Rudder pedal tips and advice

[Dreamsofwings]

I have switched to P3Dv4 from FSX and have also started using FSUIPC more for setting up controls.
I seem to find now I am always chasing the steering on take off and having to compensate as the aircraft (not just A2A) veers from left to right and vice versa. I am sure this is down to how my rudder is set up. I have tried adjusting the curve in FSUIPC but never quite found that sweet spot where I feel I have instinctive control and keeping a straight line. For example I find myself having to fight the T6 on take off and landing in a way I didn’t in FSX.
I am using the Saitek Cessna rudder pedals. Does anyone have any advice on a good set up using FSUIPC? Would be much appreciated.

[Oracle427]

Rather than trying to fix the control, let's fix the feet.

As my tailwheel instructor taught me, you need to use your feet the correct way and this applies to both tailwheel and tricycle aircraft.

Take a bat, broomstick, mop stick, painters pole, etc and balance it in the palm of your hand.

Focus on looking at the top of the pole and balancing it in such a way do that you don't have to move your feet and chase it around the room. You should be making lots of small rapid and precise movements to accomplish this.

Now stop and think about that and how your feet well need to be operating the rudder pedals in the same way to keep the airplane from yawing in any direction you do not want it to. Looking up is equivalent to looking out at the correct visual references.

Next try balancing the pole without looking up to see what corrections are required. You'll probably find that you're making lots of big movements and chasing the pole all over the room. This is not the way to want to use your feet on the pedals.

[Nick - A2A]

Take a bat, broomstick, mop stick, painters pole, etc and balance it in the palm of your hand.

Focus on looking at the top of the pole and balancing it in such a way do that you don't have to move your feet and chase it around the room.

Right Oracle - you owe me a vase, two small statuettes and a particularly fine porcelain bust of the Queen Mother!

Nice post.

Nick

[Alan_A]

Oracle427 is absolutely right about technique. But let's also look at your setup.

You've introduced two variables - P3D and FSUIPC. What happens if you eliminate one of them? Rename your FSUIPC.ini (you can restore it later) so that its control settings drop out of the equation, and set up your controls in P3D.

Still having the same problems? In that case, FSUIPC may not be the issue. But first let's find out if your pedals are set up the same way in P3D as they were in FSX. Check the sensitivity and null zone settings. Do they match? From your description, it sounds as though your pedals aren't as sensitive as they were in FSX (inputs lag and you need bigger ones, so you're chasing the controls). Could be that your P3D has set itself at default, with too low sensitivity and too high null zone settings. Make sure you've got maximum sensitivity and minimum null zone. See if things are any better.

Now restore FSUIPC. To start, make sure the slope is linear (that's the equivalent of max sensitivity/minimum null - you can customize later). Does that work?

Final check - when you've got controls set up in FSUIPC, make sure you've disabled them in P3D (there's a check box) so there's no conflict.

Let us know if any of that helps.

[Oracle427]

Take a bat, broomstick, mop stick, painters pole, etc and balance it in the palm of your hand.

Focus on looking at the top of the pole and balancing it in such a way do that you don't have to move your feet and chase it around the room.

Right Oracle - you owe me a vase, two small statuettes and a particularly fine porcelain bust of the Queen Mother!

Nice post.

Nick

Ouch, but you weren't supposed to balance all of those in the palm of your hand at the same time!

That comes later with advanced tailwheel bushflying course as taught by the Flying Kamarazov Brothers.

[Oracle427]

Oh and please don't try to balance a Broomshakalaka. Never a good idea!

NSFW!! You have been warned.

https://youtu.be/zt2uIhAvQZ8

[Dreamsofwings]

Thanks for the great responses guys!

Since I hadn’t had pilot induced rudder issues in FSX I went down the route of troubleshooting as Alan suggested. Unfortunately the new Win 10 feature update caused the helpful chaps at Microsoft to say I needed to reinstall Win 10 completely. This incurred a full reinstall of my sim. Now I first set up using P3D with full sensitivity and there was a definite improvement in control feel over my pre Win 10 cataclysm setup. I then set up controls afresh in fsuipc and whilst the rudder didn’t feel quite as responsive it was still much better than before. I am therefor chalking this up to something not quite right in my previous set up.
Now to lay down in a dark room having reinstalled my entire sim.

[Alan_A]

Glad to hear you're getting somewhere - and wishing you a fast recovery from your reinstall. I've had a couple of W10 update glitches, but never anything as severe as that.

Next step is to try tweaking the slopes in FSUIPC. It's a while since I've used it for controller setup, but if I recall correctly, a positive curve will get you more sensitivity at the start of rudder travel, with a roll-off as you get to full deflection. Again, linear (a zero slope) is the equivalent of P3D's max sensitivity/minimum null setting, so as you go positive, you're getting greater-than-max sensitivity in the center of travel. Might be what you need to get the rudders responsive with small inputs. Try very small slope adjustments - a little goes a long way. Hope this helps, and hope that you're fully back up and running soon.