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Extreme Frustration with A2A C172....EXTREME!


RodTod

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I really want to like this plane...but I cant! I have read and read and read the manual, searched the forums, googled all the way until i got the "End of the Internet" message, and I cannot find a way to make the C172 A2A planes Autopilot work right. You cannot tell me in a real C172, you hit the Autopilot button and the plane shoots straight up like a rocket before plummeting to earth. There would be Cessnas falling out of the sky like splotches from a flock of seagulls. How do you make the autopilot on the A2A C 172 work right!?!?! $50 bucks for what...TOTAL FRUSTRATION!
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You could always just fly it witout the autopilot. Generally you must be in level fligh and trimmed. But I dont use the autopilot.
Intel 4790k@ 4.6 1.223V Gigabyte GAZ87X-UD3H, Gigabyte GTX 680 2Gig GPU, 8 Gig Cas 11 2100 Mhz ram, Win 7 64 Bit
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Try the keyboard trick till you get to know the airplane. Fly manually straight and level like mjrhealth says and then press crtl-Z. This should make the autopilot fly the plane straight and level. On some planes you may have to hit Z (to turn on autopilot) then crtl-Z. It varies by plane.
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Don't give up RodTod. You may find that your $50 bucks were totally worth it.

I don't have the C172 but I do have the C182, with the same Autopilot.

A2A aircraft are the best there is in GA for FSX and Avionics is so well modelled that you can use the real Manuals from the real Manufacturer.

In this case, get the KAP 140 Autopilot System Pilot's Manual from Bendix King.

You can also download it from the A2A Forum where you will find lots of info about avionics, including tutorial videos.

Cheers,

 

PS. Just keep in mind that a 2-axis Autopilot doesn't fly the aircraft for you (doesn't have control on throttle, has a limited bank authority, etc) so, as a rule, you should have your aircraft manually set for a certain flight condition and use the Autopilot just to give you some (just some) freedom to take care of other things, or enjoy the view.

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I really want to like this plane...but I cant! I have read and read and read the manual, searched the forums, googled all the way until i got the "End of the Internet" message, and I cannot find a way to make the C172 A2A planes Autopilot work right. You cannot tell me in a real C172, you hit the Autopilot button and the plane shoots straight up like a rocket before plummeting to earth. There would be Cessnas falling out of the sky like splotches from a flock of seagulls. How do you make the autopilot on the A2A C 172 work right!?!?! $50 bucks for what...TOTAL FRUSTRATION!

 

If there is actually a problem where the autopilot is simply not functioning properly, it might help to first load the FSX default Cessna 172, then switch to the A2A C172. If that doesn't work, I'd bring it up on the A2ASimulations C172 forum, where they are very heipful.

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Thanks Guys, I did bring it up on the A2A forum. I read the manuals, both the Autopilot Bendix Manual, and the A2A manual. I did the updates, I trimmed the aircraft as much as I could do prior to engaging autopilot, this plane does not trim correctly, then of course to add to the misery, the Virtual Cockpit switches stopped working. I have been with Flight SIm since the Monochrome Sub Logic days. SO I am very familiar with Sim Aircraft etc. I flew the real thing for a while, and I can tell you this, if the actual "Real" Cessna C 172 acts like this we MUST ground all of them right now! Massive numbers of Cessnas will be falling out of the sky! This is A2A , and this is below their reputation for excellence.
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... then of course to add to the misery, the Virtual Cockpit switches stopped working. I have been with Flight SIm since the Monochrome Sub Logic days. SO I am very familiar with Sim Aircraft etc. I flew the real thing for a while ...

 

So there is maybe something wrong with your FSX (is simconnect installed and working?).

Sure that someone at A2A Forum can help.

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simconnect is working, and I have no other issues with any addon. I took advantage of the Flightsim.com sales over the last three years and have probably every manufacturer sold here. Only A2A is giving me any trouble.
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Many use the aircraft with great pleasure and have no such issues. Stop blaming the designer/company.

You mention switches stop working. Sounds like a bad install on your side. Try downloading it again, reinstalling and activating the aircraft maybe. Oh, best not try to alter any of it's files manually afterwards I think.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
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I havent modified anything, the plane worked for a week, then the issues started. No changes to the plane, no changes to my system. NO OTHER MANUFACTURER I have does this....so , why is this not their fault and why is it mine! Why are the forums across the flight sim community talking about this if this is something I did and not a problem with the product? I have one of every developer from the Flight Shop. None do this. Yes...I DO blame the developer!
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Thre is nothing wrong with the autopilot .

 

So there MUST be something wrong with either:

1: Your operation of it

or

2: Your installation of it.

