Using it

Cockpit controls

Every click spot of the flight deck (991 of them) has an MSFS-style interaction. Left button and wheel only. The right button does nothing on any control, because MSFS looks around with it.

Gestures#

Control Count How to use it
Knobs (heading, course, altitude, EFIS range, lights) 133 Wheel up increases, wheel down decreases. Drag right or up to increase, left or down to decrease. A click on the left half turns left, on the right half turns right
Switches (overhead toggles, generator switches, battery) 74 Click the upper or lower half, drag up or down, or use the wheel. To hold a spring position (GEN, APU START, fire test) drag and keep the button down
Toggles (fuel pumps, light switches) 87 Click or drag
Levers (throttles, reversers, start levers, flaps, speed brake, gear, tiller) 22 Drag along the lever through its detents, or use the wheel. No click action
Guards 22 Click opens or closes. A switch under a closed guard is blocked
Buttons (push buttons, CDU and EFB keys) 615 Click. Held while the button is down
Split controls (yoke trim, overwing exits, standby baro) 38 Click each half, or wheel, or drag toward the half

The cursor shows what a click will do: TurnLeft / TurnRight on the two halves of a knob, arrows on a switch, Grab on a lever.

Good to know#

  • A plain click on a switch acts when you release the button, so that a drag never first sends the opposite command.
  • Both MSFS cockpit interaction modes (Legacy and Lock) work.
  • A click on the yoke hides or shows it.
  • The transponder knob: turn it left and hold at STBY for 1.7 s to run the TCAS test. TEST springs back.
  • GPWS inhibit switches: open the guard first, as on the aircraft.
  • GPWS SYS TEST: a short press runs the short test, holding 2 s runs the long test.

Hardware throttle#

MSFS has one throttle, shared by your hardware and the autothrottle. L:LU737_THR_HW_MODE chooses who wins. See Options.

Without hydraulics#

With both hydraulic systems below 1,000 psi (cold and dark, for example) the stick is heavy and slow, as the 737's manual reversion. MSFS cannot load the stick, so its authority and rate are reduced instead.

The technical description is in Cockpit controls: MSFS interactions.