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I lost use of my right hand do to a spinal cord injury while serving.

I purchased the P51-D Civilian in 2014 and have tried take offs settings by the book, and realism full right, w/o success. I try until frustration takes over, then try again a few months later, over and over Yesterday I tried again, settings by the book, as usual. I held the stick just back of neutral, applied power / rudder as needed, and finally I was able to lift off, fly a short distance but then veer left and nose down to ground. I think it might be a pitch issue.

The problem for me is, I fly one handed. I have my Warthog Hotas set close to my Saitek throttle/prop/conditioner and able to keep hand on stick, while extending my finger tips to the throttle quadrant. So, I'm applying throttle while trying to control stick. I can't adjust any needed pitch while doing these other task. My thought is that I could assign controls to stick.

So, my fellow pilots, what assignments might you suggest. I know assigning might seem obvious to you, but I thought I'd seek out the advise of some of you more experienced "Tang" pilots before I do it.

I've been flying and assortment of AC over the last ten years, and the P51-D Civilian is the only one I can't seem to master. I'll appreciate any guidance you can provide.

Regards, "Eagle"

Eagle Spirit wrote:I lost use of my right hand do to a spinal cord injury while serving.

I purchased the P51-D Civilian in 2014 and have tried take offs settings by the book, and realism full right, w/o success. I try until frustration takes over, then try again a few months later, over and over Yesterday I tried again, settings by the book, as usual. I held the stick just back of neutral, applied power / rudder as needed, and finally I was able to lift off, fly a short distance but then veer left and nose down to ground. I think it might be a pitch issue.

The problem for me is, I fly one handed. I have my Warthog Hotas set close to my Saitek throttle/prop/conditioner and able to keep hand on stick, while extending my finger tips to the throttle quadrant. So, I'm applying throttle while trying to control stick. I can't adjust any needed pitch while doing these other task. My thought is that I could assign controls to stick.

So, my fellow pilots, what assignments might you suggest. I know assigning might seem obvious to you, but I thought I'd seek out the advise of some of you more experienced "Tang" pilots before I do it.

I've been flying and assortment of AC over the last ten years, and the P51-D Civilian is the only one I can't seem to master. I'll appreciate any guidance you can provide.

Regards, "Eagle"

I have an answer but you might not like it. The Warthog is a nice controller but if you are restricted to a one handed operation you might have chosen the wrong controller. What you need is a stick with an extra axis for your throttle. The CH Fighter stick fills this requirement to a T. I use CH exclusively and it is a fine controller.I actually opted for the CH product AFTER using the Warthog.
I realize you will lose the button assignments on the Warthog throttle. The CH stick has 12 button options and of course you can use the keyboard for some non-essentials.
The CH fighter stick has a throttle axis on it for one hand operation.
DH

There are sticks with an analogue control axis on the stick itself as well. One example would be

http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x56.html

That way, you have throttle control without letting go of the stick at all.

Doesn't the Saitek Cyborg series include a thumb wheel as well? That one has the added benefit of being configurable for left-handed use.

Cheers,
/Fred

SUCCESS!!!

Got her up, after dumbing some fuel, 6 right rudder, and a -2 on elevator. FSX Mania has an excellent tutorial on Youtube I followed. lol, hand on stick, fingers stretched to quadrant to control power.

Ty for your input.

Eagle

Congratulations Eagle!

The '51 is quite a handful (no pun intended...no, really! ) to get up and airborne at first. I practiced on looooong runways (KBGR is a bit excessive at 11,440') with low power settings for a while to get the hang of it. Really glad to see you overcame the challenge!

-Ian C

Thanks to All!

I'll check out your stick suggestions. Reviews weren't that kind to 55 or 56 (preorder) Seems to be reach / ergonomics issues.

After two years, FINALLY!! Changed to Edwards for long strip!

I've become fairly good at my takeoffs now, but I plane on continuing to perfect my skills. It's a bit humorous to watch, as I have heel of my hand on top of stick, fingers outstretched to reach throttle quadrant, panel for pitch/flaps. Descending to Yukutat, I have my wrist on top of stick to control with fingers outstretched to controls , but all went well Smooth, no bumps. We learn to adapt/compensate!

Regards, a happy "Eagle"

Another consideration might be to rig up a foot throttle of some sort? Even a throttle quadrant you could put on the floor next to your rudder pedals might work. Crosswind landings might be troublesome, but it'd be nice for making cruise a little more leisurely!

-Ian C

Alls under control. I've moved my Warthog close to Saitek controllers. Rest heel of hand on stick, extend fingers to controllers. Did some power, fuel distribution and rudder adjustments. Taking of like a pro now. Finally, after two years of occasional frustration

Stay vertical, Eagle

Awesome! I'd like to see a video of that if you have the resources, ambition, and interest! I'll bet there are plenty of folks who have given up on such hobbies in your position.

Good work and happy flying!

-Ian C

Awesome spirit Eagle spirit! Pun intended!

Glad you finally got that pure breed up in the blue! I was wondering if you could rig some semi-flexible rod to your throttle quadrant so that you could control it with your left shoulder or maby even your mouth?

I'm sorry for your injury btw, and as we never say it enough, Thank you for your service,,, (Just so you know, I'm Canadian, but I'm one who think those who serve(d) rarely get half of the recognition they deserve, be them Canadian or American)

Have fun with our lovely stang, you'll see that once in the air, she is very very well trained!

Stephan

I'm almost in the same boat as you Eagle Spirit. I have very little use of my right hand and leg. I use a Thrustmaster T.16000m joystick, CH rudder pedals and CH throttle quadrant. As you can imagine my setup is left handed, stick in the left hand and throttle quadrant operated by my middle finger on my right hand. I've put the gear and flaps controls on the left most buttons on the quadrant but sometimes I manage to hit the wrong control if my hand wanders!
Best advice I can give though is, never give up and don't let your disability win!

Ya'll are swell bunch!

Considering that I've gone from quadriplegia to 90% loss of use of right hand is a miracle in itself. I'm not a quitter, and that's probably why I'm not "six feet under",

Everything is setup "lefty". My problem was poor technique and not finessing my "stang" properly. After awhile I'd just give up. A Youtube tutorial by FS Mania and Scott got me on the right track. She's one of my favorites now, and a piece of cake to fly.

Thanks to all of you for offering assistance / support.

Eagle

Great job and glad to see you got some help from youtube. The community on there is growing greatly and its a great resource for simmers wanting to see how other sim and get hints and tips from the tutorial type videos on there. Great stuff, I'm a big fan of the youtube creators and try to promote the good stuff I come across when I can.

thanks and happy flying,
Lewis