FSX Default Airbus A321-- rudder won't move after takeoff

I'll admit, this is probably a newb question, as who else would fly the default airliners this day in age... except me? But alas, some of us are further behind on the learning curve, so for us these planes are still a novelty.

I tried to find this issue in the search box first, but was unsuccessful in my attempt, so I ask here:

As I get more familiar with FSX, I'm trying my hand at some of the default airliners and I'm noticing a strange issue with the default A321. On the ground during my takeoff run, I can twist the handle on my joystick and the rudder and the nose wheel both turn fine. But as soon as I get off the ground (and probably over a certain speed-- I say 'probably' because I don't know for sure); the rudder is locked in the straight position and I can't move it from side to side any longer.

In addition to the above symptom, I notice on the 2-d panel that the F/D flight director button and light are lit, but when I try to press it to turn it off, it won't turn off. Auto pilot isn't on at this time, but even if I turn it on and then turn it off, it makes no difference-- I still can't turn off that stubborn F/D button.

I went into the aircraft's .cfg file and disabled the flight director, thinking that would solve the problem. Well next time I fired it up, the f/d button and light stayed off and wasn't an issue, but then the auto pilot button and light stayed on and couldn't be turned off-- even with the master A/P on/off key stroke sequence.

The default A321 2d-panel doesn't have a yaw damper switch, but I did notice that if I pair the plane with the default B737-800 panel, that both the f/d and yaw damper lights are lit and neither can be turned off.

Why is this plane possessed, and why can't I stick and rudder it in mid air if I choose to, like the B737, and all the default airliners I grew to love and cherish in good ol' Flight Sim 2004?

All this is important to me, because if I learn to like this plane, I may wish to import it into P3D... but I haven't decided yet if it's worth the trouble or not.

Thanks,

-- John

I don't fly the a321 much, but did a flight yesterday and noticed the same thing.

The real a321 has several systems hat try to prevent the plane from stalling (by keeping the nose low) (and adding thrust when the plane gets t slow) and that also keep the plane from banking to steeply left and right, and from turning to sharply.

Fsx tries to simulate this. I heard many tims the default a321 is not very realistic, but it definitly does attmpt to be.

When I did a fligt yesterday I did a manual flight (no autopilot on at all) of about 200 NM.

I managed t keep it in the air with dificlty, and wads going faster then I wanted all the time. Adding elevator tim to slow down had no effect.

I googled this ('searched: defalt a321 "flight director" won't switch off') and found that to get the flight director switched off you need to switch of Elac1 and Elac2 on the overhead panel.

ELAC = Elevator Augmentation Control.

This switches off the Flight enveloppe protection. (nose, bank, turn not to steep -protecion) but only for the elevator.

You will still have the protections on for turns and rolls. But those are manageble. You can turn fine and head anywhere you want to. While they keep the plane nice and stable)

To switch off those other protections there are some other knobs that I have not looked at yet (SECC I think).

I think with all protections on, it is basically in a sort of "pith hold" mode. Where you pull up the nose to the pitch you want, then let go of the stick, and the plane keeps that nose attitude, despite adding more power. Similar to the autopilot pitch hold mode of the FA-18.

All very nice, but it takes some time getting used to. I could not for he life of me figure out how to manage airspeed (I refused to use the autothrottle) and the first time I tried to land the plane I could not slow down on the runway and had to go around after touchdown.

So even though the autopilot (and possibly the autopthrottle also) are "off", in the a321 they are never completely off.

The only way to get complete manual control in the a321 is to switch off those flight augmentation computers, but the plane does become unstable when you do.

This system is not a nuisance, but a feature.

In the real thing it keeps the plane from stalling, keeps it very stable in hight winds, and adds power automatically when the speed drops to close to stallspeed. It has prevented quite a few crashes.

How well it works in the default fsx a321 I can't say. There are better paywhere ones out there.

But it is what makes the a321 to "something completely new" And at the launch of the a321 it is what set it apart from the boeing sthat were around then.

