x plane 10 handling

[Greek_Beret 0]

I am running the demo with limited glsl which is smooth but not much to see other then the aircraft it self. What really concerns me though is how difficult it is to keep flying smooth. From take off its already all over the runway and as soon as I am wheels up the airplane starts to bank with no input from me and then I find it very dificult to keep it flying straight. Is this how the x planes physics are normally or do I need to adjust something in the settings. I've been flying FSX since the 80's and never had this much trouble controlling the plane even with moderate winds. To me that would be the deal breaker. I don't think a real airplane would be so uncontrollable. Anyone experience the same problem?

[Mountain Man 142]

You need to configure your joystick. Move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen and select "Settings > Joystick & Equipment" and then the Nullzone tab. Look at the the bottom setting and adjust accordingly. You can also adjust the top sliders to have X-Plane auto-correct for pitch, roll, and yaw.

[Greek_Beret 0]

Thanks Mountain Man, that was it. I configured my joystick but not the Nullzone.

[Guest durangoflyer]

I too am having control issues with the demo. Airplanes and helis are constantly adding uncommanded yaw bounces back and forth making it impossible to fly smoothly with any controllers I have. I have calibrated and adjusted null zone and it still does it. Is there a flight dynamics setting that will stop that?

[fvapres 7]

Are you using real-world weather downloaded? I was and found the wind/wind shear settings causing an oscillating yaw that was very unwanted. I went to the first weather option on the left and reduced the wind speed from the present 5kts speed/10kts shear to 0 and the oscillating went away.

[Mountain Man 142]

Winds really seem to do a number on the stock 172. I've had winds turn my plane 180 degrees on the runway if I don't hold the rudder. This seems plausible, but I don't know how realistic this is compared to the real aircraft. Once I accidentally set really high winds blowing across the runway, and my 172 was tossed through the air like a leaf!

[fvapres 7]

I had 18 knot gusting to 25 winds from 90 degrees in a 152 (the wind was down the runway, but not down the taxiway) and with appropriate control inputs on ailerons/elevator for wind mitigation, did not suffer any issues with directional control on the yaw axis.It made for some awesome helicopter-like landings that took forever to come down with even power at idle and flaps at full with that strong of a headwind holding 70 knots approach speed (was like landing at half speed).I have never experienced the yawing tendencies like this in a real aircraft. It feels as if the rudder is coming unhinged instead of the wind. It's as if the wind is 15 knots direct to rudder, then off, then on, then off and that is causing the oscillating. Wind, however isn't on/off but increases/decreases over time. I've had gusts that do strike the aircraft and give you a bit of an edge or slight bank/yaw, but that's once in a 15 minute period or longer, not every second.

[Guest durangoflyer]

That might be it. If it is on by default, then this is likely the cause. I have my DVD's coming this week, but right now I am just playing around with the demo trying to figure this out.

[Guest durangoflyer]

I have spent more time tweaking the joystick settings and flight model settings as well as turning turbulence off and it (R22) is flying smooth now.

[fly_like_an_eagle 10]

what Greek_Beret and others have described is not their fault but xplane's "superior flight modelling" based on "blade element breakdown" this sounds too good to be true, and is probably why many non-pilots in most fora have come to believe the wide spread rumor that xplane features the most realistic flight model. It does NOT, unlike xplanes claim:"X-Plane doesn't just regurgitate how an airplane's designer thinks a plane will fly--it calculates for itself the lift, drag, and moment on every surface of the plane individually at every point in time. The result is a flight model more realistic than anything else out there."Rest assured, my real world airplane does not turn 180 degrees just because of 5 knots cross wind. It would just get shifted slightly downwind while in the air. asking users to fiddle with joystick settings is a lame excuse and just doesn't cut it. An out-of-box experience would have to provide at least a "plausible" flight model to phrase Austins new lingo. if you have to disable windshear to achieve an acceptable flight model, what good is modelling windshear then at all?if blade element theory is so superior than FSX's flight modelling based on "unrealistic" look up tables, then either it has just not been implemented very well or other factors were omitted. it is not just about the surfaces that determine a flight model, but weight, inertia etc. how else come the stock C172 in xplane 9 AND 10 flies and taxies so badly?quantum of solace:"Flight Dynamics: FSX and X-Plane battle it out""his test has revealed some crucial weaknesses in both sims, especially in the rudder department.http://www.simpilotnet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=9(based on xplane9 but unfortunately still true for xplane10)...........................the main feature I like in xplane10 over FSX so far is its night lighting effects. not that this could not have been done 5 years ago already in FSX, but sadly, it wasn't.

