Trying to manually fly VNAV via the FD is tough because

[Jetman67 516]

Hi All I really struggle trying to follow the FD VNAV manually using the CH Yoke due to the fact that you just dont get any feedback from the yoke. Do you guys suffer from this as well or is it just my poor piloting skills. I find due to the poor movement with the yoke I am always chasing and overcontrolling, I try to use trim but does not seem to make it much easier, eventually i get frustrated and just switch on the autopilot

[severniae 78]

Try adjusting your yoke sensitivities until you find something that suits you a little better.

[Jetman67 516]

i think its more to do with the poor movement on the shaft of the ch yoke its not real good and sticks a little aileron is excellent but the elevator shaft leaves a lot to be desired

[JC75 22]

are you following the FD bars on the PFD or on the HUGS? I find following the Pink FD bars I can pretty much follow the path spot on, however the HUGS seems to be a bit lazy and doesnt anticipate a change very well - Ive ramped the refresh on it to 45 now and it slightlty better but at default 15 it always seems to be behind the drag curve and so follow FD instead which keeps me on track.

[Jetman67 516]

on the FD only, my CH Yoke sticky with the elevator makes it very difficult

[davidz 26]

When flying on the HGS, you must be aware that you are flying the FPV rather than attitude. Your FPV lags behind your actual input, because the aircraft has to 'catch up' to your new pitch, so you need to anticipate the movement of the FPV.

[leeflet 0]

I use a Saitek flight control (Picked it over the CH specifically because the picture of the Saitek showed a metal yoke shaft), but it still is a little sticky at times. A couple of suggestions: 1) Trimming in a real plane provides pressure feedback when the trim is coming in (which if you are a real world pilot, you already know). In the sim, you don't physically trim out the stick per se but rather trim out the airplane to agree with the stick's neutral position. So the technique would be to hold the desired pitch attitude (as per the FD bars, for example) and continue to trim. At the rate the trim comes in, you will be gradually easing the amount of control pressure on the yoke to keep that attitude. Ultimately the control pressures are negligible (yoke has, in this fashion, been gradually returned neutral) to maintain that desired attitude. 2) Like real world aviation, trim after the acceleration force is negligible. For example, as soon as you pitch up and add power, the aircraft may experience a negative acceleration until it reaches steady state velocity. Trim when that steady state is reached. 3) Not sure if it will work, but can you add powdered graphite to the yoke shaft? I am hesitant to tell you to go ahead and do it, not knowing if that will gum up anything internally. Dry lubricant on the shaft may help give you better sensitivity of movement and feel while you gently ease out the pressure, avoiding the subtle but unpredictable start/stop movement of a sticky shaft.

[Jetman67 516]

thanks or maybe get the saitek is it much more precise than the CH Yoke, i was going to buy the CH eclipse but they have removed the elevator trim rocker switch which is really dumb what were they thinking thats a deal breaker for me

[RogerD 1]

I have the ch yoke and I have the same problem plus it always wants to turn to the left.I also do not know how to adjust the trim to stop it from doing this. I have the yoke centered but the plane keeps turning to the left .I could use some help on how to trim the aircraft.

[leeflet 0]

I have the ch yoke and I have the same problem plus it always wants to turn to the left.I also do not know how to adjust the trim to stop it from doing this. I have the yoke centered but the plane keeps turning to the left .I could use some help on how to trim the aircraft.

I have the same problem with the Saitek - it needs to be recalibrated every time the PC is rebooted. It's a common problem. The easiest way to deal with it it to disconnect then reconnect the USB connection after FSX is up and running. Try it and see if that re-centers things.

[opherben 0]

Pilot handling qualities are dependant on flight control system mechanical characteristics, specifically- control travel, breakout, friction, slope and hysteresis. Gamer controllers do not provide reasonable replication of these characteristics. I don't expect anything nearly realistic in flying with my Saitek yoke, and therefore rely on autoflight.Second, as mentioned earlier, the technique for correct control feedback is to first make the input and after stabilized, trim out the control forces. The control forces provide strong feedback to the human, the others are control displacement (not available on Airbus FBW), and instrument readings, also- outside visual reference in VMC.

[Ken737 1]

I use the Saitek x52 too. Before NGX I also usually had to re-calibrate each time I loaded FSX. For some reason with NGX I never need to calibrate anymore! Seriously, it always loads up perfect. Just saying.

[Jetman67 516]

the issue with the CH yoke is it cant make minute precise changes required to follow the FD so you are alway overcorrecting, a real pain

[mb777 0]

I think you guys may be looking too far into things - Try flying through the flight director - anticipate what its about to do smoothly and positively. For example if the aircraft is below speed slightly lower the nose and the speed will slowly increase. This aircraft flight characteristics are extremely similar to the real thing. Jet aircraft are extremely sensitive in pitch - around 1 degree of pitch movement can be 500fpm or more in certain phases of flight.I could be wrong it maybe a controller issue but this technique is good practice. The whole point of hand flying is to fly the jet not have it tell you exactly what to do so you fly with your brain in autopilot. Maybe too contriversial however this is my view on things!

[Rieder 3]

I have the same problem with the Saitek - it needs to be recalibrated every time the PC is rebooted. It's a common problem. The easiest way to deal with it it to disconnect then reconnect the USB connection after FSX is up and running. Try it and see if that re-centers things.

I only bought my Saitek Yoke and Quadrant a few weeks back and it exhibited this same exact problem. I was forever having to take out the USB adaptor and reinsert it then try to catch up with whatever I was doing. I saw the "how to" on replacing two springs with rubber bands and took it apart to do it a day or two after getting it. Unfortunately when I put all the bolts back in turning the yoke left/right did nothing in FSX. So once more I took it apart and straightaway saw a little toothed cam in the bottom left had gone past the toothed cam above it, so I gently and carefully eased it back into position as the two were not interacting. The yoke ran perfectly after that but you know what? No more resetting needed in the Saitek Control Panel, the problem has magically gone and it was that same axis that always needed resetting that was controlled by that out of place toothed cam. I cannot believe this still works 3-4 weeks later and keep checking the yoke control panel but all axis are neutral and remain that way. Problem sorted for me....... I wonder, just like the dry and sticky shaft if the toothed cam for that axis is poorly processed, put in place and tested. It may have worked long enough to test but gone after the box settled down a little and the cam moved. Just like a car engine takes time to "run in" when renewed, then needs some adjustments in the service that follows. Either way I think the yoke is a little poorly made for something so expensive. But I still wouldn`t be without it, especially now I tuned it a little and made changes inside the box. I used some of the excess nylon grease in there to coat the shaft lightly. Don`t use normal grease, it needs a special type for nylon bearings and/or bushes. I`m going back inside mine soon to tighten the elastic bands a little, good job I bought a mixed bagful. The present settings are not bad but just a little more tightness will improve them. Steve