PMDG 757: Unable to engage autopilot when flying onlin

[Guest]

Hello, all -I'm not sure whether this belongs on this forum or on the SB forum, but here goes anyway:When attempting to fly online using Squawkbox and VATSIM, I cannot get the autopilot on the PMDG 757 to engage. Worse, the aircraft is not in trim, and becomes progressively worse. Pressing (num) 5 and/or shift + (num) 5 (to neutralize all control surfaces) resulted in a hard right bank and pitch up, definitely not the desired result! A look outside before I gave up on the latest attempt showed full left aileron deflection though controls were released, as the aircraft proceeded into a right wingover.What is going wrong here? HELP!- Dave Reed

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Dave-Lefteris will be along shortly to review the question from a SB standpoint- but I can assure you with a high degree of certainty that the problem was not something systemic to the 757 or SB.I would recommend removing any *.HST files from your FLY!II/AIRCRAFT directory, then try again. Sometimes those HST files cause odd behaviors with the airplane- and you may have experienced such an oddity.... (It's a FLY!II problem...)Also- you must be careful with SB that you don't have SB capturing the keystroke input from your keyboard when you think you are trying to fly the airplane.....that will almost certainly cause you problems!Robert S. RandazzoPrecision Manuals Development Group http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/coolcap.gifwww.precisionmanuals.com

[Guest]

Robert -Thanks for the reply. I think I've isolated the problem: if the autopilot works when I'm offline (but with the ISP program loaded), and disengages when I'm online, although I have not yet activated SB or Roger Wilco, then my conclusion is that it's my ISP (America Online). Are you (or anybody) aware of AOL causing such problems? AOL's tech support says it ain't them, but I think my testing has been reasonably scientific. First, all .hst files were dumped. If I launch offline, A/P engages. Go online, return to A/C and A/P kicks off. Pause sim (to avoid crashing, as the A/C does NOT maintain attitude when this happens, though trims are in the green, and the A/C is usually pretty much level when I engage), sign off from ISP, return to A/C, unpause, recover from unusual attitude (aerobatic training comes in really useful at times!), re-engage A/P and it stays in. Sounds like an AOL problem to me...note I didn't even get around to initiating SB.I'd noted that SB and Fly! would 'fight' over the keyboard, which is why I suspected SB at first.Again, thanks for the response. I guess I'll try another ISP...- Dave Reed

[Guest]

Hi Dave,I read you post in AWVA forum, but wanted to reply here for the benefit of others possibly having the same problem in the future. You mentioned that you thought your joystick might be spiking. This is probably the problem. The 757's autopilot disengages when it detects flight control movement. This function is similar to the cruise control in a car when you tap the brake while the cruise is engaged. If your joystick is spiking control movements when centered, then this is disengaging the autopilot. You should hear the warning chime when the autopilot is disengaged based on control input.Hope this helps,George

[Guest]

George -It was the joystick.Thank you (and also Rob, Kurt, Darren, etc.) for your input and asistance.- Dave Reed