Most/best common bindings?

Now that I've figured out the whole herky-jerky axis bindings (a really simple and easy mistake to make), I'm now ready to assign the bindings. Some are pretty obvious, like the parking brake, but others I'm trying to decide which buttons to assign. I'm using a Force Feedback 2 joystick (and, yes, I already bought XPForce!).

I guess what I want to know is what are the most common controls you all use in flying that would be real handy to have on a joystick? I'm thinking flaps, trims, increase brake and maybe fuel mixture? I'm almost a complete newbie to flying (only have what little I learned from my pop flying his Grumman Tiger back in the day and reading here and there).

What are the controls you MUST have on a joystick that you don't want to find hunting for on a keyboard?

Thanks and happy flying.

I hate to sound like a broken record here, but since you asked, I have to say that the single best effort along that line is to get an xbox controller and use it to control the drone (which is a major but unheralded feature of MSFS) and to provide better control of cockpit and external views.

And when all that is accomplished, there are still four buttons available that can be used for things like controlling the flaps and elevator trim or the heading and altitude bugs for the autopilot; you could even use the X and B buttons for wheel brakes or rudder control if you don't have pedals.

I have posted the exact assignments I use for the xbox in other threads here.

These controllers are dirt cheap, I can't see using MSFS without one.

https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Gamepad-Joystick-Windows-Dual-Vibration/dp/B07WYWT4H8/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=xbox+controller&qid=1613513860&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySjA3MU42TDZNSU1LJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODYzMjc1MVBJWTQ0R0tSSTUxUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTc1NzI2M1RZRzVPVldYM0dMMiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Thanks, but I'm sticking with my FFB2 joystick. Since buying XPForce, the realism has been elevated with feeling the rumble of the takeoff and subtle things like lowering the flaps.

In any case, I think I've determined the best bindings for me, but it's likely I'll tweak those as I play more and more, especially with more complex aircraft.

The suggested xbox controller is separate from whatever you use to control ailerons and elevator.

It is only to control camera views, not to control the airplane.

It depends on the type of plane you're flying, but my short list of mapped keys for VFR flight in propeller-based planes:

- Focus on runway button. I can't remember what it's called in game but it helps when landing to keep an eye on where you are going, say when turning base to final. You hold it down and it keeps the runway centered in the screen.

- Throttle + Propeller at minimum, mixture if possible.

- Elevator Trim

- Flaps

- Brakes

Thanks, but I'm sticking with my FFB2 joystick. Since buying XPForce, the realism has been elevated with feeling the rumble of the takeoff and subtle things like lowering the flaps.

 

In any case, I think I've determined the best bindings for me, but it's likely I'll tweak those as I play more and more, especially with more complex aircraft.

Simming has never been quite the same for me since my MS Sidewinder ffb stick died, if only for the “bump” at touchdown :-(

Great topic! I think it depends on your aircarft type preference and type of flying. I do low-level VFR with GA aircraft and I found that I need the following at my fingertips:

* Wheel brakes

* Landing view toggle (I think that's what it is called - the view where you look over the nose)

* Toggle external/cockpit view

* Elevator and rudder trim

* Smart cam quicklook (a recent discovery, usefull for quickly glancing at the threshold in the pattern)

* Flaps extend/retract

* Prop RMP increase/decrease

* Mixture rich/lean

I would also mention that I configured my hat switch to pan, instead of quick look. For me, this negates the need for the oft-reccomended x-box controller. Further, I've also set the panning speed to 100% and camera momentum to 0%. In conjuction with the smartcam quick look, I always know EXACTLY where I am in the pattern.

Question: Does anyone know if it's possible to set a control to toggle to drone view? I've looked but couldn't find the option to set this control...

Does anyone know if it's possible to set a control to toggle to drone view?

Options --> Controls --> Camera --> Camera Mode Switches --> Toggle Drone: you can assign it to any key or switch you prefer.

Options --> Controls --> Camera --> Camera Mode Switches --> Toggle Drone: you can assign it to any key or switch you prefer.

Thank you, sir!

Trim up and down would be the two essential ones, in my opinion.

The question is: where or what do you assign them to?

Some people seem to prefer using the keyboard for most things, I find the keyboard to be unrealistic in an aviation environment. I know that some IFR systems use a keyboard but a keyboard seems out of place for most things IMO.

My joystick has 16 switches and a hat switch, my throttle quadrant has 3 sliders and 6 switches, and the xbox has 23 switches total; I have pedals for rudder and wheel brakes, but I still don't have enough switches available to properly control all the things I would like to have access to.

