Will not fly level...

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Will not fly level...

Postby Jonathan » Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:39 pm

Here is a screen shot of my flight.

This plane as well as others, will not fly "level". Does this happen to anyone else or what do you recommend that I do? I have called Microsoft on this and they have no answer for me.

Btw, this happens on all the planes that I try to fly. I have uninstalled several times.

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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby Jared » Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:57 pm

It might be depending on your speed and the required speed to keep the airplane level is close, or on the verge of stall for that weight/speed/altitude configuration?

I know just about any airplane with certain power settings are more than likely going to be nose high...

for example a cessna 172 with full flaps on takeoff at high altitude will tend to hover around real nose high.. ;-)

Not sure if this helps or not, but just my two cents.. :-)
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby TacitBlue » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:13 pm

most airliners cruise slightly nose high. do you gain altitude when it is like that? have you tryed this in a small plane?
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby Nexus » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:31 pm

this is normal...
you may be a litthe heavy =nose up pitch required to maintain altitude.
And you are also slightly slow (M.72) which also requires a more nose up attitude than if you would fly at M.82...

An extraxt from a post made by me regarding nose up pitch during cuize"

"...actually, anything higher than that (5 degrees pitch up) will cause the stabilizer NOT to be streamlined with the airflow, thus creating unnecessary drag.
It's preferable to cruise below 5 degrees upward pitch. This in turn allows the aircraft to be operated at its optimal thrust setting to obtain the maximum range, without having to waste engine thrust to compensate for drag.

An aft CG position (which causes the nose-up attitude) results in:
Makes the aircraft less stable
less stick force
Increased stall speed
Plus, will also give you less drag. compared to a FORWARD CG.
Last edited by Nexus on Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby Jonathan » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:00 pm

Thanks for the posts.

I increased the cruise speed and it did lower the nose, some, however, with me doing this, Im on the verge of an overspeed.

The aircraft doesnt gain any altitude while the nose is pointed up.

Anything further you can think of or anyone else want to post, please do.

Thanks again.
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby JerryH » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:46 pm

Jonathan,

There is no doubt that the cruise speed is too low. I wouldn't cruise at less than Mach 0.85 for that aircraft.

And it looks like you have True Airspeed displayed. If so, change the settings so Indicated Airspeed is shown. Microsoft should never have given us a choice. Pilots only pay attention to IAS.

Also, I don't think you are anywhere near an overspeed condition.

Regards,
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby Nexus » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:49 pm

what are you trying to achieve exactly?
The aircraft (talking commercial airliners here) SHALL have a nose up attitude in straight and level cruise, simple as that.
The pitch up can be everything from 1-4 degrees.  :)
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby beefhole » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:23 pm

Two things-.85 for a 777?
Last edited by beefhole on Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Will not fly level...

Postby Calb » Tue Dec 07, 2004 12:47 am

Jonathan,

Open the aircraft.cfg file with notepad and scroll down until you find the header, "flight_tuning" (it's enclosed in square brackets). The first line probably reads, "cruise_lift_scalar=1.0". It's expressed in degrees.

Change the number in *small* increments until the nose attitude is what you think it should be.  I suggest you try half-degree increments at a time.

There are side-effects. Stall speed lowers, speed doesn't decay as quickly when power is reduced, etc.  I haven't fiddled with it much but possibly increasing some of the drag scalars (in the same block) might offset these effects.

Have fun.

Cal
Last edited by Calb on Tue Dec 07, 2004 12:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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