Basic question. I have a real vanilla PC setup and am quite the newbie flyer. Sometimes either when I’m taxiing to the runway, or after I’ve landed and I’m getting off the runway I find that I’m fighting the controls/rudder pedals as the plane is ‘deciding’ on its own to go in a different direction on the runway than I want. I’m guessing there is some AI assist happening maybe in conjunction with AI ATC instructions? I have the Assistance Options set to “All Assists”.
To add more info, this happens on the runways either before take off or after landing, after having set up a simple flight plan using the World Map.
Any suggestions about how to work with the sim here, not against it?
You might just be experiencing the natural tendency of prop planes to yaw in the direction opposite to the direction of the prop spin–like a gyroscope. You need to expect that and counter it with opposite rudder. Google “P-Factor” for more details.
I’m sure a real pilot can explain this better.
Yes, It probably is the AI.
There are a few settings that you will want to turn off to avoid that.
From the Welcome screen, select Options.
In there Assistance Options.
Under Piloting:
Turn off: Assisted Yoke, Assisted Landing, Assisted Takeoff, and Ai Auto Trim
This will basically allow you to control the airplane yourself.
If you have rudder pedals, turn off Auto Rudder as well!
Bear in mind that taxying the smaller planes in MSFS is tricky anyway, plus the above mentioned P-factor comes into play as well.
All planes will also weathervane (turn into the wind) as the wind pushes on the tail and rudder assembly.
And be sure not to mix-up the aileron control with the rudder. Flying an airplane is not like driving a car where you do all directional changes with the steering wheel. Steering on the ground must be done with the rudder (and in windy conditions you should assist with the aileron so you don’t get thrown over ). While in the air you mostly use the ailerons to control direction (plus some rudder to make the turn coordinated). Also I encourage you to learn to fly without assistance from features such as auto-rudder as the correct and coordinated usage of both controls is crucial in learning how to fly airplanes such as the small Cessnas.
As I understand the post its happening during taxiing but if it happens during take-off you are completely correct. For a clockwise turning prop the aircraft will yaw to the left (right rudder required) due to a combination of:
Thank you everybody and I need to learn more about Torque effect, P-factor and all those combinations of influences. But how I really should’ve described the problem would’ve been to say “The plane is simply not taxiing in the direction I want it to go as if it has a mind of its own.”
Thanks to @TheSevenflyer for saying 'turn off all those assists" as that was the problem. I readily admit that I need to learn more about ATC and ground control, as that was the issue. I was ignoring where ATC was trying to tell me to go to (all I wanted to do was have a flight seeing trip around Ireland) but with those assists on and me ignoring them, well that was the problem.
I’m not yet familiar with ATC and how that all works so that will be my next subject of study. Thank you everyone!
). While in the air you mostly use the ailerons to control direction (plus some rudder to make the turn coordinated). Also I encourage you to learn to fly without assistance from features such as auto-rudder as the correct and coordinated usage of both controls is crucial in learning how to fly airplanes such as the small Cessnas.