Combat Trim.. What does it 'Do' ??

[morfiend]

Thanks for posting the hard numbers, Rodent.

<S>


I'll admit I thought it was a bigger difference than it is.  It sure felt like a bigger difference when I switched it. 

 I have the same impression Karnak so youre not alone.  Its similar in the 109s at high speed,if you look at trim indicators you will see CT has dialed in almost full down elevator trim and I think that's what makes it seem like theres a bigger difference than there is.

  I;m with Rodent as far as combat trim goes on a whole,I use it 90% of the time and the only 2 plane I use manual trim on are the P38 and the KI84.I tend to toggle CT on or off in the 109 and other planes but usually have it off on the 2 mentioned above.


   

  PS: some great info there Rodent!

[ink]

all the 16's and brews that die to my Ki, didn't notice a difference.

[Triton28]

You guys manually trimming in single engine planes... are you just trimming elevator or are you also trimming aileron and rudder?

[WW1965]

A couple of things I've noticed since I've been thinking about this while flying..

#1- I'm thinking about this rather than flying/fighting.. & it sux, but I am learning a few things.. so hopefully, in the future, it'll become 2nd nature & reaction rather than a conscious effort..

#2- CT off @ low speeds seems to help if only because I'm controlling the input & it's not being 'Moderated'.. since I posted this original, I've noticed I look down during a fight & the CT is off, & I thought it was on, & well, if it ain't broke don't fix it..
Question: If AutoP is off, CT is on, what will turn the CT off automatically?? Is it adjusting the trim manually??

#3- if I turn on 'autoclimb' & use the '.speed XXX' & throttle back to 0%, it'll drop pretty quick with minimal input..
Question: is the '.speed xxx' command basically the same as the '.set trim xxx' command?? Or does the '.set trim XXX' just set the trim @ that speed until you change it??

I've got a few more ???'s but I gotta pee...

W-W

[Traveler]

ok, I've been playin since mid Feb, & I'm gettin the hang of a few things..

But the one that just baffles me is Combat Trim..
What does it do ??
When to turn it on or off ??
Does it depend on speed ??
Can it be set to a speed ??

Or is it better to leave it off & learn to live without it all together ??

Thx!!

W-W

There is a more complete answer to your question about trim then what I've read here in the forum.

The only time you want to fly an aircraft out of trim is when trying to slow it down or in a Crab for cross wind landings,  that's real life, not here in cartoon land.  The reason we need aircraft trim is because Air Speed, Angle of Attack and Weight and Balance are always changing in an aircraft.  The controls surfaces when used produce a certain amount of moment. The moment is a force used to change the attitude of the aircraft, pitch or roll.  The pilot feels these forces through the controls and can be very fatiguing. In WWII. Not all aircraft had hydraulic boosted or hydraulic controls.  Trim tabs were designed to produce a counter force to offset the original moment produced by the controls.  In most complex aircraft, trim tabs can be adjusted from the cockpit. 

Even modern aircraft, in my airline days, when women first ventured into the front office, there was worry that should the hydraulic boosted controls on the 727 fail, would a women be strong enough to fly the bird for an hour, and fly a low approach do to weather, execute a missed approach with two engines out and bring it around for a second approach. (This never actually happened, except in simulation)  This did happen , DC8 hydraulic boosted controls with runaway trim , two male pilots could not over ride the nose up trim command and they quickly exceeded the AOA and crashed at JFK on takeoff.

I don't know how trim is modeled within AH, whether it takes into account Air Speed, Angle of Attack and Weight and Balance or if it only takes into account Air Speed as all of the answers I've seen posted on the forum here have stated.  There are many links that you can go to  and get a more complete and accurate description of Aircraft Trim.  Hope this helped.