Virtavia's F-4 Phantom ll from Fly Away ?

[GBJim]

Yesterday I received Hot Freeware FSX/FSX:SE Downloads for This Week, and so, I downloaded and installed the F-4 Phantom ll. Has anyone here tried this one ? And have you noticed that it wants to roll to the right all of the time ? Makes it very difficult to fly a straight line. Can something like this be trimmed out and made to fly straight and level ?

 

Jim

[PhantomTweak]

Does it just ROLL right, or is it trying to TURN right?

Two entirely different problems, really. If it's trying to turn right, it could be the autopilot is on, or the rudder isn't centered.

Is your default flight the default default? IE the trike over Friday Harbour? If not, try making it such, and see what happens.

Have you ensured you joystick is calibrated properly?

Do you "wipe" the controls before you start the take-off roll? Full left/right/fore/aft stick, full rudder throw both ways. Do you go to the outside view to ensure the rudder returns to center when you do this?

Do you try turning the autopilot off (Z key) and see if you get the autopilot warning sound? If you don't hit Z again to see if you do.

Have you made any changes to the weight-and-balance at all? Added bombs, missiles, fuel tanks, or whatever? Do you check the Fuel and Payload menus to make sure nothing is out of balance?

Do you make sure the roll trim is zeroed out? is the roll SAS on? it should be, iirc...

 

I have that plane, and it doesn't roll on my system, so it's not the plane, per se. Actually, I used to work on them. Roll trouble was either W&B, or the Roll SAS.

What was really bad, and thankfully rare, was when the WOW switches engaged, the elevators would program full nose up. Take-off, up goes the nose. Nothing to do but eject. Believe it or not, caused by the hydraulic actuator for the elevators getting a little bit of contamination in the wrong place...

Hope something in all that rambling is some help...

Pat☺

[GBJim]

Does it just ROLL right, or is it trying to TURN right? It pulls to the right when rolling down the runway, and then rolls to the right when in the air.

Two entirely different problems, really. If it's trying to turn right, it could be the autopilot is on, or the rudder isn't centered. Autopilot is off.

Is your default flight the default default? IE the trike over Friday Harbour? If not, try making it such, and see what happens. Default is Trike at Friday.

Have you ensured you joystick is calibrated properly? Calibrated.

Do you "wipe" the controls before you start the take-off roll? Full left/right/fore/aft stick, full rudder throw both ways. Do you go to the outside view to ensure the rudder returns to center when you do this? It is only aircraft in my entire fleet that does this.

Do you try turning the autopilot off (Z key) and see if you get the autopilot warning sound? If you don't hit Z again to see if you do. Auto is off.

Have you made any changes to the weight-and-balance at all? Added bombs, missiles, fuel tanks, or whatever? None. Do you check the Fuel and Payload menus to make sure nothing is out of balance? New aircraft, haven't touched fuel or balance.

Do you make sure the roll trim is zeroed out? is the roll SAS on? it should be, iirc... Where is roll trim located, and rudder trim located ? When I use the arrow keys on the keyboard, they only trim momentarily, and then it drifts back into a roll or pulls to the right going down the runway. When I hit the Z key to turn auto pilot on, the wings level immediately, but then I cannot steer it of course.

Thanks Pat.

I have that plane, and it doesn't roll on my system, so it's not the plane, per se. Actually, I used to work on them. Roll trouble was either W&B, or the Roll SAS.

What was really bad, and thankfully rare, was when the WOW switches engaged, the elevators would program full nose up. Take-off, up goes the nose. Nothing to do but eject. Believe it or not, caused by the hydraulic actuator for the elevators getting a little bit of contamination in the wrong place...

Hope something in all that rambling is some help...

Pat☺

 

 

Thanks Pat. /

[PhantomTweak]

Ok, a couple more questions, if I may. First the questions, then the ROLL SAS. :)

 

First, which Pack is it, 1, 2, or 3? It matters for which panel I'm looking at, and whether it even has the SAS system on the panel.

 

Second, and this is nagging at my brain like my ex used to nag... Do you check the engine instruments and/or the throttle panel to make sure your controller is actuating both throttles at the same time? My thinking is that, for whatever reason, you're only actuating one engine's control. That would do what you're seeing.

 

Also, are you loading the Phantom from a saved flight, or "fresh"? If it's from a saved flight, could it be that something failed? One gear stuck down, one wing's flaps slightly extended, an aileron stuck up or down, fuel only feeding from one tank, etc etc.

If you're loading it from a saved flight, may I suggest loading the Freeflight page, to set all the variables to default properly, and then selecting the Phantom from the Select Aircraft page. No failures, no fuel imbalances, etc etc. Just a thought.

 

The Roll (and all other) SAS, or AFCS systems, should be just aft of the throttles, on the left side. The different Packs, however, have different set up, though. Pack 3 is the only one I know of that has the AFCS control panel, and thus the roll trim, available.

 

We'll figger this out eventually :D

Pat☺

[GBJim]

Pat, I have certainly appreciated your help with this , but I am giving up with this aircraft. The more that I fly it, the more displeased I am with it. I have many good flying planes and I don't need one this problematic. I am moving on and looking for something better.

 

Thank you for the time that you have given me my friend.

 

Jim

[PhantomTweak]

NP, glad I couldn't help :D :D

 

There is a very nice Iris version of the Phantom, and there is a freeware called the The Alpha F4 Phantom Reborn, that has a TacPack addon available. If you have TP it's really nice. If you don't, it's still pretty nice. IF you want to stick to the Lead-Sled.

 

If not, Dino has some super quality birds, and the FSDT Hornet v18.3 is beyond wickedly awesomely good. I finally got the HARM missiles added to it, too, if you have TP. Not ALL their features, but it's a great start. They fire, and track to the target, if it's transmitting a couple times.

Sorry, I'm just really proud of this. I was proud as heck with what work I did on it before, but this is a whole new level, as they say.

 

Anywho, have fun with whatever bird you decide to putter around in :D

Pat☺

[GBJim]

Thanks again Pat. :)

 

Jim