Hornet Auto-Flap Malfunction??

[HamstersForRent]

Hi Everyone,
Is anybody else having a problem with the flaps in the hornet?

During the carrier tutorial and in free flight, they seemed to work as I would expect (and as the switch seems to indicate); when set to half or full, they stayed at half or full, when set to auto, flaps apply as needed? (I never actually noticed this happening).

However when I moved on to the carrier practice and rocket launch missions, the flaps seem to have a mind of their own at all times. I can not get them to stay up while just flying around, and on approach I can't get them to stay down (makes a pretty landing awfully difficult).

Is this a bug in the mission, or is supposed to work that way? If it's supposed to be that way why isn't it happening in the carrier landing tutorial or free flight?

Other than that potential error, Acceleration seems to be working properly for me.

Thanks for any info or advice

[Panaka]

I had the same problem on the carrier practise mission.
They lower but keeping switching between two settings, messing up the approach. During the entire patern in the mission I can hear the flaps working and get small jolts as the extend and retract.

No solution that I know.

[IanP]

Just a suggestion, not a definate, but could it be a speed issue? You're exceeding the design speed for a flap setting, so it auto-retracts to the next? If you have commanded full flap and are hovering around the speed for full flap extension, it might keep popping over the limit and retracting back to half?

I'm just guessing, but it might be worth investigating?

Ian P.

[samusi01]

I found that attempting carrier landings was fairly difficult with autoflap but if I manually selected full flaps that it's somewhat easier.

[dxbandit]

sorry i didnt see this thread before i made my post, i hate to say it but im glad to see this post, and i thought i was alone on this issue :mixedsmi:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=55612

how do you turn auto flap off?

read below are the issues i am having, please could you all see if you have the same?

Well, all has been going good up until this point, im not sure if this is because of some FS addon software that i installed or what.

I took panthers advice and when i got Acceleration i did a complete reinstall (FSX/FSXA) from scratch and all was fine after that.

There are 2 issues I am currently having, first one is with the Hornet and other is the Mustang. All of sudden now the flaps are not working correctly, here is a example of what i mean.

Lets say I'm on the RWY engine on ready to take off, if i put my flaps all the way down soon as i leave the rwy the flaps automatically go up? Now i circle around and coming in for a landing soon as i hit the ground the flaps lower all the way? lol, all this happens without pressing flaps button :mixedsmi:

Lets say i take off, and same as above, if i try to use my flaps button they move but not the way they are supposed to, instead of say 15 degrees the will actually move about 2 or 3 degrees and thats it, hit flap button 3 degree down hit flap again they go back up.

Heres one for ya, i was trying to follow a AI Airbus stock FSX (in flight 5K ft) , when i got really close to it my F-18 started acting weird, rudder was moving on its own, flaps would move it got to the point where i lost control, it was like the jet got possessed all of a sudden for a few seconds, then it would go away, then i would try to get close to the AI again and same thing.

I tried to see if any of my other stock FSX planes did this and so far tried the Mooney, Cessna's all seemed to be fine.

Then i said well let me try the Mustang, now this one did some different things, on ground parked, hit flap one time usually you hear the flap sound for about what 3 seconds? not me i hear sound and flaps move to the position in 12 seconds? Now if i take off and while in flight I hit the flap button one time for increment flap down i hear sound and flaps move to the position in 3 seconds. When I say "I hit flap button" I mean increment flap down 1 position. Other then that it seems to be fine, this is something new for me.

Please could someone suggest what could be causing this, I'm using Xp Pro SP2, FSX SP1, FSXA, I have ASX and all these tests where done with it off.

Worst comes to worse i guess i will have to reinstall, really would like to avoid it if possible.

