Tuning guide

Build a stable aircraft profile from the outside in. Set the device's physical envelope first, establish the aircraft's primary control feel, add mechanical character, then bring in each operational cue with a repeatable flight test.

How the tuning layers fit together

Four layers shape the final result. Tune them in this order because an error in an outer layer changes every layer beneath it.

1. 1. Hardware physical envelope. Pitch and roll limits bound steady axis output. Vibration & detail independently bounds periodic and transient cues; it follows the lower axis limit only until you set it. These device settings remain separate from aircraft-profile gains.
2. 2. Profile level. Master gain scales the complete profile together, preserving the balance between spring, sustained loads, vibrations, and one-shot cues.
3. 3. Aircraft model. Control system selects the basic relationship between the pilot, the controls, aerodynamic loading, and the aircraft.
4. 4. Individual cues. Forces, trim, stick feel, aircraft control feel, effect gains, and advanced controls refine specific sensations after the first three layers are stable.

Before you touch a slider

Secure the base, verify pitch and roll direction in Flight Check, set a conservative Hardware ceiling, and duplicate the closest built-in starter. Tune the copy with the same aircraft, loading, weather, and simulator condition each time.

1. Before changing an aircraft profile, verify physical pitch and roll direction. Correct reversed output once under Hardware instead of compensating in every profile.
2. Default pitch / roll ceilings are 100% / 100% for legacy consumer SideWinder and Logitech sticks, 35% / 35% for known high-force sticks, 35% / 50% for MOZA AY90 and AY210 yokes, and 20% / 20% for eligible unlisted joysticks. These percentages limit the commanded output. Start at the assigned limits and lower them for your mounting and comfort.
3. Load the closest built-in starter, duplicate it, and give the copy a name that includes the aircraft and hardware. Keep the starter unchanged as a known reference.
4. Choose one loading, weather preset, runway, and test route. Use the same simulator state for every comparison so the slider remains the only intentional variable.

Flight Check · Hardware → Calibration

Use one repeatable test loop

Use the same five-part loop for every group. It separates a real improvement from a different aircraft state or a momentary impression.

1. Observe the baseline. Fly the chosen condition once and describe the problem in plain terms: too heavy, too light, abrupt, delayed, noisy, missing, or tiring.
2. Change one control. Use a 2-5 percentage-point step for a gain, or one small step for a speed, curve, or onset control.
3. Repeat the same manoeuvre at the same speed and configuration. Avoid judging a cruise adjustment during a different approach or turbulence state.
4. Watch the matching Dashboard channel. Activity proves the force model requested the cue; it does not prove the device produced a useful physical effect. Judge the channel and the control together.
5. Keep, refine, or revert the change before touching another group. Write a short note when the result depends on a particular aircraft variant or hardware setup.

Stage 1 — Master gain

Confirm the Hardware ceiling once, then begin with the built-in profile's Master gain. Hardware limits cap the device, Master gain scales the complete aircraft profile, and Max output force caps sustained pitch or roll loading inside that profile. Fly a normal circuit and adjust Master gain first.

• When the spring, sustained loads, and effects all feel too strong, lower Master gain. The relative mix stays intact.
• When ordinary cues feel balanced but a strong pitch or roll input hits a hard wall, lower Max output force for the affected profile. Recheck both axes at high deflection.
• Continue when you can taxi and fly one circuit comfortably, the control retains usable travel, and smaller cues remain distinct.

Control system

Control system is a page-level card after Advanced controls. Manual, Hydraulic boosted, Fly-by-wire, and Rotorcraft select different force-model behavior and determine which groups are relevant.

• Manual Use for cable, pushrod, or other reversible controls. Airspeed and control deflection create direct aerodynamic loading, and trim relieves the held load.
• Hydraulic-boosted Use for powered controls with artificial feel or reduced hinge-force feedback. The model keeps centring while softening transmitted aerodynamic load.
• Fly-by-wire Use for an isolated side-stick with fixed artificial feel. The profile suppresses control-loading relationships and device cues that the real side-stick would never transmit.
• Rotorcraft Use for cyclic control. This activates cyclic damping, force-trim behavior, and rotorcraft-specific effects while removing fixed-wing assumptions.

