FFB-Bridge user guide
Everything you need to install FFB-Bridge, connect it to a flight simulator, and tune the feel of your SideWinder Force Feedback 2 for the aircraft you fly.
Start with Install, then First launch. You'll be in the air with working force feedback in about ten minutes. Prefer offline? Open the single-page version and use your browser's Save as PDF option.
Get started
Install
Windows installer or Linux AppImage. No admin, no drivers to download.
First launch
Welcome tour, arming the stick, what the tray icon does.
Connect your simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
SimConnect setup for Steam, Microsoft Store / Xbox, and MSFS under Proton.
X-Plane 11 / 12
Zero-config UDP dataref subscription. Nothing to install X-Plane-side.
Setup by rig
SideWinder FFB2 compatibility
Hardware support, VID/PID, and common name variants.
Windows 11
DirectInput, SmartScreen, SAC, and pid.dll stability notes.
Linux
evdev force feedback, udev permissions, and AppImage setup.
The app, page by page
Dashboard
Live telemetry on the left, force-output meters on the right. Arm / sim / device / mode / profile all live in the persistent top status strip.
Tuning
Fourteen effect gains plus the master. Sliders apply live.
Profiles
Save a set of tuning values per aircraft. Starter presets included.
Diagnostics
Runtime metrics, event log, support-bundle export.
Doctor
One-page health check with fix-it actions for common issues.
Mock SimConnect
Bench-test the whole pipeline without booting a flight sim.
Help
In-app setup status, tuning order, support evidence, and common fixes.
Reference
Force effects
All fourteen effects: what they do, when they fire, how to tune them.
Tuning guide
A practical walkthrough from defaults to a feel you'd fly every day.
Troubleshooting
Stick limp, sim not detected, forces feel wrong. Fixes in order.
Support bundles
What's in one, how to export it, how to send it when you ask for help.
Changelog
What changed in each beta release, what to expect next.
Conventions used in this guide
Windows,
Linux, and
Both chips mark content that
applies only to that platform. Menus and buttons appear
in bold; filenames and keys
appear as code. Any procedure that requires
administrator privileges is called out with a yellow warning
callout — on Linux that's a pkexec prompt; on
Windows there are no such procedures at the moment.
This manual matches FFB-Bridge v1.0.0-beta.11. If you're on a newer build and something's drifted, please tell us via the feedback form.