Simviation Forums

Hi all,

FSX introduces the Fly-By-Wire system, on the default Airbus included in the box.
Basically, in FSX the Fly-By-Wire is something that changes the way the pilot inputs are read and transmitted to the aircraft movement. If I remember correctly, I think I have read that the Fly-By-Wire could be added to any aircraft just by adding a specific line in the corresponding aircraft.cfg.

Has anybody tried to add it to a fighter plane ? What are the consequences ? Some flighter planes become really unstable at high speeds because of too high manoeuvrability, and I'm really curious to know the effects of activating the Fly-By-Wire for a small aircraft. (I cannot test myself at the moment, travelling abroad for work...)

What do you think ?

Hmmm...I would be happy to test it, if someone can give me the line to add.

Try looking in the aircraft.cfg of the airbus, maybe the line is explicit and can be found easilly ?

Fly-by-wire is just a control system that uses electronically transmitted signals instead of cables and pulleys to move control surface actuators.  Fly-by-wire can also take pilot inputs and move the control surfaces in a way that moves the aircraft exactly like the pilot intended.  

Fly-by-wire is not something that is modeled in flight simulator, simply because you are not using mechanical linkages to control your virtual aircraft, and the flight dynamics of each specific aircraft determine how it flies.  So, turn on "auto-rudder" and you can have an effective fly-by-wire flight control system for every aircraft you ever add to flight simulator.

[quote]Fly-by-wire is just a control system that uses electronically transmitted signals instead of cables and pulleys to move control surface actuators.

Couldn't found hydraulics in my keyboard :-/

I guess the complete FSX is Fly-by-wire, eh?

Couldn't found hydraulics in my keyboard :-/

I guess the complete FSX is Fly-by-wire, eh?

What ?  :-?

Right, fly-by-wire takes air data gathered from all kinds of instruments and interprets it using the flight computer, then it takes pilot inputs and translates them into the required control surface deflection.  For example, a pilot flying at 1,000 ft may want a specific pitch rate, so he pulls back on the stick a specific amount, and the flight control computer moves the control surfaces 1 degree to give the pilot that pitch rate.  Now, imagine the pilot is at 45,000 and he wants the same pitch rate, so he pulls back on the stick the same amount as before, but because of lower air density, the control surfaces aren't as effective, so the flight control computer will see this, and use a 20 degree deflection to get the same commanded pitch rate.  Fly-by-wire also allows the pilot to have "hands off stability", which means that the pilot can point the aircraft where he wants to go, and the aircraft will stay on the desired path, regardless of wind gusts, changing air density, etc...  Fly-by-wire also allows aircraft to be designed to be unstable, meaning their center of gravity is behind the center of pressure, instead of in front of it.  This means that the horizontal stabilizers will have to generate lift in the same direction as the wings, instead of opposite it.  Doing this increases the overall lift vector, which in turn allows increased maneuverability.  One other advantage of fly-by-wire is it allows the pilot to make any control input, however, it won't let the aircraft fly beyond it's operating envelope, so it keeps the aircraft from stalling, or structurally damaging itself.  Fly-by-wire makes flying more simple, and really makes stick-and-rudder flying a thing of the past, so if you really want to experience fly-by-wire flying in flight simulator, turn the difficulty down to easy, use auto-rudder, and fly in no-wind conditions.  So really, fly-by-wire has been part of flight simulator for quite some time now.

Mobius can explain it much better than me

My keyboard is gathering all data to the FSX engine. Some Models will will respond better, some less.

Putting the difficulty to easy will limit the flight model realism, which is really not what I want.
However, the original question was not "how to simulate FBW in another way", but "how does FSX FBW perform on military fighter planes"

I present to thee:

fly_by_wire = 1

I hast found this young damsel in the evil clutches of [airplane_geometry]!

Use her as you so wish!!

Ooooh! Oooh! Best. Line. Of coding. Ever.

Thank you so much Wingo! I'm going to add her to my FBW planes now.

No problems, and it is, and yet so simple for such a complex system.  I would love to know how this one line enables the fly-by-wire and makes it fully functional and realistic in the sim. Is it possible that the line only activates the fly-by-wire, but the fly-by-wire parameters and coding are actually in the .air file?

[quote]No problems, and it is, and yet so simple for such a complex system.

Okay, so what is this "fly-by-wire" line of coding supposed to do, or what do you expect it to do? :-?

Putting the difficulty to easy will limit the flight model realism, which is really not what I want.

But that is what fly-by-wire does; makes controlling difficult airplanes a tad easier.