Problem when resuming saved flights

[FridayChild]

I often save my flights to resume them later.
With the default aircrafts, I have no problems.
With most of the add-on ones, there is one big problem with the autopilot.
I load the flight, and I find the autopilot disconnected and/or with incorrect values (for the speed or the altitude or the heading to hold) and/or with some functions turned off (altitude/heading/speed hold). It's like those settings were not saved with the flight.
I have the doubt that at some time I may have messed something with my installation, but I'd really like to avoid reinstalling FS2004 from scratch.
Is there an explanation for this and a what about a fix?

[timothy]

Re installing seems a bit drastic for what is an irritation isn't it ?

My FS 9 is the same but mine include the MS installed aircraft as well. What I cannot do is having saved a flight, go back to it another day and depart from the same location on the airstrip if I flag up Flight Planner because I cannot by pass the option Active Runway or gates options.
Something has changed. I am sue I usewd to be able to start correctly !

[FridayChild]

The one you describe - if I understand it correctly - is indeed a minor source of "irritation". The one I described is not... think about it. Not being able to save a flight and resume it later, because as soon as the flight has been loaded the autopilot has to be reprogrammed from scratch - and in the meanwhile your airplane will just go crazy unless you get someone controlling it manually while you input data into the AP (or the other way round).... I would not call it a minor issue; I'm sure you'll agree.  ;)

[ATI_7500]

Try FS Autosave. Should be avaiable on the net and works just fine. Eases the frustration when your FS decides to crash five minutes from touchdown. And, everything was as it was before if you load a flight.

[FridayChild]

I have found an "autosave.zip" file on AVSIM which automatically creates a .STN file every n seconds.
I don't know if this is the file you refer to; if so, in what do the .STN files created by it differ from the ones I create manually?

[papa-metro]

have you tried hitting PAUSE just before saving or shutting down? Sounds like it might solve this ...
papa-metro usaf 1953-57

[FridayChild]

I tried either way: pausing/not pausing the flight before saving. No avail. The problem seems to be that not all parameters are actually saved with the flight. I googled a bit, and I'm under the impression that it's possible to have ALL parameters saved, but only a few aircrafts (payware included!) do this! The "don't save the flight, otherwise unpredictable results can occur" seems to be the rule, not the exception. This is, well, disappointing: what about long flights (I hate the speedup simulation thingy!), having a life outside FS ( ) et al? One could say "in real life you don't save flights"... OK, this is not real life is it?  ;)

[VVM]

i am far from an expert on solving problems, but, have you tried turning off the auto pilot just before saving, so when you resume you can put in the correct values for the ap without goin way off course or what ever.

[FridayChild]

The problem is exactly that the AP is reset after loading the flight... no need to disconnect it manually before saving, it does a great job turning itself off already  ;)

[cspyro21]

If you pause and then save, sure, the AP will be turned off, but at least then you will have paused, so then yhou can re-set the AP, unpause, and let "George" do the flying!!  ;D

Hope this helps  ;)

[FridayChild]

It's not always possible: some switches of some panels don't allow changes in pause mode, or so it seems.

[ATI_7500]

I have found an "autosave.zip" file on AVSIM which automatically creates a .STN file every n seconds.
I don't know if this is the file you refer to; if so, in what do the .STN files created by it differ from the ones I create manually?

Don't ask,simply use it. -_-

[FridayChild]

I'll take it as a "yes, that's the file I was talking about".

[Nav]

as soon as the flight has been loaded the autopilot has to be reprogrammed from scratch - and in the meanwhile your airplane will just go crazy unless you get someone controlling it manually while you input data into the AP (or the other way round)

Puzzled over that for a while, FridayChild - I've had the 'A/P off' problem occasionally, but have never had any trouble holding the thing steady with the stick while I check the settings.

Then it dawned on me how lucky I am (in the FS9 context) to be left-handed - and also to have learned to fly long ago in aeroplanes with a central joystick and engine controls on the left.

Are you by any chance using the same hand for both stick and mouse? So you can only use one or the other at a given time? If so, you might consider switching either the mouse or the stick to the other side. Wouldn't that pretty well solve your problem?

As to which side, doesn't much matter, eventually you'll have to master both. Most modern aeroplanes have side-by-side seating with the captain's position on the left and the throttles etc. in the middle. But if you ever take up flying for real, you'll be the junior partner for quite a while, with your right hand on the yoke and your left working the throttles and making the settings; so that's probably the best arrangement to start with.

Now that I've written this I'm not sure whether to post it - maybe you (and everyone else) are already using both hands. But the silliest question is usually the one you don't ask - if you ARE trying to do it all with one hand, maybe this will help.

[FridayChild]

I thank you for your answer. You sure are right; I should be able to get over the issue with a little manual effort.
I'd like to say, though, that my intention here is to point out a bug in the simulator (or in the addon aircrafts) rather than something else; my rookie-ness at sim flying is self admitted. "Save flight" is supposed to save every single setting, and it doesn't. I'll try that autosave thing, and if that fails too I obviously will resort to manual reprogramming of the AP with the free hand.