"Altitude Hold" autopilot inop.

[Winston 60]

As of the stable release version 1.5.6.3930 of Apr. 7, 2017, the F-15C's "Altitude Hold" autopilot no longer engages with the default keys, reprogrammed keys, or if programmed to a button. Autopilot light does not come on. The "Attitude Hold" functions properly, autopilot light comes on and the "Autopilot Off" seems to work after having engaged "Attitude Hold".

 

Could someone verify this please?

Edited April 9, 2017 by Winston 60

[JazonXD]

To add to this problem, Altitude Hold since 1.5 never even worked properly. If you put the plane into a bank, it starts slowly dipping until the AP cuts out. Interestingly enough, if you only use the ATT hold, it will hold the bank and altitude.

[Sweep]

Engage attitude hold then altitude hold and see if that works.

[Winston 60]

Engage attitude hold then altitude hold and see if that works.

Nope, still does not work. No autopilot light, no altitude hold. :cry:

[pyromaniac4002]

I can't remember it working for a very, very long time. At least a year or a year and a half I'd say. I always get that same nose-down tendency, whether or not I'm dialing in any angle of bank and in both attitude and attitude + altitude hold modes.

 

I've pretty much given up hope and gotten in the habit of doing it manually, which with the F-15 is admittedly not that hard, but it still sucks to be denied this simple little convenience.

[Winston 60]

I can't remember it working for a very, very long time. At least a year or a year and a half I'd say. I always get that same nose-down tendency, whether or not I'm dialing in any angle of bank and in both attitude and attitude + altitude hold modes.

 

I've pretty much given up hope and gotten in the habit of doing it manually, which with the F-15 is admittedly not that hard, but it still sucks to be denied this simple little convenience.

Yes, I realize that it didn't work perfectly before but the 'autopilot light' used to come on before in the bottom of the warning light panel and 'altitude hold' at lease tried to work. Now there's no 'autopilot light' at all when pressing keys/buttons for 'altitude hold'. It's like a completely dead keystroke/button press now. Not even a hint of it attempting to engage, while 'attitude hold' still works fine and the 'autopilot light' comes on for that. :joystick:

[feefifofum]

Haven't tried since the last update but will give it a whirl this evening.

[pyromaniac4002]

Oh, that sounds like it could be a simple issue of an aging joystick failing to re-center perfectly. I passed that point a long time ago and I run a good 5 points of deadzone in my controls now. Give that a shot, bring up RCtrl + Enter to make sure your stick is truly centered, and see if the lights come on then. If the stick isn't at dead center or very close to it, the autopilot won't engage.

[Winston 60]

Oh, that sounds like it could be a simple issue of an aging joystick failing to re-center perfectly. I passed that point a long time ago and I run a good 5 points of deadzone in my controls now. Give that a shot, bring up RCtrl + Enter to make sure your stick is truly centered, and see if the lights come on then. If the stick isn't at dead center or very close to it, the autopilot won't engage.

Negative on this too. To insure a complete center I set my deadzone to 50 just for the test. Still the 'altitude hold' doesn't engage. Tried the A-10A which has a similar requirement to be centered for it's autopilot... it works OK even on my regular deadzone at 8. Switched pitch and roll to my backup joystick, a nice new tight C-H Flightstick, tried deadzone at 50... still the 'altitude hold' does not engage nor does the 'autopilot light' come on. Gotta be a bug. It seems like the keybinding is no longer valid or was broken in this latest 1.5.6 patch.

 

Looking forward to feefifofum's report on his test.

[SinusoidDelta]

Do the AP switches in front of the throttle quandrant move?

[Sweep]

IIRC, yes.

[Winston 60]

Do the AP switches in front of the throttle quandrant move?

The toggle switch for 'ATT HOLD' moves when it's keycommand/button is pressed.

The toggle switch for 'ALT HOLD' does not move when it's corresponding keycommand/button is pressed.

[feefifofum]

Working normally for me in 1.5 and 2.0..

Still a little janky with what it's actually doing once engaged, but it turns on...I've had better luck with it at high speed/altitude.

[Winston 60]

I've had no luck finding a solution. This problem must be specific only to my rig. I've tried everything I could, so I'm going to wait and see what the next patch brings. :huh:

[pr1malr8ge]

I've had no luck finding a solution. This problem must be specific only to my rig. I've tried everything I could, so I'm going to wait and see what the next patch brings. :huh:

 

I know you set a deadzone on your stick. could it possibly be your rudder peddles might need a deadzone also? I would also check every axis to make sure its not double assigned.

[Winston 60]

I know you set a deadzone on your stick. could it possibly be your rudder peddles might need a deadzone also? I would also check every axis to make sure its not double assigned.

Yup, thanks but I've been through that, no double assignments on any axis and I even un-assigned the rudder pedals just to check. BTW, I can wiggle the rudder pedals and the 'attitude hold' does not disconnect like it does when moving the control stick, but anyway... also tried repairing... twice. I'll wait to see if the next patch brings me some magic. :joystick: In the meantime I'll just have to pay attention to flying and stop sipping coffee on autopilot!

[Winston 60]

Patch 1.5.6.4546.280 Update 2 resolved this for me. It has now returned to a normal although still a poorly functioning autopilot, but it is working again! Go figure.