Aircraft Drifting By Itself

[ScatterbrainKid]

I sometimes get left drift with assorted aircraft when commencing the takeoff run (the rudder can be seen to be off centre even though my joystick is central), so I twist the stick a few times to "free up" the rudder and it returns to centre.
Occasionally ailerons are not central so I waggle the stick a few times to free them up too.

[jeffdogg]

Non-sense, the plane does not drift left because of the joystick not working or because the control surfaces of the airplanes are not centered. This is because of Propeller factor, as torque is generated by the propeller, the plane will turn in the opposite direction of the propeller spin which cause the drift. IN FSX, THIS IS FIXED BY GOING TO REALISM SETTINGS, THEN MOVE THE P-FACTOR SLIDER TO ZERO.

-=JEFFDOG=-

[mith]

Non-sense, the plane does not drift left because of the joystick not working or because the control surfaces of the airplanes are not centered. This is because of Propeller factor, as torque is generated by the propeller, the plane will turn in the opposite direction of the propeller spin which cause the drift. IN FSX, THIS IS FIXED BY GOING TO REALISM SETTINGS, THEN MOVE THE P-FACTOR SLIDER TO ZERO.

-=JEFFDOG=-

+1

[flyinggoldfish]

Non-sense, the plane does not drift left because of the joystick not working or because the control surfaces of the airplanes are not centered. This is because of Propeller factor, as torque is generated by the propeller, the plane will turn in the opposite direction of the propeller spin which cause the drift. IN FSX, THIS IS FIXED BY GOING TO REALISM SETTINGS, THEN MOVE THE P-FACTOR SLIDER TO ZERO.

I also have a left drift as I pick up speed for take-off and ALWAYS to the left. I fly repeated take-offs and landings from the same runway and I don't change the wind's direction or strength setting. It occurs in my gliders, single prop, double props and all jets military and commercial. At other airports it may not be as strong depending on the wind conditions

??

Also finding the same problem, a very definite drift to the left no matter what the aircraft is, stick appears correctly calibrated as there's no sign of any deflection to the rudder and/or nose gear at the time... It's annoying to have to correct for it, but not the end of the world....

BTW, p-factor was the first thing I turned off to investigate this, so it's not that....

[JSkorna]

It's OK. There can be a number of reasons for this and it can be joystick calibration issue or a centering issue. Other things can be an unbalanced plane or a plane not designed correctly. You are doing the right thing.

[rockinrobin]

How about a simple application of right rudder to counteract the left drift, as real world pilots do?
You fly the airplane, not the joystick...