[ NO BUG - USER ERROR]Autopilot no longer working

[Idle_Wild]

Press A, no autopilot.

[kirk7312]

Press A, no autopilot.

 

autopilot is working for me.

[Idle_Wild]

Definately isn't working for me.

[MisterVince]

It is working for me. Bear in mind that the autopilot only activates under certain stability conditions (I don't remember exactly), but basically if your nose is moving, even slightly, the autopilot will not activate. Also double check that A is your binding for autopilot.

[mlb406]

Are you applying any pressure on the stick? Have you tried using the button in the cockpit? You need to give more context really.

[Idle_Wild]

Nope, no stick pressure, deadzones set and working. It seems to trim the aircraft but doesn't hold attitude the nose just drifts.

[Gerrard]

Nope, no stick pressure, deadzones set and working. It seems to trim the aircraft but doesn't hold attitude the nose just drifts.

 

Yep, same for me. Alt-Hold switch engages but only momentarily.

[Blackeye]

Works for me on the latest OB - make sure you're pretty much level trimmed before engaging Alt HOLD.

Also make sure the autopilot (AFC) is on otherwise Alt Hold won't engage.

Edited June 23, 2020 by Blackeye

[lukeXIII]

Nope, no stick pressure, deadzones set and working. It seems to trim the aircraft but doesn't hold attitude the nose just drifts.

 

The only way i can reproduce this issue is to hold back slightly on my stick, trim the aircraft into level flight whilst still holding back on the stick, and then engaging AFC. This leads me to believe that your deadzones are not significant enough and you should increase them. (To test try setting the deadzones to something abnormally high so you can tell if it works or not.)

[Baldawg]

Autopilot is working, The AFC switch to the right of the ALT hold has to be engaged before the ALT hold switch will lock.

[Gladman]

I had to increase my deadzone. Its stick dependent.

[Captain Orso]

From my experience -- and I use AFC a lot -- you have to hold the aircraft's attitude within the AFC constraints -- which are fairly generous -- and be fairly stable in flight, to activate AFC. Trimming is not necessary at all. In fact, using AFC is the best way I know to get your aircraft perfectly trimming in the shortest amount of time, because AFC sets up your trim for stable flight. Then simply disengage AFC (NOT emergency cancel) and you are perfectly trimmed.

[Victor3]

From my experience -- and I use AFC a lot -- you have to hold the aircraft's attitude within the AFC constraints -- which are fairly generous -- and be fairly stable in flight, to activate AFC. Trimming is not necessary at all. In fact, using AFC is the best way I know to get your aircraft perfectly trimming in the shortest amount of time, because AFC sets up your trim for stable flight. Then simply disengage AFC (NOT emergency cancel) and you are perfectly trimmed.

 

This is how it's always worked for me in the past, but ever since the last patch it does not. Now even if I am holding completely straight and level as soon as I engage AFC it starts pitching up in a constantly positive rate. I can then pull the stick back slightly and arrest the climb, but that is NOT how it used to work, something is definitely amiss.

[lukeXIII]

@Victor3 Increase your axis deadzones

[Captain Orso]

This is how it's always worked for me in the past, but ever since the last patch it does not. Now even if I am holding completely straight and level as soon as I engage AFC it starts pitching up in a constantly positive rate. I can then pull the stick back slightly and arrest the climb, but that is NOT how it used to work, something is definitely amiss.

 

So, you engage AFC and the nose starts climbing, and the solution (immediate solution) is to pull on the stick... and then? Is AFC still active? What if you push the stick forwards -- which would be my automatic reaction to an unwanted climb behaviour.

[Idle_Wild]

Any stick input would disengage it.

 

 

It's not working properly as it shouldn't be drifting like that at all.

[Victor3]

So, you engage AFC and the nose starts climbing, and the solution (immediate solution) is to pull on the stick... and then? Is AFC still active? What if you push the stick forwards -- which would be my automatic reaction to an unwanted climb behaviour.

 

Sorry, my bad, I meant push the stick forward to arrest the climb, and yes @Idle Wild you can make slight corrections to flight path in the Harrier with AFC on. Yes AFC is still on, and it will start drifting again.

 

@lukeXIII Not being a jerk, serious question: Why should I need to increase my deadbands when the AFC has worked fine for a year and a half at their current setting? That tells me something has changed.

[lukeXIII]

@lukeXIII Not being a jerk, serious question: Why should I need to increase my deadbands when the AFC has worked fine for a year and a half at their current setting? That tells me something has changed.

