Can we expect the rudder to stiffen with "q" ?

I believe the IX fdm isn't yet finished, but since I've been away for quite a while, I wonder if there are any news from the developers regarding stiffening of rudder with dynamic pressure.

I re-installed DCS and the Spitfire IX last week. This latest Open Beta version feels great, but the inputs are still too abrupt in yaw because there is no stiffening with increasing dynamics pressure.

Do you mean that the rudder should deflect less for the same pedal input at higher speeds? Yes it doesn't work that way currently but that is intentional and is not going to change. It was explained by Yo-Yo that since there is no way that they can simulate leg strength of virtual pilots, they want to let us have the maximum motion range of our virtual controls. In the real plane the rudder does stiffen, but it doesn't change the range of the pedal inputs. You feel the force, so you have to push harder, but the distance you need to push for a certain level of deflection remains the same. So thats what we are getting in the Spit.

Yes the drawback is that we all have superhuman leg muscles in our virtual birds, so she will always be twitchy.

Curves can help here quite a bit.

Do you mean that the rudder should deflect less for the same pedal input at higher speeds? Yes it doesn't work that way currently but that is intentional and is not going to change. It was explained by Yo-Yo that since there is no way that they can simulate leg strength of virtual pilots, they want to let us have the maximum motion range of our virtual controls. In the real plane the rudder does stiffen, but it doesn't change the range of the pedal inputs. You feel the force, so you have to push harder, but the distance you need to push for a certain level of deflection remains the same. So thats what we are getting in the Spit.

 

Yes the drawback is that we all have superhuman leg muscles in our virtual birds, so she will always be twitchy.

 

Curves can help here quite a bit.

Yep, but they did implement control stiffening for instance for the roll axis in the 109. I expected the same to be applied to the rudder, for instance in the Spitfire.

But it's indeed a very complex aspect to model because truncation wouldn't be the best solution, and delay is also arguable ( unless some setting would allow for various physical shape characteristics of the pilot :-) )

OnlyforDCS, I think you misinterpreted some Yo-Yo's post. I haven't read any suggesting that rudder limit will not be implemented, though I'm ready to be corrected if there was one. The last of his posts I recall on the subject was very clear about no limit for pitch axis, as with quoted 5 lbf per G gradient there would be no realistic limit anyway.

What is intentional, and maybe you meant that, is a principle of translating physical stick inputs into virtual stick output as percentage of position rather than percentage of force (as it is in some older sims, and was in DCS until 2016-ish). But the "stiffening" movement limits are very much there, in all axes of all four DCS warbirds, with exception of:

a) Mustang's and Spit's pitch axes for the reasons of exceptionally light elevators;

b) Spit's yaw axis for the reasons unspecified yet.

When you think of the force that would be required to deflect this say 3ft by 5ft surface into the airstream it's madness to think you could do it at any real speed.

I recall reading a statement from a Flying Tiger in that the limiting factor in how fast their P-40 could dive was how hard you could stand on the rudder pedal and still aim at a bomber.

Similarly, if you could get any large yaw the vertical fin should bring it right back and keep it there instead of the wallowing wandering you get in the Spit.

THe hinge moment is known and measured, so it's not a problem to implement it. The problem is that the programmer is constantly busy working on the new DM. Anyway, we will do it for sure.

Thx Yo-Yo, for taking the time to answer.

That's good news after all - better DM and fine tuned FM !