Maybe better to not switch it off so quickly, but to learn to work with it instead.

il88pp

Thank you so much for the long and detailed answer. Indeed you were correct that the Elac's 1 & 2 on the overhead panel needed to be turned off-- though I wouldn't have remembered those names, and I don't think I would have found that solution on a web search myself in a thousand years. I probably would have used the wrong search words.

I typically tend to think that everything needed to control the plane ought be on the front panel. I didn't even think to open the overhead panel. I'll have to remember this more often.

Interesting that on the Airbus there are buttons that are actually dark when on, and you have to turn them off to light them up. That the absence of a feature, would trigger a lit button. Seems counter-intuitive to how an on/off button should light up, but oh well... it's Airbus. They do what they do for a reason.

Well at any rate, I'm glad I now have rudder control for the plane and can turn much more easily than I could before with no rudder and very limited aileron.

-- John

who else would fly the default airliners this day in age... except me?

Au contraire, mon frère! I'm having a blast tooling around in the FSX default Boeing 737-800. It flies well, looks good, the major systems all work, they're stunning at night with the Shockwave lights installed and there are approximately 17,386 :p decent looking freeware liveries for it. What's not to like?

Check this thread and this one for examples of fun with the default iron!

Hi, the "dark cockpit" concept is not limitied to Airbus. The MD-11 already had it and various others are implementing it or have already done so (Boeing too, look at the 777).

The reason is situational awareness in an automated environment. All those systems need to be on. So every button would be illuminated by default and you would have to constantly search if one went dark, meaning one of your systems went offline. Much safer if all are dark by default and your attention gets drawn to the one that is lit up, indicating a system failure.

Au contraire, mon frère! I'm having a blast tooling around in the FSX default Boeing 737-800. It flies well, looks good, the major systems all work, they're stunning at night with the Shockwave lights installed and there are approximately 17,386 :p decent looking freeware liveries for it. What's not to like?

Good point. I won't feel so bad then if I'm not one of those people who spend a king's ransom on payware aircraft. The only thing I've ever spent serious ducketts on is the FS Genesis Mesh Terrain, because I just can't stand flying over a mountain that I know is supposed to be 5,000' high, but the default terrain has it at 3,500'. Very unacceptable! I can live with a run of the mill default plane... and learn to fore-go all the systems accuracy of a high level payware plane. But flying over a mountain that is 1,500' too low... nahh... won't do it. Interesting how each of us gets picky about completely different things in simulation... isn't it?

Check this thread and this one for examples of fun with the default iron!

Ahh! You're an American Airlines fan. I see. My sister used to work as a ramper for American Eagle and AA while she attended school at UC Santa Barbara. She worked out at KSBA when MD-80's and I guess Embraers (?) flew in and out of there; and for a wee-bit at Concord, Buchanan (KCCR) back in the early 90's... before noise abatement in Concord killed that whole deal-- (though I think AA/Eagle still is operational to this day in KSBA? Don't know for sure)... and she got out of that business.

So you're a San Mateo native... ayy? I spent most of my life growing up in Central Contra Costa County, about 20/30 miles inland from you... but not too far away. Good to see a fellow Bay Area person here. I know there are at least a few of us here that frequent the forum.

Hi, the "dark cockpit" concept is not limitied to Airbus. The MD-11 already had it and various others are implementing it or have already done so (Boeing too, look at the 777).

 

The reason is situational awareness in an automated environment. All those systems need to be on. So every button would be illuminated by default and you would have to constantly search if one went dark, meaning one of your systems went offline. Much safer if all are dark by default and your attention gets drawn to the one that is lit up, indicating a system failure.

Sorry I had to edit this in and forgot to do so until months later. But very interesting that what appears to be an error is actually a built in feature. To light buttons only when a system is "off" is a good way to make sure that a failure is more noticed. As opposed to having everything lit, and the pilot trying to hunt high and low for the one button that is "dark" or unlit. Makes sense, thanks for explaining.

-- John