investigating Control Column Pitch Axis Error

[Topsy]

I've been flying the Spitfire for some time now but I have only just noticed a problem with the control column. I built myself some replica Spitfire MkIX flying controls, in particular the control column, to get a more realistic feel of the amount of movement required for pitch and roll. While roll movement seems to match up perfectly in DCS, pitch in DCS always seemed less than on my home built control column. I must say that I have a spring loaded strut fitted with asymmetric fore and aft stops to replicate the true column "throw".

 

While this always intrigued me in DCS, it was only yesterday that I took a look down into the cockpit to watch the DCS column movement and to my surprise I saw that it rotates around the elevator control rod. ie when you pull back on the column, the elevator control rod remains fixed and the foot of the column way down below the cockpit floor moves forward.

 

Suffice to say that the true situation is that the bottom of the column should be fixed, and when pulling back, the column should move the elevator control rod aft. This is not dramatic and does not affect flying, but if someone at DCS would like to fix this some day, we should get more realistic fore and aft control column movement.

 

BTW to save searching here are the parameters for control column angle.

 

Fully forward : 90° to fuselage datum (ie vertical)

Rest (neutral position) : 79° (ie 11° aft from fully forward)

Fully aft : 64,7° (ie 14,3° aft of rest position).

 

When everything else on the Spitfire is so well modeled, it's a bit of a pity to have this anomaly.

[Ala13_ManOWar]

IIRC that was already reported right at the module release, or close to it, but I guess that means a whole 3D cockpit and it's not an easy or quick task.

 

 

S!

[Topsy]

Thanks Ala13, hope they get round to fixing it one day - i'll take your word that it's not an easy fix.

[Krupi]

Interesting this was reported and fixed not long after release and it is now back!!

[Topsy]

With the latest DCS announcement of fixing Warbird bugs-anomalies, the issue with the Spitfire control column rotating about the elevator actuator rod, instead of being fixed at the base and moving the elevator rod, is still not corrected. 

Flying the aircraft with the current DCS control column visuals should mean that there is no action on the elevators and with the bottom of the column moving fore & aft that there should be some significant stretching of the aileron control cables, which would technically generate aileron flutter ! Another impact of the the column not rotating fore & aft about it's lower fixing point is that fore and aft amplitude of the spade grip is reduced and is thus not realistic.

Earlier in the thread people have advised that ED would need to do major work on the cockpit to rectify this - they may have a point, but I have seen many other bugs attended to by ED that I am pretty sure were not 'simple' fixes. My son works in 3D animation, and I can't believe that correcting the control column visual is such a difficult fix.

In a separate thread the incorrect engine start up procedure has been noted - this is still incorrect and does not involve re-doing any graphics - its a simple (?) question of software programming.

So please ED please have a look at these two minor bugs.

[NineLine]

I'll take a look.