Aircraft are uncontrollable

[Johan G]

hi finally managed to load it but i can not get the aircraft
to steer or takeoff on the latter it just rolls over and crashes
surely there must be easier ways to use this sim

[Johan G]

Hi and Welcome to the forum!

A couple of questions to help us figure out your problem:

• What aircraft have you tried?
• How are you trying to control them? Keyboard, mouse, joystick, twist joystick or joystick and pedals?
• Have you found the aircraft specific help menu?

The exact controls can vary a bit from aircraft to aircraft. For example do many airliners and heavy transports have tiller steering for anything but very small steering angles when moving on the ground. How the tiller steering is implemented varies from aircraft to aircraft, but is usually a separate aircraft specific dialog or a key combination.

If you are using pedals or a twisting joystick you probably want to disable autocoordination which links together rudder control with aileron control for those using a control setup with no separate rudder control.

[gcsmith40]

hi,thx for replying.i hve only tried the cessna 172 and have viewed help, and i am using a yoke.tried the pedals but they would not work.tried the mouse for steering but that was erratic.
i find the sim difficult to use as it often crashes on startup.
my system has 8g of memory,25g of space on the hd and a 1g hd graphics card and using win10.
cheers,
george

[Parnikkapore]

Check your joystick settings-are they swapped?

[Captainkool]

Hello gssmith40, what plane are you using? some aircraft have a tiller steering option that allows you to set your gears angle. Another reason might be that there are lots of wind. If this helped then your welcome!

[Altster]

I too have this problem. I wish there were a way to setup an easy level for beginning users of FlightGear. I have only used the default aircraft after the load (Cessna 172 I believe.)

My system specs are as follows:

Dell Precision Workstation T3400
Intel Core 2 - Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.4GHz x 4
512MB NVIDIA GT218 (GeForce 8400 GS Rev. 3 Graphics Card)
O/S - Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon 64-bit
Cinnamon Version 2.2.16
Linux Kernel 3.13.0-24-generic
7.7GB Memory
500GB boot drive
2.0TB data drive
Logitech Extremem 3D PRO Joystick

FlightGear Version: 2016.3.1
SimGear Version: 2016.3.1
OpenSceneGraph Version: 3.2.9
Build Id: none
Build Number: 0
Revision: none

OpenGL Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL Renderer: GeForce 8400GS/PCIe/SSE2
OpenGL Version: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.98
GLSL Version: 3.30 NVIDIA via Cg compiler
Max Texture Size: 8192
Depth Buffer Bits: 24


Command: fgfs --launcher --enable-auto-coordination

Makes only a tiny bit of difference with "--enable-auto-coordination" added to the Command line

The only reason I am running Linux is because I've had it with Windows and their horrible updates that keep breaking the computers' O/S.

If / when I can get the controller under control (so that the plane doesn't turn left and nearly always flip over on it's top when it leaves the ground) then I'll look into customizing the sim. I've heard a lot of good things about this sim, but so far I am very un-impressed.

[Thorsten]

I too have this problem. I wish there were a way to setup an easy level for beginning users of FlightGear.

It's OpenSource, which means you can write one. It's how FG typically grows - people find something which bothers them and they start to fix it. The Advanced Weather system largely exists because I wasn't happy with the way clouds were placed on the sky.

so that the plane doesn't turn left and nearly always flip over on it's top when it leaves the ground

It sure sounds like you're trying to use ailerons to keep it on the runway center, which is a bad idea, because the moment you leave the runway there's an enormous rolling moment acting.

One of our stated aims in FG is providing a realistic simulation which has all the problems you're likely to encounter in reality - including engine torque and p-factor which make takeoff harder. And among other things, that probably means you'll e.g. crash 100 helicopters before getting into the air once.

On the other hand, you'll have a decent idea what it takes to start a helicopter.

[Parnikkapore]

Speaking of ailerons:
You twist your stick to steer an aircraft on the ground.("Rudder/Nosewheel") You only move the stick from side to side ("ailerons") if you want to turn in the air.

And speaking of realism: you actually should also twist your stick real slightly in a turn so you don't get pushed to the side. But don't think - It's easy to overdo this on your stick.

[Necolatis]

If you tell us what model pedals you have, maybe somebody can help you with that.

And did you try the "menu->file->joystick configuration" to see if you could get pedals to work? (even though its called joystick configuration I think it also works for yoke and stuff)

[Parnikkapore]

If you tell us what model pedals you have, maybe somebody can help you with that.

Sorry, he already stated that he had an Extreme 3D Pro. It's a twistable stick.

[Necolatis]

No, the OP said:

i am using a yoke.tried the pedals but they would not work

[Altster]

I know how an airplane works.

I have no intention of having to re-compile or write code to turn this into a easier-to-fly simulator.

I'm so happy that there are many among you who have no problems.

Thanks for the answer(s) - NOT!

It's obvious to me that there is no one who is (really) willing to lend a hand concerning this problem - from all of the others who have reported this same issue!


** sorry I wasted the space in the forum database.

[Thorsten]

I have no intention of having to re-compile or write code to turn this into a easier-to-fly simulator.

Guess that makes two of us then.

from all of the others who have reported this same issue!

If you look around in the forum, you'll find dozens of posts along 'trouble with takeoff' or 'plane pulls to the side during takeoff' and so on. You'll find explanations how the aerodynamics works out in reality, and you'll find that in general the people looking for an arcade game go elsewhere, the people looking for a flightsim stay and learn.

And that's all there's to it - I've enjoyed arcade games as much as the next guy, and there's nothing at all wrong with them, it's just not what Flightgear is (or even is supposed to be).

[dilbert]

Sounds like you're off to a rough start. Flight gear is an outstanding simulator once you get it going; but it can be frustrating when things don't go like they should from the start. It sounds to me like there is a compatibility problem with the yoke you are using. As someone already mentioned, go to the top menu, click "file", then "joystick configuration". If FlightGear
recognizes your yoke it will display the name and model; in which case clicking "reset"
should resolve the problem. Otherwise, recommend you consider getting a joystick, as they re simpler than trying to fly using keyboard or mouse.

[Altster]

Sounds like you're off to a rough start. Flight gear is an outstanding simulator once you get it going; but it can be frustrating when things don't go like they should from the start. It sounds to me like there is a compatibility problem with the yoke you are using. As someone already mentioned, go to the top menu, click "file", then "joystick configuration". If FlightGear
recognizes your yoke it will display the name and model; in which case clicking "reset"
should resolve the problem. Otherwise, recommend you consider getting a joystick, as they re simpler than trying to fly using keyboard or mouse.

Thank you for your reply, dilbert. I have heard from others that this is an excellent sim and that is one reason I had selected it.

I was using (only) a Logitech Extreme 3D joystick to attempt to fly with (no pedals). But since I cannot get this thing to steer correctly or keep from inverting immediately after takeoff I just uninstalled all of the program.

I guess I'll just keep my virtual body planted on the ground.

Maybe sometime in the future I'll take it on again.