Frequently Asked Questions

Auto pilot giving you the jitters? Plane banks easier in one direction than the other? You might want to follow the calibration instructions, listed below...

• How Do I Configure/Optimize the Joystick settings?
• My Rudder Pedals Are Not Working!

Here are some recommendations for getting your joystick/flight yoke to behave properly in Pro Pilot. It may also resolve some issues such as 'jittering' when using the Auto Pilot. Some of this material is from the Pro Pilot '98 FAQ. Special thanks to the people who contributed to it, and Mickey W. for the Dead Space settings.

1. Does your joystick require specialized drivers? Check with the manufacturer of your joystick for drivers for your particular operating system.
2. Are you running the latest version of DirectX? Pro Pilot uses DirectX's DirectInput. Check the Microsoft website, or with your computer manufacturer for the latest on DirectX.
3. Calibrate your joystick from within the operating system. Here's how:
   1. If your joystick has manual X-axis / Y-axis (aka Rudder Trim / Elevator Trim) set them to their centered positions.
   2. From Windows 95/98 Click on the START button, select SETTINGS, then click on CONTROL PANEL
   3. From Control Panel, Double-Click on JOYSTICK (it may be titled GAME CONTROLLERS)
   4. Your joystick should be listed. If it's not, add the joystick by following your joystick manufacturer's installation instructions.
   5. Make certain your joystick is highlighted on the menu, then click on PROPERTIES
   6. Click on the CALIBRATE button, and follow the instruction on the screen. Also, test the calibration from the same screen once you've calibrated it. Calibrate it again, if necessary.
   7. Once your joystick is calibrated as good as you can get it from within the operating system, continue with the following steps:
4. Start Pro Pilot.
5. Once Pro Pilot is running, click on OPTIONS from the pulldown menus.
6. Click on FLIGHT CONTROLS.
7. Make certain Joystick/Yoke On is checkmarked.
8. Set the DEAD SPACE to Narrow (its default position, the farthest left it can slide).
9. Click on the OK button.
10. Press ALT-X to switch in to slew mode.
11. In the top left corner of the screen, you'll find the latitude/longitude listed. Are they changing? If so, surprise, your joystick is not as calibrated as well as your thought, read on!
12. Remember the manual X-axis/Y-axis trims on your joystick (if equipped)? You centered them before calibrating the joystick in Windows, right (step 3.A listed above)? Good! Now, using those manual trims, adjust them so that the latitude/longitude stop changing (or minimize it as best you can). [NOTE: If you think you've got the latitude/longitude to stop changing, let it sit a few seconds, and keep an eye on it. Those manual trims may still need a little adjusting.]
13. If you were able to stop the latitude/longitude from changing, congrats! You should be set! Jump down to instruction 15.
14. If you weren't able to completely stop the latitude/longitude from changing, leave slew mode on, and do the following:
    1. Go back in to the Flight Controls section (steps 5-7).
    2. Move the DEAD SPACE slider just a little to the right (towards the Wide setting).
    3. Click on the OK button.
    4. You should still be in Slew mode. Check the Latitude/Longitude. Did they stop changing?
    5. If they've have not stopped changing, repeat steps 14.A through 14.D again, moving the DEAD SPACE slider a little farther to the right each time.
    6. If they've stopped changing, congrats! You should be set! (You might want to tweak the setting to find the exact location that stops the latitude/longitude movement in slew mode.)
15. Press ALT-X to exit slew mode.
16. Go flying! Auto Pilot jitters should be minimized, as well as better overall handling of the aircraft.
17. Do NOT use the manual trim on your joystick for trimming the aircraft! Use those provided on the aircraft's panel (or the equivalent keyboard shortcuts).

Mickey W. suggested...

Make certain you have your rudder pedals showing as active in the Windows 95/98 Calibration screen. Make sure you have "Auto Coordination" turned off in the Pro Pilot menu. If the pedals still do not work when pressed, delete any other control devices that are showing in the Windows 95/98 Calibration screen. I had this problem, and discovered I had two old joysticks that I no longer used in the setup. Once I deleted them, rudders came alive.