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F16 controls don't seem to work


Mac6737

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I recently tried out the Lockheed F-16, and was surprised to find that all variations open with the elevator surfaces awry -- that is, one sharply up, and one sharply down. So I can't take off. Try as I might, I can't find anything to restore the controls to a centered position, or to move the ailerons.

 

I don't have this problem in any other plane, including the F-22.

 

Not a big deal, But I would like to know what I am missing here.

 

Thanks all,

 

Mac6737

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It sounds like the autopilot is still on, and commanding a turn to another heading. Hence the stabilator positions. Have you tried turning the AP off? Or changing the autopilot's heading to the current runway heading and seeing what happens to the stab positions? If they get closer to level, or matched to each other, hit Z to turn off the AP.

Alternatively, another possibility: Is your default flight the sim's default, default flight? The one it comes with when you first install it, before you do anything at all.

Are you certain your joystick, or whatever you use, is properly calibrated, using the in-game calibration page. Will the aileron axis move correctly when you try calibrate? Don't use an external form of calibration, use the one the sim has.

Another possibility, are you sure the aircraft's hydraulics are on and at pressure? There is a hyd pressure gauge someplace in that cockpit. Same for the plane's generators, and is there a CAS (Control Augmentation System) that is off, perhaps?

 

I don't have P3D, but I'll wager something in all my rambling will help. Alternatively, I'm very often wrong, but heck, at least I gave it a shot, no?

 

Good luck!

Pat☺

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again!

Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D

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I don't have P3D, but I'll wager something in all my rambling will help. Alternatively, I'm very often wrong, but heck, at least I gave it a shot, no?

 

Good luck!

Pat☺

 

Pat:

 

You must have a rare skill. All I had to do was THINK about the bugs you suggested, booted up P3D, went to the F-16 -- and voila! Complete controls in all models. (Go figure).

 

More seriously: I don't even recall the sim default flight. The joystick calibration (I say) could not have been the problem consistently with my post, since my other planes work fine. Haven't yet found the gauges you mention, but I'll keep looking. I hadn't thought of the AP possibility, but I've had that problem before -- but never on the first boot of a particular aircraft, as here.

 

Thanks much for your input.

 

Mac6737

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You must have a rare skill.

Yeah. I call it FM: Friggen Magic.

If I need to, I can actually go to AM. Advanced Magic.

:cool:

 

I don't even recall the sim default flight.

Easy enough to find: Open the .cfg file, with P3D shut down completely, that matches the FSX.cfg file if you were in FSX. I think it's called P3D.cfg, but I may well be wrong. Look for the heading [uSERINTERFACE]. Under that is the line that reads SITUATION=. What comes after the equals sign is of no import. Why? You delete it. All text following the equals sign. Save the .cfg file, and start P3D, and bingo... Like magic (see above :D ) your default flight will now be the original sim's default flight.

Remember to ONLY use NotePad, or NotePad++, to open ANY .cfg file for any reason. Word processors add in a bunch of symbols you won't see, but they make the file unusable by the sim. Aircraft.cfg, Panel.cfg...ANY file the sim utilizes that has the extension .cfg.

 

Note: If there is a P3D.cfg under the main P3D folder, that's not the file to edit. It's what the sim uses to place the "in use" .cfg file wherever it may be. That's the one you need to find and edit.

I apologize if you know all this good stuff already, but I'd rather give too much info, which you can just ignore, than not enough, that you might need.

 

Why go through all this? What settings are saved in your default flight are applied to the next plane loaded. SO: if the AP is on in the flight you saved off as your new default flight, then when you load up the F-16, IT'S AP will be on. Even if it's the first plane you load up after starting the sim. Even if it's the very first time you've loaded this plane in the sim ever.

Making your default flight the original sim's default, any plane you load will not have any surprizes. Like the AP being on, just as a wild, random, example. Just pulled out the aether, as they used to say...

:p

Good luck, and have fun!

Pat☺

Edited by PhantomTweak

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again!

Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D

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Remember to ONLY use NotePad, or NotePad++, to open ANY .cfg file for any reason. Word processors add in a bunch of symbols you won't see, but they make the file unusable by the sim.

Actually, you can use ANY pure text editor, though you're certainly correct about word processors. I use vim (VI Improved) which was developed on Unix and is still around with Linux and even a Windows version. However not many here will wish to fight the learning curve (steep), but I mention it primarily to indicate that ANY purely TEXT editor will work fine.

 

Larry N.

As Skylab would say:

Remember: Aviation is NOT an exact Science!

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Actually, after my last post, I discovered that my P3D scenario list includes the Default Scenario (at Eglin AFB). My current default (KDCA) does not have the AP engaged. I always use Notepad to enter and edit a .cfg file, because Word just displays computer techie gibberish symbols.

 

Thanks again.

 

Mac6737

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