Dead Stick

[gollum65 6]

Hi all,

Picked up the Golden Eagle yesterday.  Installed fine into P3D v5.  But I had a problem when I tried to depart for my first flight.  This was pretty much my first ever attempt at flying a light twin, and I'm pretty new to flying prop aircraft in general.  So I went though the start up procedure...engines started fine.  I then started to taxi and could do so no problem, but I remembered I hadn't checked my flight controls.  So I stopped and looked at my ailerons and elevators as I moved my stick and they basically didn't move.  I thought ok, maybe they'll respond normally once I'm airborne.  But as I took the runway and attempted to take off, it was pretty much dead stick.  I could steer down the runway, but pulling all the way back on the stick did nothing.  Eventually the aircraft got airborne just from sheer speed, but I still had no control over pitch, and I also couldn't turn. 

I'm sure I missed something during the start up.  Are there hydraulic switches I didn't see, and if so where?  I see something in the normal procedures checklist about removing control locks?  I couldn't find anything in the VC about that, and manipulating the stick did move the yokes in the VC.  So if anyone could shed light on what I did wrong, I appreciate it.  I'm sure it's just my unfamiliarity with this type of aircraft and it's normal procedures.

Thanks.

[Chock 17,769]

I don't have this particular add-on aeroplane from Alabeo, but it does sound like you did not remove the control locks (sometimes called 'gust locks', which tells you what they are really for). I would presume they can be removed either via an animation menu for this add-on or some sort of click spot. So look for one of those or have a read of all the manuals which came with it, as it will be mentioned in those.

Control locks can vary. Some are literally a physical steering yoke lock similar to the ones you can put on the steering wheel of your car. Some are operated by a cockpit lever or by a particular movement of a control. Some are literally physical lock mechanisms which are placed on the actual control surfaces and usually these are painted red and have prominent 'remove before flight' flags on them too, so you don't forget about them during a walkaround check.

Here's a pic of me (below) with the control lock off the rudder of an SZD glider, having just removed it in preparation for flying the thing. This one being the type which literally slips over the tail to stop the rudder from blowing about in strong winds:

Don't ever take off if your control surfaces don't move. In real life that's usually fatal if it occurs, and it has from time to time. Most famously, the prototype Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, took off with its control locks still in place. It crashed and burned almost immediately, being completely destroyed before the US forces generals (who were there at the time to evaluate it) had even decided whether or not to buy the type, and it almost led to them not doing so!

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by Chock

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

I never had you down as a 'Baseball cap on backwards' kind of bloke. 🙂

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Try the Ready to Taxi button to set up the airplane.

Shift 5?

[gollum65 6]

Thanks for the responses.  Since the normal checklist referred to control locks I suspected it might have been the issue.  But the checklist seems more real world so I didn't think it was actually modeled.  But now I know to do a more thorough check of things.  And thanks Bert, that's a good alternative if I can't figure out what was wrong.

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

13 minutes ago, gollum65 said:

Thanks for the responses.  Since the normal checklist referred to control locks I suspected it might have been the issue.  But the checklist seems more real world so I didn't think it was actually modeled.  But now I know to do a more thorough check of things.  And thanks Bert, that's a good alternative if I can't figure out what was wrong.

I just checked... there are no control locks that I can find.

When Cold & Dark, the control surfaces move normally.

I kind of suspect your stick/yoke.. if this happens again, try unplugging / replugging.

[gollum65 6]

It's a one month old Thrustmaster T1600.  I flew with it yesterday morning.  But yeah, something was odd.  I just went in and verified that the control surfaces move normally in cold/dark, ready to taxi, or even when I do the start up myself.  Must have just been some odd P3D glitch.  Glad I wasn't missing something.

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

7 minutes ago, gollum65 said:

It's a one month old Thrustmaster T1600.  I flew with it yesterday morning.  But yeah, something was odd.  I just went in and verified that the control surfaces move normally in cold/dark, ready to taxi, or even when I do the start up myself.  Must have just been some odd P3D glitch.  Glad I wasn't missing something.

Or your USB port turned off.. can happen in Win10.

In Windows Device Manager, you can go to each of your USB ports and turn off Power Management to prevent this.  The Windows 2004 update resets this, and you have to repeat it after.. 😉

[Chock 17,769]

2 hours ago, Ron Attwood said:

I never had you down as a 'Baseball cap on backwards' kind of bloke. 🙂

That's an interesting story actually...

At that time (early 2000s), glider pilots quite commonly wore baseball caps when flying. However, following a few fatal collisions in gliders, whereby a glider below another one when they were both circling in the same thermal, hit the other from underneath because the peak of the baseball cap obscured the pilot's upwards view, it became frowned upon to wear a baseball cap on the glider flight line, or any other hat with a forward brim for that matter. So I would always make a point of reversing my cap when prepping for a flight, which is what you see there. I don't normally wear them like that.

The older tube framed, canvas covered single-seater K7 glider with the tail code DNJ, in front of the GRP twin-seater Puchacz in that picture, could easily outclimb the Puchacz in the same thermal, so one glider in a thermal could easily be ascending much faster than another one even in the same thermal, hence the need to see above you.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Chock

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

1 hour ago, Chock said:

That's an interesting story actually...

Nice one. 😉

[rightseat 277]

Did the autopilot get kicked on?

[gollum65 6]

On 8/12/2020 at 3:15 PM, rightseat said:

Did the autopilot get kicked on?

Yes, I believe that was actually the issue.  It's kind of my practice to turn on the AP before takeoff, but without any of the modes selected.  But in this aircraft I guess AP on = basically straight and level flight mode.  Now I know.  

[rightseat 277]

On 8/17/2020 at 5:40 AM, gollum65 said:

Yes, I believe that was actually the issue.  It's kind of my practice to turn on the AP before takeoff, but without any of the modes selected.  But in this aircraft I guess AP on = basically straight and level flight mode.  Now I know.  

Good to hear that was it. If you were flying a real plane, you'd have noticed how much harder it would be than normal to move the yoke, and that would clue you in. 🙂