I just flew on an EL AL 747, TLV-JFK.I noticed during the all-night flight that from somewhere south of Reykjavik to Bangor, Maine and beyond the right wing was tilted upward indicating a left turn. The tilt was only a very few degrees. But this attitude stayed on in excess of one hour.Is this a common procedure? I flew the polar LAX/LON/LAX several times but I never noticed this kind of 'LONG'turn before...probably never paid any attention.Appreciate any insight.Thanks.Abe

I have noticed this with a number of my own aircraft. After getting to cruise altitude, heck even on climbout and descent. After a few minutes the control surfaces tip the right wing up. With the AP on it will counteract the left turn, and the plane will just sit right wing up. Although I am not sure if this the same thing you are seeing. Don't wanna hijack your post.I have calibrated, re-calibrated and re-re-calibrated in FS and out (At the moment I use the Logitech Wingman Force 3D). Still no solution.[hr color=#000000][table border=0" width="98%" id="table1" height="4" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2][td width=500]Jason[br /]General Aviation Fan[br][/b]P4 3.2Ghz, 1GB Ram, FX5900 128MB, XP SP2.[br /][br /]

It could be the plane turning into the crosswind. Over the Atlantic while the wind is typically head on flying west you can get a strong crosswind at times causing the A/C to bank into it...-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledAMD FX-57 @ 3 gigsAsus A8NSLI-Premium2 gigs Corsair XMS PC3500LL 2 3 2 6 1TXFX 7900 GTX 690/1750XFX 7800 GTX 515/135024 inch Widescreen LCDDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1khttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7800 GTX 515/1350 Raid-0

Once you've corrected your heading for a crosswind, there's no need to keep the aircraft banked.For the thread starter, was this a 744?Another posibility is that the aircraft could be in need of some flight control re-rigging and this was it's in-trim state after the crew trimmed it.Cheers,JohnBoeing 727/737 & Lockheed C-130/L-100 Mechanichttp://www.sstsim.com/images/team/JR.jpg

Yeah, I would go with the real world mechanic's thoughts over mine anyday...-PPrimary RigLiquid CooledAMD FX-57 @ 3 gigsAsus A8NSLI-Premium2 gigs Corsair XMS PC3500LL 2 3 2 6 1TXFX 7900 GTX 690/1750XFX 7800 GTX 515/135024 inch Widescreen LCDDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1khttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7800 GTX 515/1350 Raid-0

>I have noticed this with a number of my own aircraft. After>getting to cruise altitude, heck even on climbout and descent.> After a few minutes the control surfaces tip the right wing>up. With the AP on it will counteract the left turn, and the>plane will just sit right wing up. Although I am not sure if>this the same thing you are seeing. Don't wanna hijack your>post.>>I have calibrated, re-calibrated and re-re-calibrated in FS>and out (At the moment I use the Logitech Wingman Force 3D). >Still no solution.>Hi Jason,I suspect that you need to check aileron trim (Ctrl+Numpad 4 and 6) and/or rudder trim (Ctrl+Numpad 0 and Enter). Sometimes it is easier to diagnose and fix whichever is the culprit if you change to a plane that has a full turn and bank indicator. If the autopilot is compensating for an out-of-trim condition, the TnB ball or pointer will often deflect when the autopilot is engaged. R-

Yes, it was a 744.Abe

Is what you are describing, normal great-circle turning? I mean, I have flown GC routes, and the aircraft is nearly constantly turning at certain parts of the flight. Between Reykjavik and Bangor going west would be one of those periods...Rhett

Could be your fuel tanks have become unbalanced - and the load is greater on the left side?

It seemed to me a smooth constant turn...attitude was constant...no variation.This remind me of an OLD joke.What is a Chinese takeoff??............ONE WING LOW

Hi,I gathered from your account that this occurred in real life, not in the sim. If it was in fact real life, might it just have been that the wing was curving upwards after having burnt off some of its fuel? I know 747-400s in particular have an especially pronounced wing flex. Of course, if this occurred in the sim you no doubt had an artificial horizon in the cockpit which would have indicated the turn, in which case the explanation I just suggested would be completely inappropriate. But assuming the only information you had suggesting a turn was the upwards-curve of the wing, I think it might be possible that it was just the normal wing flex.On the other hand, as has been already suggested, a true great circle course is really a constant, slow turn to one side, so this might have been it.Best,Matt Smith

1. Real life2. Sitting by a window right above the right wing.3. The Attitude Constant...RightWing tilted upward...No mistake about it4. Duration of one hour if not more.5. Constant unchange turn.