Aircraft instability....Cessna 172 and some other questions.

[Rebel_Without_a_Clue 0]

Not being a RW pilot I have a question about the Cessna 172 in X-Plane vs the one in MSFX.

 

The 172 is supposed to be considered a STABLE trainer. I'm just trying to learn to fly a flight sim seriously (want to get into online VATSIM eventually) but what I've found is that the MSFX 172 is stable. A wee bit of trim to maintain level flight and away you go. You can then concentrate on navigation.

 

In X-Plane the 172 seems to behave more like a Pitts. Take you're eyes of the controls for a second and you're into a bank/dive /climb etc. It seems overly sensitive to control movements.

 

My question are : is the X-Plane 172 more representative of how a real 172 flies , or does MSFX win hands down with this one.

 

If the X-Plane version is more accurate , how can I stabilize it?

 

Right now I'm simply using a joystick and mouse but would like to eventaully move up to a yoke and pedals. Will this make a difference?

 

Txs

 

[jcomm 5,890]

Pedals will certainly make a whole difference. Without them you're always flying "coordinated" because the sim automatically inputs rudder to coordinate your turns.

 

Weather in X-Plane, specially under turbulent conditions, can give you quite a ride, contrarily to the great majority of the scenarios in fsx, even when you use the most representative weather injectors for that sim.

 

The Cessna 172 that comes by default with X-Plane 10 is probably one of the best GA aircraft available for the sim, but just like any other prop aircraft in X-Plane, it has a  problem with overdone prop effects ( too much roll due to those effects ). Austin is working on a fix!!!

 

Solution 1:

You can start by setting your artificial stability sliders all the way to the RIGHT ( the three sliders on the right of the joystick / nullzones Menu), go flying and see if you prefer the feel...

 

Solution 2:

You can also follow another, alternative, approach: set the above mentioned sliders all the way to the LEFT ( meaning no Artificial Stability being added by default ), then go to your aircraft folder:

 

Usually:  ...\X-Plane 10\Aircraft\General Aviation\Cessna 172SP

 

and make a backup of the ACF file ( the airfile for that aircaft ), named : Cessna_172SP.acf

 

Now, open the aircraft in Plane-Maker and go to Standard / Control Geometry / Trim & Speed and do the following (click to enlarge):

 

 

 

Next, go to Expert / Artificial Stability and do the following:

 

 

 

Go flying and see if you prefer it that way, but I am almost sure that after the fixes introduced by Austin on one of the upcoming updates for X-Plane 10, we will end up with much better prop effects, and plausible flying :-)

[Rebel_Without_a_Clue 0]

txs for the feed back. I'll check into what you suggested.

Txs again

[LAdamson 240]

The 172 is supposed to be considered a STABLE trainer. I'm just trying to learn to fly a flight sim seriously (want to get into online VATSIM eventually) but what I've found is that the MSFX 172 is stable. A wee bit of trim to maintain level flight and away you go. You can then concentrate on navigation.

 

 

That's the way it should be. In reality, these desk top sims, still require more pitch trimming than the real plane. But you'll still drift off your desired altitude and heading in a real 172, if you don't pay attention. In the meantime, set some X-Plane settings as suggested.

 

 

As to "bad" weather, it's a lot easier to deal with in a sim. I always made it a point to avoid crappy weather, in real life. Turbulence just isn't all that fun. We would always plan cross country flights for the early morning hours, where air can be very still. Around noon can get choppier, and it will often calm down again for the afternoon.

 

 

[jcomm 5,890]

Oops, in my last post I wrote under "Solution 1":

 

"Solution 1:

You can start by setting your artificial stability sliders all the way to the RIGHT ( the three sliders on the right of the joystick / nullzones Menu), go flying and see if you prefer the feel..."

 

when in fact I meant the three sliders on THE LEFT of the joystick / nullzones Menu... sorry ;-)  Those on the right in that Menu page are used to set "joystick linearity", and I always have them full left - linear.