Understanding autopilot and FTR

Hello everyone
I have the Plus version, and although it supports joysticks without centering springs, I don't fully understand how to use it. I think I understand from the forum comments and documentation that it seems to refer more to controllers with force feedback when referring to a non-centering joystick. In my case, I specifically have some Pro Flight Trainer Puma controllers. These don't have a return spring; they simply stay in the position you left them (pedals, cyclic, and collective). Generally, what I do to change attitude is press the FTR button, move the stick to the new position, and release the button there. But despite this, sometimes I don't see that it works correctly. Is there a video explaining how to use FTR with the autopilot for this type of joystick? Or an explanation on how to do it correctly?
Thanks

Unfortunately, there's no video.

But what hat are we talking about? Flying with or without autopilot?

Without autopilot, FTR has no function at all with a non-centering joystick. Your stick is already positioned where you need it anyway. 

With autopilot, there are several points to consider:

• At speeds below 30 kt, you are in follow-up mode. FTR has no function there (with all stick types).
• In all upper modes, FTR also has no function (with all stick types).
• In A.TRIM mode, releasing FTR sets the attitude reference exactly to the current attitude. However, if the servos are saturated, they will not be able to maintain this attitude. You then have to carefully move the stick until the servos have sufficient degrees of freedom again. Small yellow triangles above and below the vertical mode indicator indicate which direction the stick needs to be moved. Note that the vertical mode indicator for A.TRIM contains no text. It only displays a green box for a few seconds after activation; otherwise, the field is empty.

Thanks for your explanation. Now I think I understand the subject better. I'll try it this evening.

The issue is that FTR should work even in Follow-up mode. Right now it's not and you need to fight against the trim and make huge movements. It looks like the force trim is always centered and not following the stick position. Here's a video : mega.nz/file/L1VRnZqL#-udHHMfjWDOlGl4Ad5...bwTURC2xKi_XOIaf4r3c

Other issues I've found with 5.30 :
- When adding or removing equipment (avitab, skids, lights...) : 2*GTN750 HOME commands are sent by your plugin about 20secs later (this has been previously reported)
- Parts of pilot side "ARC" view of the ND is tied to AVIONIC 1 BUS instead of 2 (when switching off AVIONIC 1 some parts of the ND in ARC view are hidden)
- Engine PID controllers are way too sensitive : Acceleration from IDLE happens too fast, from Flight to IDLE the NR drops too much, abrupt changes when High NR engages or disengages. (this has been reported on the german forum but here's a video : mega.nz/file/ytMzFTRL#l-JZEooYjZW2jkBqIE...HSxs3Sos4WB3LIpJMHJg )

Otherwise this 5.3 update is awesome ! It brings a lot of nice additions and details If you need anything else (videos, logs, beta version to try) do not hesitate. We can chat on discord if it's easier than this forum. Have a great day !

Misinformation doesn't become any more correct by being presented with conviction.

What you see in the video aren't noisy inputs; here, the autopilot is simply doing its job, providing the inputs that the pilot would otherwise have to provide himself to maintain attitude. This is exactly the desired behavior.

It's also not true that the FTR button has to work in follow-up mode. The opposite is true. In follow-up mode, the reference is set automatically if the stick is held stable in position for a moment. An FTR function would not only be pointless but potentially counterproductive. In the real aircraft, FTR has no function in follow-up mode either.

Real2Sim schrieb: - When adding or removing equipment (avitab, skids, lights...) : 2*GTN750 HOME commands are sent by your plugin about 20secs later (this has been previously reported)

We've already discussed this topic. It is and remains operator error.

Real2Sim schrieb: - Parts of pilot side "ARC" view of the ND is tied to AVIONIC 1 BUS instead of 2 (when switching off AVIONIC 1 some parts of the ND in ARC view are hidden)

I don't know of any ARC mode. But regardless, you can certainly cause display elements to disappear by fiddling with X-Plane's internal data refs instead of using the switches provided in the cockpit. That also falls under the category of improper use.

So much for that. Now, back to the topic of this thread, please.