AIRCRAFT CONTROL VARIABLES
The tables below indicate the properties for the Simulation Variables that can be used to get and set properties related to the various aircraft control systems. For information on the units listed for each variable, please see here: Simulation Variable Units
NOTE: When Microsoft Flight Simulator is running in multiplayer mode, only a small number of variables are communicated between aircraft. Those variables that are available will say so in the description as being either for "All Aircraft" or for "Shared Cockpit".
You can find a complete index of all available SimVars here: SimVar Index
Ailerons
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
AILERON AVERAGE DEFLECTION |
Angle deflection for the aileron. | Radians | |
AILERON LEFT DEFLECTION |
Angle deflection for the aileron. | Radians | |
AILERON LEFT DEFLECTION PCT |
Percent deflection for the aileron. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
AILERON POSITION |
Percent aileron input left/right. |
Position (-16K to 0) -16K = full left |
|
AILERON RIGHT DEFLECTION |
Angle deflection. | Radians | |
AILERON RIGHT DEFLECTION PCT |
Percent deflection. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
AILERON TRIM |
Angle deflection. | Radians | |
AILERON TRIM DISABLED |
Whether or not the Aileron Trim has been disabled. | Bool | |
AILERON TRIM PCT |
The trim position of the ailerons. Zero is fully retracted. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 |
Elevator
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
ELEVATOR DEFLECTION |
Angle deflection. | Radians | |
ELEVATOR DEFLECTION PCT |
Percent deflection. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
ELEVATOR POSITION |
Percent elevator input deflection. |
Position (-16K to 0) -16K = full down |
|
ELEVATOR TRIM DISABLED |
Whether or not the Elevator Trim has been disabled. | Bool | |
ELEVATOR TRIM DOWN LIMIT |
Returns the maximum elevator trim value. This corresponds to the elevator_trim_down_limit in the Flight Model Config file. |
Degrees | |
ELEVATOR TRIM INDICATOR |
Percent elevator trim (for indication). |
Position (-16K to 0) -16K = full down |
|
ELEVATOR TRIM NEUTRAL |
Elevator trim neutral. |
Radians |
|
ELEVATOR TRIM PCT |
Percent elevator trim. | Percent Over 100 | |
ELEVATOR TRIM POSITION |
Elevator trim deflection. | Radians | |
ELEVATOR TRIM UP LIMIT |
Returns the maximum elevator trim value. This corresponds to the elevator_trim_up_limit in the Flight Model Config file. |
Degrees | |
ELEVON DEFLECTION |
Elevon deflection. | Radians |
Flaps
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
FLAP DAMAGE BY SPEED |
True if flaps are damaged by excessive speed. | Bool | |
FLAP POSITION SET |
Set the position of the flaps control. | Position | |
FLAP SPEED EXCEEDED |
True if safe speed limit for flaps exceeded. | Bool | |
FLAPS AVAILABLE |
True if flaps available. | Bool | |
FLAPS EFFECTIVE HANDLE INDEX:index |
This returns the effective flaps handle index, after some of the conditions have potentially forced the state to change. | Number | |
FLAPS HANDLE INDEX:index |
Index of current flap position. | Number | |
FLAPS HANDLE PERCENT |
Percent flap handle extended. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
FLAPS NUM HANDLE POSITIONS |
Number of available flap positions. | Number | |
LEADING EDGE FLAPS LEFT ANGLE |
Angle left leading edge flap extended. Use LEADING_EDGE_FLAPS_LEFT_PERCENT to set a value. |
Radians | |
LEADING EDGE FLAPS LEFT INDEX |
Index of left leading edge flap position. | Number | |
LEADING EDGE FLAPS LEFT PERCENT |
Percent left leading edge flap extended. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
LEADING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT ANGLE |
Angle right leading edge flap extended. Use LEADING_EDGE_FLAPS_RIGHT_PERCENT to set a value. |
Radians | |
LEADING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT INDEX |
Index of right leading edge flap position. | Number | |
LEADING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT PERCENT |
Percent right leading edge flap extended. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
TRAILING EDGE FLAPS LEFT ANGLE |
Angle left trailing edge flap extended. Use TRAILING_EDGE_FLAPS_LEFT_PERCENT to set a value. |
Radians | |
TRAILING EDGE FLAPS LEFT INDEX |
