This is much more than an incremental update from 1.2.1. It is the largest FFB-Bridge release so far, with a new helicopter control system, managed MOZA hardware, native device paths, stronger safety systems, automatic diagnostics, expanded Flight Check, better profiles, in-app updates, and a major redesign of the everyday setup and tuning workflow.
Helicopters are now first-class
- A dedicated Rotorcraft control system separates helicopter behavior from fixed-wing tuning.
- Classic force trim holds the cyclic at its trimmed position and releases it while FTR is held.
- An optional force-trim on/off control supports pedestal-style systems that can completely release and re-engage the hold.
- Continuous four-way beep trim can use either a real POV hat or four ordinary buttons.
- AFCS follow-up trim can move the physical control with the aircraft’s trim system.
- New helicopter effects include ETL and VRS cues, rotor rumble, two-per-rev vibration, skid scrape, and retreating-blade-stall buffet.
- Bell 206, H125, and generic helicopter profiles provide starting points for the main trim-system families.
- Guided setup now explains and captures FTR, force-trim toggle, POV hats, and button-based controls consistently.
MOZA hardware is now managed directly
- MOZA AB6, AB9, and AY210 are supported on Windows, Linux, and Apple Silicon macOS.
- FFB-Bridge prepares a known hardware session and prevents stored device effects from fighting the live flight model.
- Settings owned by FFB-Bridge are captured when the app starts and restored when it exits normally.
- Native HID/PID paths reduce latency and remove the need to keep MOZA Cockpit open during normal use.
- Linux setup detects every required MOZA interface, including joystick, HID, and parameter channels.
- MOZA firmware 1.1.4.6 or newer is required.
- MOZA Cockpit remains useful for firmware, lighting, and maintenance, but it should be closed while FFB-Bridge is running.
Hardware support and rendering are substantially broader
- Microsoft SideWinder FFB2 now prefers its complete native HID/PID path where validated.
- Logitech G940, Force 3D Pro, WingMan Force 3D, and Brunner FFB-G support have been expanded and documented.
- Experimental support for unlisted force-feedback joysticks remains available, with conservative filtering that excludes wheels, gamepads, and unsuitable devices.
- Device-specific rendering policies handle springs, damping, friction, periodic effects, and one-shot effects according to what each hardware family supports.
- A conditional 200 Hz control loop improves hardware that needs host-generated waveforms or faster device-coupled updates.
- Held controls such as beep trim remain continuous instead of being reduced to one-time button presses.
Safety is stronger and easier to understand
- Every device has a Maximum physical strength ceiling that limits all output paths.
- Arming starts at zero and ramps in smoothly instead of applying full force instantly.
- Safety Stop can cut gain, stop all effects, latch the warning, and require an explicit re-arm.
- Optional spoken warnings make a safety stop unmistakable.
- Runaway-motion and oscillation detection is harder to bypass while being less likely to interrupt aggressive normal flying.
- Hardware changes such as polarity or axis swapping cannot be applied while forces are active.
- Flight Check can safely test the real emergency-stop path without asking you to provoke dangerous motion.
Flight Check is now a complete hardware bench test
- Test pitch and roll direction, centering, damping, friction, trim, autopilot follow, airplane forces, helicopter forces, and Safety Stop.
- Each check runs from known temporary settings and restores your previous configuration afterward.
- Master gain and the physical output ceiling are respected during testing.
- Results explain what passed, what failed, and what to adjust next.
Setup and diagnostics have been rebuilt
- Startup health checks automatically inspect the device, force-feedback readiness, permissions, and output path.
- Healthy launches stay quiet; actionable problems open a clear review-and-fix experience.
- Linux checks the actual active input node and verifies complete udev coverage.
- The udev repair wizard installs the required rules and recommends restarting FFB-Bridge afterward so the device can reopen with its new permissions.
- Button learning waits until the device is ready before showing capture progress.
- POV hats and four-button hat-shaped switches are identified and explained separately.
- Cancelled or failed input setup restores the previous assignment instead of leaving a partial configuration.
Profiles and tuning now follow a clearer workflow
- Hardware settings own device selection, physical strength, backend, calibration, polarity, and control assignments.
- Aircraft profiles own how the aircraft should feel.
- Normal tuning starts with the aircraft Profile and Master gain.
- Advanced mode reveals the detailed effect groups in one continuous tuning page.
- Zero is consistently the off state for gain controls.
- Your previous profile is restored when available.
- Fresh installations start with the Cessna 172 instead of a helicopter profile.
- Detected aircraft identity can select a closer starter profile or a saved aircraft binding automatically.
- The profile library adds search, sorting, import, duplicate, rename, sharing, and protected read-only starter profiles.
The force model has grown substantially
- Native control friction models breakout force and sliding resistance independently of aerodynamic loading.
- Glider profiles gain airspeed-dependent control feel.
- Flap movement and buffet can follow the simulator’s reported physical surfaces.
- X-Plane uses the aircraft’s reported flap-detent count.
- Autopilot back-drive, roll behavior, damping, trim, and device normalization have all been improved.
- Helicopter feel can be muted consistently alongside the other force groups.
Updates and shutdown are safer
- Packaged Windows and Linux installs can download, verify, install, and restart after explicit consent.
- Windows verifies the expected Authenticode publisher before installing an update.
- macOS opens the signed current download.
- Managed hardware restoration completes before the application exits.
- Several shutdown, notification, diagnostics, and native-window race conditions have been fixed.
FFB-Bridge 1.3 supports Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 on Windows and Linux, plus X-Plane 11 and 12 on Windows, Linux, and Apple Silicon macOS.
Your existing profiles and hardware preferences migrate forward. FFB-Bridge continues to run outside the simulator: it does not replace aircraft files and it never changes your simulator bindings.
After updating, run Flight Check, choose the closest aircraft profile, and adjust Master gain first.
Explore FFB-Bridge 1.3 -> https://ffb-bridge.com/ffb-bridge-1-3
Read the complete release notes -> https://ffb-bridge.com/releases#1.3.0
Help keep FFB-Bridge moving forward
FFB-Bridge 1.3 represents an enormous amount of engineering, hardware testing, documentation, and direct user support—and I am giving the complete release away for free.
There is no required subscription and no basic force-feedback functionality hidden behind a paywall. If FFB-Bridge improves your flying, saves you setup time, or makes hardware you already own feel new again, please consider supporting its continued development.
Your contribution helps pay for test hardware (I purchased the AB9 and AY210 just for this), code signing, hosting, simulator testing, and the time required to keep improving the force model and supporting more devices.
Support the development of FFB-Bridge -> https://ffb-bridge.com/support-dev
Even a small contribution helps, and it directly supports the next release.
Thank you to everyone who tested the beta and release candidates, sent support bundles, tested real hardware, and explained when something did not feel right. This release exists because of that feedback.
Regards,
Aditya