Hello folks,
I have just got the simulator and are trying a few things out. I did test it during the Alpha/Beta but decided to wait until after release to get it because of some issues and hoping some patches would sort things out in due process. I have been a regular flight simmer since MSFS2004,( I converted to X-Plane after FSX) but have very limited experience with real-life flying.
My experience coming back to the simulator has been with mixed feelings. The flight simulator is even more beautiful than I remembered and the world update to Japan looks wonderful.
When it comes to actually flying however, I am struggling a bit. I have been lurking the forums ever since the Alpha/Beta period so I do know there are issues that are still yet to be resolved, but at the same time many reports of people quite capable of flying around with great success.
Therefore I seek some help from my fellow flight simmers as to what I can do to improve and how I can tweak it so I can have an enjoyable time.
My main gripes so far comes down to two things, control responses and auto pilot.
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Aircrafts feel… wonky?.. like really twitchy and sensitive, so I’ve been playing around with the control curves… now I am sure there is a setup somewhere that caters to my demands. Isn’t it quite odd, however that I should need to fiddle with the control curves just to make it comfortably flyable? I almost crashed the Cessna first time I took off! Never had anything like it in a flight simulator before.
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Autopilot? I mean, I have seen quite a lot of posts on this and frankly, it’s a disgrace. I am sorry, but what on earth have they done with this vital component of the simulator? Sure, I expected Vnav to be troublesome with airliners, but I can’t even get vertical speed to function properly. Last time out in the Xcub the vertical speed only wanted to rise, not go down etc. Is there some hidden tricks to get it to heed my commands?
There must be something I have done wrong? It can’t be that the simulator IS like this?
I’ve had the most success flying the Cessna 152 because hand flying is the only thing that works for me after fiddling with the control curves for quite some time. I might just fly around with it in VFR until they patch the AP properly.
Thank you for any responses, this simulator has so much potential, I just need some help.
PS: English is a second language, please forgive any mistakes.
Hi there,
Bonanza G36 is worth a try, have a look on avsim and get the mod by Rob Young as it improves the flight model also.
Controls are twichy and take some getting used to, landing takes some time to get use to. I tried messing round with sensitivity but cant settle on a setting so I ghave reverted back to default.
Other aircrafts I’ve found ok, X Cub (taildragger so a handful to land but pretty stable in the air) again there is a mod for flight model and liveries (Bush flyer legends website), C152 and C172.
In general the ga planes are ok, I haven’t tested autopilot extensively seemed to work ok with X cub.
Hope this helps
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Thanks! I will check out these modifications. I enjoy flying the C152 already 
I think there are a few threads (thread: joystick sensitivities since last update) regarding sensitivities and handling changing since the last update that I noticed yesterday evening that might be worth checking out.
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For the sensitivity issues before adjusting the curves to suit, make sure you have calibrated your controller first, either via it’s own software or via the windows joy.cpl app.
Just be aware if it’s a Thrustmaster Hotas like mine, the supplied software doesn’t provide a calibration option and for some reason disables the windows one. You have to uninstall the Thrustmaster software (which is useless anyway) to get the windows one back.
As for the Auto Pilot features they seem to be working fine for me in the Cessna 172 (steam gauge version) and the Cirrus SR22 which I’m mostly flying at the moment. Certainly for Heading, Altitude hold and Vertical speed climb/descent seem to work fine for me.
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Hi @Thesupercalle I feel your pain, I fly the TBM930 there are some good mods that fixed the Glass cockpit issues and fixed the unstableness of AP and trim etc… on various GA’s. With FD / FMS
I found that using VNAV you need to set the altitude you want either climb/descend then make sure you enable VS (vertical speed) once activated there is a dial which either increases or decreases vertical speed, that will then change your altitude. The AP should then level off at the new altitude. Also i generally dont try engage AP until im at my crusing altitude. Also take note of any TCAS warnings on MFD. On the TBM there is a toggle switch above the co pilot head which sometimes is off this controls AP and also Auto trim, i dont change it but for whatever reason it is sometimes in the off position, no warning on TCAS but AP wont engage if it is toggled off, go figure.
Also lots of youtube tutorials 'Squirrel ’ quite good “320 Sim Pilot” which go into more depth, and welcome to Beta testing, all part of the fun. Hope this helps Happy flying
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HI @RaveLlama8946 thank you for your help!
I haven’t tried the TBM just yet, was saving it for later, but thank you for these tips and tricks.
Now at least I am better prepared to try it ^^
Happy flying.
