Noob joystick question

[rextar]

Morning crew,ok no laughing at my joystick!!

I have a logitech extreme 3d pro,which has a twist movement for rudder control.

The problem ive having is any slight movement whilst banking,also moves the rudder surfaces.

Im putting up with it,but on gun runs its impossible to stay on target!

Help guys!

Cheers

[EtherealN]

Easiest solution is to apply a deadzone to this axis in axis tune screen.

[rextar]

Easiest solution is to apply a deadzone to this axis in axis tune screen.

 

Morning will try that one out,thx for quick reply eth

[shagrat]

try to tune the axis to more shallow curve in addition! P-51D rudder is veeeery responsive ;)

A little tweaking with a shallow S-curve gives much finer control.

[Echo38]

More accurately, a curve gives potentially finer control in one area (in this case, the center) at the expense of reduced control in another area (in most cases, approximately the high-Alpha area). I myself do not use curves, never have, and never will. However, with an imprecise stick like the Extreme 3D Pro, curves may actually be worth it. Just know that it's a trade-off ... center precision at the expense of back-stick precision and center response time. If you have a good stick, I don't recommend using them.

[shagrat]

Hmm, no offense, but why do professional rudder-pedals support exponential and logarythmic axis tweaks, if this is not recommended? :smartass:

 

Exponential

 

Fits the characteristic of a fixed wing airplan rudder

 

Logarithmic

 

Fits the characteristic of a helicopters tail rotor

 

Linear

 

Used for common application

Especially for any twist-handle Joystick I would HIGHLY recommend to adjust the rudder (not necessarily the x-and y-axis) to the more realistic and controlable exponential shallow S-Curve.

 

If you try to control the P-51D with a twist-handle rudder at crosswinds during start, you immediately know what I mean... :D

 

I tried to show a buddy how to start the P-51D in real mode and he then had only a X-52 without rudder pedals.

Using even the very good X-52 twist-hnadle axis it was an exceptional challenge even with adjusted rudder curve. I tuned the overall range down, sacrificing some agility.

 

He shortly after got his TM Warthog and pedals which is a treat after the X-52. :thumbup:

 

P.S. Rextar, I have started on the A-10C beta with Extreme 3D as well and I would recommend to think about rudder pedals as investement, also.

The difference between the quite short twist axis and rudder pedals is considerable. The P-51D does not require something like a TM Warthog, but benefits from at least one or two additional axis to easily move the RPM and Throttle handles or better control the flaps...so if you can acquire a cheap throttle quadrant or the like it will enhance the experience as well.

[Echo38]

to the more realistic and controlable exponential shallow S-Curve.

 

Since we're talking about a twist (ugh), I won't argue with your statement that a curve can make it more controllable. However, a curve is not a realistic portrayal of aircraft controls. A real direct-linkage airplane has linear input. Pull back the stick 10% of the way, the elevator moves up 10% of the way. Pull it 20%, it moves 20%. And so on, all the way to 100% & 100%. Now, I'm aware that real aircraft controls are much easier to use than our simming equipment, for a plethora of reasons, but even so, as long as one has a decent simming joystick & pedals, curves are not necessary to be highly precise at center, as well as in all other areas.

 

Hmm, no offense, but why do professional rudder-pedals support exponential and logarythmic axis tweaks, if this is not recommended?

 

Same reason most pilots don't know how to effectively land dead-stick: some people would rather learn quickly than learn completely. At least when we're talking about a good joystick & pedals, you can fly as well without curves as you can with them, but you can't fly as well with curves as you can without them. Why? Well, you can have excellent precision at both center and rear without curves, because you still have 100% potential precision in all areas if you have a good joystick, but you can't have 100% precision at both center and rear with curves, because you've reduced precision in the rear area to gain some margin of error in the center. (Which margin is unnecessary, if you practice enough without curves--and have a decent joystick and pedals.)

 

Those Simpeds are for P.C. flight sims, just like the Saitek and CH pedals. (Only, the Simpeds are better quality, going by the evidence. They're also the proper distance apart for a fighter, unlike the CH and Logitech ones. But that's another story.) Sims and simming equipment support the option of curves because many simmers/gamers like curves. That doesn't alter the fact that curves lower potential precision in one area to give a margin of error in another area. But, to each his own. A lot of simmers are happy with curves, and some even do well with them. However, it's quite possible to get to the top without ever using a curve.

Edited September 5, 2012 by Echo38