Yaw Damper Question

[altstiff 71]

I noticed that on some planes having the yaw damper on renders the rudder next to useless (like the DF727 and the TM2) and on others (PMDG, LVD, FT737) it has little effect on the rudder.Question time.Is it that the older airliners had it on only for use of the autopilot? And, it has a differnet effect now on the newer planes (suggesting that this has been modeled into the mentioned flight simulator planes)?Or is it cowinkydink that only these two older birds (from what I fly) really put a dead zone on the rudder when it's "on"?With both the DF727 and the TM2 I shut the Y/D off when I'm on finals and hand flying it in, more so needed with a crosswind. Is this the correct/realistic way to do things? I don't have to do this when flying the PMDG or LVD planes.And I don't see shutting it off on any real world checklist I have as part of the landing portion. In fact I have a Westjet real world 737NG checklist and the third thing on the list (BEFORE START) is Yaw Damper ..........ONI thank you in advance for your responses.

[Orlaam 306]

Depends on the plane. I don't know much about older jets, like the 727, but newer airliners leave the Yaw Damper on all the time. In turboprops, the practice is to turn it on at 400 feet AGL and turn it off when coming in for final. Again, it depends on the plane and ops, but that's a common way of looking at it.Remember, a lot of YD systems are designed to prevent deflection beyond a certain degree in each direction with the pedals to avoid damage. Once you're moving fast and in the air, deflection is even decreased more. For manual reversion in a 737NG, you still leave the YD on.ETA: Unfortunately, MSFS has very rudimentary YD logic that's nearly worthless, so each developer has to model it the best they can to achieve overall flight dynamics of the plane. Not all aspects of how the plane behaves can be developed in MSFS engine.

[altstiff 71]

Thanks very much for your input.I guess my next question is, would normal real world procedure see the pilot turning off the YD when hand flying on finals in a 737-200 or 727? I have been watching for this in my World Air Routes DVD's but never see them swithcing them off, but I can't say if they are on either (or even mentioning it on/off in the landing checklist).Off to watch again!

[Orlaam 306]

Yaw Dampers are meant to be continuously on no matter what, and restrictions are imposed if one or both units go out on the 727. It's something also needed for passenger comfort, due to oscillations that can occur as well.I would say in general, from all I've seen, turboprops require YD on shortly after take-off and off when approaching final. I mean once all is cross-checked for short final and you're hand-flying, since most APs require YD be on. Otherwise, if you're hand-flying a long approach, then it would be after the FAF.In the jets, most likely all of them require YD from gate to gate. I don't know one that isn't this way, but I know very little about small business jets. I doubt they differ though.

[tanker 15]

When I flew KC-135A's, which are similar to 707's, we turned the yaw damper on after takeoff and off on final approach. The reasoning, as I recall, was that we needed the ability to get full rudder deflection on takeoff or go around in the event of loss of one engine.Dale

[Guest magnum_force]

>When I flew KC-135A's, which are similar to 707's, we turned>the yaw damper on after takeoff and off on final approach. The>reasoning, as I recall, was that we needed the ability to get>full rudder deflection on takeoff or go around in the event of>loss of one engine.>>DaleHi Dale,I was wondering what software add-ons you use with the setup you are running.?P4 Socket 478 2.53. That was a great chip, as were all the Northwoods. They ran real cool (as opposed to Prescott which ran somewhat hotter but still a great chip), that was another positive. I have a Northwoods 3.2 Ghz in one of my Dell 8300's. I also have two 8300 2.6, a 8300 2.8, and a Dell 4550 2.66. I have seven Dells and I only am using four of them.My point is I cant tell allot of difference between a 2.6 or a 3.2, they perform about the same.I should know.(sucker born every minute)Dale, do you run FS9 on the 2.53 and if so, with what addons and what frame rates do you get.I am curious as I have a couple close to your specs.Also, thanks to you guys for the Yaw damper lesson. I enjoy these kind of posts.ThanksRoger blue_fire@earthlink.net