Problems with Aileron

[FlorianM]

Dear Mr. Dowson,

some days ago I bought your FSUIPC4 for my FSX. Before I hat installed the unregistered version for show IVAO's weather and all was fine. But now I want to show me position in FSC like a moving map on my notebook. And so I do need the registered version with WideFS. So I installed it all and the moving map works very fine.

But now my favorite airplanes aileron works no more. The plane is the MCR01 of AFS-Design. While flying the MCR after 30 minutes up to 1 hour the aircraft turns right very strong and the aileron does not work. If I put my Joystick to the left I am able to see the VCs Joystick moving and the animated aileron outside the airplane moves,too. Only there is no reaction in the flight.

Now I have tested it with many other plane, for example with the Cessna172 or the freeware Cri-Cri for AVSIM. There all works fine for many hours per flight.

What I have to do to repair the MCR? I can not help me any more! :x

Florian M

[Pete Dowson]

But now my favorite airplanes aileron works no more. The plane is the MCR01 of AFS-Design. While flying the MCR after 30 minutes up to 1 hour the aircraft turns right very strong and the aileron does not work. If I put my Joystick to the left I am able to see the VCs Joystick moving and the animated aileron outside the airplane moves,too. Only there is no reaction in the flight.

Unless you are using some options for joystick controls in FSUIPC4 there is no affect on the aileron or any other control from merely installing FSUIPC4 or registering it. In any case, if, as you say, you can see the aileron moving when you move your stick, yet the aircraft does not react to this, there is quite evidently something else going wrong with your aircraft model.

I'm afraid there is no way that FSUIPC can come between the aircraft modelling and its actions, these are all part of the same package inside FSX and only controlled by your installed aircraft files -- files such as the Aircraft.CFG, the AIR and MDL files.

Please contact the support for the aircraft concerned. Maybe it is a known problem with their model which has since been corrected with a patch. Since there is no way I know for any other part to affect this, I cannot help with anything through FSUIPC.

Regards

Pete

[FlorianM]

Dear Mr. Dowson,

firts thank you for your answer.

Please contact the support for the aircraft concerned. Maybe it is a known problem with their model which has since been corrected with a patch. Since there is no way I know for any other part to affect this, I cannot help with anything through FSUIPC.

I worte them an e-mail but they do not know what is going wrong. So I hoped that you have an answer for me.

I'm afraid there is no way that FSUIPC can come between the aircraft modelling and its actions, these are all part of the same package inside FSX and only controlled by your installed aircraft files -- files such as the Aircraft.CFG, the AIR and MDL files.

How I could edit the CFG I know. But in which way I am able to edit MDL or AIR files? Do I need a special editor? I hope I find the problem.

Florian

[Pete Dowson]

I worte them an e-mail but they do not know what is going wrong. So I hoped that you have an answer for me.

I am not an aircraft designer and really have no knowledge about how a constructed add-on aircraft deals with the relationship between its visual modelling (which you see working) and its flight modelling 9which you see not working). In fact i thought these were inextricably linked internally to FS, so it is really amazing that they can somehow be separated.

However, it is obvious that your aileron values ARE reaching the add-on aircraft model, else they would not become visially effective. I'm afraid only the aircraft programmers could really even begin to investigate what then happens to the aileron values they are receiving.

Get more information by all means. Try using FSUIPC's logging facilities to log your aileron axes and bank results. If you go to the Logging tab in the FSUIPC options, enter these values in the "monitor" table on the right-hand side:

offset 057C, type S32 (this is the Bank value)

offset 0BB6, type S16 (the aileron input value)

offset 0BB8, type S16 (the aileron position)

Then check the "normal log" option below. FSUIPC4 will log both the offset values and the values supplied by SimConnect. You can also set the "FS display" option if you want to see them in real time, on the screen.

How I could edit the CFG I know. But in which way I am able to edit MDL or AIR files? Do I need a special editor? I hope I find the problem.

I wouldn't mess with any of those files -- get the aircraft maker to sort those out, if the error in there someplace. Though the fact that it seems to be okay for a while before going strange does seem very odd. Are you sure you aren't getting memory corruption or something drastically going wrong inside FS?

Please make sure you are up to date with FSX (SP2 or Acceleration), and with FSUIPC4 (there is a later version in the FSX downloads announcement above, and version 4.30 is being released imminently).

Regards

Pete

[FlorianM]

Thank you again for your information. I made a logfile for you how you wrote it to me. But know the problem came earlier as the last times. Why? I don't know! In the enclosure you will find this log file. Because LOG files are not allowed I made a ZIP file of it. I hope you anything in it.

Florian

FSUIPC4.zip

[Pete Dowson]

Thank you again for your information. I made a logfile for you how you wrote it to me.

