[BUG] Autopilot systems not functioning after MSFS update

[Teslix]

Mod Version

Latest Dev Version from Installer "built": "2020-11-24T08:08:38+00:00", "ref": "refs/heads/master", "sha": "b570de8c53cd5b52a21c81f8120bfa57d8c53830", "actor": "wpine215", "event_name": "push"

Describe the bug Multiple issues on my first flight today after downloading the FS2020 1.11.6.0 update, downloaded the latest Dev build before flying:

1. After takeoff, engaged AP but the aircraft wouldn't follow the flight plan in managed heading.
2. Set heading to manual, aircraft would not bank right to new heading (straight line).
3. Tried left heading instead, plane banked ~40 degrees to setting.

To Reproduce

1. Filed flight plan through FS2020 world map
2. Start-up, taxi, takeoff as per normal
3. Issues noticed after turning on auto pilot systems.

Expected behavior

Expected aircraft to bank right and take up the managed heading selection as per the flight plan.

Actual behavior

Aircraft maintained current heading, would not respond to a right turn in heading selection mode and banked over 40 degrees when selecting left heading instead. Flight plan indicator on the FD shows as straight line to infinity. AP will not capture.

References

N/A

Additional context

Was this working before/when did the issue start occurring? Not an issue until today's update.

Is this a problem in the vanilla unmodded game? I've repeated the same flight / flight plan without the A32NX mod, and the issue does NOT exist there.

In the first screen shot below, I've engaged the AP and the aircraft immediately banks a little to the left, when I should go right. It then maintains a straight line and immediately, the flight plan switched to a waypoint 3 down the list but doesn't track in that heading.

In the next screen shot, I've switched to heading selection mode and made a selection for a right turn, but the aircraft is not responding.

[airfirefighter]

when i turn off the flt/ctrl and let them off and then turn on the autopilot evrything is working for me . starting from cold and dark after take off just turn them off.

[fingerratte]

i turn off the flt/ctrl

Could you please explain this @airfirefighter ? I don't know what you mean to turn off.

[SuperPyroManiac]

For me, turning on the autopilot just causes the plane to immediately bank 90 degrees to the right and plummet strait to the ground. Very strange.

[intelligentvending]

For me, turning on the autopilot just causes the plane to immediately bank 90 degrees to the right and plummet strait to the ground. Very strange.

Exactly the same for me. This is issue behaves precisely the same as one I've had on numerous occasions, ever since the sim's release (including GA planes like the TBM 930). Usually restarting the sim was enough to 'fix' the issue, alas, that doesn't seem to be the case here. Can't help thinking it's an Asobo issue though, especially given the length of this thread with no progress so far :(

[vstaritz]

i turn off the flt/ctrl

Could you please explain this @airfirefighter ? I don't know what you mean to turn off.

I believe he is talking about the augmented flight control switches on the right side of the Overhead. Normally all of these are blank ( ON ) by default in FS2020 and are meant to be this way.

I am running a test flight right now. Departed PHTO from C&D in roughly 8 minutes from spawn to take off. Before take off i turned off the four FLT/CTL switches. Departed normally, straight into a left 90 turn followed by another left turn a little while later done by hand. The Flight Director arrow was behaving normally besides being stuck during the first corner but it was aligned on take off and aligned after the first corner as expected. Turned on AP after the second corner and the aircraft behaved normally. I did notice the trim wheel being very jittery. After a while reactivated the FLT/CTL buttons and the aircraft kept going normally. But a right hand turn came up and while it made it safely it was oscillating a fair bit. It's hard to tell with 100% certainty but i tried several times deviating in selected heading and aligning back on track with managed heading while deactivating each switch and it looks like having SEC3 turned OFF mitigates the oscillations or gets rid of them entirely.

[Gamma36]

Easyjetsimpilot on You Tube claims the DEV version of about 1 week ago is fine with 1.11.6.0, and he always starts cold and dark. But he updated to yesterday's DEV (24th) and the AP failed to follow the flight plan, in 1.11.6.0

From his build_info.json that works ok: { "built": "2020-11-17T00:49:32+00:00", "ref": "refs/heads/master", "sha": "7993adf777d91172b966f8b86db2d79623a95018", "actor": "wpine215", "event_name": "push" }

That narrows down to a change made about a week ago.

