn how to drive a standard transmission by using a parked car (with the engine off) for practice.
However, the reason you spent $600 (besides for more realistic ground handling and analog brake control) is for realistic cross-wind landings. For those you will need to be able to cross-control. Having rudder pedals is also useful if you want to slip or skid the aircraft.
This is the answer. In fixed-wing sim aircraft, rudder is mostly good for intentional slips (and spins!). It actually helped me to get back in the groove with my real-world crosswind landing technique when I got back into flying.
If emulated correctly, it should also teach you the importance of all the right rudder needed to counteract left-turning tendencies in low-energy, high power states.
