Yikes!

I was doing a flight on the PMDG 747-400X freighter from Toronto to Calgary last night. Somewhere over eastern Saskatchewan, the plane started to lurch right, even to the point where the autopilot could no longer control it. I did have real world weather turned on, and it had gotten a bit turbulent in the vicinity. Some research on the AVSIM forums indicates that the 747X may run into trouble if the winds switch around violently, as is how the real-world weather behavior is implemented in FSX. The FSUIPC module supposedly has a wind-smoothing feature, so I may need to go investigate turning that one on. I wonder if there is a bug in the flight dynamics of the 747X which gets tripped on when the air is excessively turbulent -- or if this is simply a feature of the aircraft, and the pilot needs more training as to how to correct the situation.

Anyway, as any good pilot would do, I assumed manual control of the aircraft and arranged to divert to the nearest suitable airport, which turned out to be Regina International in Regina, Saskatchewan. Steering the plane in this situation was difficult, but I managed to keep it in the sky. I finally found Runway 13 at Regina, lowered the flaps and gear, and lined up on approach. I then executed a visual approach and landing without incident, as I feared the automated instrument approach would fail. Fortunately, we all lived. Hopefully the plane will check out and we can get back in the skies again!

Whew.