Not complaining, well maybe a little,  just a little humor. I upgraded to MSFS2024 from FSX no less and while I love the looks and visuals it's been a heavy learning process.  I have been involved with Microsoft's flight simulator software from the beginning and this upgrade has my brain spinning. Getting everything setup from the camera, control settings, profiles and all types of SETTINGS has been an astronomical learning curve.  So after a few test flights I have found out AUTO RUDDER is a completely different animal in MSFS2024 then FSX.  Since the beginning I have never used rudder pedals just turned on AUTO RUDDER and used my joystick to keep me on the runway center line. Now I know this is not realistic but it sure made it easy. I like the simulation aspect but I also like to enjoy the flight sim. So do most of you use rudder pedals??

Edited December 5, 2025Dec 5 by bill10
misspelled word

I use rudder pedals ( VKB Mk.4 ) and love them. I still have a twist-grip HOTAS, but only use it for nose wheel steering now.

2 hours ago, bill10 said:

Not complaining, well maybe a little,  just a little humor. I upgraded to MSFS2024 from FSX no less and while I love the looks and visuals it's been a heavy learning process.  I have been involved with Microsoft's flight simulator software from the beginning and this upgrade has my brain spinning. Getting everything setup from the camera, control settings, profiles and all types of SETTINGS has been an astronomical learning curve.  So after a few test flights I have found out AUTO RUDDER is a completely different animal in MSFS2024 then FSX.  Since the beginning I have never used rudder pedals just turned on AUTO RUDDER and used my joystick to keep me on the runway center line. Now I know this is not realistic but it sure made it easy. I like the simulation aspect but I also like to enjoy the flight sim. So do most of you use rudder pedals??

Well if you just fly and never plan on stopping you can forego the toe-brakes! :)

6 hours ago, Paul K said:

I use rudder pedals ( VKB Mk.4 ) and love them. I still have a twist-grip HOTAS, but only use it for nose wheel steering now.

I've been looking at those!  In my interweb travels I've heard talk of "damper" kits for these pedals .. do you use these or are they find without?

3 hours ago, Flyfaster_MTN002 said:

Well if you just fly and never plan on stopping you can forego the toe-brakes! 🙂

I GOT PROBLEMS with the BRAKES TOO! 🙂 That delay and my comparison to the way they worked in FSX is a little frustrating, but I'm working thru it.

I was using a simple joystick + throttle / HOTAS combo without rudder pedals for a long time (many, many years) and it served me well. It had a twist axis which I used for the rudder and it was okay, but fine control was almost impossible and don't even think about cross-control or something like that.

Bigger planes also have yaw dampers, so it worked.

Then, I don't know anymore the exact situation.. But there was a day I purchased another plane addon (simmers like to collect, don't we?) and was frustrated about bugs, paying for early access and so on. Many of us know that situation.

I thought: Over this long time, I invested so much into my simulator, buying scenery and planes. It's a hobby I spend quite some time on and sometimes I even regret buying certain stuff. Why not cutting the virtual fleet down a bit and invest in hardware from that point? Why do I complain about a certain plane being unrealistic, but flying with unrealistic controls?  So what I saved from not buying every new piece of software was now invested in hardware.

And it was the biggest game changer, especially the pedals. Currently, I own the WinWing pedals and they are very sturdy. I even converted them to force feedback which was one of the biggest game changers (my whole setup is now FFB incl. stick) ever.

Why? Because now, the flying experience is just so much more fun. I can fly VFR and forget the time, which I rarely did before. I even digged into helicopters which I never thought I will do - because it's possible now. Removing the "spring" is just one click and now I even feel the change in transitional lift in my feet, it's insane.

Of course you don't need force feedback for this, there exist proper sticks and pedals where you can just remove the physical springs - and I recommend investing in something like this.

TL;DR: For me investing in hardware changed everything. I enjoy basic and complex aircraft, I'm happy with what I have and having proper controls, stuff like visuals etc. become secondary (still nice to have).

My advice: Get pedals, without it, you never really feel in control of the airplane. MFG Crosswinds are excellent, but so are Virpil or WinWing.
 

58 minutes ago, bill10 said:

"damper" kits for these pedals .. do you use these or are they find without?

For Non-FFB pedals, I recommend a adjustable damper if you can get one. It makes the controls feel "heavier", less "springy" and more realistic.

