AFG YS-11 following a VOR...

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi;

...it does this from 1.9 miles to the right of the course inthe GPS! As a test I tried JRL's Electra with Fraser McKay's wonderful panel and that followed the course line as it should, but the YS-11 seems to have an eccentric side to it. This may be crazy, but I wondered if it could be something to do with the age of fs9 and any changes in magnetic north, but as I'm never online that doesn't seen likely.
Andy.

[Tom Clayton]

Post the [direction_indicators] section from your aircraft.cfg - I'd like to see something before recommending anything.

Edit: I don't think the default has an autopilot at all. Have you added one?

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,
Thank you for the info.. that was it I think. Here are the bits from, first the default Cessna 172-

[direction_indicators]
//1 Type: 0=None, 1=Vacuum Gyro, 2=Electric Gyro, 3=Electro-Mag Slaved Compass, 4=Slaved to another
//2 Indicator number of slaving indicator if Type = 4
direction_indicator.0=1,0

2nd,the AFG YS-11-

[direction_indicators]
direction_indicator.0=3,0

and lastly,
the YS-11V27ANA

[direction_indicators]
direction_indicator.0=3,0

I will sort out putting all the YS-11s in the same folder at some point, but that looks like the answer, so many thanks Tom!

There is an already an autopilot in the YS-11,but in the cfg it was marked '0' which I changed, but it didn't sort it out 100% so what I'll do is add the Cessna bit to the other ones and see how that goes.

Thanks again,
Andy.

ps
and this is from Manfred Jahn's L-49-

[direction_indicators]
//1 Type: 0=None, 1=Vacuum Gyro, 2=Electric Gyro, 3=Electro-Mag Slaved Compass, 4=Slaved to another
//2 Indicator number of slaving indicator if Type = 4
direction_indicator.0=1,0
direction_indicator.1=1,0
direction_indicator.2=3,0

slightly different...what does the '3' mean in the last line?

A.

edit 2
curiously the CalClassic CV580 cfg--

[direction_indicators]
direction_indicator.0=3,0

is the same as the YS-11.
A

in fact looking at these, this line--direction_indicator.0=3,0-- is what tells us which system it uses I think ie 3= Electro-Mag Slaved Compass etc, but that seems to imply that the YS-11 doesn't have that system and maybe would use something else?

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,

In fact that didn't work at all!! As well as that, my combining the 2 YS-11 folders meant I lost half the VC in the ones I'd added in, so that didn't work either . I've gone back to 2 folders and must try to stop fiddling.
It is strange that it won't follow a GPS flight, or even a created flight which you load as when you look at the Autopilot page it seems to imply you can do that

From the Manual:

""The YS-11 autopilot has two main operating modes:

Manual mode:

In manual command mode, you will turn the autopilot on with the AP Master Switch, but you will not engage any of the other modes. In this mode, you can use the pitch wheel to set the desired pitch attitude (but please note that this is not a vertical speed hold. You can have the nose at 0 degree pitch, but you can still be climbing or descending). With the turn knob, you can set the desired bank angle and direction of turn. Using these two controls you can for example set the plane to perform a spiralling climb. After you have reached the desired altitude, you can switch on the Altitude hold mode, which will also disable the pitch wheel. To quickly set the wings level, click on the "TURN" label between the arrows, it will set the knob in it's wings level detent.

Control modes:

These modes are activated by using the row of selection switches on the top of the autopilot. Available modes are PSH (Pre Selected Heading) which holds the heading set with the heading bug in the C-6A indicator (immediately below the artificial horizon on the main panel). To activate this mode, you will have to make sure that the turn knob is in it's wings level detent. VOR mode will follow the selected active vor radial (NAV1 radio). LOC and GS modes will activate the ILS approach modes. You must have LOC mode active before you can switch on the GS mode. Turning off the LOC mode will also automatically disengage the GS mode. Activating the GS mode will automatically disengage the ALT Hold mode.

