Strange flight model behaviour with flaps
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First of all, thank you Just Flight for updating the PA28 series for MSFS 2024 at no extra cost!
It truly shows dedication and loyalty to your customers—much appreciated.I couldn’t help but notice some odd behavior with the Warrior (haven’t checked the Arrow series yet), and I’m not sure if this was also the case in MSFS 2020.
While flying a standard circuit, it’s common on the downwind leg to begin configuring for landing—this includes setting flaps, applying carb heat, and performing other checks. With a power setting of around 2300 RPM and carb heat off, I set flaps to position 1. Normally, in the real Warrior, you'd expect the aircraft to start climbing slightly, requiring forward pressure on the yoke to maintain altitude.
However, in the sim, I notice I have to apply backpressure instead, which feels quite unusual to me.
Is anyone else experiencing this behavior? Or could it be a setting or configuration I might be overlooking?
P.S.: This was observed using the latest v4.1 update.
Thanks in advance!
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I've noticed that as well. I'm getting my PPL in this aircraft, and although the physical model is great for visuals in VR, the flight model isn't quite there. Normally when configuring to land I have to immediately put forward pressure in when adding your first set of flaps, if not, you're climbing. In the sim, the plane drops like a rock. I set second stage of flaps on base and also have to push forward in the real aircraft, but don't really need much input in the sim. I'm struggling with the yoke steering comparison too, but what you gonna do?
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Hi all,
This is something that gets brought up every now and again, and we always receive conflicting feedback from some users saying that it is correct, and other users saying that it is incorrect.
I've brought this topic up with our flight model developer, and from a flight model perspective, the stall speed with flaps set is correct, thus the amount of lift applied is correct. The amount of ballooning from flap extension is not directly controllable other than by the addition of lift. The more lift gives ballooning, but also a ridiculously low stall speed and likely an inability to touch down until you get close to that ridiculously low stall speed.
It's all a bit of a juggling act where one area of a flight model can't be improved without compromising another, plus we are dealing with physics in a flight simulator, which will never perfectly match up with real-world physics.
We of course log every piece of feedback we receive though, and it'll be something that gets looked at again the next time the flight models are worked on in our PA28s.
Hope that helps.
Mark - Just Flight
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Hi. I am a real-life Warrior pilot and I agree with @Jeremy68 and @copperenco. When setting flaps, the real world Warrior would pitch up (balloon) and you need to push down on the yoke. In MSFS2020 it behaved this way and I was surprised when it did not happen after the update.
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Real life PPL pilot here also. I share the same feedback regarding the unrealistic behaviour of the plane during 1st notch of flaps extension. But I appreciate and understand the JF/Mark + flight model developer explaination.
Would love that JP/Flight Model developer find an alternative for the next update.
