Why doesn’t your Cessna roll to the left like mine does? Or to put it another way, what are you doing to prevent your Cessna rolling to the left because by default it does roll to the left. Many have commented it rolls because there is only the pilot on board but having flown both Cessnas and Piper light aircraft I have never experienced this left roll
Hello,
Do you have your controls, particularly the yolk, calibrated? If this is not calibrated, the aircraft could show these kind of signs, rolling left/right.
I have exactly the same problem. Everything is calibrated and centered (Honeycomb yoke, Saitek rudder pedal and control quadrant). I have to turn slightly to the right to fly straight and level. Also had to keep a constant airspeed when turning. Increase throttle slightly?
We are getting some reports of this issue. Would it be possible to know which simulator and which lesson you are encountering this issue with? We will see if we can find the issue. The Cessna should spawn in trimmed and stable.
Hello,
I originally described this issue in a YouTube comment and was asked to share my experience here in the support forum. I now see that I am obviously not the only one affected by this problem. Thank you for looking into it. Please let me know if you require any additional information from me as a user.
I am using MSFS 2024. So far, I have progressed up to Lesson 5, and I have been able to observe this issue in all flight-related lessons.
Immediately after starting a lesson, the aircraft begins to roll strongly to the left. If no corrective input is made, the bank angle quickly exceeds 60 degrees, eventually leading to a crash.
To demonstrate how severe the problem is, I have recorded a short video (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KhDHj8JBFYHTGVpRIv4ZdlC5o_0vOAkU/view?usp=sharing).
My hardware setup consists of a Logitech Flight Yoke System together with Saitek rudder pedals. Both devices are properly calibrated. In the Flight Simulator control settings, the X and Y axes of the yoke are centered, and the Z axis of the rudder is also centered, with no input being detected.
I am happy to share any additional information that will help you further analysing the issue.
EDIT: After further testing, I found that enabling both Assisted Yoke and AI Auto Trim completely resolves the problem.
Hi! Thanks for posting here. How significant was the roll tendency? How much would you say you would have to roll our ailerons to counter it fully?
The Cessna has a slight left roll tendency, mainly due to the P-factor of the propeller rotating. Since the propeller is rotating clockwise, the aircraft will tend to rotate counter-clockwise in reaction. The roll tendency should not be very large and it should not require more than a slight right aileron input in level flight.
That you managed to get it removed by assisted yoke suggests it was indeed the P-factor. Auto-trim is not recommended as it does a rather poor job at trimming out your pitch for specific pitch attitudes we train with in Academy.
Hope this helps!
I am aware of the P-factor, but I don’t really know how strong it is in real life. In the simulator, however, it feels extremely strong. It’s hard for me to put an exact number on the required correction, but I would not call it a “slight” right aileron input. It feels more like having to apply enough right input as if I were trying to fly a right turn just to keep the aircraft level.
However, I have also tested this in Free Flight by now, and the issue is present there as well. So it does not seem to be specific to the Academy lessons. Accordingly, it is probably not a bug that you need to focus on, and you can spend your time on other issues. It is likely simply something I will have to learn to live with.
I agree the problem is not confined to the Academy lessons, it is there in free flight, which is why I asked what they were doing to keep the aircraft level.
I have flown solo, both Cessna and Piper aircraft and at no time have I experience a roll tendency when in level flight
Hi all! Thank you for your reports. It seems to us that this is an MSFS issue. I am in agreement that the real Cessna does not have this rolling tendency. The P-factor and such effects should be mostly nulled out by trim tabs and aerodynamic balancing when in cruise flight. The effect seems exaggerated, and we can hope Asobo works on fixing this in future releases.
IIRC fs2020 had the same issue and when it was mentioned various people said it was normal if there was only the pilot in the aircraft. I agree with you, such roll tendency should be counteracted with the trim tabs and the P factor is reduced because the engine is mounted at a slight angle to the longitudinal centre line. Bottom line, I’m so glad the real aircraft did not exhibit the roll tendency when I was learning to fly. I look forward to doing the course if only to bring back memories of my days training in both Cessna and Piper aircraft
We have run some further tests in MSFS2024 and our Cessna does not exhibit a significant roll tendency in any lesson. We have also experimented with different weight and balance combinations and it does not affect the stability by any large degree. I have also re-checked the video above and what is shown is a normal Cessna roll tendency in some turbulence or with a very small degree of uncoordination on the rudder. This has to be countered by aileron, but in a real plane, the angle on the yoke would likely not exceed more than 5 or 10 degrees, and a light touch on the yoke would suffice to fix it. If this does not match your experience, then it is likely a result of the control settings sensitivities.
Hi There, i have problems as my plane is rolling left after setting up all recommended settings. tried to disable my joystick and it seemed to improve but without constant pressure to the right it is impossible tokeep plane straight. What can be a problem?
For users who are affected by this roll tendency, please mark which simulator you are using.
Thanks
- MSFS 2020
- MSFS 2024
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I played with sensitivity of the yoke and calibration. I use Thrustmaster warthog HOTAS. I tried different planes too and the issue is more or less the same. It goes beyond 30degrees angle and keep going even if I go right the plane is rolling back to the left. Randomly it sometimes changes to the right. Played with weight and balances no difference. Even downloaded base content and uninstalled and installed again still experiencing the same problem.
I tried auto yoke function it improves it slightly but very randomly it starts rolling left again. Best results I had when I did 40% dead zone for yoke settings but the plane acts unnatural to fly in this settings.
I checked forums and did not find anything similar to my experience, I am kind of lost what can that cause except of broken yoke; any other suggestions?
So we have tested the lesson and it looks more likely that this roll rate is caused by the payload being 170lbs for the pilot and 0lbs for the copilot.
We are still testing, however it would setting the copilot seat to 170lbs may be the workaround for now.
The lesson will be amended in the future.
Hi I am trying to fly lesson 2 , but my Cessna keep turning slowly left. I have tried to use rudder trim to correct this, but it doesn’t seem to work. Anyone had this problem and managed to correct it?
Hi Dmsasm,
I have moved your post here this thread contains an interim solution to try.
Hi
Many thanks. I will have a look and see if it works for me.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew Smith
Hi
If I set the copilot to 140kg and the pilot to 77kg the Cessna will fly in level flight and mostly in a straight line with just a tiny correction now and again.
Andrew
Thank you for the suggestion/workaround.
Cheers
Ian