Choose from the aircraft's real control architecture before judging strength. A slider adjustment cannot correct the force relationships produced by the wrong control system.

Forces

Stage 2 — Centring spring (Forces card)

Fly straight and level at cruise, release the control lightly, and observe one return to centre. Adjust Spring strength for a steady, confident return. Use Spring deadband only for centre chatter or excessive loose play. Use Low-speed spring floor to set ramp and taxi firmness, then recheck approach speed.

Stage 4 — Aerodynamic loading (Forces card)

Hold a small pitch input and a small roll input at approach, cruise, and a higher safe speed. Tune Elevator load and Aileron load independently. Use Overall aerodynamic load for their shared level, Cruise reference for where designed loading arrives, Airspeed curve for how sharply it builds, and Max output force for the steady-force ceiling.

Fixed-wing trim and stick feel

Stabilize the simulated aircraft at a constant speed, hold the required pitch pressure and trim normally. Adjust Elevator strength to evaluate pressure relief. Use Aileron strength only where roll trim is available. A neutral-centred column can be correct for hydraulic and fly-by-wire profiles. For compatible AY90/AY210 MSFS 2024 or X-Plane 12.2 native trim, assess pressure relief and aircraft response; custom add-ons may behave differently.

Damping, friction, inertia and progressive stops

Aircraft control feel adds device-local mechanical character to the selected aircraft profile. Tune it in a repeatable live-flight condition after spring, aerodynamic loading, and trim are stable. Add one coefficient at a time and test pitch and roll separately.

• Damping opposes physical control movement, with stronger resistance at faster motion. Start low. Raise one axis until overshoot settles, then stop before quick corrections feel delayed.
• Friction adds resistance when you start or continue moving the control. Move slowly through full travel and several reversals. Reduce it when breakout feels sticky, uneven, or tiring.
• Inertia adds resistance to changes in control movement. Use small values to add a sense of control mass. Reduce it when direction changes feel reluctant or disconnected.
• Progressive stops add increasing resistance near the selected travel boundary. Set the onset near the real usable travel limit, then add enough strength to create a progressive wall without a kick.

Hardware owns pitch, roll and vibration limits, damping calibration and the Base resistance minimums used while armed. Tuning owns the aircraft’s damping, friction, inertia, progressive stops, input mode, Follow and other effects. A profile can add resistance above the armed minimums. Disarm restores the captured base configuration.

See the MOZA family overview

Effect gains

Add operational cues only after primary control feel and passive mechanics are stable. Test each family in a flight condition that activates it, and watch the matching Dashboard channel while adjusting.

1. Ground: taxi at 10-20 kt on pavement, cross a rough surface, brake gently, create one deliberate hard stop, and complete a takeoff roll. Tune runway rumble, gear bumps, brake shudder, nosewheel shimmy, and ground acceleration so each event remains identifiable.
2. Slow flight: approach the stall progressively at a safe altitude. Set aerodynamic stall buffet first. Add stick shaker only for an aircraft that has a physical shaker, and verify that the cue begins at the aircraft's warning state.
3. Configuration: cycle the gear once and move through every flap detent. Separate the handle step, real surface movement, surface arrival, sustained buffet, and sustained drag. Each cue should occur at its own event and remain brief or continuous as designed.
4. Power: compare idle, a stabilized cruise setting, and takeoff power. Engine rumble should follow the running engines and power state. Propwash pitch belongs only on aircraft whose elevator feel changes with propeller slipstream.
5. Approach and landing: fly the full landing configuration, use spoilers where appropriate, pass through light turbulence, and complete a normal touchdown. Tune drag, buffet, turbulence, vertical-wind texture, and touchdown thump from their own recognizable moments.

Reduce any cue that competes with pitch and roll control. Repeated low-level information can stay subtle; urgent envelope warnings may be more prominent while remaining bounded and controllable.

Advanced

Advanced opens all available groups in one scroll and reveals specialist settings. Rate damping, Stick drop, and Autopilot follow each use zero-valued gains or authority as off.

