P38 manual trim

[nimble]

Hey all,

 I decided that I should try out a new ride after yet another hiatus and was thinking about going for the p-38 this time. Anyways, iirc it used to be suggested to fly it with manual trim on with the elevator placed in line with the bottom of the L. Is this still the general concensus or did they change the combat trim?


Sorry if this has been addressed before, I'm out and about ATM and stuck on edge, search is acting really funny.

[StokesAk]

I never mess with the 38's trim, only when i compress or in a fight with a worthy opponent.

[CAP1]

Hey all,

 I decided that I should try out a new ride after yet another hiatus and was thinking about going for the p-38 this time. Anyways, iirc it used to be suggested to fly it with manual trim on with the elevator placed in line with the bottom of the L. Is this still the general concensus or did they change the combat trim?


Sorry if this has been addressed before, I'm out and about ATM and stuck on edge, search is acting really funny.

i never use combat trim. ever. i'll use auto climb, or plain old auto pile-it if in level flight, but i always use manual trim.

to me, in a fast fight, the combat trim doesn't change fast enough for the conditions, and in a slow fight, it almost feels as if it's fighting against me....particularly when i get near stall.

 i also have the stall limiter off....know ya didn't ask that, but figured i'd throw it in there for good measure.

[nimble]

i never use combat trim. ever. i'll use auto climb, or plain old auto pile-it if in level flight, but i always use manual trim.

to me, in a fast fight, the combat trim doesn't change fast enough for the conditions, and in a slow fight, it almost feels as if it's fighting against me....particularly when i get near stall.

 i also have the stall limiter off....know ya didn't ask that, but figured i'd throw it in there for good measure.

Do you generally keep the elevator in the position I asked about or do you fiddle with all the trim?

As usual thanks for the replies all!

[CAP1]

Do you generally keep the elevator in the position I asked about or do you fiddle with all the trim?

As usual thanks for the replies all!

well, that's where it takes some practice.


assume you're flying straight and level at 200mph. when you adjust your elevator for level flight, you can fly hands off now. if you accelerate for any reason, you'll now climb. if you deaccelerate, you'll descend.

 in a fight, i normally only have to make small adjustments. last night for instance, i was fighting more in an energy fight mode....using coprhead as bait    but anyway, i was trimmed for about 300mph. so when i'd descend into the fight, i had to make slight "down elevator" adjustments, so as to not fight the plane in the dive.
 make the shot, shallow climb out, and as the speed decreases, i needed to hold more back stick, or trim up a little.

 if i get myself into a slow turning fight, i trim more up, and leave it alone, undless the con dives away....or if i have to dive away.

 it's not as hard as it sounds, as i have the trims on my stick.

 go in the training arena, turn off combat trim, and mess around wiht it for a bit. 

i think you;ll like it.

[texastc316]

I go manual trim. no CT. I trim for neutral, where nose isnt rising or falling. I will hit the CT button to get it to neutral quicker after auto climb, but shut it right back off. Been doin it for a couple of weeks, and I can tell a bit of a diff.

[cactuskooler]

I never take off combat trim unless I'm near compression.

[nimble]

Thanks again all Was just wondering, seemed a long while ago that folks said the combat trim on a 38 was 'bad' and that putting the elevator to neutral improved performance quite a bit I'll check it out a bit when I get home.

Just wondering, does anyone remember the old thread/discussion I'm talking about?

[Plazus]

I never take off combat trim unless I'm near compression.

Same... I havent noticed a difference in turn rate/radius with CT off during a dogfight. Learn to fight with CT on and you should be just fine! But then again, Ive only been flying the P38 for only 5 months...

[The Fugitive]

Thanks again all Was just wondering, seemed a long while ago that folks said the combat trim on a 38 was 'bad' and that putting the elevator to neutral improved performance quite a bit I'll check it out a bit when I get home.

Just wondering, does anyone remember the old thread/discussion I'm talking about?

I believe AKAK and Murdr use to talk about setting it there. Using combat trim vs not  is the same as using tracers or not. The one thing I don't like about combat trim is if you like to rope and really push it to the edge, like getting down to 50 mph, combat trim will try to trim your nose up and at that slow a speed you will feel like you get stuck in the air. I find that if I'm dropping under 100 I'll flick the combat trim off and have much better control at those slower speeds.

[Ack-Ack]

Having CT on does have an effect on flaps and for flap dependent planes like the P-38, it's best to have it off.  Though, it really does boil down to personal preference.


ack-ack

[Lazerr]

Almost never use it, unless the ground is quickly approaching.

[CAP1]

I believe AKAK and Murdr use to talk about setting it there. Using combat trim vs not  is the same as using tracers or not. The one thing I don't like about combat trim is if you like to rope and really push it to the edge, like getting down to 50 mph, combat trim will try to trim your nose up and at that slow a speed you will feel like you get stuck in the air. I find that if I'm dropping under 100 I'll flick the combat trim off and have much better control at those slower speeds.

the highlighted part is what i was talking about. it kinda seems to fight against me in a slow fight.

[BnZs]

All combat trim is a table of settings for keeping the plane flying straight at a given speed. This trim setting does not change when flaps are deployed. Thus planes want to pitch up with flaps deployment in AHII. I don't know about you, but I find this much more awkward for shooting than slightly nose heavy.

Neat thing about the P-38, you get into a dogfight, you trim slightly nose heavy, and you don't have to worry with rudder or aileron trim at all. This makes for a not inconsiderable advantage vs. flying and shooting with flaps-heavy single-engine planes IMO, especially if you are using a twisty stick instead of pedals.

[Ack-Ack]

Neat thing about the P-38, you get into a dogfight, you trim slightly nose heavy, and you don't have to worry with rudder or aileron trim at all. This makes for a not inconsiderable advantage vs. flying and shooting with flaps-heavy single-engine planes IMO, especially if you are using a twisty stick instead of pedals.

That's the nice thing about the Lightning, you don't need to mess with rudder or aileron trim at all, the only exceptions is if you have battle damage then trimming rudders or aileron might make it easier to home.


ack-ack