For successful localizer capture, the minimum distance from the runway threshold is 6.5 miles, and maximum intercept angle is 45 degrees. Additionally, you should have the airspeed around 130 knots indicated, and flaps 10. Altitude should be around one dot below glide slope. Once the localizer capture is complete, lower gear and start lowering flaps gradually. Activate GS hold once the plane intercepts it. Please see the picture at the end of this page. Also please note that the step number 4 is not necessary in FS. (picture source: YS-11 pilot operating handbook)

The approach mode is only certified to take the plane down to the decision height (usally above middle marker). It will not perform an autoland. Also, before disengaging the autopilot (by turning the AP Master Switch off), make sure that the plane is stable and not performing a large scale correction. This is because the elevator/aileron trim will be left at the current position when autopilot is disengaged. Not following this guide line can result in unwanted nose up/down tendency. Remember that you can always reset the trim postions by clicking on the trim tab position indicator on the main panel. "" Perhaps what I'm reading means it will only follow a VOR when in range (shown by the Mileage coming alive?) Andy.

[srgalahad]

Looking at the YS-11 v2.7 ANA download the the autopilot section of the .cfg file shows:
[autopilot]
autopilot_available=0
flight_director_available=0
default_vertical_speed=500.0
autothrottle_available=0
autothrottle_arming_required=1

From the autopilot.html section of the manual (just above the paragraphs you quoted)
"The autopilot we have created for this panel is completely independent from the FS default autopilot. None of the default autopilot commands and their associated keyboard shortcuts do not work."



While it might be possible to strip out all the custom bits (gauge references as well as the autopilot parts in the YS-11_gauges.CAB file) a simple add-in won't work. The custom-coded AP gauge takes over and adding one of the default autopilots may cause conflicts to the point where neither will work properly since there are two gauges trying to do 'the same thing'. IIRC the custom AP in David Maltby's Comet 4 and VC-10 have the same situation and there are a few others that I've found in the past. 1960's (and earlier APs) were not like the Bendix-KTel "set-it-and-forget-it" that MS used and for which they built the internal FS code. In an effort to be authentic several modelers resorted to designing a gauge that worked outside the MS code to control the a/c under autopilot. Also, since there was no such thing as GPS when the YS-11 was built it's not surprising that there is no "follow the GPS pink line" function coded into the AP (AFG being authentic again).

The 'cure' I have found is (as in the real-world) to learn how to use the aircraft as it arrives from the factory. Besides, that's what makes, in this case, the YS-11 model unique.

[lemonadedrinker]

It's about time I started to do things a bit more properly ! It's a wonderful model.

[srgalahad]

It's about time I started to do things a bit more properly ! It's a wonderful model.

Once you get used to the various functions and steps required I think you'll find it fairly easy to make the transition.It does require a bit of planning for each process ( like intercepting an approach) but if the AP works as well as the other bits and like AFG's usual standard you should be runing those screaming Darts down an ILS with ease.
I haven't flown the YS-11 for some long time but the other aircraft I mentioned are similar in feel and are among my favourites.

[Tom Clayton]

It looks like most of the info you need has been provided! While I dearly love the sounds for the YS-11, I never could get my brain wrapped around the systems. The best I could do is get it off the ground without triggering the auto-feather!

I can, however, provide a little insight into those direction indicator numbers. The first number can be anything from 0 to 4:
0 - Not present
1 - Vacuum Driven Gyro
2 - Electric Gyro
3 - Electro-Mag Slaved Gyro
4 - Slaved to another indicator

0 is pretty much self-explanatory. 1 and 2 are both susceptible to precess, and you need to hit the "D" key periodically to stay on course. This will cause VOR tracking to go off-course, which I thought might be happening from your original post. 3 cures that issue, since it self-adjusts based on the magnetic compass. 4 is slaved to another indicator, which is where the second parameter comes in - it's not actually needed on any of the others.