You enabled every single logging option!? Why? Please never do that again when asked for a log. It clogs everything up with possibly the wrong information. I was very specific in what i asked you.

Anyway, these lines then, luckily, came though:

487709 WRITEex 07BC, 4 bytes: 01 00 00 00 ....

487709 WRITEex 07C8, 4 bytes: 01 00 00 00 ....

487709 WRITEex 07CC, 2 bytes: 17 0C ..

487712 *** EVENT: Cntrl= 65580 (0x0001002c), Param= 0 (0x00000000) AP_MASTER

487712 *** EVENT: Cntrl= 66106 (0x0001023a), Param= 0 (0x00000000) AP_PANEL_HEADING_ON

487712 *** EVENT: Cntrl= 66042 (0x000101fa), Param= 17 (0x00000011) HEADING_BUG_SET

This shows the Autopilot being turned on by an external program, working through WideFS, and the A/P is set to follow a heading. I would think this is why your aileron is non-operational, don't you? If you want to fly manually make sure you turn off the autopilot!

A real A/P should disengage if you turn the yoke sufficiently, but it seems the A/P programmed into your add-on aircraft keeps the heading no matter what.

It seems you are using a program connected to FSX which you don't understand? Does this "FSC" program have an autopilot control option? I think you ought to read its manual and see what you are doing wrong! ;-)

Pete

[FlorianM]

Dear Mr. Dowson,

thank you for these informations. Firts sorry for the LOG file. I will really never do this again.

But perhaps, you found the error. In the aircraft.cfg I found these lines:

[autopilot]
autopilot_available=1
flight_director_available=1
default_vertical_speed=700.000000
autothrottle_available=0
pitch_takeoff_ga=8.000000
max_pitch=10.000000
max_pitch_acceleration=1.000000
max_pitch_velocity_lo_alt=2.000000
max_pitch_velocity_hi_alt=1.500000
max_pitch_velocity_lo_alt_breakpoint=20000.000000
max_pitch_velocity_hi_alt_breakpoint=28000.000000
max_bank=25.000000
max_bank_acceleration=1.800000
max_bank_velocity=3.000000
max_throttle_rate=0.100000
nav_proportional_control=9.000000
nav_integrator_control=0.250000
nav_derivative_control=0.000000
nav_integrator_boundary=2.500000
nav_derivative_boundary=0.000000
gs_proportional_control=9.520000
gs_integrator_control=0.260000
gs_derivative_control=0.000000
gs_integrator_boundary=0.700000
gs_derivative_boundary=0.000000
yaw_damper_gain=0.000000

I will check it with autopilot_available=0. So I hope it will work know. I will give you a short report after testing

Thank you

Florian

[Pete Dowson]

But perhaps, you found the error. In the aircraft.cfg I found these lines:

...

I will check it with autopilot_available=0. So I hope it will work know.

Oh dear. You did not read my last reply correctly, did you?!

Surely you do not actually want to REMOVE the autopilot capabilities of your aircraft altogether? For that is what telling FSX to do in the AIRCRAFT.CFG file will do!

The problem shown, as I already said, is your use of FSC, or whatever you are running on WideFS, to control the heading of your aircraft via the autopilot. Please read the instructions for how to use your program and I'm sure you will find the answer. The problem is surely USER error, not something in any CFG file.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

Pete

[FlorianM]

Dear Mr. Dowson,

I know form you posting that the AP is turn on automatically by FSC. But in the MCR's panel is not a button to turn it off and also I do not know what I could change in FSC's settings. So for testing I deactivated the AP and now I did a test-flight without any problems.

After finding the source in FSC or anywhere which turns the AP on, Iwill be able to reactivate it.

But under the line, you was a really big help for me. Now I have the direction for searching the problem instead of nothing.

Best regards

Florian

[Pete Dowson]

I know form you posting that the AP is turn on automatically by FSC.

If "FSC" is "Flight Sim Commander", by Sascha Felix, then I know it is used by lots of folks as a planner, moving map, and so on, and I really don't think it will be switching on your autopilot automatically unless you have asked it to. This is why I said that you proper "fix" it to refer to the FSC documentation and learn how to control it correctly.

However, I've scanned through the features of FSC on their website and I can find no mention of any A/P or flight control facilities offered. Therefore it is very odd -- are you sure you don't have some other programs also running?

But in the MCR's panel is not a button to turn it off and also I do not know what I could change in FSC's settings. So for testing I deactivated the AP and now I did a test-flight without any problems.

Ah .. I've just found out: the add-on aircraft is an ultralight! Surely the makers should have set "autopilot_available=0" in the CFG file themselves! I think you should report that to them as a bug. they should have nothing declared as "available" in the CFG files if it isn't really available! That is asking for trouble, sooner or later!

I still think you should find out what and why something, FSC or whatever, is trying to fly your 'plane for you, though.

Pete