[jf96g]

I just found this on the fs2020 forums... It might not be a a32nx problem, but a sim bug. Here is the link so you can check out what people say.

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/any-solution-to-a320-ap-bug-yet/327231

[tstopak]

Easyjetsimpilot on You Tube claims the DEV version of about 1 week ago is fine, and he always starts cold and dark. But he updated to yesterday's DEV (24th) and the AP failed to follow the flight plan, in the latest MSFS update.

From his build_info.json that works ok: { "built": "2020-11-17T00:49:32+00:00", "ref": "refs/heads/master", "sha": "7993adf777d91172b966f8b86db2d79623a95018", "actor": "wpine215", "event_name": "push" }

That narrows down to a change made about a week ago.

Looks like commit 7993adf, so I'm going to try to find anything after that commit that might have an impact. It will be slow, but maybe testing the dev branches one by one until it breaks will be a good (albeit slow) approach to this. I haven't yet tested that the dev branch cited in the youtube video works yet, so this could all be for nothing. Will update if I find anything.

[h20genie]

Tested old dev version from 1-2 weeks ago as per Easyjetsimpilot's YouTube video. This is inconsistent with C&D takeoffs. Flight deviated from track heavily with a right turn and then leveled off continuing straight but ignoring the track on NAV. ILS deviated as if was assuming a go-around. Fly ILS by hand and landed fine.

[Xiomar33]

I have tested all day. Tried many scenarios. The only way I found out starting cold and dark and take off without nose diving to the right is to not touch the MCDU before take off. So no INIT A and B. Create a flight plan, go trough the procedures except the MCDU, start engines, taxi, take off. Flight plan is being followed lateral and vertical. After take off you can set INIT A without problems. In all other scenarios with INIT A or B will trigger the issue.

[h20genie]

I have tested all day. Tried many scenarios. The only way I found out starting cold and dark and take off without nose diving to the right is to not touch the MCDU before take off. So no INIT A and B. Create a flight plan, go trough the procedures except the MCDU, start engines, taxi, take off. Flight plan is being followed lateral and vertical. After take off you can set INIT A without problems. In all other scenarios with INIT A or B will trigger the issue.

Question - to clarify, simply just not touching the MCDU at all when starting in C&D helps? All I have been doing is making a flight plan in World Map and then setting a flex temp.

[kielyscott]

Agreed, without touching the MCDU, this works OK.

Otherwise I have the same bank left/nose dive issue when using AP with F/D stuck hard left. Turning of SEC1 seems to fix the banking but the AP wont follow NAV.

[Xiomar33]

I have tested all day. Tried many scenarios. The only way I found out starting cold and dark and take off without nose diving to the right is to not touch the MCDU before take off. So no INIT A and B. Create a flight plan, go trough the procedures except the MCDU, start engines, taxi, take off. Flight plan is being followed lateral and vertical. After take off you can set INIT A without problems. In all other scenarios with INIT A or B will trigger the issue.

Question - to clarify, simply just not touching the MCDU at all when starting in C&D helps? All I have been doing is making a flight plan in World Map and then setting a flex temp.

Yes. Don't enter anything. It's the only way I can use AP/FD after. Just use MAN TOGA for take off. But this is only my experience. But I thought it was worth mentioning.

[Xiomar33]

I have tested all day. Tried many scenarios. The only way I found out starting cold and dark and take off without nose diving to the right is to not touch the MCDU before take off. So no INIT A and B. Create a flight plan, go trough the procedures except the MCDU, start engines, taxi, take off. Flight plan is being followed lateral and vertical. After take off you can set INIT A without problems. In all other scenarios with INIT A or B will trigger the issue.

Hi buddy, for the information input on the PERF when we take the ATIS is not advisable at the moment?

To keep it manageable for the devs please ask questions on the discord server https://discord.gg/flybywire . Use the #help channel.

