FSUIPC Holds?

[LTCSZ]

I have tried the FSUIPC Speed Hold function in FSX and it doesn't seem to do anything but cycle the throttle back and forth resulting in lost control...What exactly is it's function? Thanks...

Steve

[Pete Dowson]

I have tried the FSUIPC Speed Hold function in FSX and it doesn't seem to do anything but cycle the throttle back and forth resulting in lost control...What exactly is it's function? Thanks...

What FSUIPC Speed Hold?

Pete

[LTCSZ]

This one...Thanks,

Steve

[Pete Dowson]

This one...Thanks

Oh, right. You mean the experimental FSUIPC feedback controls. Those are test facilities for folks experimenting with values for different aircraft. There's a document about it in the FSUIPC SDK package, which I reproducr below for you:

FSUIPC Autopilot feedback control facility

==========================================

FOR PROGRAMMERS!

Offsets 0700 - 0717 = Pitch control by elevator and/or elevator trim

Offsets 0718 - 072f = Bank control by aileron

Offsets 0730 - 0747 = KIAS/GS control by throttle(s)

Offsets 0748 - 075F = Mach control by throttle(s)

The latter two are mutually exclusive -- if both are enabled only KIAS

operates, the other is switched off.

Each of these blocks of 24 bytes are used as follows:

0-7 Double target pitch or bank, in degrees, speed in knots or Mach

8 Switch to enable the control loop.

This is 0 for "off", non-zero for "on".

9 Flags:

2^0 = 1 No trim-out. This is only applicable to pitch control,

By default FSUIPC will control the pitch using the elevator, but then, when

very close (less divergence than your original minimum), it will trim out

the elevator divergence. This is more or less what a pilot would do and seems

to be the way the real aircraft work too, as far as we've determined.

However, if you do not want this transfer of offset to the trim, set this

flag.

2^1 = 1 Trim only: again, this is only applicable to pitch control.

Normally FSUIPC will control the pitch by elevator adjustments. If this flag

is set it will use the trim only.

Note that the flags are independent -- even if the trim is used for control,

any user-set or remaining deviation on the elevator can also be trimmed out

when the pitch is closely achieved.

2^2 = 1 Speed and Mach control only: use EPR for engine limits instead

of N1% (see below).

2^3 = 1 Speed control only: use ground speed, not indicated air speed

10-19 Factors used in the feedback loop calculations.

These are 5 16-bit values, as follows:

10-11 value L

= unsigned low difference, in

degrees/knots/machhundredths * 256

128 == 0.5 degrees default for pitch and bank

51 == 0.2 knots for speed

10 == 0.0004 mach (.04 1/100ths)

12-13 value H

= unsigned high difference,

in degrees/knots/machhundredths * 256

2560 == 10.0 degrees default for pitch and bank

7680 == 30 knots for speed

1792 == 0.07 mach ( 7 1/100ths)

14-15 value R

= signed max rate of change to attempt,

in degrees/knots/machhundredths * 256 per sec

307 == 1.2 degrees per sec default for pitch and bank

589 == 2.3 knots per sec default for speed

256 == 0.01 mach per sec (1 1/100th)

(The sign allows reversal if needed)

16-17 value Fh

= signed high fiddle factor, scalar * 256

25600 = 100 default for pitch and bank

7600 = 29.7 default for speed and mach

17-18 value Fl

= signed low fiddle factor, scalar * 256

12800 = 50 default for pitch and bank

3600 = 14.8 default for speed and mach

Note that you can change these at any time, but the change does not become

effective until you next enable the feedback control after it has been turned

off (and seen to be turned off). This is because FSUIPC builds a lookup table

from these values, it doesn't use them directly.

New values will also be applied after FS has been paused, put into slew mode,

or entered menus or modal dialogues. This is because all the feedback

operations are suspended during these times (to prevent absurd runaway

changes) and this is effectively achieved in the same way as you turning the

operations off and on again.

20-21 Parameter 1:

22-23 Parameter 2

The use of these depends on the control:

For pitch and bank, Parameter 1 is the maximum change to the FS control in any

one "tick". Default is 512 (out of the range of -16383 to +16383 provided by

the control). The pitch and bank loops operate at FS's tick rate of 18/sec

(approx), so this limits the change to 9216/sec.

For pitch only, parameter 2 is the amount of trim to transfer per tick when

"trimming out", unless this is prohibited by the option flag 2^0. By default

this is 32 -- i.e. 576 per second. This will help applications in achieving

realistic trim wheel movements -- I suspect there's a limit to how fast they

really spin. Certainly the PFC motorised trim wheel will be regulated (but I

don't know its speed yet).

For speed and mach control, Parameter 1 gives the maximum engine setting and

Parameter 2 gives the minimum. This, by default, is the N1% value, in exactly

the same units as provided by FSUIPC (e.g. offset 0898 for Engine 1). For

props this will relate to the RPM of course. The defaults are 90% (value

14745) and 20% (3276) respectively.

If you want the limits in terms of EPR, set the flag 2^2 and replace these

limits by ones in the same units as the FSUIPC supplied EPR (e.g. offset 08BC

for engine 1). Note that FS does not provide EPR for props nor for all jets.

FSUIPC controls each engine separately within the same limits, but using the

same throttle changes for each, calculated in the same way. It only operates

throttles for engines which exist and which are flagged as "combusting"

(e.g. FSUIPC offset 0894 for Engine 1).

Note that changes to the target, the switch, the flags, and Parameters 1

and 2, can be made at any time and are effective immediately, unlike the

factors themselves. The feedback loop is roughly 18 times per second for

all controls.

The actual target rates are calculated from the difference in target value and

current value, using rates of change, and using the variables detailed above.

The pitch and bank system seems to work quite well. There are frequent little

trim changes, but maybe these are realistic (time to watch some cockpit videos

I think! <G>).

The speed control needs tuning for most aircraft, especially the Mach one. The

"fiddle factors" are just my "guesses" and need refining. The mach minimum and

maximum and the max rate are also my initial guesses.

There are testing facilities, so you can play with those. Just go to the Keys

or Buttons page. You can assign key presses or buttons to the following extra

controls:

Fsuipc bank hold off

Fsuipc bank hold on

Fsuipc bank hold set

Fsuipc bank hold toggle

Fsuipc mach hold off

Fsuipc mach hold on

Fsuipc mach hold set

Fsuipc mach hold toggle

Fsuipc pitch hold off

Fsuipc pitch hold on

Fsuipc pitch hold set

Fsuipc pitch hold toggle

Fsuipc speed hold off

Fsuipc speed hold on

Fsuipc speed hold set

Fsuipc speed hold toggle

These should be self-explanatory. For the "Set" ones, put the value to

be set as the parameter -- only whole numbers, but okay for testing

(degrees, knots, or 100 x mach). For the "on" and "toggle" controls the

current pitch/bank.speed or mach becomes the target to maintain.

=========================================

Pete Dowson, June 2008

=========================================

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[LTCSZ]

Thanks for the explanation...Don't think I'll be doing much experimenting, but it's good to know that I wasn't doing something wrong! Keep up the good work!

Steve