Hi,I'm having some control issues with the Cessna, both on the ground and in the air. On the runway, I find it very difficult to keep the aircraft in a straignt line for take off - it wants to go left all the time. Naturally, I thought this was a torque issue caused by propeller wash, so I changed all my realism settings from max to min, but still had the same problem.In the air also, the plane wants to turn left, and seems to be fighting the AP a bit when engaged. In fact, it seems so jittery, even in level flight with no wind - the plane moves constantly up and down by small amounts. I can't think what I might be doing wrong?Now I hesitate to mention this, lest I be thought ignorant(I don't fly light aircraft very often), but I've noticed that only the starboard side of the horizontal stabilizer has a trim tab!? I never noticed this before, and always assumed there would be one on each elevator? When I looked and saw this, I thought, this has to be something to do with the problem, but then I told myself that(surely) Microsoft wouldn't make such an elementary mistake(the Skylane is just the same)??So, I need advice, please. What might I be doing wrong, do the experienced GA flyers think? Just to recap: realism settings don't seem to affect this issue, when airborne it happens with no wind and, I forgot to mention, I am using autorudder.Thanks for your patiience,BR,Frank

Hi Frank,What kind of flight controller are you using? Have you tried adjusting the sensitivities and null zones in the sim? If you have the registered version of FSUIPC it can also be used to deal with "jittery" flight controllers (as well as offering numerous other nice options to enhance the sim).Greg

Could it be that the aircraft is not loaded balanced? On the aircraft payload page the centre of gravity needs to be in the centre of the left-right axis (ie. if there's pilot1 and pilot2 on the left/right and you only need one pilot then need to still put half weight in each side etc.)Besides the joystick idea above can't think of anything else yetPierre

Hi Greg,I'm using the MS Sidewinder Pro(no Force Feedback). Sensitivities seem reasonable and I do have the null zones set, but I'll take another look tonight(at work now). Thanks for your advice,BR,Frank

Thanks, Pierre. I shall look into this.Any comments on the lack of a port trim tab on the Cessna, anyone?BR,Frank

I believe that's how they're made, Frank. In real life, I mean.

There is only one trim tab, Frank. That wont be the the cause of the problem in FS (or in the real world either, come to that), as the .air file dictates that the trim operates in an evenly-balanced manner, regardless of actual physical location.Others have gven you the best tips, I can only add my own little effort- make sure you have `zeroed` the controls before starting the takeoff run. The default key command for centreing ailerons and elevator is `5` on the keypad, so remember to switch OFF numlock, then press `5` on the keypad, then switch the numlock back on (or else the standard views won't work). I do this every time I load an aircraft, default or addon, whether switching in-game or starting from scratch. It is sometimes that case that FS holds some control setting not immediately obvious from a previous flight.Hope you get it sorted.Allcott

Thanks, Bill.I must say, I'm very surprised, though! Obviously, Cessna know what they are doing :-), but I'd like to know why this doesn't interfere with control of the aircraft?Appreciate your response,BR,Frank

Hi Alcott,Thanks for a detailed response! I'll certainly check out all your recommendations and report back.As I said to Bill, I am really surprised that having a single trim tab doesn't cause any problems.BR,Frank

Hi again guys,I think I understand the single trim tab a bit better now. Since the starboard and port elevators are one unit on the Cessna, the trimming effect is applied to the whole unit? Still find it a bit strange, though....hmmm.BR,Frank

to puzzle you even more, there may be a reason why it's on the right ;)

I don't fly cessna's, but there is no need for two trim tabs because the elevator is one piece. So trimming effects the whole elevator. I can't give you any other advice than already mentioned on the left tendency issue. C.G should be in the center. It's normal that aircraft with right spinning props yaw to the left. That's why the engine is mounted slightly of the centre to the right for compensation during normal travel speed. At travel speed the plane should fly straight ahead with no winds and proper trim.You shouldn't expect the MS default aircraft to be exactly modelled. In fact most of them are far from it. Try downloading the real air version of the 172, it should perform much more realistic. But please don't move the realism sliders to the left! FDE's aren't made to work with those settings and planes become unflyable (mostly much too slow roll/yaw rates).I've got a question too, though. Why does the trim on general aviation a/c's in fs (or all a/c's without stabilizer trim) the effective possible pitch rate? It's totally unrealistic. The only thing that trim changes is the pressure on the stick. Is there a freeware or payware g/a aircraft that has realistic trim behaviour?Claudio

Thanks everyone,I've reset to default values for the MS Sidewinder Pro, and the plane now seems more stable - except in the air, it still wants to turn left!Can anyone with the same flight stick let me know the settings that work for them, please?Thanks for all your input.BR,Frank

Because light aircraft manufacturers tend to be politically conservative........right wing?? Okay, forget it! :-)BR,Frank

Have you checked in your Settings to see what the Torque slider is set to ? Fully to the right and you will probably see an excessive pull to the left.Alastair