C172 Magic rapid altitude gain

User Support Hub User Interface & Activities
, , ,
1

:white_check_mark: SIM INFORMATION

This is vital information for our test team, please do not skip it or your issue may not be able to be reproduced or fixed.

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or 2024: 2024

  • Version Build Number (Where do I locate that?): Not sure, and the instructions linked don’t seem to work in 2024

  • Game Platform (Steam, Xbox, MS Store): MS Store

:white_check_mark: ISSUE DESCRIPTION

  1. Description of the issue:
    While coming in for a landing with the C172, with throttle near idle and pitch 0, I suddenly started moving UP by over 4,000ft/min (out of range high on the PFD) and went from 1,200 feet to over 4,000 feet even as I pulled the throttle all the way back to idle and retracted the flaps.

  2. If applicable, which aircraft is experiencing this issue:
    C172 Skyhawk in Career mode on the very first mission after getting PPL.

  3. Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?
    Yes

:white_check_mark: FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you? (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)
First time I saw it happen in about 4 or 5 flights.

:white_check_mark: REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue.

  1. I was on the First Flight career mission. I had to take sightseers from Nashua KASH to fly over Hudson, NH and land back at KASH. We had done the fly over and was coming back to land. Just completed downwind and turning base, at around 75 knots, extended 1 notch of flaps and pulled the throttle back

:white_check_mark: YOUR SETTINGS

If the issue still occurs with no mods and add-ons, please continue to report your issue. If not, please move this post to the User Support Hub.

  1. What peripherals are you using, if relevant:
    Flitesim CLS-120 Yoke, Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Quadrant, MFG Crosswind pedals. I don’t believe it has anything to do with peripherals however, as it wasn’t a control issue and the virtual cockpit accurately reflected the current state of my controls.

  2. [PC Only] Are you using Developer Mode or have you made any changes to it?
    No

  3. [PC, MSFS 2020 Only] Are you using DX11 or DX12?

  4. [PC Only] What GPU (Graphics Card) do you use?
    RTX 4090

  5. [PC Only] What other relevant PC specs can you share?
    AMD 7950X3D

:white_check_mark: MEDIA

Please add a screenshot or video of the issue occurring.

[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]

:loudspeaker: For anyone who wants to contribute on this issue, Click on the button below to use this template:

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
•

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
•

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
•

2

Idle throttle means nothing. You can do 120knots at idle. I didn’t have an issue so I think Asobo might need some information.

  1. What speed were you?
  2. Did you change flaps or any other setting just before it happened and if so, what.

Maybe try it again and record it.

All we can do is guess. A first thought is ballooning due to going too fast when apply full flaps. I’d have though you would be way too fast for that though.

At a low altitude I wouldn’t expect a thermal. I was flying near Murray Bridge at 3,500 once when my J160 climbed 1,000 feet and a few seconds. Nearly busted class C and I had to pitch down a LOT to arrest the climb. A second aircraft had similar on the same day. I don’t know if 2024 can simulate that now, and it seems unlikely at low approach.

3

If you can explain to me how a Cessna 172 under ANY throttle conditions could achieve over 4,000 FPM STRAIGHT up with the nose pointing level with the horizon then I’ll buy you a drink.

I agree the best I can think of is a thermal but that had to be one DOOZY of a thermal.

As stated above I was doing 75 knots when I extended the first notch of flaps. At that point I was around 1700 RPM and when I saw what was happening I pulled full idle throttle.

2 Likes
4

This sounds like something is activating the command that raises you up 5000’ (or more if I remember correctly). I can’t remember the name of it, but I think it was added to FS2020 when gliders were added. I’m not even sure if that option is in 2024 (since I can’t get in due to the “too many cores/threads” problem). I’ll try to look back at 2020 and see if I can find the name of the option.
Regards

5

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
• Yes

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
• Had same issue in Cessna 172. Three different times in a 70 NM flight, airplane suddenly sucked upwards, VSI 4000+, airspeed rapidly increases, Ferry Flight mission. Lost a ton of rep for rough plane handling.

