Sperry Mk III autopilot

[ATOP]

ok, so I know this thing doesn't do heading-hold, just allows for pitch and bank settings.  fine.  but I can't get it to hold a course for more than a minute at a time unless I'm flying directly into the wind.  Am I doing something wrong (e.g. not trimming the aircraft sufficiently or something) or is this just how it is?  

I guess I could just turn the wind off, but I don't want to.  I like using the real-world weather download feature.  So yeah, any hints, or should I just continue to appreciate how much more difficult it used to be for pilots to navigate back in the old days?

[dave3cu]

The MK III does provide heading hold, but

[ATOP]

hmmm, maybe I am doing something wrong, then.  Or I'm not seeing some button or switch or something on the panel.

to clarify, this isn't the default DC-3 autopilot that came with fsx, it was in an add-on plane (a B-25 Mitchell).  You can dial in the desired heading for reference, but it doesn't hold it...you have to get the plane pointed in the right direction, then adjust the pitch/bank/yaw settings to try to hold a steady heading, which it does until the wind changes direction or speed.  

I can still navigate fairly well, it just needs constant adjustment...and trying to make a flight of a few hundred miles without resorting to GPS or anything but charts and VORs, I found myself about 20 miles off course at the end of it.

With the default autopilot in the fsx DC-3, it seems like you can just set the heading and go have a sandwich, and you don't really get blown all that far off course.  

Like I say, maybe I'm missing something...there's supposed to be a manual for the autopilot, but it doesn't appear to have been in the download.  Awesome plane, though!

[dave3cu]

Is it the RAF B-25J MKII from here: http://www.simviation.com/simviation/?type=item&ID=66&page=9

Though I don't have the aircraft installed, I did download it. The autopilot manual is in the main gauges folder, 'RCS_Speery_MKIII.hlp', and indicates that heading hold is available.

Dave  

[ATOP]

hey, thanks Dave!  

Yes, that is the plane.  I never did get that help file to open for some reason, but just knowing that it's supposed to work helped...I finally found the way to turn it on:  CTRL+H.  What I had been doing was akin to tying a rope around the yoke and praying that the plane keeps going the right direction...lol @ me.

note to self when using FSX:  in the future, if you can't find the switch on the panel somewhere, try using that thing with all the letters on it sitting there on the desk....


and I highly recommend that plane, btw, if you like old planes.