Flaps work the opposite way in FS2004

[peterpan88]

Hello all
I have noticed that ailerons or flaps of airplanes in FS 2004 work the opposite way. Turning right means the right flap should move downwards and the left flap should move up.
On my PC it is the other way around. Turn right and the right flap moves up and the left one moves down, that's wrong, isn't it?
Is this a matter of adjusting joystick parameters or is this incorrectable?
Regards, Rene

[slarente]

Well, the ailerons on the planes I use move correctly. Which plane are you talking about??

[cianpars]

Rene

What you are refering to is ailerons rather than flaps.

When turning right, the right aileron goes up. This increases drag on the right wing causing the right wing to drop and begin to turn right. The turn is then completed using the correct amount of rudder.

Flaps are different things increasing lifa (and drag) to allow an aircraft to land (and take off) at a lower speed.

Hope this solves the confusion. IAN

[lnuss]

If you are referring to the ailerons themselves as flaps, then it sounds as if your aileron controls are working correctly. When you move the stick or yoke to the right, for a rolling motion to the right, the right aileron should go up to help make the right wing go down, and the left aileron should go down to help raise the left wing.

The term flaps, when used in reference to aircraft, generally refer to a movable surface on the inboard section of trailing edge of the wing. Flaps are lowered, or extended -- when at slower speeds, usually on approach to landing -- in order to (usually) add drag and (usually) reduce the stall speed. And both flaps move together.

[peterpan88]

Thank you very much for your explanation. They work corretly then.
My missperception
Regards, Rene

[icebrain]

Not quite... when an aileron deflects up, it decreases the lift on that wing (and it also decreases the drag, incidentally... more on this in a moment). Deflecting an aileron down creates more lift, but also more drag (just like lowering a flap). With more lift on one side, and less on the other, it causes roll.

The increase and decrease in drag cause adverse yaw (a yaw movement opposite the direction of the turn, like left rudder when turning right). This can be mitigated by two means; on larger aircraft, spoilers pop up to assist with the roll (by decreasing lift), but they also increase the drag on that side (counteracting the decrease in lift from the raised aileron).

The other method, often used on small airplanes, is to have the ailerons move different amounts. There is a much greater upward movement on the wing going down, than downward deflection of the aileron on the wing going up. The drag forces are more equal this way.

[Tophatter]

Maybe I need more education but how does an aileron decrease drag going up and increase drag going down? I am thinking they both change lift opposite (decrease/increase) and both create drag.

Bud

[lnuss]

There are two basic kinds of drag: induced and parasite. Parasite drag results from things hanging out in the breeze, including landing gear, struts, even the fuselage. Induced drag is caused by the generation of lift, so reducing lift reduces induced drag.

The aileron is just the movable trailing edge of the wing. When the aileron goes up, it reduces lift in that segment of the wing. And it sticks up in an area where it doesn't create much parasite drag. Conversely, the downgoing aileron increases lift in its wing segment, thus increasing induced drag, and perhaps a bit of parasite drag as well.

The "adverse yaw" created by this imbalance is the main reason (other than crosswinds) that the rudder is needed on an aircraft. Anyone who has, in a real aircraft, moved the ailerons from right to left and back again without the rudder will have seen a very vivid demonstration of this principle. Many FS aircraft will do this, too.

[Tophatter]

And there's the education :) I guess I didn't think about or remember the parasite/induced drag thing. Wouldn't full aileron deflection create a bit of drag? I am relating this mainly to fighter aircraft. I work on Super Hornets (just fix 'em, don't fly 'em) and it just seems that at max deflection the aileron would be creating rather than reducing drag?

Bud