 

As you have an support topic loaded and running on the developers website, and are adding info over there you are not putting in over here, I'm unsure what you expect of us?

 

Anywho, we've identified the source of your problem, now we can leave it to A2A to fix it.

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The autopilot works the way it's supposed to. Have you updated the aircraft through the A2A sight? When I first bought the plane and before hitting the autopilot button I would have to trim it to the climb rate I wanted to maintain. Now after the update, when I hit the autopilot it automatically goes to the climb rate that I am at. Still it's a good idea to trim the aircraft before you hit the autopilot to keep from dropping your climbrate while the AP trims the plane. In other words if you are trimmed at the climbrate you want to be at when you hit the AP it should keep that rate.

 

I can't remember the model of the autopilot they use in the 172 or the 182 but look in the manual for the autopilot name and then go to the websight of the autopilot manufacturer and read up on it. That's what I did. A2A models the autopilots totally different than other manufacturers that all you do is set the altitude and then hit the power and nav or heading buttons. There is definitely a learning curve. But I have the 172, the 182 and the Cherokee and all three are well worth the money.

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I havent modified anything, the plane worked for a week, then the issues started. No changes to the plane, no changes to my system. NO OTHER MANUFACTURER I have does this....so , why is this not their fault and why is it mine! Why are the forums across the flight sim community talking about this if this is something I did and not a problem with the product? I have one of every developer from the Flight Shop. None do this. Yes...I DO blame the developer!

 

You say it worked fine for a week. So, the product is not faulty.

 

Something must have changed on your system that caused this.

In your situation i would try fixing it with a reinstall of the aircraft. If that fails i would ask help from the developer/company.

 

You are saying bad things about the whole dev/company and '(all) their products'. That's not fair criticism.

Better to, if you can't fix it, ask help from them politely.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
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  • 2 weeks later...
De-installed the product, re-installed the product. It worked for a week, then same thing. NO OTHER plane in my inventory does this and I bought hundreds of dollars worth from the Pilot Shop, Just Flight, PC Aviator, Carenado....pretty much everyone. NOT ONE , not one of the others do this. In fact the B377, Cherokee and Cub from A2A do not do this. I did post on thier forum...nobody has any idea. You cannot tell me its NOT the product .... it is. I have been with Flight sim since it was on the old Texas instruments mono chrome computers. Flown actual aircraft , real life, I know what I am doing....this is a problem with the product. Best solution...delete it.
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De-installed the product, re-installed the product. It worked for a week, then same thing. NO OTHER plane in my inventory does this and I bought hundreds of dollars worth from the Pilot Shop, Just Flight, PC Aviator, Carenado....pretty much everyone. NOT ONE , not one of the others do this. In fact the B377, Cherokee and Cub from A2A do not do this. I did post on thier forum...nobody has any idea. You cannot tell me its NOT the product .... it is. I have been with Flight sim since it was on the old Texas instruments mono chrome computers. Flown actual aircraft , real life, I know what I am doing....this is a problem with the product. Best solution...delete it.

 

I can tell you its not the product. It's your use of it, You've obviously got something wrong in your handling of the aircraft, or your setting up if the sim for it. If you don't understand what the persisten damage model does in A2A aircraft does then you need to learn.

 

But you can't pursue this by repeating the half-baked version of what you are actually providing over in the correct forum, so frankly I don't know what you expect from us?

 

It is not a problem with the product so perhaps the best solution is that you delete it. I suggest this topic is locked as its clearly going nowhere now that you have done so.

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It is not a problem with the product so perhaps the best solution is that you delete it. I suggest this topic is locked as its clearly going nowhere now that you have done so.

 

mallcott has a very strong point. I couldn't agree more.

We find all kinds of weird problems with FSX and most, if not all, have an explanation (sometimes the problem is between the keyboard and the chair), now an aircraft that works for a week and then starts doing crazy things, that is something new.

Is the OP aware that A2A aircraft have very sophisticated simulations of all systems and going to the hangar might be required? What if the spark plugs are fauled, then the engine doesn't provide enough thrust and the autopilot tries to compensate with some crazy trimming?

Some realistic approach of symptoms might lead to a solution.

Pointing the finger to A2A and to one of the best aircraft available aircraft for FSX is not the way to reach any solution.

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Whoever designed the 'damage model' on that 172 obviously never got his A&P, or was drunk when he took the classes.

 

I have a few 1000 hours in the real thing and after a friend badgered me in to buying the A2A plane, I gave it a shot. I never left the ground, spent all my time in the hanger getting repairs.

