Taxiing!

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stretch1365
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Joined: 30 Apr 2012, 01:31

Taxiing!

Post by stretch1365 »

Hi all,

After spending the weekend getting reacquainted with my A2A hanger, the B17, B377 and the Spitfire, and thoroughly loving flying them again, I have come across a small problem with Taxiing the Spitfire.

I Use a full version of FSUIPC and have all my axis etc set up through that program. Now I recall there is something about taxiing the Spitfire where you have to press the brake on the side you wish to turn and use the rudder or stick to turn.............I forget which it has been so long since I dusted off the Spitfire. However when I touch the brake on the left say for a left turn I get both brake gauges moving which implies both brakes are being activated, yes I get no turn either. I checked my axis in FSUIPC and that is telling me the two brakes are separate, left and right. So I am not sure now if I am doing something silly due to my lack of hours in the Spitfire or I have a small issue.

I guess I ought to try some other A2A aircraft the Mustang or the Havard to see if they work properly, oops Texan, I am British though!!!!!

Thanks for any help folks.
Happy Flying.
David Phillips.


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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Piper_EEWL »

The real world Spitfire only has a central brake lever on the stick. Differential braking is achieved by pressing the brake and then pressing the rudder into the direction you want to go. So to turn left hit the left rudder and then brake and only the left main gear brake will come on. And vice versa for a right turn. The A2A plane is the same.
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

stretch1365
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by stretch1365 »

Hi Piper_EEWL thanks for your reply to my question.

I have tried to taxi my Spitfire once more but to no avail.

When the aircraft is on the ground I am seeing hardly any rudder action at all, while in the air the rudder is working fine, which isn't supposed to happen. Pressing the brake pedal only seems to activate both brakes even though the manual says I should be seeing left or right brake activation on the brake pressure gauge, to enable the turn. I am only able to turn by a few degree's which is fine for the runway run but no good for taxiing around the airfield. It's almost like the tail wheel lock is on, but it isn't I checked that already.

I checked my FSUIPC settings and rudder and brakes are working as they should, but I am not seeing those nice tight turns needed for the Taxi around the airfield.

My other A2A aircraft are all taxiing fine so it is just the Spitfire I am having a problem with.
Happy Flying.
David Phillips.


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Killratio
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Killratio »

Ok,

Just to make sure:

1 Start engine.
2 Confirm brake pressure is correct, top needle.
3 tap your toe brake (either).
4 Confirm both bottom left and right needles come up.
5 WITHOUT moving, and leaving brakes activated...push your left rudder all of the way in.

What happens ?

Next let go toe brakes and push "B" on keyboard. Repeat 4 and 5 above.


What happens?
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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Piper_EEWL »

So you're saying your rudder doesn't work while the plane is on the ground? But as soon as you're airborne it works perfectly with full deflection? That's weird. Maybe you can check if by any chance you have "auto rudder" checked in the FSX settings. If so uncheck it and try again.
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

stretch1365
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by stretch1365 »

Hi all again, and again thanks for the replies.

Killratio I tried your suggestions but to no avail, and Piper I checked the autorudder and it isn't checked either, it shouldn't be but you never know if somehow it became checked without my realising.

One thing I did notice tonight, if I taxi down the runway I get some steering, to stay straight, but not enough to turn off the runway. However still very little rudder pedal movement, however I did notice that as the speed increased so to did the rudder movement, until by the time I rotated I had full rudder movement. weird eh!

Also I found that pressing the rudder and the left or right brake while flying did show the correct action of the brake pressure gauge. So it would appear the issue I am having taxiing is actually caused by not enough rudder movement when on the ground at low speeds and not the brake actuation of the left or right brake.

Anyway that's my update for today.......Still looking.
Happy Flying.
David Phillips.


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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Piper_EEWL »

Ok that's really weird. Could it maybe be something with your FSUIPC settings specifically for the Spitfire?
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

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Killratio
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Killratio »

Agreed, very weird!

Alright, apologies if teaching grandma to suck eggs....but I have sometimes missed "the bleeding obvious" too.

You DO realise that the Spitfire has a fully castoring tail wheel and therefore you get very little turn authority unless you are moving fast (you describe getting more faster) ? The rudder does not turn the tailwheel at all.

You need, when taxiing, to give a burst of power to pull you around and use full rudder a couple of seconds before you want to turn....lead with rudder.

Also, keeping the airscrew in coarse by accident to taxi will compound this.


