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I really want a trim wheel. Any decent one out there?

Featured Replies

7 hours ago, jpe828 said:

ice setup BUT you need an ultra-wide monitor...

What everyone really needs is a VR Headset. 😉

Edited by Farlis

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  • Views 13.2k
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I have used the Saitek "Cessna" trim wheel for 3-4 years now. Still works, never any problems. Even though it is branded a Cessna trim wheel, I have used it in many non-Cessna aircraft. I was previously taking flying lessons in a PA-28, where the trim wheel was on the floorboard between the two seats. So you don't look at the wheel when you are trimming. The key to trimming is to adjust trim until the aircraft flies level, at the speed selected, which you judge by feel of the yoke. The Saitek wheel simulates the feeling of the PA-28 wheel as well as any wheel is likely to work in a PC desktop sim, in my judgment. The only situation where I have trouble replicating with it are the sim wheels installed on the cabin roof. The other consideration is reliability. After 3-4 years of use mine still works perfectly.

My system specs: Intel [email protected] - 5.2 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, 32GB  DDR4  RAMNoctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler,1TB Seagate SSD, 4TB Seagate HD, Windows 10, Asus 32 inch monitor, Saitek Yoke, Throttle Quadrant, Rudder Pedals and Trim Wheel     Sims: MSFS2020      Preferred Aircraft  Black Square Bonanza, and Baron, A2A Comanche, PMDG DC-6, Red Wing L1049 

Whilst I can understand that having a physical trim wheel with a gauge & indicator next to it would be a lovely thing to have, I suspect that most people might pan the view around to look at the trim gauge in the VC for a quick check on its position (only really necessary for takeoff settings where appropriate I would say). For the most part IMO, one just trims the aircraft to do what you want it to do in flight without referring to a specific number.

I wonder when someone might want a trim crank handle to wind rather than a wheel (have to mount it above the monitor though :wink:)

Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

1 hour ago, AviatorMan said:

I have used the Saitek "Cessna" trim wheel for 3-4 years now

Dang here in Australia that Saitek trim wheel is almost as expensive as the Honeycomb Bravo quadrant with all the extras; works out at around 75% the cost of the bravo!

 

24 minutes ago, Stona said:

Dang here in Australia that Saitek trim wheel is almost as expensive as the Honeycomb Bravo quadrant with all the extras; works out at around 75% the cost of the bravo!

Here in the USA I looked for one about a year ago without success.

Frank Patton
Corsair 5000D Airflow Case; MSI B650 Tomahawk MOB; Ryzen 7 7800 X3D CPU; ASUS RTX 4080 Super; 
NZXT 360mm liquid cooler; Corsair Vengeance 64GB DDR5 4800 MHz RAM; RMX850X Gold PSU;; ASUS VG289 4K 27" Display; Honeycomb Alpha & Bravo, Crosswind 3's w/dampener.  
Former USAF meteorologist & ground weather school instructor. AOPA Member #07379126
                       
"I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me." - John Deere

5 hours ago, Chock said:

If you don't want to DIY things, and you want a solution for under 100 quid, you can still buy the Saitek/Logitech Pro Flight Panel (for about 70 quid), it has a fairly decent trim wheel as part of its controls. If you do want to DIY things, you can use the internal working parts of an old mouse scroll wheel to make a trim wheel; this is fairly easy to do.

That panel is actually named the Saitek or Logitech Multipanel.

Frank Patton
Corsair 5000D Airflow Case; MSI B650 Tomahawk MOB; Ryzen 7 7800 X3D CPU; ASUS RTX 4080 Super; 
NZXT 360mm liquid cooler; Corsair Vengeance 64GB DDR5 4800 MHz RAM; RMX850X Gold PSU;; ASUS VG289 4K 27" Display; Honeycomb Alpha & Bravo, Crosswind 3's w/dampener.  
Former USAF meteorologist & ground weather school instructor. AOPA Member #07379126
                       
"I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me." - John Deere

10 hours ago, yanfeng12342000 said:

Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Quadrant has embedded a trim wheel, but I heard it can only be assigned to trim buttons, not axis. Will that be a big problem?

It's not a problem, it's an advantage because an absolute-position trim wheel is not compatible with autopilots. The Saitek trim wheel is actually an encoder wheel inside and some people have hacked it to get this output directly instead of the simulated analogue output.

And yes, you can map any analogue slider to elevator trim. (Same autopilot issues apply.)

MarkH

https://www.youtube.com/@AlmostAviation
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D / 64Gb DDR5 / Zotac RTX 5070 Ti / 2560 x 1440 display

same here i dont like buttons for trimming, until my honeycomb bravo arrives i use the small wheel on the left

side of my TWC Throttle. This works ok, you can finetune the trim very well.

woDxHFW.jpg

Edited by Nedo68

  • Author
6 hours ago, Stona said:

Honeycomb solution is beautiful to use; provided you avoid the acceleration bug

The Bravos trim wheel and configurable throttle levers where the main reason I purchased it and it's worth it's money just for those two features alone!

You made me want Bravo again...

  • Author
6 hours ago, Chock said:

If you don't want to DIY things, and you want a solution for under 100 quid, you can still buy the Saitek/Logitech Pro Flight Panel (for about 70 quid), it has a fairly decent trim wheel as part of its controls. If you do want to DIY things, you can use the internal working parts of an old mouse scroll wheel to make a trim wheel; this is fairly easy to do.

This looks quite inexpensive and interesting. I mean the nav panel. 😀

  • Author
1 hour ago, jschaper said:

This might be an option: https://flightvelocity.com/products/flight-velocity-trim-wheel

I'm not affiliated to them in any way, but it seems like the answer to your question. And for a reasonable price. I'm considering getting one.

 

Jack

I have given the Flightvelocity trim wheel some look, and the user review is mixed. It seems to have compatibility problem with MSFS.

What makes things even more interesting is a FFB stick with alternate trim mode so trim forces zero out when the stick is held in the appropriate position (you basically hold the attitude you need and trim away all forces) the game is not capable of handling that so the" in cockpit" trim indicator ends out totally out of whack with the actual aerodynamic trim position.  

Edited by Glenn Fitzpatrick

45 minutes ago, yanfeng12342000 said:

This looks quite inexpensive and interesting. I mean the nav panel. 😀

I have the Saitek Multi Panel as well as the Saitek Cessna Trim Wheel. While the Multi Panel Wheel works, I only use the latter one. It's so much closer to the real thing from the look and feel as well as the mounting position.

Kind regards, Michael

Intel i7-13700K / AsRock Z790 / Crucial 32 GB DDR 5 / ASUS RTX 4080OC 16GB / BeQuiet ATX 1000W / WD m.2 NVMe 2TB (System) / WD m.2 NVMe 4 TB (MSFS) / WD HDD 10 TB / XTOP+Saitek hardware panel /  LG 34UM95 3440 x 1440  / HP Reverb 1 (2160x2160 per eye) / Win 11

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