[vstaritz]

So i've done multiple tests. My first flight after the update using #2068 11/20 1850 was a fail as i said in my first post it did the left bank turn into the ground and didn't follow the plan at all. I've tried two more flights with that version while playing with the FLT/CTL buttons and the aircraft seemed to behave normally when taking off with them off and SEC3 seemed to cause oscillations when taking corners

Now i've tried two flights with the vanilla 320 one with normal FLT/CTL and it worked fine, albeit slow to turn it seemed to behave. The other flight with FLT/CTL off was pretty much exactly the same.

I then download the latest dev branch #2098 Both attempts with and without FLT/CTL enabled failed and NAV, HDG did not work and i was stuck in a slow bank.

I tried the #2068 build again with all mods off and it worked perfectly fine with FLT/CTL switches on normal. It did still oscillate in some corners which SEC3 OFF seemed to mitigate. So honestly this is quite confusing. The only difference i can think of between this last run and the first one i did that failed using this build is that i'm in Tucson instead of KLAX and i have removed liveries and all other mods such as the WorkingTitle garmin expansions. But it behaved the same way with these mods in Hawaii when i first tried the FLT/CTL fix.

All attempts doing the same departure from C&D

[Tibu73]

Mod Version

Latest Dev Version from Installer "built": "2020-11-24T08:08:38+00:00", "ref": "refs/heads/master", "sha": "b570de8c53cd5b52a21c81f8120bfa57d8c53830", "actor": "wpine215", "event_name": "push"

Describe the bug Multiple issues on my first flight today after downloading the FS2020 1.11.6.0 update, downloaded the latest Dev build before flying:

1. After takeoff, engaged AP but the aircraft wouldn't follow the flight plan in managed heading.
2. Set heading to manual, aircraft would not bank right to new heading (straight line).
3. Tried left heading instead, plane banked ~40 degrees to setting.

To Reproduce

1. Filed flight plan through FS2020 world map
2. Start-up, taxi, takeoff as per normal
3. Issues noticed after turning on auto pilot systems.

Expected behavior

Expected aircraft to bank right and take up the managed heading selection as per the flight plan.

Actual behavior

Aircraft maintained current heading, would not respond to a right turn in heading selection mode and banked over 40 degrees when selecting left heading instead. Flight plan indicator on the FD shows as straight line to infinity. AP will not capture.

References

N/A

Additional context

Was this working before/when did the issue start occurring? Not an issue until today's update.

Is this a problem in the vanilla unmodded game? I've repeated the same flight / flight plan without the A32NX mod, and the issue does NOT exist there.

In the first screen shot below, I've engaged the AP and the aircraft immediately banks a little to the left, when I should go right. It then maintains a straight line and immediately, the flight plan switched to a waypoint 3 down the list but doesn't track in that heading.

In the next screen shot, I've switched to heading selection mode and made a selection for a right turn, but the aircraft is not responding.

I removed the.mod from the comunitat folder and the issue still ocurs with default a320. Update 1.11.27 killed the aircraft.

[Tibu73]

11.11.24 update sorry.

[Tibu73]

I just found this on the fs2020 forums... It might not be a a32nx problem, but a sim bug. Here is the link so you can check out what people say.

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/any-solution-to-a320-ap-bug-yet/327231

Confirmed, i troy with and without the mos and the issue persist in default a320.

[kielyscott]

Potentially related to USB device mapping again. Second time that’s caused issues now if I’m right. Clearing my mapping and reseating my hotas when on the stand seems to resolve it

[kielyscott]

I think it's safe to say this is looking more like a vanilla bug than a FBW one. The Asobo forums are full of threads about it.

[luke-stec]

Can confirm like @kielyscott said. Was having the same AP issue as described above, reset mapping and set dead zones and it works as it should from C&D.

[collinbrady]

Potentially related to USB device mapping again. Second time that’s caused issues now if I’m right. Clearing my mapping and reseating my hotas when on the stand seems to resolve it

The entire AP not following your flight plan is related to peripherals? What do you mean??

[kielyscott]

Potentially related to USB device mapping again. Second time that’s caused issues now if I’m right. Clearing my mapping and reseating my hotas when on the stand seems to resolve it

The entire AP not following your flight plan is related to peripherals? What do you mean??

It seems that something, somewhere is misreading joystick input. You can see this in my screenshot where the flight director is stuck to the left hand side of the PFD. If I enable AP it'll flight straight however the second I attempt I correct my course, the plane hard banks left.