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Haha yeah I am using a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick, there’s not software for this dinosaur anymore. What I can say however is that it simply works on every application I have tried it in previously to this simulator. I will try to calibrate it via the windows joy.cpl app before I mess with the curves again. Thank you.
Yeah, I noticed things had changed after the latest update, will check them out.
Just to add, I think the TBM works really well and the AP works fine. I don’t use VNAV (devs say it’s not implemented). A couple of things to double check (you’re probably all ovre this):
Make 100% sure you have no dual mappings of controls (especially the xbox controller is easy to miss here) as I’ve seen that result in weird behaviour.
Make sure your units are not set to metric - that confuses the hell out of the altitude readings in the plane and does bad things
In the TBM, I find that:
NAV works well
ALT HOLD works well
HDG works well
VS works - as above, dial in the altitude, press VS then scroll the wheel up/down to set the vertical speed. It will level out at the ALT you set
FLC works as well but is less intuitive for noobs as you need to set the desired airspeed and adjust throttle before it will descend or climb (but I’m sure you know that)
APP works
ILS landings work (I can fully autoland the TBM) and it auto switches to the LOC on approach, and then pressing the APP button engages the glide slope when you catch it (no idea if that’s the correct procedure)
Issues I’ve found:
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take care with the down button on the MFD touch screen - if you scroll past the end of the flight plan that can hang the sim - but I;d recommend the G3000 mod by WorkingTitle (although I;ve not checked to see if that’s been updated in the latest patch) - it is really good and makes the G3000 more usable
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adding an approach into the flight plan in flight can create a plan that turns you back to the last waypoint before the approach. To workaround, add a waypoint between you and the approach entry point first
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make sure you don’t have a mixture control mapped in the TBM - if you do and you move it, it can cut off the fuel flow to the engine (reported bug)
That’s about it. As I say, never tried vnav, but all of the other AP buttons work for me
EDIT - and as above poster mentioned, check the overhead AP switch - and while you are there, check the fuel tank selection is set to auto (not always the case). For those who know more about this than me, others have reported fuel flow issues (I’ve no idea, but if it’s an issue you can top up mid flight - I regularly get 1,200 - 1,400 Nm out of it without thinking about fuel efficiency) and also some issues with gear/flaps drag - I mean, for me, they slow the plane down, which is what I;d expect, but maybe not enough or too much - who knows?
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Thank you,
It seems like a lot of people really endorse the TBM so I will just have to try that out next.
All of these tips are greatly appreciated
Cooll - give it a go, and hope you have fun. Let us know how you get on
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I haven’t flown the tube liners but I have had serious issues with the Autopilot in the GA’s. One thing I have noticed is to set a VS rate before injecting the AP. If not, it immediately sets a nose down to 0 fps which is a big issue if injected soon after TO. Also, I found that if I land and do not end the flight, the minute I inject AP on secondary TO it goes ballistic trying to climb to the moon. This is very hard to counteract too and puts you in a quick stall position. Haven’t come up with a counter for this yet other than completely cancelling the AP until a smooth posture is active and then slowly inject VS for climb.
Good Luck
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Hi just fyi G1000, G3000 mod project link below
Goes in your community folder, also with any new update for MSFS make sure you remove all 3rd party community MODs before updating and then add back in when you are sure that MODs don’t need update aswell to match new game versions.
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Thanks! Much appreciated.
So I, finally got to have a go in the TBM and it was great! It actually worked 
Most of the IFR flight went entirely painless, using Vertical speed and Altitude hold.
(Got to test the anti icing as well, they worked as well lol)
The only issue I encountered during the flight was when I was assigned a different approach to my destination and I couldn’t for the life of me find it in the FMC xD I guess I still have a bit to learn.
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That’s good news!
Re the approach, in my experience this is a problem with the ATC. I’m not convinced it is synced to the airac data. Also I think the data in msfs is a bit out of sync with real data like navigraph.
I see 
that actually makes sense. Shame though, I ended up canceling the IFR and do a visual approach. It was nice and all but would prefer to be able to do IFR the entire distance. Can’t always do a visual approach 
I’ve found it works if you ignore ATC and stick to your original flight plan. So set up SIDS/STARS, ILS etc on the world map and stick to that route. You can change it mid flight, but only from those procedures that are in the FMC, and I’ve not checked they match the world map data actually. You can also get the error I noted above where it routes you back to the previous checkpoint prior to the approach entry point, hence adding a waypoint between you and the approach entry when you do the change in approach solves that issue. Having said that, here is what happened when I ignored ATC once…
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Huh, I will have to try that next time. Might just skip ATC altogether if it keeps being an issue. I am sure they will patch things and imrpove for the future. Thanks.