Newb Question on Trim

[cougarelite]

Hey everyone,

I bought Flight Simulator 2004 yesterday, and a joystick, and I'm progressing my way through the flight lessons. I think I'm doing about average, everything is still a bit overwhelming because I haven't really flown much. I did the introductory flight, and now I'm on the Student Pilot lessons. I've read them all, and now I'm on Slow Flying. The question isn't about that though.

It's about the trim feature. I'm flying in the Cessna plane that they recommend for students by the way. I understand what trim does, and I've used it successfuly a couple times, I just SUCK at it. I just need some clarification. In the lesson, it says to set the trim correctly, you should let go of the joystick and see which way the plane goes. Then if it goes down, pull it back up and put the right trim and let go again and keep trying until it's right. Well... I want to know if it's talking about which way the plane goes RIGHT when you let go, or which way it goes eventually. You know how the plane might go down when you let go, then up again a little and maybe down again. It takes a while to stay in one spot. Well, should I wait for it to stop doing that before I decide which trim to use, or do I just consider which way it goes immediately after letting go?

Sorry if this question is extremely stupid lol, but it's bugging me so I might as well get it cleared up. I can reword the question if it doesn't make sense to someone.

Thanks!

[lnuss]

The trim they are talking about is probably elevator trim, which helps you control the pitch (nose up/down) axis. Rather than actually letting go of the stick, which may result in an uncomfortable ride, you should note whether you are holding back pressure or forward pressure. If it's back pressure, you'll need to add nose up trim, or for forward pressure you'll need to add nose down trim.

Once you've determined which way you need to go, add a bit of trim at a time, relaxing your pressure on the stick a little, and repeat until you don't have to hold pressure on the stick to maintain your attitude. The goal is to do this while maintaining a constant attitude. With practice, this can be done quickly and easily, though it's even easier if you have a joystick axis that can be assigned to trim. Lacking an axis, a pair of buttons can be assigned. If you don't have that, you're stuck with keyboard commands.

[cougarelite]

Thanks for the tip, I just tried it out and it works a lot better than what I was trying before. It's still really hard for me though. I guess I just need practice. It's so frustrating trying to get it right. It keeps moving around until it finally settles into the right position which is really annoying. That's just my inexperience I guess lol. I'll keep practicing.

[moth01]

Hey Cougar,
The trim is not really hard to understand, just takes practice.
I don't know what stick you have. I used to have a Saitek that has some buttons below the Hat switch. I assigned those to up and down elevator trim.
IIRC turning a trim wheel toward the floor will make the nose point up. Some will think if you turn the wheel downward the nose goes down. That's not the case.

I assigned the two thumb buttons for up and down, so when I was for example, pullung back on the stick and holdiong itthere, I can tap the lower switch, until I was gradually relaxing pressure on the stick, up to the point where I can almost let go.

Anytime you aduust your climb, descent speed, etc, you need to adjust the trim.

Remember though in FS, there may be some planes that respond differently to trim inputs.Some may be unstable or very touchy in trying to get them stable. That mayb e the fault of the .air file or the way the author configured it.

You may get the plane trimmes pretty good,but sometimes it will creep up or down slowly. Then you can either retrim, or adjust the power to help keep your altitude.

In real life flying, a pilot wold get a real workout if he/she didn't have the trim feature. Holding back pressure on the stick could give your arms cramps:) On real elevators (usually one side) there is a 'trim tab' This is just another moving surface on the elevator itself. By making this tab move,(usinf the mechanical connection to the trim wheel) it will greate it's own lift (or lack of) to "fly" the elevator up or down, thus relieving the effort you need to move the elevator.

So, thry to program or assign 2 buttons close to your hand, maybe the top of the stick, and practice with it.

Good luck on your lessons, and if you need more help, come on back, we are here for you :)
Gary.

[napamule2]

If you are using the NumPad 7 and 1 keys, you can 'hold down' the key to get more effective trim change. Then 'tap' to fine tune.

FYI: Trim has 500 positions possible.

Use vertical speed gauge to see the slight 'delay' (as you found out) that it has-wait for it-DON'T chase it-to change-it will. Soon you will pre-guess how much to enter, even before it is 'done' (which is NEVER actually done, unless you're on AP and level).

I use an F-15 panel which has 'auto-trim' in 2D panel view. I go 2D, trim follows joy movement, and it's set. It does all the work, and if nothing else, shows just how trim works for hand dive, or hand climb FOR THAT PARTICULAR AC, of course.

Which bring me to this 'hint': Let's say you are close to desired elevation. You enter elevation in AP and click 'AP' and 'Alt' and let FS9 set trim for you. Then if you want to hand fly, un-click AP. Easy.
Chuck

[jgreth123]

In real life, trimming an aircraft is much easier than in the sim. FS9 really likes to bob a lot. In clear weather with 0 winds it still bobs heavily.

In real-world you aren't constantly changing the trim like you have to in FS9 to maintain smooth, level flight. ( well, it also would depend on what plane you're flying :P )