Need help with trimming my plane!

[Guest slrranma]

SO I

[Guest RonB49]

Hi slrranma, welcome. Because I don't know you, this suggestion may not apply to you but I can tell you what my biggest beginner problem was. I was too picky! i tend to be a perfectionist in all that I do and I know that it causes me untold grief. But that doesn't stop me from repeating my mistakes time after time after time.Learning to trim is a perfect example. If I was the slightest bit off course, (or too hiogh or too low) I'd trim to correct it. And because our sim airplanes have digital inputs, it turns out that one click is almost always too much or too little. So I'd tend to keep correcting and overcorrecting until I'd bob up and down, back and forth all over the sky. Winds just made it worse.And landings were a nightmare. I wanted (still do) each landing to be a greaser and often, if I had left well enough alone, they probably would have been fine. But oh no, I'd come down the pipe, bobbing and weaving like a drunken prizefighter and either miss the runway, get a good bounce, or (my personal favorite) flare too much and too early just look silly as I balooned back up into the sky.So what to do about it; relax. Stay reasonably close to your course but don't obsess on it. Use tiny trim inputs (one click). Give the plane a chance to respond to each input before making another correction and start out with no wind. And as the old saying goes; practice, practice, practice. I've been practicing since the mid-80s and I'll bet that someday, I'll get the hang of it.I hope that this is helpful to you.R-

[Guest slrranma]

That was actully really helpful! thanks R!Yea i'm just like you i want it to be perfect and i just end up messing it worst then it was before lol. well i feel better that i'm not the only one who does it. Yea i guess i'll just have to practice some more and just deal with it not always being perfect. Thanks again! anymore help from anyone else would be great!

[Guest PPSFA]

HiyaYou say you are trimming to 'stay on course'. That is not what trim is for, trim is to relieve the control pressure on the stick or yoke to maintain a specfic aircraft attitude.The best way to practive this it to have the plane straight and level, by referenceing the guages, then see if you have to hold forward or back pressure to keep it there. Now you use the trim, SLOWLY, to relieve that pressure until you can take you hands off and the plane continues without climbing or turning. Elevator trim is the one used most often. You can trim the plane for any attitude or airspeed.Now as far as maintaining a course, that a whole new thing and you should reference the training for navigation. Hope this helps, feel free to ask more if needed.

[AlaskanFlyboy 7]

Don't forget the "Pitch, Power, Trim" sequence. Pitch for level, and then cut back your power to cruise, then trim for level flight. As PPSFA put it, trim's main function is to releave the stick/yoke pressure so that you aren't wearing out your arm.Some things to keep in mind with trim is that they hold a specific speed once you've trimmed it. After that point, if you increase power, it will climb at the speed you're trimmed level for, and if you decrase power, you will descend at that speed. This can be helpful on IFR approaches when you're maintaining a specific approach speed. In the Piper Warrior IIIs we fly here at the UND satillite school on Spokane International, we approach at 100 knots (only due the the heavy jet traffic we get here. The last thing you want to do is make Alaska Airlines or Southwest go missed because you were going so slow. :-hah).----------------------------------------------------------------John MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private ASEL 141.2 hrs, 314 landings, 46 inst. apprs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach

[timers15 11]

There's also this thing called "Realtrim" in the library somewhere.There was much debate about this thing, but I find it very useful.It allows you to trim more quickly.

[elche 5]

Hi there,I replied to a post in the The AVSIM Flight School forum which might be of use to you. You can check it out here : http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...&mode=full#2471I hope it helps ;)

Have a great Day/Night wherever you are! :-wave

http://3dflite.com/dac/img/BANNER1.gifPrivate Pilot - YSBKC152/Tomahawk/Warrior/Archer/Duchess90 hrs TotalView my flying photos at http://www.3dflite.com/dac/pics/main.htm

[Guest slrranma]

Wow thanks for all the help everyone! oh yea sorry if I used the wrong lingo, when I meant stay on course I meant to stay climbing or level flight without hold on the joystick. Also elche, in you post about trim you say that in a real airplane you would feel the stick pressure fade away as you add trim and eventually you wouldn

[Guest PPSFA]

As soon as you dont feel pressure on the stick, and the plane stays where you put it, you have enough trim.

[elche 5]

"If I was to get a force feedback joystick would it simulate that? Maybe it would be easier for me."I don't own a force feedback joystick, so I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with that one."Another question I have is that when you add trim how soon should you let go of the stick to see if you added enough trim? Like should you let the plane settle first? Cause I know when you add some trim it seems to either make the plane climb or descend almost immediately when you add either up trim and down trim."Once you have levelled out and set your cruise power, tap the trim a few times, say 3 or 4 times and wait for the aeroplane to react. Only when you notice a change in pitch (nose attitude), release some of the forward pressure (it will only be a very small amount of pressure relief) until the aeroplane is in level flight. Continue this until you no longer need to add pressure on the stick.I know this might seem a little awkward at first, but believe me, with practice, the pressing of the trim button and the easing of pressure will become automatic for you, and you will never have trim issues again. :DAlso, if your trim is too sensitive, two things could cause it. An incorrect setting in your control assignments, and/or a trim parameter in your selected aircraft's config file.For now I think its best to just check your control assignments.Go to the Options menu -->> Controls -->> AssignmentUnder the Events Category pull down menu, select Control surface commands which is the third on the list.On the event table, locate elevator trim up and elevator trim down. You will see under the repeat column a slider. Set that slider to its middle position for both elevator trim up and elevator trim down. I find this works best for me.

Have a great Day/Night wherever you are! :-wave

http://3dflite.com/dac/img/BANNER1.gifPrivate Pilot - YSBKC152/Tomahawk/Warrior/Archer/Duchess90 hrs TotalView my flying photos at http://www.3dflite.com/dac/pics/main.htm

[Guest slrranma]

>Once you have levelled out and set your cruise power, tap the>trim a few times, say 3 or 4 times and wait for the aeroplane>to react. Only when you notice a change in pitch (nose>attitude), release some of the forward pressure (it will only>be a very small amount of pressure relief) until the aeroplane>is in level flight. Continue this until you no longer need to>add pressure on the stick.>>I know this might seem a little awkward at first, but believe>me, with practice, the pressing of the trim button and the>easing of pressure will become automatic for you, and you will>never have trim issues again. :DThanks for the awsome advice! I'm gonna practice as soon as i get home from work!>Also, if your trim is too sensitive, two things could cause>it. An incorrect setting in your control assignments, and/or a>trim parameter in your selected aircraft's config file.>For now I think its best to just check your control>assignments.>Go to the Options menu -->> Controls -->>>Assignment>Under the Events Category pull down menu, select>Control surface commands which is the third on the>list.>On the event table, locate elevator trim up and>elevator trim down. You will see under the repeat>column a slider. Set that slider to its middle position for>both elevator trim up and elevator trim down. I find this>works best for me.I never thought about it being to sensitive but now that i think of it maybe it is. I'll try setting it and see if it helps outthanks for all your great help. As always i'm open to more advice! thanks again!