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.

New here?

Start with Install, then First launch. You'll be in the air with working force feedback in about ten minutes. Prefer offline? Download the PDF manual or read the single-page version.

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.

The app, page by page

Dashboard

Live telemetry, force-output meters, arm toggle, ReadyToEngage indicator.

Tuning

Thirteen 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.

Reference

Force effects

All thirteen 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.

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 keyboard shortcuts 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.2. If you're on a newer build and something's drifted, please tell us via the feedback form.