The AH developers did right to add trimming to the game. This increases the "workload" of a pilot, making flying these planes more interesting. And remember, they said it's not reality the way they did it, it's just an approach to bring it into the game. How do you want to model realistic trimming if not everyone is using rudder pedals but a keyboard for rudder control ?
Don't forget another detail: the 109, for example, had a wheel to lower or raise the flaps while the 190 had hydraulic flaps. Imagine a wheel beside your keyboard to be turned several times to bring your flaps into the position a single hit onto the keyboard does now. And this inmidst a hot combat...
Since I never flew a WWII aircraft and I never will, I can't tell you which impact trimming has/had in reality. But I've read something from pilots who flew those planes in WWII or thereafter. E.g. one P47 pilot assumed that the Me109 he shot was piloted by a rookie, because the plane wasn't trimmed properly. Display pilot Dave Southwood flying "Black 6" (a restored Me109G-2) wrote:
"Pitch trim is achieved by a variable incidence tailplane, but rudder and aileron trimming are only possible on the ground via fixed tabs"
"Yaw control in the 109 is interesting and not so straightforward as pitch and roll control. The directional or weathercock stability is low, and marked slipball excursions occur with any changes of speed or power. Also , there is a noticable yaw to the right when pulling up for looping manoeuvres, presumely due to the gyroscopic effect of the propeller, and the ailerons induce a moderate adverse yaw (a yaw to the right when left aileron applied and vice versa). The rudder force to centralise the slipball is low, but constantly changing rudder inputs are required during manoeuvres. However, if the slipball is not kept central, the sideforce on the pilot is not uncomfortable and no real handling problems occur, although it looks untidy in a display. For example, at the top of a left wing-over it feels quite unnatural to be cross-controlled with left aileron and a large amount of right rudder.
This low directional stability makes it hard work to fly the aircraft well although, fortunately, there are safety implications. However it must have made accurate tracking for a gun's 'kill' very difficult,and I suspect that many 109 kills were made at very close range. It also says a great deal about the shooting skills of the Luftwaffe aces. Another problem is the lack of a cockpit adjustable rudder trimmer. The fixed tab is set so that the rudder is in trim in the cruise thus reducing footloads during long transit flights. However, for all other airspeed and power combinations a rudder force must be applied. This is an annoying feature but thankfully the rudder forces are quite low."
We all know the statistics of Erich Hartmann and Hans-Joachim Marseille...
I conclude from these facts that trimming wasn't decisive in combat concerning the handling of the fighter but reduced the workload of the pilot when cruising, keeping the pilot fit.
Hope, I've helped you a little bit.
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Written by Flitze