If I reseat my HOTAS before start up and clear my mapping, the problem goes away. If I load up the exact same flight again without doing that, I see the issue.

I'm not saying the mapping is to blame, but clearly the issue lies around usb input configuration as that is the only viable difference in all of my control tests.

[Benjozork]

This seems to be three different issues:

1. FD banks extremely hard in one direction and barely enough in the other (most common)
2. AP does not follow flight plan at all (rarer)
3. Autothrust and/or managed speed seem wonky (rarest)

1&2 could be resolved by reloading the aircraft mid-air (although that sometimes does not solve 1) 2 could be resolved by reloading the MCDU using devkit 3 is still unclear

[kielyscott]

This seems to be three different issues:

1. FD banks extremely hard in one direction and barely enough in the other (most common)

2. AP does not follow flight plan at all (rarer)

3. Autothrust and/or managed speed seem wonky (rarest)

1&2 could be resolved by reloading the aircraft mid-air (although that sometimes does not solve 1)

2 could be resolved by reloading the MCDU using devkit

3 is still unclear

Yep. Seems right.

The FD being stuck to the right also appears to be a symptom of 1. Or vice versa.

I would still argue this appears to be a vanilla issue though. Happens to me without the mod and a fair few others according to Asobo Zendesk.

[Teslix]

Just finished a test flight with a dev in discord:

Flight completed. From C&D, nothing put into Init B, AP problems persist (latest dev update "built": "2020-11-25T18:46:03+00:00", "ref": "refs/heads/master", "sha": "5b0a8f2b7fa725ab7427e8092a74f1610a8c8d3a", "actor": "wpine215", "event_name": "push").

Issues include ~3-4 degree bank to the left when AP engaged, not tracking flight plan. Turned off AP and manually banked 5 deg right. AP selected and returned to ~3 degree left bank constant. Heading selector mode causes aircraft to bank in right direction, but will not stop at selected heading.

Enabling developer mode in game and reloading the aircraft mid-flight corrected all issues, with NAV heading and selected heading mode both working perfectly. Performed ILS landing with no issues and tracking fine. No altitude capture or autothrust issues noticed in either phase (before or after resetting the aircraft in flight).

[ischmal]

If I reseat my HOTAS before start up and clear my mapping, the problem goes away. If I load up the exact same flight again without doing that, I see the issue.

By reseating and remapping, do you mean unplugging and reconnecting the hardware, then manually removing all binds in-game then re-binding them before each flight?

[vstaritz]

I hit reset on the keyboard mappings, deleted flight control related binds and rebound my numpad for custom cameras as before. Didn't touch my stick or gamepad binds only toyed with sensitivities a little bit. Took off from C&D at gate using the latest build. Didn't see anything abnormal, tried a few selected turns and managed switches left and right. No problems. SEC3 OFF still seems to make the turns smoother.

[airfirefighter]

i turn off the flt/ctrl

Could you please explain this @airfirefighter ? I don't know what you mean to turn off.

elac1 sec1 fac1 off, guys its working.....i have also a lot of videos of that... https://streamable.com/7bnq99 i would like to add that i have change ADIRS alignment time in fast

[MichaelE919]

@airfirefighter When do you turn them off? Anytime during cold and dark setup? Just before takeoff? Immediately after takeoff? And have you tried turning them back on after taking off and getting established on your course?

[pareil6]

Two more data points - as an experiment, I tried spawning on a runway, taxiing back to a gate, killing the engines (but otherwise leaving the plane configured) and restarting, and after TO the same AP bug appeared (FD immediately directed a turn to the left despite being on course).

Enabling developer mode in game and reloading the aircraft mid-flight corrected all issues, with NAV heading and selected heading mode both working perfectly. Performed ILS landing with no issues and tracking fine. No altitude capture or autothrust issues noticed in either phase (before or after resetting the aircraft in flight).

I also tried reloading the plane from dev mode once in the air and it fixed the issues, with the plane immediately straightening up onto the flight planned route.

[airfirefighter]

@airfirefighter When do you turn them off? Anytime during cold and dark setup? Just before takeoff? Immediately after takeoff? And have you tried turning them back on after taking off and getting established on your course?

i start from cold and dark i established on course first i turn them off and i turn on the AP

[Relox5]

By the way, i immediately had the ap banking left issue, removed mod, and with vanilla the ap was working if starting from the runway.

