Speedbrake confusion

[slackpanda]

At the moment I have extend and retract mapped to two bog standard joystick buttons. I understand that

- To retract you simply push the retract button once

- To extend you have to hold the button until its fully extended

 

My problem is that even after its fully extended when I take my finger off the button it instantly retracts. Is this how its meant to work ? Do I have to be holding down a button the entire time im using it ? Can I not just fully extend it and then take my finger off the button and have it stay in position ? Whats the point in the retract function if it just automatically retracts as soon as you let go off the extend button ?

The same thing happens when I use the default keyboard shortcuts.

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by slackpanda

[Frederf]

Speed brake automatically retracts with the SPD BRK switch in the center detent:

• Airborne, flaps AUTO, >6.0g or >28° AOA
• Airborne, flaps not AUTO, < 250 knots

 

[LeCuvier]

I just checked to be sure nothing has changed. Except for the conditions @Frederf referred to, the "Extend" button extends the speed brake until it's fully extended or you release the button. It then stays in that extended position. Only if you hit "Retract" (or "Retract/OFF") the speed brake retracts.
The behaviour you describe sounds as if you had modified a line in the file "default.lua", which you probably have not. I'll explain my wild idea. The "Extend" command binding is defined by this line in "default.lua":

{	down = hotas_commands.THROTTLE_SPEED_BRAKE,						up = hotas_commands.THROTTLE_SPEED_BRAKE,						cockpit_device_id = devices.HOTAS,	value_down = -1.0,	value_up = 0.0,	name = _('Speed Brake Switch - EXTEND'),					category = {_('Throttle Grip'), _('HOTAS')}},

If you had changed the "value_up" part so that it reads "value_up = 1.0" then it would do exactly what you describe.
The only other explanation I can think of is that you have a switch bound to "Retract/OFF" (under "Special for Joystick") and that switch is in the "ON" position.

[Frederf]

The physical switch is half-spring loaded with three positions. Extend is the spring loaded half which will fall to center (hold) unless held. Close is not spring loaded and will stay in retract until moved back to center. The THROTTLE_SPEED_BRAKE command has values -1, 0, +1 for extend, hold, retract.

The normal commands are:

• EXTEND down -1, up 0
• OFF down 0
• RETRACT down 1

The special command provides a substitute to use instead of the above RETRACT:

• RETRACT/OFF down 1, up 0

The down -1, up 0 gives the EXTEND command its "springiness" changing to a different state when released. I can't think of any reason why anyone would use anything else regardless of their joystick hardware. RETRACT (and OFF) being strictly setting state 1 (0) on down and nothing on up makes them "sticky" in that they stay in that state until commanded to a different state. Since the real switch will stay in the RETRACT position hands off that's good simulation of how the switch works.

The idea of the special Retract/OFF is for people who have joysticks like Thrustmaster Warthog which have a switch will continuously hold down the button input even if the user removes their hands. It doesn't matter if Retract is "springy" because the user's hardware is holding it down. That way they can use two buttons (instead of 3) and still activate all three switch states. That's useful because the Warthog only assigns two buttons to that switch. And the reason it does that is because DirectX has a 32 button limit and the device has too many switch positions to be assigning a button to every one.

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But really I am guessing that slackpanda is simply flying in one of the auto-retract flight regimes, his switch in the center OFF position, and the F/A-18 is behaving normally.