Index of left trailing edge flap position. | Number | |
TRAILING EDGE FLAPS LEFT PERCENT |
Percent left trailing edge flap extended. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
TRAILING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT ANGLE |
Angle right trailing edge flap extended. Use TRAILING_EDGE_FLAPS_RIGHT_PERCENT to set a value. |
Radians | |
TRAILING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT INDEX |
Index of right trailing edge flap position. | Number | |
TRAILING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT PERCENT |
Percent right trailing edge flap extended. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 |
Fly By Wire
Folding Wings
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
FOLDING WING HANDLE POSITION |
True if the folding wing handle is engaged. | Bool | |
FOLDING WING LEFT PERCENT |
Left folding wing position, 1.0 is fully folded. | Percent Over 100 | |
FOLDING WING RIGHT PERCENT |
Right folding wing position, 1.0 is fully folded. | Percent Over 100 |
Rudder
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
RUDDER DEFLECTION |
Angle deflection. | Radians | |
RUDDER DEFLECTION PCT |
Percent deflection. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
Percent Over 100 | |
RUDDER PEDAL INDICATOR |
Rudder pedal position. | Position | |
RUDDER PEDAL POSITION |
Percent rudder pedal deflection (for animation). |
Position (-16K to 0) -16K = left pedal pushed full in |
|
RUDDER POSITION |
Percent rudder input deflection. |
Position (-16K to 0) -16K = full left |
|
RUDDER TRIM |
Angle deflection. | Radians | |
RUDDER TRIM DISABLED |
Whether or not the Rudder Trim has been disabled. | Bool | |
RUDDER TRIM PCT |
The trim position of the rudder. Zero is no trim. | Percent Over 100 |
Spoilers
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable | |
---|---|---|---|---|
SPOILERS ARMED |
Checks if autospoilers are armed (true) or not (false). | Bool | ||
SPOILER AVAILABLE |
True if spoiler system available. | Bool | ||
SPOILERS HANDLE POSITION |
Spoiler handle position. |
or Position (16K = down, 0 = up) |
||
SPOILERS LEFT POSITION |
Percent left spoiler deflected. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
or Position (0 = retracted, 16K fully extended) |
||
SPOILERS RIGHT POSITION |
Percent right spoiler deflected. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. |
or Position (0 = retracted, 16K fully extended) |
Carrier Operations
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
BLAST SHIELD POSITION:index |
Indexed from 1, 100 is fully deployed, 0 flat on deck | Percent Over 100 | |
CABLE CAUGHT BY TAILHOOK:index |
A number 1 through 4 for the cable number caught by the tailhook. Cable 1 is the one closest to the stern of the carrier. A value of 0 indicates no cable was caught. | Number | |
CATAPULT STROKE POSITION:index |
Catapults are indexed from 1. This value will be 0 before the catapult fires, and then up to 100 as the aircraft is propelled down the catapult. The aircraft may takeoff before the value reaches 100 (depending on the aircraft weight, power applied, and other factors), in which case this value will not be further updated. This value could be used to drive a bogie animation. | Number | |
HOLDBACK BAR INSTALLED |
Holdback bars allow build up of thrust before takeoff from a catapult, and are installed by the deck crew of an aircraft carrier. | Bool | |
LAUNCHBAR HELD EXTENDED |
This will be True if the launchbar is fully extended, and can be used, for example, to change the color of an instrument light. | Bool | |
LAUNCHBAR POSITION |
Installed on aircraft before takeoff from a carrier catapult. Note that gear cannot retract with this extended. 100 = fully extended. | Percent Over 100 | |
LAUNCHBAR SWITCH |
If this is set to True the launch bar switch has been engaged. | Bool | |
NUMBER OF CATAPULTS |
Maximum of 4. A model can contain more than 4 catapults, but only the first four will be read and recognized by the simulation. | Number |
Concorde
Simulation Variable | Description | Units | Settable |
---|---|---|---|
CONCORDE NOSE ANGLE |
The nose angle, where 0 is fully up. | Radians | |
CONCORDE VISOR NOSE HANDLE |
The visor nose handle position. |
Enum:
|
|
CONCORDE VISOR POSITION PERCENT |
The visor position expressed as a percentage where 0.0 = up and 1.0 = extended/down. |
Percent Over 100 |