Autopilot controls the rudder, and it shouldn't.
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@sender46 I have not flown with the Autocontrol III autopilot in real life so I'm not sure exactly how it works. I do know that typically you would have the plane flying straight and level before activating the autopilot and typically you would already be flying the heading you have set it to (if in HDG mode) so it kind of makes sense that the roll mode doesn't activate until you set it to straight and level - but I'm not sure if that's how it would operate in real life.
Definitely the graphical glitch where the yoke seems to match the roll selector on the autopilot is a bug though
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@nickd27 said in Autopilot controls the rudder, and it shouldn't.:
Definitely the graphical glitch where the yoke seems to match the roll selector on the autopilot is a bug though
The yoke and the ailerons are mechanically tied together with cables, so the two should always move together... But, you are correct that the yoke seems to be tied to the ROLL knob position instead of following the ailerons!
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@Nickd27 and @RetiredMan93231 I thought it strange that it stays in heading mode even when the heading mode is switched off (until the roll knob is centred) but it appears we don't know if that is wrong or not.
So the only thing we're sure is wrong is the yoke tied to the roll knob instead of the ailerons? I'll let you raise a support ticket, Nick, as you picked it up.
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@sender46 said in Autopilot controls the rudder, and it shouldn't.:
So the only thing we're sure is wrong in is the yoke tied to the roll knob instead of the ailerons? I'll let you raise a support ticket, Nick, as you picked it up.
This logic was used as the PID used for roll control causes lots of small fluctuations in the position of the ailerons that is not very noticeable on the exterior model but looks odd and distracting when shown by the yoke position, which 'flickers' and doesn't necessarily show a logical position for the selected bank. I'll have to see if there is a way to add some 'smoothing' code for the yoke but either way hopefully this is a minor sacrifice in realism.
Roll mode only engaging when the roll knob is centred, the aircraft is banked less than 10 degrees and the roll rate is low is a mixture of real-world AP logic and attempts to tame the unpredictable MSFS AP system. Allowing roll mode to engage outside of those constraints causes even less predictable behaviour. We'll continue to tweak/improve it wherever possible.
The AP remaining in heading hold with the HDG button off has now been fixed.
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It looks like the default AP behaviour in MSFS (as used on comparable aircraft like the C172) is to have rudder input for yaw, as determined by the 'nav_yawPID' values in the ai.cfg. We will need to test how the AP behaves without those inputs.
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Have you noticed they changed auto rudder behaviour is SU7 ?
There is an explicit "Auto rudder" as in FSX/P3D.
Before auto rudder coordination was enabled by default. It could be overridden using hard rudder input but wasn't necessary.
Amazing how many people have been coordinating their turns with their rudder pedals.
Now it states that auto rudder on, will auto coordinate and reduce crosswind effect on takeoff.
Not only is the irony of this placebo not lost on me, but may explain a lot of the instability issues people were complaining about over the last 12 months.
Many were convinced it wasn't auto coordinating because of a lag when turning. But they were wrong.
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@martyn Well, tried it myself, P, I and D values to 0.0 on the 'nav_yawPID' and now the AP doesn't use the rudder anymore. Didn't find any adverse reaction so I'll keep it like that. No more yaw kick when disengaging the AP.
Don't know what could happen if you let the copilot fly the aircraft, but I never do that, so I don't care. -
@gabe777 said in Autopilot controls the rudder, and it shouldn't.:
Have you noticed they changed auto rudder behaviour is SU7 ?
There is an explicit "Auto rudder" as in FSX/P3D.
Before auto rudder coordination was enabled by default. It could be overridden using hard rudder input but wasn't necessary.
Amazing how many people have been coordinating their turns with their rudder pedals.
Now it states that auto rudder on, will auto coordinate and reduce crosswind effect on takeoff.
Not only is the irony of this placebo not lost on me, but may explain a lot of the instability issues people were complaining about over the last 12 months.
Many were convinced it wasn't auto coordinating because of a lag when turning. But they were wrong.
Lol.
Seems they have now tightened up the entire rudder/coordination issue.
Good times.
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I've since noticed that there is a keystroke that can toggle auto rudder on and off... which is useful for taking off and landing.
Activating auro rudder once off the ground gives us the coordinated turns, but can then be deactivated for "spectactular" crab landings... of which I am, of course, extremely proficient ... 🥴🤣🤣🤣
