Hi allAnother query from someone new to MSFS (flying X). On take-off, I always veer right, hard and quickly. Any attempt to use differential braking or the rudder to correct just results in the plane leaving the runway. This seems to happen with all planes (from single props to heavies) and on all runways although I have seen it happen with a hard left once.Have calibrated my CH controllers a dozen times to no avail and have no other controllers attached to my machine.Any ideas?T :-)

Well, just thought to try with clear weather set (meaning no wind) and hey presto, straight line take-off without touching the yoke. Am surprised, though, by how severe the crosswind effect seems to be ... may well simply be my lack of real flying experience.T :-)

Not got the autopilot switched on have you?

Is there any obvious way to tell (apart from hitting Z)?

You do actually have to do quite a lot of corrective actions in real life to avoid this kind of thing, as propeller torque effects and, most particularly, the tendency for the tailplane to act like a weather vane prevent you from tracking the centreline of the runway, hence the term 'weathercocking' on take off.The trouble is that in comparison to real life, your view is extremely restricted when sat on the ground in a sim, it is just one of those things a simulator on a PC screen cannot emulate so well, even with the ability to look around, and this is compounded by the fact that you have no sensory feedback in a sim, whereas you have many clues as to what is happening very early in the real thing (however to offset this slightly, there aint no external view in real life).Ironically this where two things from the real world can help you though:Most things that you do in an aeroplane are preceeded by a checklist, or briefing, sometimes both. So, you can use these to help you, in this way, correcting swing on take-off (for example) becomes an anticipated action rather than a reaction.Pilots generally have a briefing to cover things such as what are they going to do about the crosswind etc. By yourself, a mnemonic can help you and you can look on the net for some real ones, or make up your own if you like.For example, when getting ready to practice spinning in real life, lots of people use the mnemonic: H.A.S.S.L.E. - Height (have you got enough?) Airframe (is the gear up, flaps in etc?) Straps - (are you strapped in?) Security (Is everything stowed away in pockets so maps and pens don't fly around the cabin?) Lookout - (Have you done a clearing turn and checked for traffic below you?) Eventualities - (Is there anything else you need to consider or what will you do if something happens?). The aviation world is full of these and you'll end up learning a few if you ever have a crack at flying the real thing.So, back in your sim dealing with crosswinds, you can either tune up ATIS on your radio, or press shift and Z and see what the crosswind is (add or subtract it from the runway heading number to work out how it's going to affect you), then perhaps add in some rudder trim to counteract the effect you know is coming, or give it more throttle on the engines on one side maybe (in vicious crosswinds). Perhaps even dip one wing into the wind.And you can make up a mnemonic to help you, just as pilots do in the real world, so we might have: R.A.C.E. Runway heading (what's the heading and crowsswind?). Airframe (Do I need to set elevator, aileron or rudder trim to help me take off?) Cockpit (have I got everything set up just how I like/need it?) Eventualities (Is there anything else to consider, such as trees and buildings I need to clear at the end of the runway?).Make up anything you like, but be ready for what really should not be unexpected. This doesn't have to be boring or time-consuming, you can do it all while taxying out to the runway.In short, have your control inputs planned, and the aircraft trim set up to assist you, and things will be easier, and if you can do that, you'll be doing fine, because I can assure you it's usually easier to do it in real life than it is in a sim (although of course you have to get it right in real life too :-)Good luck and have fun.

Now that's what I call a *fine* explanation ... going to print that response out!The airport I am typically using at the moment (it's near where I live) is exposed on a very broad flat plane and blows 9 knots crosswind on the main runway even on relatively calm days (like today) so your reponse rings true as an appropriate way to deal with my problem. And I like the idea of having to pay more attention to my take-off steup etc - simulators are only fun for me when I truly have to manage my way through difficulties. The fact that in a clear weather setting i get a straight line take-off confirms that i really am just getting whipped by crosswinds and failing to deal with them appropriately. Now I know how :-)Cheers for taking so much time to write your repsonse - much appreciated!Triangle :-)

