Steering Tiller

Introduction
The steering tiller is used to steer the aircraft while taxiing and to park. The steering tiller is located on the sidewall of the captain side. With the tiller it is much easier to control the aircraft during taxi and it is one step more in the direction of realism.

Because I do not have a shell with a side frame I build a column to place the tiller in an appropriate position. As additional value I can place the cockpit notebook on the column platform. The notebook is used for ground control (Remote AES) and to display the IVAO network situation.

Realization
I bought the B737 tiller handle from Simparts in Germany. The mechanics and the USB interface are from a racing car steering wheel (Thrustmaster Challenge 5-in-1). Works very well and was not so expensive at all. If you buy another type make sure that the steering wheel is self-centering. The electronic interface of the steering wheel acts like a joystick interface. The tiller axis calibration was done with FSUIPC (Joystick Calibration, Steering Tiller Axis). FSUIPC uses the tiller axis to drive the FS rudder when on the ground and speeds of less than 60 knots (an adjustable figure in fsuipc.ini --> MaxSteerSpeed), and the rudder in the air and on the ground above 60 KIAS. Below the changeover speed control is divided proportionally between tiller and rudder, so that, for example, at 30 knots it is half-and-half. But be careful, if the tiller is set too sensitive you might over steer and leave the rwy in a hurry. To avoid this use the possibility of FSUIPC to make the slope less steep at its beginning.

Disassabled gearbox from Thrustmaster Challenge

Calibration


Tiller axis calibration in FSUIPC


Links:
SIMPARTS: http://www.simparts.de/

Last Change: April 28, 2013