I seem to remember having read somewhere that in real life when you engage the AP (like the one in the DF Beech A36) HDG and ALT were engaged together. You could not just engage ALT and still point the plane into another direction. This could be done in FS2000 but in FS2002 and FS2004 this was changed. You could however change the config so you could still steer the plane while being on ALT hold.Now, if that is true, the strange thing is that with my default FS installation I CAN just engage HLD and manually fly to any altitude. And I CAN just engage ALT anf manually fly any heading!So... what's realistic? I want it to be realistic as possible(in my favorite DF Beech A36)!

I think it is difficult to find autopilots in real life that would allow you to make left/right turns while holding altitude. Also many general aviation autopilots do not have ALT mode at all. However the reverse is often true - there are autopilots that will control roll mode while letting you control the altitude. Check what kind of autopilot is installed in this particular A36 and get the real specs. Michael J.

Hi,Don't know what's realistic in this case, but they probably have an entry in the aircraft.cfg file (autopilot section) that permits this. This way you can do it plane by plane.Hope this helps,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

Happily,For the experimental airplane market, we have auto-pilots that are totally independent from each other (roll & pitch). They are also solid-state, which get's rid of a mechanical gyro, and extremely accurate. A GPS data output is used by the A/P for heading info.L.Adamson