[Gamma36]

Excellent work guys.

I use Save/Load FLT a lot on long haul. Load was poor back in September, I reported in Zendesk and attached. FLT files.

Now loading is good, but AP and FD need enabling. After trimming for wind the AP and A/T work correctly.

So we have anecdotal evidence that: 1 Loading FLT files 2 Reloading plane via dev menu 3 Spawning at a runway

all initialise the sim 'correctly'.

As a retired developer I can imagine a missing call to init_fms() somewhere in the C&D workflow.

Also I suggest we encourage saving .FLT files, giving a repeatable setting of sim initial conditions. Look at them with Notepad++

[Relox5]

Ok new update. Got and older dev version, started cold and dark from gate, ap yellow number were not displaying even with max lightning, reloaded via dev mode, takeoff and now ap works like a charm.

{ "built": "2020-11-17T00:49:32+00:00", "ref": "refs/heads/master", "sha": "7993adf777d91172b966f8b86db2d79623a95018", "actor": "wpine215", "event_name": "push" }

[ischmal]

So, removing all community addons with the exception of A32NX's latest dev build has resolved the severe banking issue for me. (For reference, I had Navigraph, the liveries "megapack," and a handful of airports. But, obviously, no idea what the actual culprit was right now.)

With that managed, I am now subsequently seeing the gradual course deviation that Benjozork listed as problem no. 2.

[dc1ps2]

Today, I will also try to remove all the files of the Community (including A32NX), and install only the A32NX package, and repeat the comparison to find out which block is wrong. This remains to be clarified. Thanks again to the flybywiresim team for the most outstanding work

[dcherrie]

Here is a screen recording with the latest Developer version at the time of this post. No matter what the plane wants to go into a 45 degree plus bank to the left when enabling autopilot in managed or selected heading mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAFOA3aQul0&feature=youtu.be

[Relox5]

Update 2. Now with new dev version even if i do the save reload procedure on ground, after takeoff the ap bank hard rigt, until another reload of the plane. I tried already with the deadzone and remap.

{ "built": "2020-11-26T02:30:05+00:00", "ref": "", "sha": "", "actor": "devsnek me@gus.host", "event_name": "manual" }

[ntlgr]

Why don't we all hold fire as there are clearly still issues and let the devs investigate. Pls remember they do it from their own time. We all need an updated build or a confirmed procedure to follow.... endless reports of the same problems don't help.

[Relox5]

I had a different problem with a new version , i thaught this could help the dev. Now until there is a new version there is no need for updates

[ischmal]

Why don't we all hold fire as there are clearly still issues and let the devs investigate. Pls remember they do it from their own time. We all need an updated build or a confirmed procedure to follow.... endless reports of the same problems don't help.

I'm not sure I understand this reasoning. Perhaps I am wrong, but isn't this an issue thread dedicated to the discussion of the issue? From my perspective, the more people that can post their own personal experiences, the quicker we can find patterns that lead to a solution.

[javaflans]

After comparative testing, it is found that there are same problems with autonomous driving regardless of whether the A32NX kit is installed or not. After taking off, it will reach a certain altitude and turn on the AP (autopilot) and it will start to hover to the left, at an angle of about 10 degrees

[thenicholashenry]

A reproduce is to centre yoke/sidestick fully before AP engagement and ensure the plane is not banking and have the plane turn itself on magenta.

[dc1ps2]

After comparative testing, it is found that there are same problems with autonomous driving regardless of whether the A32NX kit is installed or not. After taking off, it will reach a certain altitude and turn on the AP (autopilot) and it will start to hover to the left, at an angle of about 10 degrees

Just tested the latest version { "built": "2020-11-26T02:30:05+00:00", "ref": "", "sha": "", "actor": "devsnek me@gus.host", "event_name": "manual" }

Autopilot is functioning normally, but it is slightly offset, just like the picture above, but after passing a waypoint, he returns to the center. Thanks to the FlyByWire team for their hard work, I enjoy it very much.

