Flight controls suddenly locking up in certain flight positions.

[D4n]

Happened to me 3 times already since 2 days ago. In specific roll/pitch rate, controls just won't respond/react anymore AT ALL. Stuck at specific roll/pitch angle and BOOM, crash (yes DCS windows still focussed, even trimming doesn't solve this although I hear "click" when pressing trim button).

[Kestrel]

Sounds like you're using 'Central Position Trimmer' mode (under the special menu tab for Ka50).

 

I tried using this mode for a while and generally found it to be nice, but if you do not center the stick (very precisely) after each press of the trim button, your controls will be locked out (as you describe).

 

The trim button will still 'click', but controls will not be released, even if you are just slightly off center.

 

Even when aware of this, it is still very easy to mess up ... and can often end up crashing almost as soon as you realize that you didn't quite center the stick with enough precision!

 

So in the end, I shifted back to the 'Default Trimmer' mode. I find it to be a much more reliable method and ultimately results in less frustration! One less thing that can kill me!

 

Hope that helps.

[Devrim]

Agree with what Kestrel said.

Change your trimming mode to Default and try.

[D4n]

Then why did they even implement a "broken" central position trimmer setting? huh

[Zabuzard]

It really depends on your personal preference and the exact joystick you are using.

 

I personally like the central mode more and I am using it for a long time now.

But I have a joystick (TM Warthog) with strong springs pulling to neutral and therefore it is very easy to let it go. Never had the problem of it not being neutral enough for the trimmer to kick in.

 

Best is to get familiar with both modes (study what they do exactly) and then try them out. Then choose the mode you like more.

 

The default mode activates the commanded trim after some small time delay. If you keep the stick where you had it, you would double your input resulting in a possibly unstable flight.

That is because the trimmer takes a snapshot of your commanded input and then accepts it as new "neutral" position. If you still hold the stick there it will interpret your input as new input relative to the new neutral position.

For example if you start with 0° pitch trim, then pull 10° pitch and hit the trimmer your new neutral will be 10° pitch. If you still hold 10° pitch on your stick you will end with 10° + 10° = 20° pitch input.

 

The central trimmer mode eliminates this problem by forcing you to recenter the stick and therefore having a more natural feeling of how the aircraft reacts to your input.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Zabuza

[Devrim]

So... After what Zabuza said, if we know how to use a feature, we can't call it "broken."