 

Now it's a real hanger queen, end of story

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Thanks Guys, I did bring it up on the A2A forum. I read the manuals, both the Autopilot Bendix Manual, and the A2A manual. I did the updates, I trimmed the aircraft as much as I could do prior to engaging autopilot, this plane does not trim correctly, then of course to add to the misery, the Virtual Cockpit switches stopped working. I have been with Flight SIm since the Monochrome Sub Logic days. SO I am very familiar with Sim Aircraft etc. I flew the real thing for a while, and I can tell you this, if the actual "Real" Cessna C 172 acts like this we MUST ground all of them right now! Massive numbers of Cessnas will be falling out of the sky! This is A2A , and this is below their reputation for excellence.

 

Did you download the aircraft with your anti virus on? This can be a problem. I got bad downloads on numerous occasions.

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Whoever designed the 'damage model' on that 172 obviously never got his A&P, or was drunk when he took the classes.

 

I have a few 1000 hours in the real thing and after a friend badgered me in to buying the A2A plane, I gave it a shot. I never left the ground, spent all my time in the hanger getting repairs.

 

Now it's a real hanger queen, end of story

 

Of your story maybe, I've successfully flown the aircraft for around 200 hours, fixing most thing as I go along, then the occasional full maintenance hangar reset.

 

The most common cause of `not random` failures are:

1: Idiot owners who don't know how to fly the aircrfat without breaking it

or

2: Idiot owners who don't have their sim setup precisely as recommended by A2A in their extensive manual.

 

Then there are a statistically small number of idiot owners who didn't install it correctly, as Bill says.

 

Spot the common cause?

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Hey RodTod,

I agree with you, the KAP 140 SUCKS! It is most confusing to operate and not intuitive at all. Others on this forum saying it must be you obviously don't own the A2A 172. I don't believe there's anything wrong with A2A's modeling of it, it's just does not operate like other FSX Autopilots in any of the other aircraft I've flown.

Frankly it takes a wonderfully implemented aircraft by A2A and makes it where I don't want to fly it, I certainly would not recommend it solely because of the KAP 140 is very difficult to operate/understand.

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Hey RodTod,

I agree with you, the KAP 140 SUCKS! It is most confusing to operate and not intuitive at all. Others on this forum saying it must be you obviously don't own the A2A 172. I don't believe there's anything wrong with A2A's modeling of it, it's just does not operate like other FSX Autopilots in any of the other aircraft I've flown.

Frankly it takes a wonderfully implemented aircraft by A2A and makes it where I don't want to fly it, I certainly would not recommend it solely because of the KAP 140 is very difficult to operate/understand.

 

I happened to have just flown the A2A 172 for about an hour last night, and the autopilot worked fine (in GPS mode). I began by loading the FSX default 172, then switched to the A2A 172. I had some trouble engaging the autopilot, but discovered that if I held the AP button down for a second or two, instead of just tapping the button, the autopilot would engage.

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Of your story maybe, I've successfully flown the aircraft for around 200 hours, fixing most thing as I go along, then the occasional full maintenance hangar reset.

 

The most common cause of `not random` failures are:

1: Idiot owners who don't know how to fly the aircrfat without breaking it

or

2: Idiot owners who don't have their sim setup precisely as recommended by A2A in their extensive manual.

 

Then there are a statistically small number of idiot owners who didn't install it correctly, as Bill says.

 

Spot the common cause?

 

I believe you forgot to mention idiots who think having to repair a 172 just to fly a sim is realistic.

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Wow! Is the real 172 that problematic? They use that aircraft for training new pilots. Does the school have to pull the 172 in once a week and "fix" it so that everything works again? Maybe some developers are going a bit far in creating "realistic" aircraft...

 

I never use the aircraft failure part of FSX because I want to fly, not fix, the aircraft. It is a flight simulator, not a fix simulator.

Thank you,

Tim

 

ASUS GL 12CX; Intel i7 9700K 3.6 GHz; 16 GB GDDR8 Memory; System BUS 2660 MHz; 8 MB L3 cache;

NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 8GB GDDR6; Windows 10 Home x64

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I havent modified anything, the plane worked for a week, then the issues started. No changes to the plane, no changes to my system. NO OTHER MANUFACTURER I have does this....so , why is this not their fault and why is it mine! Why are the forums across the flight sim community talking about this if this is something I did and not a problem with the product? I have one of every developer from the Flight Shop. None do this. Yes...I DO blame the developer!

 

I believe you just answered your own questions.

It worked for a week and then stopped working correctly. If it was me I would try and figure out what I changed between the time it was working and when it stopped. And, knowing me, I wouldn't remember a damn thing so next I would completely uninstall the AC and start over.

I've had AC where I inadvertently created an issue and just had to start over.

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