You're welcome.Here's a few other things to consider too, since you seem to want the info..Every instructor I've ever had has cautioned me to nuetralize corrective rudder inputs once off the deck, and they are right.When your wheels are on the ground, they do quite a bit to assist tracking, which means your rudder will yaw the aircraft much more when airborne, but having a lot of rudder on when you get airborne will result in unco-ordinated flight and in extreme cases, at the low speed associated with just having got airborne, this could conceivably initiate a spin; as your fuselage would be blocking the airflow to a large part of one of you wings - oddly enough on the windward side if the yaw is pronounced - making it stall while the other wing is happily flying, thus a spin could result.Saw this happen once, with the pilot caught out, first over correcting one way, then the other, and so on until he slammed back down. Fortunately the thing was only just off the deck so the stall and spin didn't have enough time to autorotate him very far into a roll, and a heavy landing and a very white and shaken up pilot was the only result. Didn't even bust the undercarriage, which I was amazed at. So with us all insisting he go on another flight ASAP in the true 'get back on the horse' tradition, he did and was fine you'll be happy to know. Though he looked very green as I helped to strap him in I seem to recall, and I also recall having to be very reassuring with the old chatter :-) But as I say, he was fine.Anyway back on the subject, if you need to track the extended centreline of the runway after take-off, as you very often do when instructed by ATC. You'll find that pointing into the wind or putting a slight bank on towards the wind will be a lot safer than waddling along with a lot of rudder on and your aircraft totally flat in roll and probably quite nose high.FSX is much more realistic for things like this than previous versions, and in FSX - as many quite experienced sim pilots are finding - you'll certainly not be alone in realising that aeroplanes do not drive along an invisible road in the sky :-)

>Hi all>>Another query from someone new to MSFS (flying X). On>take-off, I always veer right, hard and quickly. Any attempt>to use differential braking or the rudder to correct just>results in the plane leaving the runway. This seems to happen>with all planes (from single props to heavies) and on all>runways although I have seen it happen with a hard left once.>>Have calibrated my CH controllers a dozen times to no avail>and have no other controllers attached to my machine.>>Any ideas?>>T :-)Away from the issue of sim flight modelling, I assume from the use of `controllers` you have both yoke and pedals? If so, then to get the pedals to work correctly you have to reverese the axes in the FS assignment menu, and I assume you have done that?OK, having done that you have also reversed the sense in which the sensitivity and null zone settings operate for the brakes. Open the settings menu, adjust the sensitivity for brakes to the MAX, null to the MIN, and then adjust from there as you will then find that you have much more proportional control over differential braking. The rudder control itself remains independent and, like all controls in the sim, should be adjusted while in the VC, with the virtual yoke and pedals in full view. Match the settings so that your controller moves the sim controller equally. That usually means taking out ALL the null zone, then putting back ONLY what you need to control any `jittering` of the pedals in the sim. Bare minimum Null or else you over-control, which is precisely what it sounds to me is happening to you right now. Allcott

>Here's a few other things to consider too, since you seem to>want the info..>Every instructor I've ever had has cautioned me to nuetralize>corrective rudder inputs once off the deck, and they are>right.As I remember, you're a glider pilot, which would be a bit different on rudder application. Even with a Cessna 172 or Piper Warrior, you'll need right rudder once the wheels are off the ground to compensate for the propeller "slip stream", which is like a horizontal tornado hitting the vertical stabilizer & rudder from the left side, which pushes the nose left.The amount of rudder needed, is the exact amount required to maintain a straight line, such as the runway centerline. P-factor also has a smaller effect on this phenomenon, depending on climb angle & torque is even less so.In an aircraft with a prop rotating clockwise as viewed from the cockpit, as the majority are, the engine mounts are usually on an angle, and the vertical stabilizer might be installed with some offset to compensate for slip stream. Aircraft such as Cessna 172 has a fixed rudder tab, that's adjusted for trim at cruise speeds. Others may have an adjustable rudder trim.High powered single engine fighters from WWII, would require pre-set rudder trim before takeoff, so that the pilot wouldn't have wear out their legs jamming the rudder.Now, of course, if the prop turns the other way, such as the simulated RealAir Spitfire, then it's left rudder instead of right.If aileron is required to counteract a rolling tendency from torque, then use it to. Torque is so strong on high powered WWII fighters, that it can litterly roll the airplane upside down, if power is applied to quickly when airborne at slow speeds, such as a go around. L.Adamson

I had the same problem, and tried almost EVERYTHING... nothing worked until I finally started messing with the realism settings. I set it to easy (without the exception of crash detection) and viola, it worked! Will continue working on it to discover the real cause...

 

Cheers

Hope it works for everyone else!  :smile: