Drifting left, flight characteristic or calibration?

[AvgWhiteGuy]

When on approach and flying the AOA on the flight path the plane always has a slight tendency to drift to the left so I always have to keep pressure on the stick to counteract this. This in turn leads me to use the stick too much adjusting the pitch instead of using the throttle (my bad).

The loadout is evenly distributed and, in normal flight (level, descending, ascending) the aircraft tracks just fine.

Note this does not happen flying the A-10C at any time.

I'm wondering whether this is a calibration problem with my Warthog HOTAS, or a normal flight characteristic for this AOA and speed.

Is anyone else experiencing this? What's the best way to calibrate the TM Warthog HOTAS?

[shagrat]

When on approach and flying the AOA on the flight path the plane always has a slight tendency to drift to the left so I always have to keep pressure on the stick to counteract this. This in turn leads me to use the stick too much adjusting the pitch instead of using the throttle (my bad).

The loadout is evenly distributed and, in normal flight (level, descending, ascending) the aircraft tracks just fine.

Note this does not happen flying the A-10C at any time.

I'm wondering whether this is a calibration problem with my Warthog HOTAS, or a normal flight characteristic for this AOA and speed.

Is anyone else experiencing this? What's the best way to calibrate the TM Warthog HOTAS?

Carrier approach or airfield? Carrier is usually moving away from you to keep "wind over the deck" (so the angled deck seems to move to the right). Speaking of wind, a bit of crosswind will have you drift, as well.

 

You can check the calibration with RCTRL+ENTER and looking at the axis in real time.

[AvgWhiteGuy]

@Shagrat..........straight in, any airfield with no wind....always drifts to the left.

[Weegie]

I get something similar.

 

 

 

For a while I thought I was going nuts when Air2Air Refuelling. Although the drift I get is mainly due to wind. On the server I sometimes fly it gets more severe at higher altitudes

 

 

 

I find the Hornet challenging to refuel in the air but not impossible, combine the drift with the nose pitching under power changes and it makes for a fun time

 

 

 

Are you getting the FPM moving off center too, indicating the drift?

 

 

 

You can dial it out to an extent with rudder trim, I sometimes do that with the rudder trim on an axis

[shagrat]

@Shagrat..........straight in, any airfield with no wind....always drifts to the left.

ok, need to check. Sounds strange.

Another wild idea, is to check the fuel page, if the tanks are unballanced? Though they should feed all internal tanks the same.

[Double Dutch]

I have this too, I first thought it was my Joystick.

 

But today when changing some setting on my throttle, I logged in to free flight to check them  (no joystick attacked) and my plane did the same thing. Every so slightly turn left.

 

When I look at rctrl - enter, it's right in the middle.

[Bader242]

My first thought was crosswind which can be a challenge at times but if you’re sure that isn’t a factor then how about increasing the dead zone on your joystick?

[Agrrregat]

5 hours ago, Double Dutch said:

I have this too, I first thought it was my Joystick.

 

But today when changing some setting on my throttle, I logged in to free flight to check them  (no joystick attacked) and my plane did the same thing. Every so slightly turn left.

 

When I look at rctrl - enter, it's right in the middle.

 

What's your loadout? Do you have ATFLIR ot TPOD on a cheek?

[Stearmandriver]

8 hours ago, Agrrregat said:

 

What's your loadout? Do you have ATFLIR ot TPOD on a cheek?

This was my first thought too. A pod on one cheek and a missile on the other might seem symmetrical enough but there's still a noticeable difference. 

 

Other than that, I don't know. I so rarely land ashore that I guess I wouldn't have noticed; as noted above, constant drift to the left is normal in the groove at the boat. 

Edited July 20, 2021 by Stearmandriver

[Foka]

 

[Svend_Dellepude]

Is rudder trim centered?

[Double Dutch]

51 minutes ago, Svend_Dellepude said:

Is rudder trim centered?

How can you tell?

[Brass2-1]

16 minutes ago, Double Dutch said:

How can you tell?

FCS panel, left elbow, beside the FCS Reset button. There’s a scrollable wheel with a center mark.