Tips on manual trim?

[TweetyBird]

Lately I've been trying manual trim. I have a hat mapped to control it and a button on the stick to toggle combat trim. If I start messing up bad with the manual trim, I just toggle to combat trim.

So far I notice its a lot easier to set your sight on a fleeing bandit (400-800 yards) with the trim. I also notice with a spit, you have to keep the nose trimmed low as it has a natural tendency to pop up when fast. In a turn fight, I think that tendemcy could be an advantage.

Questions..

Is it my imagination or would a spit with the nose trimmed all the way up out turn a spit on combat trim (same spit model of course)?

In an emmelman, do you trim the nose all the way up going to the top then all the way down at the top? If not,  how?

Am I using the trim too much for control? E.g., when I'm chasing a slow climbing bandit, is it sloppy to use the trim for the climb?

Thanks

[United]

By the way you described it, you're using trim quite often, much more than I do.

I just use it when I am 1 on 1 with a plane.  Right before we merge I trim it all the way up, it helps you loop better.

If you were a spit fighting a same model spit on combat trim, you would have the upper hand in turning if you trimmed it, but you still have a challenge ahead of you if it gets into scissors, because the trim can cause your nose to go up when you roll back over to stay on the 6 of the scissoring plane.

Another time I use trim is when I am in a plane, just compressed, and I dont want to hit auto-pilot because it may rip my wings off.  I then trim it slowly until the plane is level again.

One of the last times I use trim is when I am in a plane that turns slightly worse than your opponant, such as a Hurricane IIC vs a Spit V.  If I were the spit, I would trim up to get a tighter turning radius, and therefore almost equaling out with the hurricane.

You may also want to use it during a furball when you are in a turner, so you not only can outturn many planes, but be able to break away from attacking planes faster.

[TweetyBird]

Yea, I'm using it a lot - probably because its new to me. When it gets totaly out of wack, I toggle the combat trim.

[Flossy]

There is a good article on using both Combat and manual trim in Lephturn's Aerodrome.  I mostly leave Combat Trim on, but over-ride it in some situations.....  

[Hap]

the only time i use manual trim is k key when i've gotten a tad too fast on a divebombing run.

[Eagler]

what you say is true about trim helping with turns but with this help comes an E loss

I only manual trim, have since the beginning - rotors on X45 do the trick - will be easier in AH2

[TweetyBird]

I've noticed when I can manage to get the plane in trim, the shots are easier and more deadly. Whether I put it in trim manually or with the methods described in the article Flossy linked to, the plane seemes more acurately trimmed than relying on the combat trim - i.e., there no drift or rolling. Targets seem easier to hit as the controls feel much lighter. Only slight back pressure to pull into a position for a shot. It might be a fact of sloppy flying or stick choice - I dunno - but it seems there is definitely less nose bounce when the plane is accurately trimmed.

[Sh00ter]

I use CT for normal flying(transit)or sometimes I leave it on during semi-high speed passes, but when I engage someone in a T&B I just toggle it off.
If I get in a slow turn or looping fight *sometimes*I just bang in nose up trim and ride it, but most of the time I forget it.
So I hardly ever use trim. Maybe I should since I'm trying so hard to learn the 38.

[Sundowner]

Master the Aces High Trim System
Here's all you could ever want to know about the Aces High trim system.

I use manual up trim mapped to my space bar to add a few more degrees/sec of turn when Im saddled up and stuck in lag pursuit to get a gun solution.

Try it! It works!

http://users.andara.com/~sconrad/trim.htm

[sax]

Originally posted by TweetyBird
I've noticed when I can manage to get the plane in trim, the shots are easier and more deadly. Whether I put it in trim manually or with the methods described in the article Flossy linked to, the plane seemes more acurately trimmed than relying on the combat trim - i.e., there no drift or rolling. Targets seem easier to hit as the controls feel much lighter. Only slight back pressure to pull into a position for a shot. It might be a fact of sloppy flying or stick choice - I dunno - but it seems there is definitely less nose bounce when the plane is accurately trimmed.

Thats it in a nutshell

[Flit]

I try to trim the plane to neutral at my "fighting speed"
 For example, in a a yaku,I'll trim to level at 300 IAS, so i don't have to move the stick( this includes roll, of coarse)to fly straight and level. Then as I slow down in the fight, I give a tug on ele trim to keep the nose where I want it
I got mine mapped to one of the the hat switches, so it's easy to fix the trim instinctively
try flying with it off, and get use to trimming, if ya get in trouble, hit x or alt x and once it settles down try agian