Simviation Forums

i just downloaded a plane that i really enjoyed flying
(i can be really picky so that doesn't happen everyday)
but it has an annoying problem:

it doesn't steer at all on the ground....

the only way i can make it turn it throttling only one engine all the way up and using the toebrakes
(very unhandy)

so i guess my question is...
how do i tweak the flight dynamics so the plane can steer on the ground?

i appreciate any help

oh BTW the plane is a twin prop taildragger
a beech super 18 to be more accurate
just in case is matters....

tnx in advance

moach

Moach,

Yes, if I remember correctly, the Beech G-18 has a tail gear.

This means you must use the rudder controls for steering during taxi (On the keypad, "0" for left, "5" for center and "Enter" for right.)  You may be accustomed to using the aileron controls for steering, but it doesn't work with the tail gear.

Good luck!

thats exactly my problem...

the tail gear doesn't work

i am using the rudder to turn the plane, but it just doesn't turn fast enough
(almost doesn't turn at all)

what i need is a way to increase the ground steering sensitivity

I've found that taildraggers in FS behave on the ground much like they do in real life. While taxying you should hold the stick hard back to keep the tail down. Then use full rudder & short bursts of throttle to turn. This depends on the type of aircraft. Multi-engine types like the Beech 18 & DC-3 might need right/left brakes or throttling individual engines to assist the turn. If this doesn't suit you try tweaking the tailwheel steering angle in Aircraft.cfg.
[contact_points]
............
//7

How does this apply to floats on water? Below are the contact point entries from two floatplanes. The first turns well on water (DHC-2 Beaver), the second doesn't (DHC-3 Otter). I've noticed the first one has entries which end in "left water rudder" and "right water rudder". I tried copy and pasting them into the second, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

[contact_points]
//0  Class
//1  Longitudinal Position            (feet, + = fwd)
//2  Lateral Position                  (feet, + = right)
//3  Vertical Position                  (feet, + = above)
//4  Impact Damage Threshold            (Feet Per Minute)
//5  Brake Map                        (0=None, 1=Left, 2=Right)
//6  Wheel Radius                        (feet)
//7  Steer Angle                        (degrees)
//8  Static Compression                  (feet, 0 if rigid)
//9  Max/Static Compression Ratio
//10 Damping Ratio                  (0=Undamped, 1=Critically Damped)
//11 Extension Time                  (seconds)
//12 Retraction Time                  (seconds)
//13 Sound Type
//14 Airspeed limit for retraction (KIAS)
//15 Airspeed that gear gets damage at (KIAS)
//      0     1      2     3     4     5   6      7    8    9    10    11   12  13 14   15
point.0=4,   9.5,  -5.1, -6.75, 1600,  0, 0.0,  25.0, 0.4, 2.2, 0.75, 0.0, 0.0, 2, 0.0, 0.0
point.1=4,   9.5,   5.1, -6.75, 1600,  0, 0.0,  25.0, 0.4, 2.2, 0.75, 0.0, 0.0, 3, 0.0, 0.0
point.2=4,  -6.5,  -5.1, -6.55, 1600,  0, 0.0,   0.0, 0.4, 2.2, 0.75, 0.0, 0.0, 2, 0.0, 0.0
point.3=4,  -6.5,   5.1, -6.55, 1600,  0, 0.0,   0.0, 0.4, 2.2, 0.75, 0.0, 0.0, 3, 0.0, 0.0
// Scrapes
point.4=2,    0.0, -24.0,  4.0,  308.5, 0, 0.00,  0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0,  0.0, 0.0, 5, 0.0, 0.0      //left wing
point.5=2,    0.0,  24.0,  4.0,  308.5, 0, 0.00,  0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0,  0.0, 0.0, 6, 0.0, 0.0      //right wing
point.6=2,  -22.0,   0.0,  0.3,  916.5, 0, 0.00,  0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0,  0.0, 0.0, 9, 0.0, 0.0      //tail cone
point.7=2,    6.5,   0.0, -2.2, 1274.5, 0, 0.00,  0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0,  0.0, 0.0, 4, 0.0, 0.0      //nose
point.8=2,  -19.6,   0.0,  7.5,  308.5, 0, 0.00,  0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0,  0.0, 0.0, 7, 0.0, 0.0      //tail
//point.9=5,  -12.5,  -5.1, -6.75, 1600,  0, 0.00, 40.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0,  1.0, 1.2, 0, 0.0, 0.0      //left water rudder
//point.10=5, -12.5,   5.1, -6.75, 1600,  0, 0.00, 40.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0,  1.1, 1.5, 0, 0.0, 0.0      //right water rudder

//--------------------------------------------------------
[contact_points]
static_pitch=0
static_cg_height=11.4
max_number_of_points=15
point.0=1, 17.568, -7.4, -11.5, 2200, 0, 1.4, 45, 0.3, 2.5, 0.9, 4, 4, 0, 0, 0
point.1=1, 17.6, 7.4, -11.5, 2200, 0, 1.4, 45, 0.3, 2.5, 0.9, 4, 4, 0, 0, 0
point.2=1, -6, -7.4, -11.5, 2300, 1, 1.5, 0, 0.4, 2.5, 0.9, 4, 4, 2, 0, 0
point.3=1, -6, 7.4, -11.5, 2300, 2, 1.5, 0, 0.4, 2.5, 0.9, 4, 4, 3, 0, 0
point.4=4.000, 15.700, -7.400, -9.100, 1600.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.950, 2.500, 0.950, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.5=4.000, 15.700, 7.400, -9.100, 1600.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.950, 2.500, 0.950, 0.000, 0.000, 1.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.6=4.000, -15.400, -7.400, -8.500, 1600.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.850, 2.500, 0.950, 0.000, 0.000, 2.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.7=4.000, -15.400, 7.400, -8.500, 1600.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.850, 2.500, 0.950, 0.000, 0.000, 3.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.8=2.000, 1.500, -29.500, 4.500, 1800.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 5.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.9=2.000, 1.500, 29.500, 4.500, 1800.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 6.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.10=2.000, -23.800, 0.000, -2.800, 1800.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 9.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.11=2.000, 0.000, 0.000, -3.300, 1800.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 4.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.12=2.000, -27.500, 0.000, -1.000, 1800.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 9.000, 0.000, 0.000
point.13=5, -15.4, -7.4, -9.2, 1600, 0, 0, 45, 0.4, 2.5, 1, 1.2, 1.2, 4, 0, 0
point.14=5, -15.4, 7.4, -9.2, 1600, 0, 0, 45, 0.4, 2.5, 1, 1.2, 1.2, 4, 0, 0

Hi TJ. It's a while since I messed with floatplanes. Water rudders should certainly help. You will have to experiment with the locations. I usually start by copying the rear float entries & change them to Class 5. Tweak the steering angle value to suit the aircraft.

These entries from your example are remarked (with a double slash // or comma ; ) to make them inactive. This is a convenient little trick when you're tweaking any CFG files - rather than delete the entries. To activate them remove the slashes from the start of the line. Leave the others (//left water rudder) in place as they're comments for reference only..

//point.9=5,  -12.5,  -5.1, -6.75, 1600,  0, 0.00, 40.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0,  1.0, 1.2, 0, 0.0, 0.0 //left water rudder
//point.10=5, -12.5,   5.1, -6.75, 1600,  0, 0.00, 40.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0,  1.1, 1.5, 0, 0.0, 0.0 //right water rudder