[dxbandit]

Anyone wanting to fix the "automatic maneuvering flaps" to full manual flaps, either copy and paste the lines below and replace in your F-18 aircraft.cfg or just go in there and fine the lines in read and change from a 1 to a 0,

[flaps.0]
type =2 // 1 - tail, 2 - lead
span-outboard =0.8 // 0.0 .. 1.0
extending-time =2.05 // seconds
flaps-position.0 =0 // degrees
flaps-position.1 =12 // degrees
flaps-position.2 =33 // degrees
max_on_ground_position = 1
maneuvering_flaps=0

[flaps.1]
type =1 // 1 - tail, 2 - lead
span-outboard =0.8 // 0.0 .. 1.0
extending-time =2.05 // seconds
flaps-position.0 =0 // degrees
flaps-position.1 =30 // degrees
flaps-position.2 =45 // degrees
maneuvering_flaps=0

[HamstersForRent]

Thanks, I'll give that tweak a try

IanP, it doesn't seem to be a speed issue, as they are deploying when they shouldn't (for example, 500kts, switch on and off at a random rate between 0.25-1hz). And retracting when I need them (carrier approach, 130kts, sorta high AoA, flaps turning on and off :eek:)

flew the Hornet around in free flight, the problem does in fact seem to be happening there as well.

[jetline09]

sorry i didnt see this thread before i made my post, i hate to say it but im glad to see this post, and i thought i was alone on this issue :mixedsmi:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=55612

how do you turn auto flap off?

read below are the issues i am having, please could you all see if you have the same?

Well, all has been going good up until this point, im not sure if this is because of some FS addon software that i installed or what.

I took panthers advice and when i got Acceleration i did a complete reinstall (FSX/FSXA) from scratch and all was fine after that.

There are 2 issues I am currently having, first one is with the Hornet and other is the Mustang. All of sudden now the flaps are not working correctly, here is a example of what i mean.

Lets say I'm on the RWY engine on ready to take off, if i put my flaps all the way down soon as i leave the rwy the flaps automatically go up? Now i circle around and coming in for a landing soon as i hit the ground the flaps lower all the way? lol, all this happens without pressing flaps button :mixedsmi:

Lets say i take off, and same as above, if i try to use my flaps button they move but not the way they are supposed to, instead of say 15 degrees the will actually move about 2 or 3 degrees and thats it, hit flap button 3 degree down hit flap again they go back up.

Heres one for ya, i was trying to follow a AI Airbus stock FSX (in flight 5K ft) , when i got really close to it my F-18 started acting weird, rudder was moving on its own, flaps would move it got to the point where i lost control, it was like the jet got possessed all of a sudden for a few seconds, then it would go away, then i would try to get close to the AI again and same thing.

I tried to see if any of my other stock FSX planes did this and so far tried the Mooney, Cessna's all seemed to be fine.

Then i said well let me try the Mustang, now this one did some different things, on ground parked, hit flap one time usually you hear the flap sound for about what 3 seconds? not me i hear sound and flaps move to the position in 12 seconds? Now if i take off and while in flight I hit the flap button one time for increment flap down i hear sound and flaps move to the position in 3 seconds. When I say "I hit flap button" I mean increment flap down 1 position. Other then that it seems to be fine, this is something new for me.

Please could someone suggest what could be causing this, I'm using Xp Pro SP2, FSX SP1, FSXA, I have ASX and all these tests where done with it off.

Worst comes to worse i guess i will have to reinstall, really would like to avoid it if possible.

is it possible that you were getting into the wake of the Airbus?

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

I Dont Think FSX models wake turbulence, FSX + SP1 didnt do it, i doubt that FSX + SP2 + Accelleration does it.

AWF

[Moparmike]

Then i said well let me try the Mustang, now this one did some different things, on ground parked, hit flap one time usually you hear the flap sound for about what 3 seconds? not me i hear sound and flaps move to the position in 12 seconds? Now if i take off and while in flight I hit the flap button one time for increment flap down i hear sound and flaps move to the position in 3 seconds. When I say "I hit flap button" I mean increment flap down 1 position. Other then that it seems to be fine, this is something new for me.

Please could someone suggest what could be causing this, I'm using Xp Pro SP2, FSX SP1, FSXA, I have ASX and all these tests where done with it off.


