AIRCRAFT BRAKE / LANDING GEAR VARIABLES

The tables below indicate the properties for the Simulation Variables that can be used to get and set properties related to the brakes and landing gear 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

 

 

Brakes

Simulation Variable Description Units Settable
ANTISKID BRAKES ACTIVE True if antiskid brakes active. This can be set using the AntiSkidActive parameter. Bool
AUTOBRAKES ACTIVE Whether or not the AutoBrakes are currently active. Bool
AUTO BRAKE SWITCH CB Auto brake switch position Number
BRAKE DEPENDENT HYDRAULIC PRESSURE Brake dependent hydraulic pressure reading Pounds per square foot (psf)
BRAKE INDICATOR Brake on indication

Position

(0 to 16K)

0 = off

16K = full
BRAKE LEFT POSITION

Percent left brake.

Note that this SimVar no longer sets the right brake percent and simply triggers a brake pressure increase regardless of the value passed.

Position

(0 to 32K)

0 = off

32K = full
BRAKE LEFT POSITION EX1 Triggers a brake pressure increase on the left brake regardless of the value passed.

Position

(0 to 32K)

0 = off

32K = full
BRAKE PARKING INDICATOR Parking brake indicator Bool
BRAKE PARKING POSITION

Gets the parking brake position - either on (true) or off (false).

Bool
BRAKE RIGHT POSITION

Percent right brake.

Position

(0 to 32K)

0 = off

32K = full
BRAKE RIGHT POSITION EX1 Triggers a brake pressure increase on the right brake regardless of the value passed.

Position

(0 to 32K)

0 = off

32K = full
REJECTED TAKEOFF BRAKES ACTIVE Whether or not the rejected takeoff brakes are currently active. Bool
TOE BRAKES AVAILABLE True if toe brakes are available Bool

 

 

Contact Points

Simulation Variable Description Units Settable
CONTACT POINT COMPRESSION:index The percentage value representing the amount the contact point is compressed. Index is from 0-19. Position
CONTACT POINT IS ON GROUND:index Returns true if the indexed contact point is on the ground, or will return false otherwise. Index is from 0 - 19. Bool
CONTACT POINT IS SKIDDING:index Returns true if the indexed contact point is skidding, or will return false otherwise. Index is from 0 - 19. Bool
CONTACT POINT POSITION:index The currently extended position of the (retractable) contact point, expressed as a percentage. Index is from 0 - 19. Position
CONTACT POINT SKIDDING FACTOR:index The skidding factor associated with the indexed contact point, from 0 to 1. Index is from 0 - 19. Percent Over 100
CONTACT POINT WATER DEPTH:index This returns the depth of the water for the indexed contact point. Index is from 0 - 19. Feet (ft)

 

 

Landing Gear

These SimVars are related to the landing gear of the aircraft. Note that some of them require an index to identify the landing gear. This index value should be one of the following:

  • 0 = Center Gear
  • 1 = Left Gear
  • 2 = Right Gear
  • 3 = Auxiliary Gear
  • 4 = Left Water Rudder
  • 5 = Right Water Rudder
  • 6 = Left Float Retracted
  • 7 = Right Float Retracted
  • 8 = Left Ski Retracted
  • 9 = Right Ski Retracted
  • 10 = Center Front Skid
  • 11 = Center Rear Skid
  • 12 = Left Front Skid
  • 13 = Left Rear Skid
  • 14 = Right Front Skid
  • 15 = Right Rear Skid

 

Simulation Variable Description Units Settable
AUX WHEEL ROTATION ANGLE Aux wheel rotation angle (rotation around the axis for the wheel). Radians
AUX WHEEL RPM Rpm of fourth set of gear wheels. RPM
CENTER WHEEL ROTATION ANGLE

Center wheel rotation angle (rotation around the axis for the wheel).

NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer.

 Radians
CENTER WHEEL RPM Center landing gear rpm. RPM
GEAR ANIMATION POSITION:index Percent indexed gear animation extended. NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer. Percent
GEAR AUX POSITION Percent auxiliary gear extended. Percent Over 100
GEAR AUX STEER ANGLE Aux wheel angle, negative to the left, positive to the right. The aux wheel is the fourth set of landing gear, sometimes used on helicopters. Radians
GEAR AUX STEER ANGLE PCT Aux steer angle as a percentage. Percent Over 100
GEAR CENTER POSITION Percent center gear extended. Percent Over 100
GEAR CENTER STEER ANGLE

Center wheel angle, negative to the left, positive to the right.

NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer.