 

These are my pedals (WinWing Orion pimped with a DIY VPForce motor kit):

Spoiler

 

Edited December 5, 2025Dec 5 by roesti

If you don't want to invest in a rudder pedal, set the weather to "clear skies" or another setting with near-zero surface winds. Auto rudder will then work fine. However, you will miss out on the fun to master cross-wind landings, which you can only do with rudder pedals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwXWZYX4FRU

That's by far not the only situation where a rudder is needed, but the most obvious.

I couldn't do without rudder pedals. It makes the operating of the aircraft so much more immersive!

3 hours ago, bill10 said:

I've been looking at those!  In my interweb travels I've heard talk of "damper" kits for these pedals .. do you use these or are they find without?

I've never heard of 'dampers' for them - I just used them as they came out of the box. 

9 hours ago, Paul K said:

I use rudder pedals ( VKB Mk.4 ) and love them. I still have a twist-grip HOTAS, but only use it for nose wheel steering now.

Same here, except I have the Mk.5. Excellent pedals with adjustable spring tension.

I use the front paddles (buttons) on my STECS as wheel brakes. Not as good as an axis, but they serve.

8 hours ago, roesti said:

 

My advice: Get pedals, without it, you never really feel in control of the airplane. MFG Crosswinds are excellent, but so are Virpil or WinWing.
 

 

You convinced me!  I'm getting some rudder pedals. I had no issue with my FSX setup with autorudder it was simplistic in its approach. Unrealistic yes but so simple in design. But MSFS has evolved and so will I. Thanks for the recommendation.

7 hours ago, qqwertz said:

If you don't want to invest in a rudder pedal, set the weather to "clear skies" or another setting with near-zero surface winds. Auto rudder will then work fine. However, you will miss out on the fun to master cross-wind landings, which you can only do with rudder pedals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwXWZYX4FRU

That's by far not the only situation where a rudder is needed, but the most obvious.

I think with my old FSX setup I was always landing straight into the wind which maybe that's why auto rudder worked so well. But I have to move on, I will get the pedals.  Thanks for your input.

Wo obtaining sim stick and rudder skills rudder is a must! I'm using Honeycomb Charlie pedals.

17 hours ago, bill10 said:

Not complaining, well maybe a little,  just a little humor. I upgraded to MSFS2024 from FSX no less and while I love the looks and visuals it's been a heavy learning process.  I have been involved with Microsoft's flight simulator software from the beginning and this upgrade has my brain spinning. Getting everything setup from the camera, control settings, profiles and all types of SETTINGS has been an astronomical learning curve.  So after a few test flights I have found out AUTO RUDDER is a completely different animal in MSFS2024 then FSX.  Since the beginning I have never used rudder pedals just turned on AUTO RUDDER and used my joystick to keep me on the runway center line. Now I know this is not realistic but it sure made it easy. I like the simulation aspect but I also like to enjoy the flight sim. So do most of you use rudder pedals??

I’ve been using rudder pedals for years now. A world of improvement for GA/stick & rudder aircraft, helicopters (mandatory), and any kind of crosswind landings, or side slipping down the glide slope to lose altitude without gaining speed. 

11 hours ago, qqwertz said:

If you don't want to invest in a rudder pedal, set the weather to "clear skies" or another setting with near-zero surface winds. Auto rudder will then work fine. However, you will miss out on the fun to master cross-wind landings, which you can only do with rudder pedals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwXWZYX4FRU

That's by far not the only situation where a rudder is needed, but the most obvious.

I tried this, unless I have missed some setting, AUTO RUDDER isn't working as it did in FSX.  IN FSX I could turn on AUTO RUDDER step into, lets say the Majestic Q400, line up on the runway, apply power and I would have directional control simply by pushing the joystick left and right. In an external view the aileron axis, joystick left and right, would turn the nose wheel and deflect the rudder. And this was through out the takeoff roll, no matter the speed. Taxing was also easy. I don't know if they changed the logic between nose wheel steering, auto rudder or something else but it seems to have changed. 

I am just trying to find a solution with my current setup, no rudder pedals. It seems no matter what settings I chose or configure I cannot get it to behave the way it did in the past. I have directional control while taxing but NOT during the late stages of the takeoff roll or landing. I will purchase rudder pedals and that's ok if that is the solution to MSFS24. Coming from FSX I assumed I could turn on AUTO RUDDER, since I did not have rudder pedals, and it would work as it did in the past. Again unless I missed some setting, MSFS24 is more lets say complicated in control settings than FSX, I cannot get AUTO RUDDER to work they way I thought it did.