[GoranM 3,762]

what Greek_Beret and others have described is not their fault but xplane's "superior flight modelling" based on "blade element breakdown" this sounds too good to be true, and is probably why many non-pilots in most fora have come to believe the wide spread rumor that xplane features the most realistic flight model. It does NOT, unlike xplanes claim:"X-Plane doesn't just regurgitate how an airplane's designer thinks a plane will fly--it calculates for itself the lift, drag, and moment on every surface of the plane individually at every point in time. The result is a flight model more realistic than anything else out there."Rest assured, my real world airplane does not turn 180 degrees just because of 5 knots cross wind. It would just get shifted slightly downwind while in the air. asking users to fiddle with joystick settings is a lame excuse and just doesn't cut it. An out-of-box experience would have to provide at least a "plausible" flight model to phrase Austins new lingo. if you have to disable windshear to achieve an acceptable flight model, what good is modelling windshear then at all?if blade element theory is so superior than FSX's flight modelling based on "unrealistic" look up tables, then either it has just not been implemented very well or other factors were omitted. it is not just about the surfaces that determine a flight model, but weight, inertia etc. how else come the stock C172 in xplane 9 AND 10 flies and taxies so badly?quantum of solace:"Flight Dynamics: FSX and X-Plane battle it out""his test has revealed some crucial weaknesses in both sims, especially in the rudder department.http://www.simpilotn...&id=20&Itemid=9(based on xplane9 but unfortunately still true for xplane10)...........................the main feature I like in xplane10 over FSX so far is its night lighting effects. not that this could not have been done 5 years ago already in FSX, but sadly, it wasn't.

For starters, the link your provided was for a comparison between X Plane 8.50 and FSX. NOT X Plane 9.Taken from the article...After 25 years of flight simulation, we think it's time to have a closer look under the hood of two very popular ones: Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X and Laminar Research’s X-Plane 8.50.The updates from 8 to 9 have been huge. And the night lighting wasn't done 5 years ago because 5 years ago, FSX had enough problems running on the hardware at the time in the state it was in. Adding high quality night lighting would have amounted to twice the CTD's and FPS in the single digits with all sliders to the left.

[fly_like_an_eagle 10]

for advanced users: dynamic lighting became en vogue some 15 years ago with the advent of 3dfx Voodoo Graphics and technically would have been easy to implement 5 years ago in FSX using DirectX9. If implemented using DirectX hardware acceleration, nightlighting would not have decreased but rather imroved FPS. without any addons, FSX has hardly ever CTD on my pc.the C172 flight model in xplane 9.5 was just as bad as it was already in xplane 8.5, so the article's argument is still valid, unfortunately even today, after xplane's 10th major release.happy now?

[fvapres 7]

I do have some issues with the flight models, but typically, they fly well except when the wind is involved. Flight through static air is realistic enough, but once a crosswind and gust component is added, it gets REALLY quirky and is most noticable as oscillations in yaw in flight and on the ground, as the inability to taxi in a straight line without cross rudder control, thus causing the aircraft's nosewheel to squeal with enough of a crosswind component.

[Swe_Richard 1,172]

Ah! I've wondered why the wheels squeal all the time. Quite annoying.

I do have some issues with the flight models, but typically, they fly well except when the wind is involved. Flight through static air is realistic enough, but once a crosswind and gust component is added, it gets REALLY quirky and is most noticable as oscillations in yaw in flight and on the ground, as the inability to taxi in a straight line without cross rudder control, thus causing the aircraft's nosewheel to squeal with enough of a crosswind component.

[fvapres 7]

Ah! I've wondered why the wheels squeal all the time. Quite annoying.

The wheels also squeal due to too much momentum causing the sideload of the wheel to overcome the fricton and the squeal is heard. I've found going over 10kts in the 747 during a loose turn will result in a squeal. Thats a bit low for my take on it, but close. Light planes do it a lot more than should. If the sideload is that much that the wheel is 45 degrees from the skid, the gear would snap as they're not rated for sideload but fore/aftload. Taxiing is touchy enough without the wind being involved too.