 

From the last patch notes: "Added ability for small stick movement to adjust AFC trim"

 

Before this patch with AFC engaged it basically ignored stick input until you added enough stick input to break out of AFC (which hid any neutral stick issues). With the corrected AFC; even though your deadzone may be the same, it is not big enough and as a result is taking this minor "stick input" and constantly adjusts the trim.

[Victor3]

From the last patch notes: "Added ability for small stick movement to adjust AFC trim"

 

Before this patch with AFC engaged it basically ignored stick input until you added enough stick input to break out of AFC (which hid any neutral stick issues). With the corrected AFC; even though your deadzone may be the same, it is not big enough and as a result is taking this minor "stick input" and constantly adjusts the trim.

 

 

Ah, I must have missed that, that would explain it thanks!

[Idle_Wild]

From the last patch notes: "Added ability for small stick movement to adjust AFC trim"

 

Before this patch with AFC engaged it basically ignored stick input until you added enough stick input to break out of AFC (which hid any neutral stick issues). With the corrected AFC; even though your deadzone may be the same, it is not big enough and as a result is taking this minor "stick input" and constantly adjusts the trim.

 

 

Thanks Luke, this seems to explain the behaviour for me too as to why the nose was drifting. I increased my deadzones by 3x from 3 to 10 and the autopilot works as expected.

 

 

Apparently this was brought about through this observation:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=275178

 

 

And they fixed it in response, but omitted the behaviour change from the DCS release notes:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=279106

[Captain Orso]

I used AFC extensively before the latest update, and I recently tried it out again since the update.

 

1. Adjusting the flight attitude through the trim-hat is now far quicker that it used to be. In some cases you can use the trim-hat to put the airframe into such a position that is actually jumps out of AFC.

 

2. It used to be that if you activated AFC that the aircraft would be trimmed perfectly. And attitude variance was controlled as if the stick were holding the attitude. If at any time your turned AFC off, the aircraft remained in its current attitude -- including the prefect trimm -- and you could easily simply start controlling the aircraft through stick and pedals without issue yourself.

 

3. Now when trying to change the attitude through stick input, the aircraft seems to try to ignore input, changing only very minimally. If you use larger stick input, you break out of AFC.

 

4. If you do break out of AFC while the aircraft is holding a fairly a high rate of turn, you discover that the turn was not caused by AFC manipulating the stick, but by manipulating trim. If you put the stick in its neutral center position you will veer sharply in the direction you were turning in AFC and the noxe will pull up sharply, until you neutralize trim.

 

5. You used to be able to start ATH during AFC as long as you didn't have more than about 5° climb or dive (in reallity it should be restricted by the actual feet/minutes climb or dive rate, but I don#t recall what the numbers are.

 

Now, even while being fairly close to 0° nose up or down, ATH will not catch, especially if you had been in AFC/ATH and ATH broke out, bc you pulled the nose up or pushed it down.

 

For me the worst things are, in this order:

 

- Trim used to fly the aircraft and not the stick (aircraft not trimmed when ARC switched off with AFC switch).

- Reaction to stick inputs too slow.

- ATH won't catch if the aircraft previously broke out of it.

[SouthernCross]

I just encountered this issue.

Even if there is no input of the stick, altitude hold will just turn back off immediately. I have tried increasing deadzone to unreasonable amount, it didn't work.

But if I pull a little bit of the stick with no deadzone, altitude hold is engaged until I take my hands off the stick.

Well, harrier have to stay at hanger again until this bug get fixed.

[YoYo]

Im sure no any problem here, it works and alt holding works too very well (tested open beta).

Use proper settings of plane for this and stick position (in settings of DCS too, sometimes a larger death zone helps on joystick Axis).

Edited July 14, 2020 by YoYo

[Gazza.Blake]

I just encountered this issue.

Even if there is no input of the stick, altitude hold will just turn back off immediately. I have tried increasing deadzone to unreasonable amount, it didn't work.

But if I pull a little bit of the stick with no deadzone, altitude hold is engaged until I take my hands off the stick.

Well, harrier have to stay at hanger again until this bug get fixed.

 

I cant say there is a bug, I cant replicate it, The autopilot system is working fine for me, tried on numerous occasions under differing scenarios, no problem.

 

Open Beta 2.5.6.50979

[SouthernCross]

Yeah, my bad.

Just tried again and it was pitch angle and deadzone problem.