Control Geometry Overview

This is where you specify how much of the wing a control surface takes will take up. This is expressed as a fraction/ratio of the chord length at each end station of the control surface. In the image below, you can see two common aileron configurations and their respective chord ratios. The first number is the chord ratio for the inboard edge of the control surface and the 2nd number is the chord ratio for the outboard edge of the control surfaces.

You specify where along the wing the control surface is via the Wings configuration tab.

Basic Deflections

Sets 1 and 2

What is 1 & 2 and when/how are they used.

Chord Ratios

Overlapping PM Surfaces

Can surfaces overlap? In real planes they do not. Should users be concerned? why not, etc.

Special Controls

Control Deflections

Stabilators

Spoiler Deflections

Control Gaps

Speedbrake Deflections

Drag Rudders

Slat Configuration

Flap Configuration

Aileron Configuration

Flap and Slat Deploy Times

Flap Detent Settings

Johnson Bar

The Johnson bar flap handle may have one or more detents. Both the detents and flap extension / retraction times are applicable to this type of flap, depending on how you interact with the flaps in X-Plane. Users can interact with this type of flap in the following ways.

  1. Mouse/Manipulator: You can manually drag the flap lever up or down through its full range. If there are any detents, then the flaps will snap to the next lowest detent when the mouse button is released. Animate the flap lever with: sim/cockpit2/controls/flap_handle_request_ratio. The actual position of the flap is synchronized with this dataref for a Johnson Bar, since they are mechanically linked.

  2. Commands: If you quickly TAP the flap commands up/down, then the flap will go to the next detent position instantly (not terribly realistic). If; however, you hold the flap commands, then the flaps will transit to the next detent based on the times entered above and stop at that detent position (1 - 2 seconds is plausible). Once at a detent, you have to release, then hold the command again to move to the next detent in the direction of flap travel.

  3. Over Extension: This is cool! If your flaps are at the highest detent setting. Then you can press and hold the flaps down a notch command to extend the flaps to 110% of the max deflection angle. This would be akin to pulling up on the Johnson bar right at touchdown for a butter-smooth landing, using the extra bit of lever travel above the highest detent.

  4. Joystick: You can assign an axis to the flaps and move the flaps continuously. When using the joystick axis, then full range of travel will correspond to 0-110% deflection. When not physically moving the flaps with the joystick, then the flap commands will still work, but will clash with your joystick axis position. Users should not mix joystick and command control of the Johnson bar type flap, but opt for one or the other.

Dial-A-Flap

Dial-a-flap is a system found on McDonnell-Douglas aircraft that allows you to select any flap extension between up and landing for takeoff. Simply dial the selected flap extension, then set the flap handle to the “dial-a-flap” position, and the flaps will move to the pre-selected extension.

When dial-a-flap is selected in Plane Maker, one flap notch can be designated the “dial-a-flap” notch. By default, it will have a flap extension halfway between the notch above and the notch below, but the pilot can dial in the desired extension for takeoff. The desired setting is pre-selected with the dataref “sim/cockpit2/controls/flap_dial_a_flap” – then the flap lever is placed in the notch for “dial-a-flap”, and the flaps will extend to the selected setting.

Deflection Indicies

https://developer.x-plane.com/article/using-the-correct-wing-datarefs/ https://developer.x-plane.com/article/sim-flightmodel2-wing/