The RealAir Duke is a joy to fly and is so much better than the default aircraft. I am seeing an issue however with the elevator trim dial. I was wondering if anyone else sees this issue. The dial does not show the correct trim setting.Here is a comparison (in degrees) of the dial setting vs. what the tooltip displays for the setting: - Dial -10, Tooltip -41 - Dial 0, Tooltip -12 - Dial +10, Tooltip +8 - Dial +20, Tooltip +30 - Dial +30, Tooltip +58I think the tooltip is correct because right now my configuration is as follows: - Descending 1000 fpm - Speed is 180 knots - Throttle 30 in HgThe dial says 0 degrees of trim but the tooltip says -12 degrees of trim. Given this configuration, I think -12 degress is correct. I checked other default aircraft. None of them have markings on their dials so it is diifficult to tell if this is a Duke issue or an issue with FSX. The differences though are quite large on the outer boundaries. There is nothing in the docs about known issues with this.Also regarding elevator trim, the manual says Trim - SET TO TAKE-OFF RANGE. But I don't see any mention of what this means in terms of degrees.Thanks,Scott

Trim , as far as the pilot is concerned, has nothing to do with degrees. I suppose that the actual deflection of the trim-tab itself, in degrees, can be used as a reference IF the control mechanism, linkages and indicator are built like a Swiss watch... but they aren't... and that "degree" does not represent elevator deflection, nor the aircraft's pitch. You can't trim for 7 degrees nose up by a number on the trim indicator.All things being equal, you trim for a specific airspeed. During a climb or descent, you sometimes end up trimming for a specific vertical speed.. but again, that really amounts to trimming for an airspeed. Like... Vy is your best rate of climb.. So during a climb you pitch(trim) for Vy. The amount of trim that that requires (whether or not trim-tab deflection reference is used) will be different for different power settings, altitudes and loads. And if (for whatever reason) you DID want to trim for a specific pitch, that pitch would depend on airspeed, altitude, power-setting and load... In short, there is no linear relationship between trim and attitude (pitch). Just use the indicator (or tool-tip number, if you like) as a quick reference (as you would in a real airplane). Don't think of them as degrees. There will be a range for takeoff (load and density-altitude dependent) ... a range for climbing... a range for level flight.. and a range for descents... ALL effected by the airplane's weight, altitude, airspeed, and power-setting, and all fine tuned for each situation.. as you use the REAL trim reference of airspeed.

What Brett said.....Other than that, I never look at trim settings............. other than noticing if it's around neutral before takeoff. It's taking pressure off the yoke/stick that I'm concerened with. But then in real life, I'll see that the tab is around neutral on the pre-flight. As far as a "takeoff" setting, most planes I'm familiar with, might be set to slight "up trim" past neutral.For landings, trim preferences for the pilots vary with the airplanes & pilots themselves. Unlike a highwing Cessna which balloons nose up with flap deployment, and you push forward on the yoke; my Van's RV6A pitches nose down with flaps. I'll automatically pull the stick a bit aft for the proper descent profile, but I usually don't trim it out. I'll complete the landing with some down force that I pull against for the flare. In this case, the nose down force is created by the flaps, but the tab remains in the same position ( close to neutral) I'll use for takeoff. L.Adamson

Thanks for the replies. I won't worry about it. Just seems odd though that the degree markings on the dial don't match what is being indicated by the tooltip. As you guys said, I will just trim to relieve pressure on the yolk and I won't look at the actual dial. I will just set the dial to something like +10 for a takeoff trim but won't actually look at it then during flight.Scott

I'll throw in some extra info here, that is MSFS related (and will answer your original question, somewhat). I try to keep the discussion coming from a real aviation angle, but sometimes the MSFS flight-model requires explanation from ITS angle ..lolThe purely mechanical/aerodynmic function of the trim-tab, is to use aerodynamic forces to hold the control-surface (elevator in this case) where you want it. That's where "trim to remove pressure" comes from. If you're using the yoke to hold 5 degrees of elevator deflection.. you trim so that the trim-tab holds the elevator at 5 degrees for you.The problem with the MSFS flight-model, is that trim is more of a supplemental thing. It doesn't "hold" the control surface; it adds (or subracts) enough control-surface effect of its own, so that you don't have to supply it with your yoke/joystick. This works pretty well within the envelope of normal flying... because your yoke/joystick aren't "directly connected" to the control surfaces, like they are in a real airplane. But when you get to extreme deflections, it becomes a problem. Like.. if you're flying the C172, and put in a bunch of nose-down trim, it's nearly impossible to induce a stall. In a real airplane, you'd just be fighting the trim, but you could still get full use of the elevator. In MSFS, all that nose-down trim is actually nose-down elevator effect, taking away from what you can get from full deflection of your yoke.How does this apply to your question ? It's about the limitations when creating realistic flight dynamics for a MSFS model. More times than not, a CoG and all the other geometry defined in the CFG/AIR files that yield realistic performance and handling will have control surface apexes that require a little "help" from MSFS's version of trim. The payware folks do a good job of compromising... but i'm sure you've download freeware that needed ridiculous levels of "trim", far from neutral, for takeoff, or level flight..It would be nice if there were a provision for "re-setting" trim-effect AFTER you tweak the flight dynamics.. but there is not. If you've ever flown any of my FSX models (C177RG, C310, Saab340), or any of the models I did the flight-dynamics on (Alrot's Citations, 727 and 707), you'll find the trim is pretty "neutral". However, on the larger models (specifically the Saab), there was just no getting around it. The Saab (heavily loaded) requires 6+ units of positive trim for takeoff.