 Radians
GEAR CENTER STEER ANGLE PCT Center steer angle as a percentage. Percent Over 100
GEAR DAMAGE BY SPEED True if gear has been damaged by excessive speed. Bool
GEAR EMERGENCY HANDLE POSITION True if gear emergency handle applied. Bool
GEAR HANDLE POSITION The gear handle position, where 0 means the handle is retracted and 1 is the handle fully applied. Percent Over 100
GEAR HYDRAULIC PRESSURE Gear hydraulic pressure. Pound force per square foot (psf)
GEAR IS ON GROUND:index True if the gear is on the ground. Bool
GEAR IS SKIDDING:index True if the gear is skidding. Bool
GEAR LEFT POSITION Percent left gear extended. Percent Over 100
GEAR LEFT STEER ANGLE

Left wheel angle, negative to the left, positive to the right.

NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer.

 Radians
GEAR LEFT STEER ANGLE PCT Left steer angle as a percentage. Percent Over 100
GEAR POSITION:index

Position of landing gear.

NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer.

Enum:

  1. 0 = unknown
  2. 1 = up
  3. 2 = down
GEAR RIGHT POSITION Percent right gear extended. Percent Over 100
GEAR RIGHT STEER ANGLE

Right wheel angle, negative to the left, positive to the right.

NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer.

 Radians
GEAR RIGHT STEER ANGLE PCT Right steer angle as a percentage. Percent Over 100
GEAR SKIDDING FACTOR The gear skidding factor, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. Percent Over 100
GEAR SPEED EXCEEDED True if safe speed limit for gear exceeded. Bool
GEAR STEER ANGLE:index

Alternative method of getting the steer angle.

NOTE: This is available in multiplayer to all near aircraft. See here for more information: Note On SimVars In Multiplayer.

 Radians
GEAR STEER ANGLE PCT:index Alternative method of getting steer angle as a percentage. Percent Over 100
GEAR TAIL POSITION

Percent tail gear extended.

NOTE: This is a deprecated legacy SimVar and should not be used, as it will always return 0.

 Percent Over 100
GEAR TOTAL PCT EXTENDED Percent total gear extended. Percent
GEAR WARNING:index

Gear warnings.

Enum:

  1. 0 = None
  2. 1 = Gear Up
  3. 2 = Amphibious Gear Up
  4. 3 = Amphibious Gear Down
  5. 4 = On Ground Handle Up
GEAR WATER DEPTH The depth of the gear in the water. Centimeters
IS GEAR FLOATS True if landing gear are floats Bool
IS GEAR RETRACTABLE True if gear can be retracted Bool
IS GEAR SKIDS True if landing gear is skids Bool
IS GEAR SKIS True if landing gear is skis Bool
IS GEAR WHEELS True if landing gear is wheels Bool
LEFT WHEEL ROTATION ANGLE Left wheel rotation angle (rotation around the axis for the wheel). Radians
LEFT WHEEL RPM Left landing gear rpm RPM
NOSEWHEEL LOCK ON True if the nosewheel lock is engaged. This can be set using the NosewheelLock parameter. Bool
NOSEWHEEL MAX STEERING ANGLE Can be used to get or set the maximum permitted steering angle for the nose wheel of the aircraft. Radians
RETRACT FLOAT SWITCH True if retract float switch on

Enum:

  1. -1: Retracted
  2. 0: Neutral
  3. 1: Extended
RETRACT LEFT FLOAT EXTENDED If aircraft has retractable floats.

Percent

(0 is fully retracted, 100 is fully extended)
RETRACT RIGHT FLOAT EXTENDED If aircraft has retractable floats.

Percent

(0 is fully retracted, 100 is fully extended)
RIGHT WHEEL ROTATION ANGLE Right wheel rotation angle (rotation around the axis for the wheel). Radians
RIGHT WHEEL RPM Right landing gear rpm. RPM
STEER INPUT CONTROL Position of steering tiller. Percent Over 100
TAILWHEEL LOCK ON True if tailwheel lock applied. This can be set using the TailwheelLock parameter. Bool
WATER LEFT RUDDER EXTENDED Percent extended. Percent
WATER LEFT RUDDER STEER ANGLE Water left rudder angle, negative to the left, positive to the right. Percent Over 100
WATER LEFT RUDDER STEER ANGLE PCT Water left rudder angle as a percentage. Percent Over 100
WATER RIGHT RUDDER EXTENDED Percent extended. Percent
WATER RIGHT RUDDER STEER ANGLE Water right rudder angle, negative to the left, positive to the right. Percent Over 100
WATER RIGHT RUDDER STEER ANGLE PCT Water right rudder as a percentage. Percent Over 100
WATER RUDDER HANDLE POSITION Position of the water rudder handle (0 handle retracted, 1 rudder handle applied). Percent Over 100
WHEEL ROTATION ANGLE:index Wheel rotation angle (rotation around the axis for the wheel). Radians
WHEEL RPM:index Wheel rpm. RPM