So, I can’t upload the video I made today.
What I figured out.
If you put down the water rudder between the two seats, they work as long as you apply at least 1/3 throttle.
When you‘re moving on the water and take the throttle out, they are not working anymore and go straight.
With 1/3 throttle I can do quite thight turns.
The purpose of water rudders is to steer the aircraft at speeds too low for the rudder on the tail to have any authority.
The amount of throttle should have no effect, and if the water rudders are less effective at low speeds, then they’re pointless.
It rather sounds to me like you’re just steering with the tail rudder once you’re going fast enough to do so, and below that speed you can’t turn at all because the water rudders don’t work.
I couldn’t agree more. The only way to get a tight turn is to use full throttle and rudder but this is plainly not a great idea near to jetties, power boats, canoeists etc.
Hello,
There is a bug report for this:
I’ve submitted Zendesk but reports already that the amphibs aren’t steerable in either environment.
You got me wrong.
1/3 throttle does not bring enough speed to make the normal rudder work.
The knots speed gauge does not really move.
The water rudder works with 1/3 throttle set.
When I retract the water rudder and set the same throttle there’s no turn rate until the aircraft is fast enough.
Also I can steer the amphibian c172 on ground, on gear.
There is no question that it can taxi on land as stated above. It is another bug caused by addons. As also stated above it is reported that water rudders are non functional.
I asked the developer of the Cessna Bird Dog about the water rudders and here is his reply: “There is little effect I am afraid, the same for water effects and wake…
We Hope that these will come sooner rather than later” BTW it is a great little plane and a very responsive developer.
It is a really great Aircraft to fly. On water it seems to steer reasonably in calm conditions (for me at least).
Steering on land (grass, dirt, or runway) is a pain in the six. Brakes (right, left) don’t work.
I hope that whoever developed the Float Version had mercy on us and fixes it soon. Sooner would be even better.
And NO! I don’t have any add-ons in the Custom folder. Newly reinstalled game also.
The C172 one too cannot turn. Land or water. They need to modify their flight-model.cfg that they’ve released.
In the meantime, you can try Bagolu’s C172 floats on flightsim.to, or the Xcub on floats from the Bush League Legends discord. They both beat Asobo to it.
Both the MFS Xcub and the 172 steer perfectly well in water. Get your water rudders down and pull the stick toward you. If it doesn’t work you do something wrong or your controllers are not up to snuff.
On ground, amphibians are tricky to move and not made for long taxis, just look how the wheels are fit and you understand why.
Bad handling on the ground is a known issue with another addon in the Community folder which needs removing. Try emptying it… BTW the water rudders have NO physical effect when taxying on water in MSFS. This is acknowledged. Apparently the Robert Young’s Bonanza Turbo v3 mod can cause the problem on land.
You keep repeating that in this thread. This is not true. They work and quite well in the default aircraft. I have just done a tour of Manhattan with the Cub with several water landings and parkings along docks. You can steer it well.
Robert Young’s modded Bonanza causes another problem : it interfers and freezes the landing gears of the Cub and the 172. There was a thread on Avsim about that.
It may happen that another modded aircraft interfers with the water rudder for some users.
We will have to agree to disagree on that one! I will do a comparison video soon. I agree that this is a bit of a pet complaint of mine. Here is a video of t he C172 Amphibian turning on land as I consider to be ‘normal’. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2021 08 09 11 39 06 02 - YouTube
It is not a question of agreeing or not. it just works for me and many people. It should work for you. I suspect that you have a controller problem or a modded aircraft plays a nasty trick. I play with a Warthog HOTAS and MFG rudder pedals with only one addon in my Community folder (the DC-6).
Now, any software including flightsims are a bit temperamental. Some things work for one simmer and not for another… Ii have already seen that.
Add to that that SU5 has corrupted the controller maps of many people.
Why would the developer of the Cessna Bird Dog tell me on the forum that the water rudders are not able to be implemented at this time ?
I do not know the guy nor the addon so I won’t comment about his ability.
The default aircraft have come from Asobo who knows its code inside out which is not the case, I suppose, of this developer.
