Basic Flight Controls – Axis Setup

(Where We Tame the Yoke, Wrangle the Rudder, and Throttle Like a Pro)

Now it’s time to tackle the real beasts of the flight deck—your flight control axes. Because if your yoke is limp, your rudder’s confused, and your throttle’s spiky… you're flying a flying brick with cool lights.

✈️ What Is an Axis?

Think of axes (plural of axis, not something you swing at your PC) as the analog controls—smooth, continuous inputs like:

• Yoke pitch & roll (your classic “push and pull” and “left and right”)

• Rudder pedals (tail wagging)

• Throttle(s) (moar power!)

• Mixture, Prop pitch, toe brakes, spoilers, flaps, coffee temperature knobs (okay maybe not that last one… yet)

If it moves smoothly and isn’t a button, it’s probably an axis.

X-plane Default Axes + Datarefs + Value Ranges

Axis Role	What It Controls	Default DataRef	Value Range
Pitch	Elevator (yoke push/pull)	sim/joystick/yoke_pitch_ratio	-1.0 (nose down) to 1.0 (nose up)
Roll	Ailerons (yoke left/right)	sim/joystick/yoke_roll_ratio	-1.0 (left) to 1.0 (right)
Yaw	Rudder (pedals or stick twist)	sim/joystick/yoke_heading_ratio	-1.0 (left) to 1.0 (right)
Throttle 1	Engine power (engine 1)	sim/flightmodel/engine/ENGN_thro[0]	0.0 (idle) to 1.0 (full power)
Throttle 2	Throttle (engine 2)	sim/flightmodel/engine/ENGN_thro[1]	0.0 to 1.0
Throttle 3, 4	More throttles	ENGN_thro[2], [3]	0.0 to 1.0
Prop 1	Prop RPM (engine 1)	sim/flightmodel/engine/ENGN_prop[0]	0.0 (low RPM) to 1.0 (high RPM)
Prop 2	Prop RPM (engine 2)	ENGN_prop[1]	0.0 to 1.0
Mixture 1	Fuel/air mix (engine 1)	sim/flightmodel/engine/ENGN_mixt[0]	0.0 (cutoff) to 1.0 (full rich)
Mixture 2	Mixture (engine 2)	ENGN_mixt[1]	0.0 to 1.0
Speedbrake	Spoilers / airbrakes	sim/flightmodel/controls/speedbrake_ratio	0.0 (retracted) to 1.0 (full out)
Flaps	Flap lever	sim/flightmodel/controls/flap_ratio	0.0 (up) to 1.0 (full flaps)
Reverse Thrust	Reversers active (per engine)	sim/flightmodel/engine/ENGN_thro_use_rev	0 (off) or 1 (on)
Brakes	Main brakes (left/right combined or split)	sim/flightmodel/controls/parkbrake or l_brake_add / r_brake_add	0.0 (released) to 1.0 (full brake)
Nosewheel Steering	Nose gear steering	sim/flightmodel/controls/nwheel_steer	-1.0 (left) to 1.0 (right)
Landing Gear	Gear handle (if used as axis)	sim/flightmodel/controls/gear_handle_down	0 (up) or 1 (down)

🎮 Step 1: Axis Configuration

(Or: Teaching Your Controls Which Way Is Up)

Alright, time to get your hands on the flight controls—literally.

Head over to the left panel in SPAD.neXt and select the device you want to configure. This could be your yoke, throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, or that mysterious lever you swear you’ll use one day.

Now click into the Axis section.

If it moves, wiggles, slides, or generally refuses to stay still—it’ll show up here. Think of this as your aircraft’s roll call.

🕹️ Identify Your Axis

Now give your control a wiggle—nice and easy, no need to wrestle it like a crosswind landing.

SPAD.neXt will highlight the axis that’s moving. Once you’ve found the right one, click it to select it.

🎯 “Ah yes… Axis 2. The chosen one.”

• ➕ Create the Event Click “Add Event” Select “Axis Value Changed” This tells SPAD.neXt: 🛫 “Oi, every time this thing moves—pay attention!” Next: Click the ➕ (plus) icon Select “Custom Axis Event”

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✈️ Let’s Configure Pitch (Elevator)

For this example, we’re wiring up the Pitch axis—the one that decides whether you climb majestically… or inspect the runway at high speed. At first glance, it might look like the flight computer from a space shuttle. Don’t panic—we’ll break it down. 🧠 What All This Means (Without the Headache)

1. 🎚️ Axis Current RAW Value This is your raw input—the unfiltered, straight-from-the-hardware signal. Think of it as your control saying: 🗣️ “I’m moving! I just don’t know what it means yet!”

2. Range Definition ,Ignore this for now. Seriously. Taxi right past it.

   It’s for more advanced setups—like when you start building logic that would make real avionics engineers. 🔄 Rescale Value → YES This tells SPAD.neXt to translate your hardware input into something X-Plane actually understands.

   Because your joystick might speak “random USB nonsense,” but X-Plane speaks nice, clean aviation numbers.

   📏 Understanding Axis Ranges

   Not all axes are created equal:

   • ✈️ Pitch / Roll / Yaw (centered axes): Range = -1 to +1

     • 0 = centered

     • Negative = one direction

     • Positive = the other

   • 🛫 Throttle / Prop / Mixture (non-centered axes): Range = 0 to 1

     • 0 = idle/off

     • 1 = full send

   🧠 Refer back to your Axis Table if your brain starts buffering.

3. 🎯 Target (The Important Bit) This is where you tell SPAD.neXt what you actually want to control.

   For Pitch, use: sim/cockpit2/controls/yoke_pitch_ratio That’s the elevator control—the thing keeping you from becoming a lawn dart.

4. 📥 Use Axis Value

   Select this option—this tells SPAD.neXt:

   👉 “Take whatever the axis is doing… and use it.”

5. ✅ Final Approach

   Click OK.

   And just like that—your Pitch (Elevator) axis is configured.

   Give it a test in-sim:

   • Pull back → nose goes up ✅

   • Push forward → nose goes down ✅

   • No screaming or confusion → perfect ✅

🔁 Rinse and Repeat

You can now repeat this process for:

• Roll

• Yaw

• Throttle

• Prop

• Mixture

• And anything else that slides, spins, or behaves suspiciously like an axis

Just use your Axis Table as your flight manual for picking the correct datarefs and value ranges.