3 ms·

This looks excellent, a no-brainer purchase, but the one thing that really bugs me about all sims is that they just will never sort out the correct AoA when tri

This looks excellent, a no-brainer purchase, but the one thing that really bugs me about all sims is that they just will never sort out the correct AoA when trimmed. I know Austin flies, so the following is more aimed at him if he's reading. With moderate care you can totally fly a Cessna 172, 152 etc. controlling the pitch just through the trim. Change the pitch wheel, and it affects the elevator, which affects the wing. The whole aircraft then settles down to the desired AoA which given a power input will cause the aircraft to climb or descend. The specific short-coming of most sims is that trim input should settle the aircraft to a desired AoA reasonably quickly (subject to mild phugoid oscillations - mild pitch cycling) but it just never really does. Typically, any decent pilot can trim the aircraft to the desired speed at some rpm, then just fly using light pressure on the controls adding or reducing power in small increments as needed. Under say IFR, the workload can be quite high, and anything you can do to reduce the attention needed to maintain chosen course is critical.

throwaway_exer 10y ago
That's not how trim settings work. After establishing the desired airspeed and rate of climb, then you apply trim to reduce pilot effort. Repeat. What you're talking about is what you would do in an emergency when flight controls were stuck or something.
caconym_ 10y ago
This is interesting. Have you noticed any difference between X-Plane's flight model (blade element theory) and more traditional (lookup table-based) flight models in this regard?
- watmough 10y ago
  Yes, absolutely, the ground effect, so named from the reduction in drag when within a half wingspan or so from the ground is about as pronounced as the real thing. It feels very very real, compared with say MS Flight Sim where the effect may be simulated (not sure on this point) but won't cause you to float like you do in X-Plane or in real-life. I had fun with this in a flight test in a twin once, landing on one engine, with the other feathered and not causing drag, the plane did not want to land. All you can do is wait in this situation. More fun with conventional gear where you can force it onto the ground and hold it there ;-) Other areas, my recall is a bit hazy, but the corners of the flight envelope, stalls, spins etc., are better in X-Plane.
exDM69 10y ago
I find this curious. How do typical flight sims respond to trim wheel and how does that differ from what you expect? When I do flight sims, I rely on the pitch trim wheel a lot but I've had very little time at the controls of real aircraft so I don't know how should it feel.
- watmough 10y ago
  In a nutshell, it feels like they continue to exert force on the stick / yoke without ever getting to a balance point where the aircraft settles to a desired speed / AoA. This applies even with various FF sticks that I have tried and discarded over the years.
  - exDM69 10y ago
    Do you mean the force feedback response on the controller or the flight model?

throwaway_exer 10y ago

That's not how trim settings work. After establishing the desired airspeed and rate of climb, then you apply trim to reduce pilot effort. Repeat. What you're talking about is what you would do in an emergency when flight controls were stuck or something.

caconym_ 10y ago

This is interesting. Have you noticed any difference between X-Plane's flight model (blade element theory) and more traditional (lookup table-based) flight models in this regard?

watmough 10y ago
Yes, absolutely, the ground effect, so named from the reduction in drag when within a half wingspan or so from the ground is about as pronounced as the real thing. It feels very very real, compared with say MS Flight Sim where the effect may be simulated (not sure on this point) but won't cause you to float like you do in X-Plane or in real-life. I had fun with this in a flight test in a twin once, landing on one engine, with the other feathered and not causing drag, the plane did not want to land. All you can do is wait in this situation. More fun with conventional gear where you can force it onto the ground and hold it there ;-) Other areas, my recall is a bit hazy, but the corners of the flight envelope, stalls, spins etc., are better in X-Plane.

exDM69 10y ago

I find this curious. How do typical flight sims respond to trim wheel and how does that differ from what you expect? When I do flight sims, I rely on the pitch trim wheel a lot but I've had very little time at the controls of real aircraft so I don't know how should it feel.

watmough 10y ago
In a nutshell, it feels like they continue to exert force on the stick / yoke without ever getting to a balance point where the aircraft settles to a desired speed / AoA. This applies even with various FF sticks that I have tried and discarded over the years.
- exDM69 10y ago
  Do you mean the force feedback response on the controller or the flight model?