Constant left banking C172

User Support Hub Aircraft & Systems
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1

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Are you using Developer Mode or made changes in it?

No

Have you disabled/removed all your mods and addons? 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 Community Support section.

No mods

Which aircraft are you reporting an issue about? (Please also add the proper tag for it)

Cessna 172 Skyhawk

Which aircraft version are you experiencing this issue on? (You can find this listed in the Content Manager under the Aircraft Name)

Latest

Brief description of the issue:

Have flown many hours in the 172 and the G36 after a number of flights both start with left banking when in cruise. Nothing can combat it, you need constant right aileron to keep at level flight. The ski and float models of the 172 which I haven’t flown much both fly fine in the same circumstances. It feels like a flight model error starts after a number of flights, can’t figure what I could have done or how to fix. Going crazy.

Provide Screenshot(s)/video(s) of the issue encountered:

Can’t add a video of the problem.

Detailed steps to reproduce the issue encountered:

Take off, get into level flight, as soon as you remove hand from stick, constant left banking.

PC specs and/or peripheral set up if relevant:

Xbox

Build Version # when you first started experiencing this issue:

Latest

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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

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3

There is an existing bug report that includes both DR400 & C172:

This one for the C152:

4

Yes I’ve seen other people mention similar issues but can’t find any sort of fix anywhere?

5

I did not find any fix too. Also if you look for “banking” in the support forum you’ll find some posts explaining that left banking is not necessarily a bug but a real characteristic of piston engine aircraft. So maybe that is why there is no fix or mod to modify that behaviour.

6

Depends a lot on your Pilot & co-pilot (if present) weight, and hopefully, if simulated correctly, power setting and plane’s attitude and air speed.

IF you have a heavy pilot sitting in the left seat, and no co-pilot, then the plane WILL bank to the left in flight.

You can simulate the fixed Aileron & rudder trim tabs, by keyboard mapping Aileron and rudder trim , or other way to make them adjustable, or fixed in a non-neutral position.

But easiest way to null out the left turn tendency,

  • in level cruise flight,

is to add a suitably heavy co-pilot.
(and maybe go on a diet !! )

1 Like
7

Yes, that is a good point too to check.

8

Yes I can understand the p factor etc. but it has only just become a problem and the ski version of the plane doesn’t do the same.

9

If 2 versions of the same plane have different behaviours in relation of banking so I guess yes this is an issue. Or they both bank to the left or not. I would recommend you to fill out the tempate in the GA Airplane - Constant roll to the left in coordinated flight topic, explaining your finding about the behaviour difference between the 2 versions of the C172 you mentioned.

10

The weight and balance is centred, adding some weight to the starboard side might do as a fix, just wish I knew what was making it happen.

11

prop torque - plane want to bank in the opposite direction to the prop rotation, hence it varies with engine power, and airspeed and attitude.

Imagine something hold or preventing the prop from turning, then the whole plane has to try to rotate in the opposite direction, to maintain the rpm !!

Reason for the tail rotor on a Chopper !!!

12

Yes I understand that, and understand that’s why planes are built with offset engine mounts and propellers to assist in straight and level flight at cruise speeds.

Adding 50kg to my co-pilot has fixed the issue, if it works it works! Thanks fornyou help.

1 Like
13

Just to add, the C172 uses CFD and the flight dynamics of the ski variant will differ from the non-ski one.

1 Like
14

I have lost track of what the Asobo C172 (and their variants) are updated to do… I fly the Wb-Sim C172SP mod to the Premium Deluxe C172SP, that has a custom Flight Model, and flys much more like the RW plane.

1 Like
15

There doesn’t seem to be a decent 172 on the marketplace for Xbox unfortunately.

16

Working on getting the WB-Sim C172SP onto MS-Marketplace (for both PC & X-box, in 2024) :+1:

17

Four Left Turning Tendencies:

Most general aviation engines rotate clockwise as the pilot would see it from the cockpit looking out the windscreen
The principles of p-factor, gyroscopic precession, torque and slipscreem result in a left-turning tendency in a clockwise rotating propeller
In those engines configured to rotate the propeller counter-clockwise, these principles become right-turning tendencies

(1) P-factor:

Also referred to as asymmetric loading
P-factor is a complex interaction between aircraft, relative wind, and rotational relative wind
The descending blade has a higher AoA and therefore increased thrust

(2) Gyroscopic Precession:

Gyroscopic precession is the force applied (which moves a propeller out of its plane of rotation) is felt 90° from that location, in the direction of rotation
Gyroscopic precession is more prevalent in tailwheel airplanes at lower airspeeds with high power settings (takeoff)
In fact, this force is considered a right-turning tendency in tricycle gear aircraft
In a tailwheel plane, on the take-off run, when the tail comes up, it will produce a left-turning tendency, as the top of the propeller is “pushed” forward and the bottom is “pulled” aft
When raising the nose for climb, precession will produce a force to the right
When lowering the nose for descent, precession will produce a force to the left
In the helicopter community, gyroscopic precession is also called Phase Lag

(3) Torque:

Torque is the force generated when the clockwise rotation of the blade forces the aircraft to rotate counter-clockwise
It is greatest at low airspeeds with high power settings and a high angle of attack

(4) Slipstream:

The corkscrew wind strikes the tail (rudder) on the left side

Ref: cfinotebook.net

2 Likes
18

Does it have a custom flight model? I only see that they improved the modeling of systems, improved instruments and added wear and tear/damage?

19

I am a casual user and prefer ease of use over operational realism. I eliminated runway veering and cruise banking by changing a couple of settings in the flight model config file.

Example: the C172 Classic on my Windows PC

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\Official\OneStore\asobo-aircraft-c172sp-classic\SimObjects\Airplanes\Asobo_C172sp_classic

flight_model.cfg
[FLIGHT_TUNING]
p_factor_on_yaw = 0
torque_on_roll = 0

This must be done for each aircraft variant that has a flight_model.cfg file. For example, the C172 Classic has classic, classic_floats and classic_skis variants. Each of these has its own flight_model.cfg

Note that default aircraft (aircraft in the OneStore folder) can be updated at any time by MSFS updates, potentially resetting the configuration files. That has not happened to me, yet, but I maintain a settings cheat sheet of my tweaks so that it will only take a few minutes to restore my preferred settings.

1 Like
20

Exactly – these thing are seldom , if ever, update or improved in the Premium/deluxe versions,