Rudder pedals noob

I have only recently transitioned from a twist flight stick to rudder pedals.

I have purchased the logitech / saitek ones and I am very happy with them.

What I am not happy with is how my brain works!

Even though I have the theory correct in my mind which is press the right pedal to steer right...

in action I do the exact opposite as it is what comes as natural to me.

I feel as if i am steering a bicycle where to go left you push your right hand forward and thus I push my right foot forward!

I guess it is a matter of time and practice but I can't stop wondering if anyone else had this issue or am I the only one? :joystick:

Think of it like you're bending the tip of the rudder towards that side of the plane with your foot. Like when you move your right foot forward, it's attached to a rope that's pulling the back of the vertical stabilizer towards the starboard wing. Which creates a yaw to the right. (Which may have been the origin of that anyway in early planes, but I am not positive).

My solution was to realise its a balancing act. its just as much about relaxing or retracting your left foot as it is extending your right and vice versa.

But in a nutshell, just hang in there its something entirely new for your brain to wrap itself around it will take time.

It took me perhaps a couple of weeks of near daily use for rudders to feel entirely natural, but after that I wouldn't fly without them.

I guess it is a matter of time and practice but I can't stop wondering if anyone else had this issue or am I the only one? :joystick:

When I got rudder pedals for the first time (~2014) I had exactly the same reaction... aircraft are the opposite of bicycles!!

The logic is that the bicycle wheel is at the front, and the rudder is at the back... they are opposites. And, in the case of aircraft, it comes from the old days when the rudder pedals were physically connected to the rudder with cables. E.g. http://aviationmiscmanuals.tpub.com/TM-1-1500-204-23-1/img/TM-1-1500-204-23-1_141_0.jpg

It took me a week or so to get the hang of it. If you have an aircraft with nose-wheel steering (e.g. the Hornet), just driving around the taxiways on the ground is a good way to practice it and build up some muscle memory.

If you have an aircraft with nose-wheel steering (e.g. the Hornet), just driving around the taxiways on the ground is a good way to practice it and build up some muscle memory.

What a perfect suggestion!