If we could have dual screens (or triple or quad) so that we can see where we're going while we control things, we wouldn't need so many external switches/sliders/joysticks, but that isn't coming until 2022 I've been told.

I definitely assigned the trims to my joystick, that's one that's very nice to have quickly. I also happen to have a keyboard with macro keys (6 of them), so I can assign some common but maybe convoluted keyboard binding to a macro key.

I suggest to anyone to consider a keyboard with macro keys in conjunction with a joystick, those are GREAT!

In the meantime, I'm in the market for a Thrustmaster TWCS standalone throttle, but that seems to be out of stock everywhere!

I definitely assigned the trims to my joystick, that's one that's very nice to have quickly.

Elevator trim has been a problem for me from day one. I used to have it assigned to buttons on the joystick; I assigned them to "trim up" and "trim down". But I kept getting into situations where the trim required large changes, and the "trim up" "trim down" control was so slow that it created crisis every now and then.

So I bought a throttle quadrant for the extra switches and the throttle lever which is better than the slider on the joystick, but I mainly bought the quadrant to make pitch control more like the way it's done on a Citabria, the real plane I'm used to, which essentially is a slider. Using the quadrant for pitch control (assigned to elevator trim axis) is overly touchy, but at least it does give me total control.

The thing is that with the sim, elevator control can never be realistic as things exist currently. The reason you adjust trim in a real plane is because the forces of the stick/yoke become noticeable to the pilot - the preference is for stick forces to be neutral - so trim is adjusted to keep stick forces low.

But in the sim, there are no forces exerted on the controls, so elevator control is necessitated solely by the plane's tendency to dive or climb; this is not a subtle a difference. In a real plane, that climbing or diving never happens.

I just read the joystick is wonky thread about the Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick.

I'm going to get one, that seems like the perfect stick.

The thing is that with the sim, elevator control can never be realistic as things exist currently. The reason you adjust trim in a real plane is because the forces of the stick/yoke become noticeable to the pilot - the preference is for stick forces to be neutral - so trim is adjusted to keep stick forces low.

 

But in the sim, there are no forces exerted on the controls, so elevator control is necessitated solely by the plane's tendency to dive or climb; this is not a subtle a difference. In a real plane, that climbing or diving never happens.

That's why force feedback is SO nice to have and definitely adds realism to the game. I read that you plan to buy one but...good luck! Those are HARD to find and if you do find any, they're not cheap at all. Be ready to fork over $200 at least.

One more thing, the game does NOT come with any force feedback, you have to buy a third party software to get that. That would be XPForce here: https://www.fsmissioneditor.com/product/xpforce/

Playing with it has been a joy, feeling the rumble of the takeoff, the plane naturally pitching before applying trim, and tiny bits of turbulence.

It's a little buggy (runs fine the first time, but after that it's prone to crashes), but it's worth the purchase, I think. You can try it out first before you decide buying it, IF you can get yourself a FFB2 joystick, that is!

Those are HARD to find and if you do find any, they're not cheap at all.

I found this devotee to the sidewinder:

https://www.spacegamejunkie.com/guides/guide-to-buying-a-microsoft-sidewinder-force-feedback-2-joystick/

If it works as good as I hope I'll probably do like him and buy a spare or two.

If this works out, I should be able to sell my Thrustmaster on E-Bay for as much as a couple of used sidewinders would cost me.

Mikeblom, you can assign the heading and altitude bugs to keys or switches. There are heading up, heading down and altitude up, altitude down commands in the Controls lists of commands. This makes things much much easier.

I use my old Sidewinder joystick to control the drone.

You just rang a bell for me. People who use joysyicks, could assign the "main" joystick to control the drone position (L,R, forward and back) and the hat switch to control drone views (L, R, up, and down). There wouldn't be a multiple assignment problem because the plane's flight controls aren't used in drone mode anyway. The up and down, speed of movement and tilt would have to be done elsewhere, probably on the keyboard.

An xbox controller does it all though, and even has some switches left over for other things (and it only costs about $20).

 

What are the controls you MUST have on a joystick that you don't want to find hunting for on a keyboard?

 

My must have controls are:

Throttle side: Flaps up and down, gear toggle and air brake on one hat switch. Mixture up/down and prop pitch left right on another hat switch.

Joystick: Elevator trim up/down and rudder trim right left on a hat switch. HDG up /down and OBS right/ left on a hat switch.

As soon as I can control the Garmin I will set up these controls as well as radio and possibly ATC. At the moment I don't use ATC coms except to acknowledge the first handoff just to shut them up as ATC will inevitably vector you into the side of a mountain in IMC.