There is a convenience factor in electric trim no doubt about it. But in most aircraft the proximity of the trim wheel to that of the throttle allows for quick access with little time away from the throttle. When your on final for instance as we were talkin about your hand should be on the throttle but completely appropriate to take your hand of for the 1 sec it takes to move the hand down and throw the wheel in whichever direction you need, then quickly bring the hand back up, its almost unnoticeable how fast this should occur. Part of learning to fly a plane is for things such as this to become second nature. Anyone who has driven a standard, manual, stick whatever you want to call it knows this. When was the last time you consciously had the thought or time to shift to second or third? Your brain just instinctively just does it. So it really shouldnt be much a factor flying the trim wheel or the electric trim, both are convenient and actually have their perks.

What pilots should avoid though is flying the aircraft with the trim. What I mean by that is, if you need to climb use the yoke to pull back, don't trim the aircraft to pitch up slightly then trim it back down. This is where electric trim gets to convenient.

Make sense?

It does, thanks. True, if the trim wheel is that close to the throttle, it shouldn't be a problem. I guess the planes with that thing pretty low or close to being between the seats have more (inconvenience) trouble then.

 

I'm currently flying Ant's Eaglet where the trim buttons are right on the stick. Should be a nice one IRL, right?

It does. True, if the trim wheel is that close to the throttle, it shouldn't be a problem. I guess the planes with that thing pretty low or close to being between the seats have more trouble then.

 

I'm currently flying Ant's Eaglet where the trim buttons are right on the stick. Should be a nice one IRL, right?

 

I use a Saitek X-52, in which my hatswitch is a four way trim ( elevator & ailerons). My real plane has the same, on it's joystick.

That's a good idea to make use of those knobs. I've got some of those four our eight way things on the throttle, so that's were I trim.

You'd be surprised how fast and easy it is to trim an aircraft with the trim wheel in between the seats. Theres enough space to slip your arm, again its pretty fast. We aren't talking about 3 full swings of the wheel to get the desired result, just a quick tug one way or the other. But once you get used to it, like I said its second nature you don't even really think about it.

And that's where the sim strikes back. That right arm of mine often operates the mouse to grab something in the VC, with a look like my avatar on the tiny clickspots. :lol:

 

But, don't worry, I've got your point and I'm also a fan of trimming. Guess that makes me a member of the trim club.

Wow, simple question, really complex answers. Thidboda57 is the winner. :-) Even in the sim world, pitch for speed on approach and then trim the control forces out for stabilized approach. You'll still have to make small adjustments in elevator input to maintain approach speed, and small adjustments in throttle to maintain descent rate.

Wow, simple question, really complex answers. Thidboda57 is the winner. :-)

 

Nope......

 

He talked about trim wheels. My plane doesn't have a trim wheel. Couldn't use it if I wanted too...

Who talked about trim "wheels"? Neither the OP nor Thidboda57's initial answer said anything about trim wheels. I can't see how the mechanism that you use to trim matters.

 

Of course it's possible to have different pilot preferences, and somewhat different practices according to different planes, but the general, and always appropriate behavior is to set attitude with the stick/wheel (for speed on approach or level flight in cruise) and trim out control forces.

 

The OP asked about landing. He asked about trim after dropping gear and flaps. Approach speed is set by attitude (elevator forces) and trim used to trim out whatever force is used to maintain that approach speed. Descent rate is set by power application (unless you're too high, in which case you're already at idle and had better start slipping or go around). :-)

Nope......

He talked about trim wheels. My plane doesn't have a trim wheel. Couldn't use it if I wanted too

We later spoke about some 'convenience factors' on e.g. the placement of trim wheels or the way easier buttons or rockers on the yoke/stick for the powered trim arrangement. So perhaps that came in as if we were talking about trim wheels only.

 

By the way, what are you flying there?

Sorry to post after a "winner" is declared. However, I just wanted to share. Most of my time is in 1970s or earlier Cessnas and Pipers. While I prefer the Cessnas, I recall that trimming to take the requirement for constant pressure on the yoke was the thing to do. Moving your hand between the throttle and trim wheel was no big deal. Also, I recall having to carry extra speed when gusts were expected.

Ahuimanu...no one asked you to steal my thunder!!! :-D Just kiddin

Don't worry, judging by his avatar, Jeff obviously speaks for the often overlooked group of inverted flyers.

I was taught (and I teach now to all my students) for most regimes of flight:

 

Power. Attitude. Trim. (PAT)

 

The only time this DOESN'T apply is when levelling off from a climb in which case you use:

 

Attitude. Power. Trim (APT)

 

There. Simple :)