Coole28 Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 I'm having difficulty engaging the autopilot from a cold started F-14. I use the startup procedure that is included via the in-game lesson. I have wing sweep in auto and all three AFC switches set to on. The "A/P ref" light will go on when I set the autopilot switch to engage, however pressing the NWS button won't engage the autopilot. On a hotstart F-14, autopilot works just fine for me, engaging at the same flight parameters (level pitch and moderate speed, stick in neutral position, plane is trimmed properly to fly level without pilot input.) wherein the cold start won't work. I can't find anything in the various guides and tutorials indicating there is some other setting I need to have in order for it to work. I read on another forum that it requires "trim neutral stick position" but have no idea what that means. Anybody have any tips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyvandelft Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Excuse the phrasing, I'm not perfect with the lingo, but in order for the autopilot to engage level flight, you have to be within 200 feet per minute climb or descend. If you're over that, it won't engage. It doesn't need to be trimmed like that, I can hold the stick to where she's stable, then pinky switch and she'll hold altitude. You can still roll gently without breaking the parameters. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coole28 Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 10 hours ago, Dannyvandelft said: Excuse the phrasing, I'm not perfect with the lingo, but in order for the autopilot to engage level flight, you have to be within 200 feet per minute climb or descend. If you're over that, it won't engage. It doesn't need to be trimmed like that, I can hold the stick to where she's stable, then pinky switch and she'll hold altitude. You can still roll gently without breaking the parameters. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk Yep, im in level flight. As I said, the parameters at which I engage autopilot are the same for cold starts and hot starts, but it will only engage on a hot start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japo32 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Yesterday I was having same issue (I never used before). It seems that is related to the trim position. Clicking it several times until I found the right place the NWS activated it. Odd as I had it also trimmed as you. I suppose the "trim neutral position" is reset the trim to cero? even the plane is not trimmed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiceman Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 You didn't mention that you actually turned the auto pilot on. It sounds like you may have just tried to engage Altitude Hold without first enabling the autopilot (two switches to the right). Former USN Avionics Tech VF-41 86-90, 93-95 VF-101 90-93 Heatblur Tomcat SME I9-9900K | Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra | 32GB DDR4 3200 | Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe | RTX 2070 Super | TM Throttle | VPC Warbird Base TM F-18 Stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callsign JoNay Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 A friend and me used various modes of auto pilot today from a cold start with no issues. You sure you're turning on all the SAS switches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coole28 Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 On 10/23/2021 at 6:30 PM, Spiceman said: You didn't mention that you actually turned the auto pilot on. It sounds like you may have just tried to engage Altitude Hold without first enabling the autopilot (two switches to the right). Well I did say that I had no issues turning it on and engaging it in a hot start, so it stands to reason that I am hitting the right autopilot switches. I’m thinking that it has something to do with trim as Japo32 said, but I just can’t figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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