What I see on my screen seems to me more important than what he says.
I do not try to be argumentative, you believe whatever and whoever you want to believe 
Good luck…
EDIT Just did a full circle on water around a ferry ship in the Channel with the Cub 
I’m glad that you have as much fun as I do with the amphibians. I also hate to argue and have only made friends along the way with this great hobby. If the water rudders suite you then that is great. I have hopes that they will get even better! Just for fun, I include a video from the old days just to show the difference when the water rudders are deployed. Take care. https://youtu.be/IKm3dr7v5Pw
For anyone having ground/water handling problems with the X Cub floats and the C172 G1000 floats, I’ve edited the [CONTACT_POINTS] in each plane’s flight_model.cfg file to create steerable front wheels and steerable rear floats - that’s right, since at least FS2004 all floatplanes have four floats (two front & two rear) because with only two floats they just do a backward somersault and sink. All FS floatplanes with good water handling have had steerable rear floats for as long as I can remember (FS2002).
Both planes can now turn on a dime on ground and water - be careful not to turn too sharply on water or you’ll tip over and “overstress the airframe” or whatever the “game over” message is!
Cub Crafter X Cub floats:
[CONTACT_POINTS]
static_pitch =-0.1
static_cg_height =6.49
gear_system_type = 5 ; gear system type (betweeen 0 and 4) 0 = electrical, 1 = hydraulic, 2 = pneumatic, 3 = manual, 4 = none, 5 = undefined
tailwheel_lock =0
max_number_of_points =18
gear_locked_on_ground = 0 ; Defines whether or not the landing gear handle is locked to down when the plane is on the ground.
gear_locked_above_speed = -1 ; Defines the speed at which the landing gear handle becomes locked in the up position. (-1 = Disabled)
max_speed_full_steering =110
max_speed_decreasing_steering = 120 ; Defines the speed above which the angle of steering stops decreasing (in feet/second).
min_available_steering_angle_pct = 0.2 ; Defines the percentage of steering which will always be available even above max_speed_decreasing_steering (in percent over 100).
max_speed_full_steering_castering = 120 ; Defines the speed under which the full angle of steering is available for free castering wheels (in feet/second).
max_speed_decreasing_steering_castering = 140 ; Defines the speed above which the angle of steering stops decreasing for free castering wheels (in feet/second).
min_castering_angle = 0.05236 ; Defines the minimum angle a free castering wheel can take (in radians).
max_castering_angle = 3.14159265358979 ; Defines the maximum angle a free castering wheel can take (in radians).
point.0 = 1, 4.4, -3.5, -6.8, 2200, 1, 0.75, 60, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 8, 8, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.1 = 1, -4.9, -3.5, -7.05, 2200, 1, 0.75, 0, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 8, 8, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.2 = 4, 3, -3.29, -5.65, 2200, 0, 0.75, 0, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.3 = 4, -9.5, -3.55, -4.95, 2200, 0, 0.75, 90, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.4 = 5, -11.55, -3.55, -8.3, 2200, 0, 0.75, 90, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 1, 2, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.9 = 5, -11.55, 3.55, -8.3, 2200, 0, 0.75, 90, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 1, 2, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.5 = 1, 4.4, 3.5, -6.8, 2200, 2, 0.75, 60, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 11, 11, 3, 0, 0, 1
point.6 = 1, -4.9, 3.5, -7.05, 2200, 1, 0.75, 0, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 11, 11, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.7 = 4, 3, 3.29, -5.65, 2200, 0, 0.75, 0, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
steering_time_constants= 3, 5
point.8= 4, -9.5, 3.55, -4.95, 2200, 0, 0.75, 90, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.10= 2, -3.9, -17, 2, 100, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0, 1
point.11= 2, -3.9, 17, 2, 100, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0, 1
point.12= 2, -18.2, 0, 3.9, 100, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 9, 0, 0, 1
point.13= 17, 4.2, 0, 0.1, 100, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 7, 0, 0, 1
point.14= 2, 4.0, -3.5, -4.7, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.15= 2, -4.0, -3.5, -5.8, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.16= 2, 4.0, 3.5, -4.7, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.17= 2, -4.0, 3.5, -5.8, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
C172 G1000 floats:
[CONTACT_POINTS]
static_pitch = 1.2 ; degrees, pitch when at rest on the ground (+=Up, -=Dn)
static_cg_height = 6.2 ; feet, altitude of CG when at rest on the ground
gear_system_type = 0 ; gear system type (betweeen 0 and 4) 0 = electrical, 1 = hydraulic, 2 = pneumatic, 3 = manual, 4 = none, 5 = undefined
tailwheel_lock = 0 ; Is tailwheel lock available TRUE/FALSE
max_number_of_points = 21 ; Number of contact points
gear_locked_on_ground = 0 ; Defines whether or not the landing gear handle is locked to down when the plane is on the ground.
