Autopilot randomly disconnecting during flight

1st Official Post

    Hi guys, in the last few weeks i’ve been experiencing a really annoying issue and i’m trying to understand why it’s happening, as it hasn’t happened before. I normally do my flights throughout the day, meaning i’d be away from my computer while the flight happens in the background. However on multiple occasions now the autopilot has randomly disconnected itself during cruise. I live alone so no one could’ve done it, so I’m pretty sure it’s an issue with the simulator. It happens on the A320 and A350 but i’m not sure about other aircraft as I mostly fly these two only.


    Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? I’m using a joystick and airbus throttle as input devices.


    Thanks

    I am no expert (quite the opposite) but have you tried using another sim on autopilot to see if it happens? I used to fly on auto during the day using Flight Sim World and it worked fine for me but I would not have been happy if my around the continent flights were disrupted like you describe either.

    Also, maybe it might be your internet connection. The majority of issues I have had with sims over the years have been related to poor and variable internet service. Trying to play with others for example was often impossible because of crash to desktop issues.

    Quote from alphasixx

    It just happened again… Long haul flights are becoming unplayable for me


    AOB Thanks for the reply but I don’t think it’s my internet connection that’s the issue


    It is a bug that has occurred to me as well, so I believe it might be affecting all members. Sometimes, while I'm in flight, I exit to check the route and encounter this issue. I hope it will be resolved as soon as possible.

    Not affecting me on PC, and I've been doing 9+ hour long-haul flights in VR with the A350. The issue above is more than likely a USB spike. Check if you have any USB hubs or peripherals that don't need to be plugged in. You can also check your Windows event logs.


    Another thing to consider is the calibration of your controllers

    Quote from 777Driver

    Not affecting me on PC, and I've been doing 9+ hour long-haul flights in VR with the A350. The issue above is more than likely a USB spike. Check if you have any USB hubs or peripherals that don't need to be plugged in. You can also check your Windows event logs.


    Another thing to consider is the calibration of your controllers


    Hey, you are correct it seems my joystick is causing the issue, I just did a flight and waited until the issue popped up, and it did.

    Aerofly seems to have a double throttle input coming from both the Airbus throttle quadrant and also the joystick’s in-built throttle, which causes conflicting signals hence causing the AP to disconnect.

    However I can’t find a way how to stop the joystick throttle from doing this, in settings there is no way to disable the throttle axis.

    Jan maybe you can help?

    • Official Post
    Quote from alphasixx

    It just happened again… Long haul flights are becoming unplayable for me


    AOB Thanks for the reply but I don’t think it’s my internet connection that’s the issue


    Can you please send us a screenshot of the navigation menu with all the waypoints that you used? We need to be able to replicate the exact route to find the issue and fix it.

    Did you fly using the copilot (menu overlay) or the autopilot (virtual cockpit interface)?

    What control input method did you use? Device tilt, virtual analog stick on screen or controller?

    What device do you use?

    Regards,

    Jan

    Quote from Jet-Pack (IPACS)

    Can you please send us a screenshot of the navigation menu with all the waypoints that you used? We need to be able to replicate the exact route to find the issue and fix it.

    Did you fly using the copilot (menu overlay) or the autopilot (virtual cockpit interface)?

    What control input method did you use? Device tilt, virtual analog stick on screen or controller?

    What device do you use?

    Hi Jan, i’m using a Mac mini M4, using a controller (logitech 3D Pro joystick along with the thrustmaster Airbus throttle quadrant.) I’m not using any menu overlays nor the virtual autopilot, just the regular autopilot selected in the cockpit itself.

    Next time I do a flight and this happens i’ll send you the entire route so you can replicate it, unfortunately I have deleted the flight plans for the previous flights where this has happened so I can’t send you anything for now.

    Anyways, in my previous comment I believe I have found what’s causing the issue. I noticed that after a specific amount of time, the throttle in the cockpit starts twitching up and down, in assuming this happens because of colliding inputs of the throttle from both the joystick’s in-built throttle and the thrustmaster airbus throttle itself. I believe that finding a way of disabling the joystick’s in-built throttle axis will probably fix this issue, but i’m not sure how to do that

    As mentioned, I've seen this exact same problem in the past with the TH Airbus throttle; it is definitely a USB spike. I removed some USB devices from the hub, plugged the Airbus throttle directly into the PC, and the issues are now resolved. This was a few months back. Also, check that usb-c cable on the Airbus throttle, I had to swap mine a year ago.

    Quote from 777Driver

    As mentioned, I've seen this exact same problem in the past with the TH Airbus throttle; it is definitely a USB spike. I removed some USB devices from the hub, plugged the Airbus throttle directly into the PC, and the issues are now resolved. This was a few months back. Also, check that usb-c cable on the Airbus throttle, I had to swap mine a year ago.

    Will try and report back, thanks for the advice!