• Rate damping responds to the aircraft's simulated pitch and roll rotation rates. Tune it in flight after abrupt control inputs. Raise the affected axis when aircraft motion leaves a repeatable wobble; reduce it when rotation feels artificially opposed.
• Stick drop models the forward weight of an unloaded mechanical elevator at very low airspeed. Tune it while parked and during the takeoff roll, then set Fade airspeed where airflow should carry the elevator.
• Autopilot follow moves a linked control toward the simulator’s AP-inclusive command. Supported MOZA bases use their model-specific Follow path; Authority limits travel and Follow speed controls movement rate. Other devices use Bridge’s force path, with the saved authority on the X-Plane owned-axis path and a bounded cue on MSFS. Independent sidesticks use AP neutral hold instead of moving-control Follow.
• Watchdog fade. Telemetry-watchdog timing is under Settings → Session → Advanced. The defaults are normally appropriate. These timing values belong to the active profile, so changing them marks it unsaved.

Rotorcraft tuning

Rotorcraft uses a separate tuning path centred on cyclic motion and force trim. Complete these steps before adding the individual rotor-state effects.

1. Choose the closest helicopter starter and set Control system to Rotorcraft.
2. Assign the FTR, trim-release, or beep-trim controls required by the aircraft under Hardware - Helicopter.
3. Tune cyclic damping for controlled motion, then tune force-trim hold at hover and in forward flight.
4. Add ETL shudder, VRS buffet, two-per-rev vibration, retreating-blade-stall buffet, skid scrape, and rotor rumble one flight condition at a time.

Feel the rotor state through distinct flight cues

Symptom-to-control map

Use the narrowest control that matches the symptom. This preserves the parts of the profile that already work.

• Everything is too strong or too weak: adjust Master gain, then repeat the complete circuit.
• Only steady pitch or roll loading is wrong: adjust Elevator load or Aileron load. Use Max output force when the problem appears only near high deflection.
• The control chatters, snaps, or oscillates around centre: disarm, verify mounting and polarity, lower the Hardware ceiling, then inspect Spring strength, deadband, damping, friction, inertia, and the last changed value.
• Loading arrives too early, too late, or grows at the wrong rate: adjust Cruise reference first, then refine Airspeed curve and Centre firmness versus speed.
• A cue is missing: check its Dashboard channel during the activating condition. Confirm simulator evidence, aircraft applicability, group gain, and device capability before raising strength.
• The control feels sticky, slow, or excessively heavy during movement: disarm, confirm the physical base is healthy, then reduce profile friction, damping, or inertia one value at a time on the affected axis.
• If trim does not relieve pressure, confirm the profile’s control system, a nonzero trim authority, changing trim telemetry and a supported aircraft integration. A stationary neutral-centred column alone does not show a trim failure. Export a support bundle if telemetry changes but the expected pressure relief is absent.
• If AP Follow hunts, disarm and confirm the aircraft uses a linked control and a supported integration. Reduce Authority and, where available, Follow speed. A custom autopilot or a second application controlling the same axis can conflict with Follow; capture a support bundle before making several changes.

Airbus-style AP neutral hold

For an appropriate Fly-by-wire profile, open the Autopilot controls and enable AP neutral hold. It is off by default. When supported autopilot telemetry reports engagement, Bridge holds the sidestick near neutral. It does not move the stick to follow the flight controls or command an autopilot disconnect.

Hydraulic loss loading

Hydraulic loss loading can now add resistance to cyclic movement on the ground and in hover, including with force trim active or FTR held. It requires valid hydraulic-loss telemetry and an enabled profile setting. The extra resistance is felt when moving the cyclic. X-Plane hydraulic-loss detection is not yet supported.

Save and iterate

Save the profile only after one unchanged version passes all five conditions in the same session.

1. Ground: stationary, taxi, turns, braking, and takeoff roll remain stable with clear, bounded surface cues.
2. Takeoff and climb: control loading builds smoothly, low-speed behavior fades at the intended point, and full travel remains usable.
3. Cruise and manoeuvring: centring, pitch and roll balance, trim relief, positive-G feel, and recovery from quick inputs are predictable.
4. Approach: lower-speed forces remain controlled, flap and gear cues occur at the correct events, and no effect masks precise control.
5. Landing and rollout: touchdown, braking, reverse, runway texture, and the return to taxi remain distinct and stable.

Save after a stable A/B result, use a name that identifies the aircraft and hardware context, and keep the previous working version until the new profile has survived taxi, cruise, manoeuvring, approach, and landing.