Noob help

[Glenn]

Hi all, new to AH and new to the forums, Been playing for two weeks or so I have looked at many web sites, and searched the forum and still have a couple of questions. The first is how do you set the planes speed? I looked at a web site on Auto and combat trim and the author was talking about bringing down the radio and putting in for exsample  (.speed 250) Which ive tried but it dosnt seem to work? Second i have my throttle set to one of my joysticks but if i let it go it returns to half throttle, can u not use the + & - keys as well as the joystick?? because they are mapped but dont seem to work if the throttle is set to joystick as well. and Thirdly It seems i can raise and lower my flaps only some of the time is it a speed thing that prevents me operating them some of the time?  

Many thanks for any replys

[Murdr]

Flaps- Yes, you can not deploy them if you are above their rated speed.

.speed - This command defines the speed the "auto speed" (an auto pilot function) will maintain.  To activate autospeed press alt-x.  The plane will then adjust and hold a climb, or decend angle required to maintain that speed.  By defult, it is already set to maintain the best climb rate for the plane you are in.

Throttle -  If your joystick has a separate throttle...Try and recalibrate your throttle, but do not move your throttle all the way to full position during calibration (say only to 80% or 90%  for example).  That way after calibrating, the whole top 10% range of you sticks throttle will be full throttle, and it should stay at full throttle then.

If it doesnt have a separate throttle slider, maybe you could be more specific on exactly how you have it setup so we can figure out what might be your best option.

[Spatula]

also the numeric key pad + and - keys are for your engine RPM, not your throttle. For now, just leave your engine RPM alone at full.

[SAS_KID]

yes flaps on most planes will not deploy below 180 or so but some planes have "combat" flaps like the P-51D and some others i belive the jug.

Auto Speed is really an auto climb/speed it will not adjust throttle settings but it will climb to keep itself at a certain speed.

With your throttale that happened to me once where i touched it and it would go to like 1% then 100% so all you need to do is calibrate but do what ever it says or else it may screw you up.

[Glenn]

Originally posted by Murdr
Flaps- Yes, you can not deploy them if you are above their rated speed.

.speed - This command defines the speed the "auto speed" (an auto pilot function) will maintain.  To activate autospeed press alt-x.  The plane will then adjust and hold a climb, or decend angle required to maintain that speed.  By defult, it is already set to maintain the best climb rate for the plane you are in.

Throttle -  If your joystick has a separate throttle...Try and recalibrate your throttle, but do not move your throttle all the way to full position during calibration (say only to 80% or 90%  for example).  That way after calibrating, the whole top 10% range of you sticks throttle will be full throttle, and it should stay at full throttle then.

If it doesnt have a separate throttle slider, maybe you could be more specific on exactly how you have it setup so we can figure out what might be your best option.

ok, I have a game pad that when connected to my computer shows up in windows as a joystick. It has a pov and two little joysticks like a playstation controller. the left joystick forward and back is throttle, left and right is rudder, the second joystick is roll and pitch. if i push the first joystick forward i have full throttle, but if i take my finger of it to say use buttons on my keyboard, it goes back automatically to the centre position reducing me to half throttle untill i push it forward again. I dont seem to be able to use any keys to hold full throttle while i am unable to push it forward because i need hands for keyboard work.  Hope you understand what i mean. Also the + & - for the rpm do nothing on my keyboard, all settings for the keyboard are set at default.

[SAS_KID]

Originally posted by Glenn
ok, I have a game pad that when connected to my computer shows up in windows as a joystick. It has a pov and two little joysticks like a playstation controller. the left joystick forward and back is throttle, left and right is rudder, the second joystick is roll and pitch. if i push the first joystick forward i have full throttle, but if i take my finger of it to say use buttons on my keyboard, it goes back automatically to the centre position reducing me to half throttle untill i push it forward again. I dont seem to be able to use any keys to hold full throttle while i am unable to push it forward because i need hands for keyboard work.  Hope you understand what i mean. Also the + & - for the rpm do nothing on my keyboard, all settings for the keyboard are set at default.

o man i don't think a game pad will do it for this game for there are way to many controls. I suggest buying a joystick much easier and only about $25 for an average one.

[Murdr]

I would suggest setting your throttle to the keyboard.  From the clipboard select-->settings-->controls-->select joystick.  On the far left list select throttle1 and then change it from joystick to mouse.  Your throttle should then be controled by the = and Shift+= keys.

Another option would be to calibrate the stick (in AH) you are using for throttle, but on that axis, only caibrate it between the center and back positions.  That way when that thumbstick is at rest in the center position, it will be full throttle.  Only drawback will be that you will have to hold the stick back to keep the throttle closed while trying to land.

My primary suggestion would be to pick up a cheap flight stick.  All of your controls would be much easier to use, but that is up to you.

[Glenn]

Originally posted by Murdr
I would suggest setting your throttle to the keyboard.  From the clipboard select-->settings-->controls-->select joystick.  On the far left list select throttle1 and then change it from joystick to mouse.  Your throttle should then be controled by the = and Shift+= keys.

Another option would be to calibrate the stick (in AH) you are using for throttle, but on that axis, only caibrate it between the center and back positions.  That way when that thumbstick is at rest in the center position, it will be full throttle.  Only drawback will be that you will have to hold the stick back to keep the throttle closed while trying to land.

My primary suggestion would be to pick up a cheap flight stick.  All of your controls would be much easier to use, but that is up to you.

Thanks to you and all others for there advice, Yes i think i will look at a joy stick $50 NZ dollars   but untill then ive calabrated it as you suggested and that works better for me, I thought the game pad might be better than joystick cause it has 12 buttons on it less keypad work. sorry to be a pain but could you also tell me, when i move my pitch up or down to get the gun sights on a target it sort of jumps up or down to far, its ok once it starts moving i can move the cross hair in a slow percise movment, its just the initial move from like straight flight to getting it to move a few mill up or down to the target, is this normal?? Ive ajusted dampning and dead zone but it made no difference. also ajusted the sliders but also didnt help.n Thanks again

[Schatzi]

Murdr, actually if you do this, im not sure throttle will be back on the keyboard. Because usually when set to mouse, the mouse wheel scroll is the throtthle "lever". But its definitly worth a try.



The "nouse bounce" youre talking about is your pilots head following the G forces. Go to SETUP > JOYSTICK > Settings and, on the left, lower the first three or four sliders in a staircase like climb. Do that for pitch and rudder axis (roll is usually OK). Play around on those till you have something you can work with (im not sure it will get good with a gamepad).

[Murdr]

Under Pitch, try moving your "0" slider up to about 70%.  Then move all the middle sliders up to gradually step up to 100% by the time you get to the "90" slider.

Also, see if you are able to move your deadband as low as in the picture.  If the green plus sign is jumping around at that deadband setting, you will need to turn the deadband up until it stops.  (Otherwise you will not be able to use any of the autopilot functions)

Try that and see if it helps.


(btw shatzi, i tried it myself before i suggested it  With all the other controls assigned to the stick except throttle, the defult keyboard buttons worked fine)

[Schatzi]

Thanks Murdr.