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
•

6

Ok so doing more diffing into this, and this doesn’t seem to be the aircraft but the MISSION. For me it is the first career mode mission after getting my PPL. The weather seems to be absolutely BONKERS. I flew it again and had the exact same problem.

I noticed it happening again and made a couple observations:

  1. With the throttle pulled all the way back I couldn’t get down below about 1500 rpm
  2. The big thing: The winds! Holy muckers what is this mission trying to do? I noticed as I started to have the problem the wind readout on the PFD was showing winds in excess of 50knots cross and over 70 knots tail and after a few circuits FIGHTING to get down and back around I was getting crosswinds in excess of 20-30knots. There is no way I could possibly land in those.

So the cause here is almost certainly the super winds grabbing my plane. There is no way this mission can be set up properly. No one would be out doing a sightseeing flight in a C172 in these winds!

I made a video but it’s in VR which I realized after the fact is really hard to see since it’s both eyes :frowning:

2 Likes
7

Moved to User Support Hub User Support Hub > User Interface & Activities since a solution has been marked.

See related report that seems to be the root cause: Wind and turbulence in the Career Mode is ridiculous

1 Like
8

Yep, had the same exact issue. It’s the first mission where you take some passengers on a sightseeing flight.

Take off is fine, but then you fly over to the sightseeing area. About halfway through this section, the plane gets rocketed up, going from ~2000ft to ~5500ft in about 5-10 seconds for me. It seems to be a certain area in that mission that does it. Later on in the mission, when you fly back from the sightseeing area, the same thing happens at the same exact spot.

For me, this spot happened to be right over an interstate junction but will be different depending on where you put your home airport.

It’s either extreme weather or just a bug in the game. It’s completely uncontrollable and essentially makes it impossible to get a high score on that mission.

9

I had this just happen on a sightseeing mission too!!! I’d already done several sightseeing flights, and now have my Commercial license, I am about 5 flights into paid missions, and had to abort my best paying mission.
Yes, the winds are absolutely crazy, and the twitching and bouncing of the view is ■■■■ near nauseating! I’ll re-try that flight tomorrow to see if it happens again. (+4000’/min, and the IAS increased to over 135, 45° nose down pitch)

Hopefully you will remove your “SOLVED” comment so this can be further investigated.

1 Like
10

This is at least the 3rd thread where this new defect has been described, seems to merit some attention from the CMs and development team.

1 Like
11

This is something I’ve seen several times, though it’s not always repeatable.

Flying a Diamond DV-20 out of UUMO, sitting on the runway with the parking brake set, engines at idle, and I’m scanning things to make sure I’m really configured for flight - (and waiting for the idiot in the van in front of me to get out of the way!), when I decided to take a peek outside.

Blammo!

I’m at 2,000’, flying at over 100kts, God only knows where I am in relation to the airport, and I’m completely unaware of how I got there.
:man_shrugging:

Reset simulation.

Another time I was parked, cold-and-dark, just slammed the door on the airplane and hadn’t even buckled the seat belt yet when I decided to take a peek outside.  You know, checking to see if any clueless idiot was standing next to the propeller or something like that - and blammo! I’m at 2,000’ again, flying, with no clue where I am.
:man_facepalming:

Reset simulation. . . . Again.

Changing the POV in the Optica while flying also did this the first time I tried.  I was flying over Yushno Butovo a few thousand meters NW of UUMO when I wanted a peek outside.  Changing the POV bounced me to 2,500’, changed my speed, and placed me somewhere else on a completely different heading.
:face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

Reset simulation - yet again. . . .

Other times things work normally.  Either on the ground or flying, exiting the plane for an external camera view does what it is supposed to do.

Additionally, I have not tried this with other planes as I am fed-up with trying to troubleshoot things that should be working out-of-the-box.
</rant>

I don’t know what causes this.  Space Aliens transporting me to someplace else?  Maybe I should check the situation with the planets and constellations before I fly?  Maybe I should avoid the simulator when Mercury lies with Mars?  Or maybe I should wear street-shoes instead of cowboy boots?  I honestly don’t know.

How in the heck do you troubleshoot on such quicksand?

3 Likes