Just thought it was worth mentioning.

Check in FSX control setting AND in FSUIPC make sure that there are no duplicate controls .... it could be that somewhere , for example,
a mixture is conflicting with rudder. I have had this happen. If switching to lean in flight that could explain the return of authority if it maxes out the rudder axis?


Also, when reinstalling, did you manually delete the .dat files in c/:documents/A2A/Spitfire

Don't worry, one way or another, we'll get it fixed.
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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Piper_EEWL »

One more question just to make sure. The rudder is actually not deflecting on the ground (you could check this in the outside view) or does it not have any effect on the ground but the surface is actually moving?
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

stretch1365
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by stretch1365 »

Evening guys,

Once again thanks for your reply's.

Killratio I have no problem with you suggesting the obvious, the number of times I have found something obvious I had forgotten about when doing things with fsx is amazing.

I checked all the settings and axis for duplicate assignments but in fsx and FSUIPC, in fact all my aircraft have their own FSUIPC profiles but I still find nothing out of the ordinary.

Piper_EEWL I checked the rudder movement while trundling down the runway. I get no pedal movement and no visual movement of the rudder on the outside either. Like I said yesterday as my speed builds as I run down the runway the movement of the pedals and indeed the movement of the actual rudder increases. Having said that I tried the P51 last night which shows similar behaviour but does taxi as expected. I might be able to spend a bit of time at the weekend to sort this out.

Tell you one thing though, it flies like a dream.
Happy Flying.
David Phillips.


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Killratio
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Killratio »

Alright...the next in "Darryl's Wonderful World of the Bleedin' Obvious"

Have you checked that there is not a duplicated key binding in your FSX/FSUIPC for "Z", or you are somehow accidentally hitting the Z key (much more unlikely) . If something you are doing on the ground is/has activated Z (default autopilot) that is the next most likely cause, to Autorudder, to be messing with control authority. IF I recall correctly, that will allow elevators and ailerons to move visually but then counter their effect but severely restrict visual rudder movement.

Are you flying the Spitfire I or II? Either way I would look at maybe a conflict on undercarriage first, as that is the most likely to "cure" itself when you raise the gear.

BTW, the reason I have seen all these is that my Sim Cockpit is almost fully functional and very complicated... so I've made all of these mistakes, had all of these things happen either in Beta Testing or when making changes/initial setup of the sim.


Let me know mate... we're all still in there and swinging!

Darryl
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Nick - A2A
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hello David,

One other quick troubleshooting question to add to the mix: if you leave the Spit aside for a moment and load the default Cessna 172SP (I assume you're using FSX, not P3D) does the rudder animation respond to your inputs when the plane is stationary and viewed from outside?

Probably worth trying to establish if the issue is related to the A2A/Accu-Sim stuff, or if it's something more 'generic'.

Thanks,
Nick

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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Piper_EEWL »

Definetly getting more weird if the Mustangs rudder doesn't work either on the ground :wink:
It's not specific to the Spitfire then. Do your other Accusim planes behave correctly? And also did you run the latest updater?

I'd say try what Nick suggested first to see if it's a simulator related issue or a Accusim related issue.
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

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Killratio
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by Killratio »

And then as a last resort if nothing of these works, get Simmconnect reinstalled and see if that helps...probably not but....
<Sent from my 1988 Sony Walkman with Dolby Noise Reduction and 24" earphone cord extension>


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stretch1365
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Re: Taxiing!

Post by stretch1365 »

Hi all,

So today I decided to try something radical and reinstalled my spitfire with a fresh download from the A2A store. Accusim too. I then went into FSUIPC and removed the .ini file but copied the names of my joysticks from the old one. My thoughts being that if there was some axis assignment issues I would clear them away reassigning my control buttons and axis again from nothing.

I still have virtually the same issues, gggrrrr. I calibrate all my axis and settings through FSUIPC is this going to cause any issues with A2A warbirds, do axis work better when calibrated direct to FSX maybe?

I found a video on Youtube today of the A2A Spitfire taxiing on the ground, full rudder movement even when stationary, mine doesn't do that still. Oh well I won't give up on this, the bird is too wonderful in the air.

I nearly bought the P40 Warhawk today too, to go with the Spit, P51 and T6, I'm enjoying the warbirds so much.

Well another go tomorrow, I appreciate all your help folks even though we haven't yet cured my issue yet.
Happy Flying.
David Phillips.


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