This is normal for some FS planes...depends on the type of flaps and how the airfile/aircraft.cfg is setup. Airfile section 524 is flap source definition...or fir FS2002 and up, check the aircraft.cfg
If electrical flaps, check to see what the minimum voltage is for operating them...if the planes voltage is lower than the min operating voltage, then the flaps won't move. ...Aircraft.cfg
If they're hydraulic flaps, it depends on the current hydraulic pressure...a lot of airfiles have low pressure at engine idle which is why the flap sound keeps looping while the flaps slowly move to the next position. Speed up the engine a bit to build more hydraulic pressure and the flaps will move at the normal rate. ...Airfile section 513&514
Same applies for vacuum operated flaps, except that depends on the vacuum signal being generated at the time that you're operating the flaps. ...Airfile section 1512

[USMCG_Trev]

This is the reason I came to this site. Very helpful! Thanks.

Anyone wanting to fix the "automatic maneuvering flaps" to full manual flaps, either copy and paste the lines below and replace in your F-18 aircraft.cfg or just go in there and fine the lines in read and change from a 1 to a 0,

[flaps.0]
type =2 // 1 - tail, 2 - lead
span-outboard =0.8 // 0.0 .. 1.0
extending-time =2.05 // seconds
flaps-position.0 =0 // degrees
flaps-position.1 =12 // degrees
flaps-position.2 =33 // degrees
max_on_ground_position = 1
maneuvering_flaps=0

[flaps.1]
type =1 // 1 - tail, 2 - lead
span-outboard =0.8 // 0.0 .. 1.0
extending-time =2.05 // seconds
flaps-position.0 =0 // degrees
flaps-position.1 =30 // degrees
flaps-position.2 =45 // degrees
maneuvering_flaps=0

[dxbandit]

hey no problemo glad i could help,

on that note i was told by a friend of mine that theres a switch in the cockpit lower left hand side that turn the autoflaps on and off? :mixedsmi:

i havent checked but i will eventually

[Dangerous Beans]

I've searched the whole cockpit and cant find any way to turn off auto flaps.
The only switch to do with flaps is marked Auto/Half/Full but doesn't turn it off, they still remain in auto mode.
Will try the cfg edit as I'm ready to do the practice now I've got the tutorial nearly down pat :)

A tip for the tutorial BTW and maybe for practice too.
I was reading over at http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?board=4.0 that in the carrier landing missions the F/A-18 is well over the official landing weight and IRL shouldn't be carrying more than 3600lb of fuel clean.
Someone over there came up with the idea of sitting in the cat with fuel dump on and the afterburners lit to get the weight down but I didn't really like the sound of that so I tried something else.

Go to "Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Missions\Tutorials\CarrierTutorial" and first back up "Carrier Tutorial.flt"
Now open the original and scroll down to the [Fuel.0] section
Paste this over it

[Fuel.0]
TankSelector=All
TankSelector1=All
Center=100
LeftMain=95.000000000000000
RightMain=95.000000000000000
LeftAux=10.000000000000000
RightAux=10.000000000000000
LeftTip=0
RightTip=0
Center 2=100
Center 3=100
External 1=100
External 2=100

and save it
This will give you just over 3600lb of fuel at the start off the tutorial
Makes it a whole lot easier to trap properly.
I haven't tried it in the practice mission yet, it might need a bit of tweaking as you have to make 5 successful traps in a row so may need a bit more fuel to start off with.

[orionll]

I thought I found that button, but it doesn't seem to actully disenable and enable the auto flaps.

[Dangerous Beans]

I've found what is causing the twitchy flaps and HUD in the F/A-18
As to whether it is a bug in the plane or not I don't know, only a real Hornet pilot could tell us that.

If there is any wind turbulence set up in the weather at all the flaps and HUD go wild.
For instance in the Carrier Practice mission the wind turbulence is set to heavy, even if you set it to low the flaps and HUD still play up :(
When its set to none the flaps and HUD behave them selves

If you really cant complete that mission because of this bug go to "settings,customize,weather" and tick the box marked "Disable turbulence and thermal effects on aircraft"
Of course that will make it easier than it should be to complete but at least its playable that way.

Also I tested it and with the fuel edit in my post above you can complete the Carrier Practice mission OK as long as you don't get waved off or bolter more that twice.