---------------------------------------------------- split line --------------------------------------------------

I just tried two possibilities to find out what is more likely to go wrong:

Type A: It is to directly generate SIM on the runway, start from YSSY-34L, and take off directly in the warm state, and retract the wheel after the ground is off. After turning on the auto pilot, the aircraft will turn very smoothly, and the turning angle is not large, and The speed is well controlled, and the aircraft is flying on the route correctly.

The picture below is the inclination of Type A turning.

Type B: Generated from the dark cabin at the boarding gate, through the dark cabin boot procedure, and pushed back and taxied to runway 34L, continue to get off the ground according to the example A above, and turn on the auto pilot. At this time, the aircraft will be at a large angle Turning to the left and causing a severe drop in altitude, and even a major warning sound, the auto pilot must be cancelled and manually corrected, and then restarted to improve the auto pilot. But even so, the aircraft will not fly stably on the sidewalk, but Will fly to the left parallel to the course

The picture below shows Type B that can see the excessive inclination when turning, and it is parallel to the left of the course.

I don't know what is the difference between the two? Why is there such a difference in the same procedure when the dark cabin is activated?

[PM3Delta]

Also did some testing (on latest patch), all out of EDDF on the CIND2S SID, confirming the above mentioned problems. a) Using 0.4.1 : Continues left turn, leading to death roll. b) w/o 32nx: Track offset for vanilla A320 (cross-check TBM930 tracks fine in comparison). c) Master Build from today: Track off set as vanilla A320, but left turn is fixed.

Joystick/Hotas: all perfectly centered. Actually when disengaging AP, aircraft flys stably.

All take-offs were hot starts.

Also look at wind. Almost seems as if wind pushes the aircraft off-track without AP compensating for it. It seems that in general, also for other aircraft, Asobo has turned down the Gain (P) without increasing the Integral (I) term of the AP in a futile attempt to reduce the previous oscillation problem - but this is just a guess.

Thanks a lot to you guys... pls. take your time. I really appreciate your efforts - without them I would have given up on MS2020 by now.

[aminhusni]

I am using the latest STABLE build of A32NX with MSFS build 1.11.6.0

Started from cold and dark. (Starting from runway seems fine on previous tests I did) Autopilot just randomly steers to one side. MDCU is okay. MDCU detects the current waypoint and moves along with the waypoint. FD just refused to follow the flightpath. Changing to Heading mode does not work. Same behaviour as FD turned on. Managed speed seems to be fine.

[Gamma36]

FD just refused to follow the flightpath

Save and upload a .FLT file please, I'll test it on my system (latest Dev* and 1.11.6.0)

You have a slight wind from Port side, which could be why you are roughly 0.5nm right of flight path. Without seeing the next waypoints we don't know if the FMS is taking a more efficient route - it might be flying the great circle line.

I've noticed it can take a long time to remove the cross-track error at cruise.

cheers

* { "built": "2020-11-26T02:30:05+00:00", "ref": "", "sha": "", "actor": "devsnek me@gus.host", "event_name": "manual" }

[felixalmont09]

FD just refused to follow the flightpath

Save and upload a .FLT file please, I'll test it on my system (latest Dev* and 1.11.6.0)

You have a slight wind from Port side, which could be why you are roughly 0.5nm right of flight path. Without seeing the next waypoints we don't know if the FMS is taking a more efficient route - it might be flying the great circle line.

I've noticed it can take a long time to remove the cross-track error at cruise.

cheers

{ "built": "2020-11-26T02:30:05+00:00", "ref": "", "sha": "", "actor": "devsnek me@gus.host", "event_name": "manual" }

5kts crosswind doest take you off course. Before you had 120kts crosswind at 370 for example and it'll follow the flp. This is an AP issue after the last update.

[PM3Delta]

So now a COLD START - that is the problem ! (Again, as above same .pln loaded out of EDDF on the CIND2S, RWY180 with latest A32nx master-built from today).

Although IRS was properly aligned and all pre-take off check are ok.

The FD points simply in a continues left turn. Even when hand flying the aircraft nicely on track. As soon as AP gets engaged the left turning starts and bank becomes steeper and steeper until overspeed warning. (I did not cross-check if the vanilla A320, when cold started also has the same problem).