gear_locked_above_speed = -1 ; Defines the speed at which the landing gear handle becomes locked in the up position. (-1 = Disabled)
max_speed_full_steering = 110 ; Defines the speed under which the full angle of steering is available (in feet/second).
max_speed_decreasing_steering = 120 ; Defines the speed above which the angle of steering stops decreasing (in feet/second).
min_available_steering_angle_pct = 0.2 ; Defines the percentage of steering which will always be available even above max_speed_decreasing_steering (in percent over 100).
max_speed_full_steering_castering = 120 ; Defines the speed under which the full angle of steering is available for free castering wheels (in feet/second).
max_speed_decreasing_steering_castering = 140 ; Defines the speed above which the angle of steering stops decreasing for free castering wheels (in feet/second).
min_castering_angle = 0.05236 ; Defines the minimum angle a free castering wheel can take (in radians).
max_castering_angle = 3.14159265358979 ; Defines the maximum angle a free castering wheel can take (in radians).
point.0 = 1, 4.4, -3.5, -6.5, 750, 0, 0.5, 60, 0.424, 1.5, 0.75, 8, 8, 0, 0, 0, 4
point.1 = 1, 4.4, 3.5, -6.5, 750, 0, 0.5, 60, 0.424, 1.5, 0.75, 8, 8, 0, 0, 0, 4
point.2 = 1, -4.2, -3.5, -6.2, 1500, 1, 0.5, 0, 0.132, 2, 0.75, 11, 11, 2, 0, 0, 4
point.3 = 1, -4.2, 3.5, -6.2, 1500, 2, 0.5, 0, 0.132, 2, 0.75, 11, 11, 3, 0, 0, 4
point.4 = 4, 3.6, -3.75, -5.2, 1500, 0, 0, 0, 0.3, 2.5, 0.39, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1
point.5 = 4, 3.6, 3.75, -5.2, 1500, 0, 0, 0, 0.3, 2.5, 0.39, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1
point.6 = 4, -7.550428, -3.75, -4.590277, 1500, 0, 90, 0.3, 2.5, 0.39, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1
point.7 = 4, -7.550428, 3.75, -4.590277, 1500, 0, 0, 90, 0.3, 2.5, 0.39, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1
point.8 = 5, -10.2, -3.55, -7.9, 2200, 0, 0.75, 90, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 1, 2, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.9 = 5, -10.2, 3.55, -7.9, 2200, 0, 0.75, 90, 0.237, 4, 0.8, 1, 2, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.10 = 17, 3.6, 0, 0.9, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 7, 0, 0
point.11 = 2, -3.9, -17.8, 3.5, 350, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0
point.12 = 2, -3.9, 17.8, 3.5, 350, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0
point.13 = 2, -18.4, 0, -0.3, 720, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 9, 0, 0
point.14 = 2, -22, 0, 5.3, 350, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0
point.15= 2, 4.390305, -3.49685, -4.181302, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.16= 2, 4.390305, 3.49685, -4.181301, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.17= 2, -0.526055, -3.500003, -5.370309, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.18= 2, -0.526055, 3.500003, -5.370309, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.19= 2, -10.207049, -3.499701, -4.113675, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
point.20= 2, -10.207049, 3.499701, -4.113675, 500, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1
Lol, sure.