Never been a pilot for real…and wondering, when you actually fly a real Cessna how do you know when to stop moving the trim wheel? Do you stop when you feel no resistance from yoke? Is there any trial and error involved? Do you need to look at the wheel while trimming?
Also how you reset it back to neutral position given that you’ve been missing around with it all the time?
Hello you found the solution ! No need to look at the wheel specially in VFR better to look outside but the idea is to turn the wheel to stabilize the plane whatever the phase of flight climbing cruise descending the yoke shouldn’t move and thus the effort on it is null
When flying the real Cessna 172 you use the trim wheel all the time while flying. It’s a “feel thing”, you trim out the forces from the yoke. Then you make small adjustments to keep the altitude. You never look at the trim wheel while trimming. You just feel the changes in the yoke pressure as you use the trim wheel. Like I said, it’s a “feel thing”. It becomes second nature after a few hours in the real plane.
After landing I always put the trim wheel in the take-off position indicated by a small white mark next to the trim wheel. Before take-off it also need to be set for take-off. Other than that, you never reset the trim in-flight as it makes no sense. Get a intro flight with an instructor and you will see for yourself
Trimming in a sim is never as easy as it is in the real world because you don’t have the “feel” and pressure feedback on the yoke.
I find that if you are needing to push forward on your yoke or joystick to get to the pitch you are looking for, then adding nose down trim till you can let go of the yoke or joystick is the best you can do.
Once you are close and can let go of the yoke or joystick then you can make fine adjustments by just adjusting the trim without touching the yoke or joystick but that’s a technique you would be encouraged not to use in the real world.
Right now, here in MSFS, many users are finding that the trim adjustment is something which needs to be addressed as it’s generally way too sensitive.
The problem isn’t that it’s too coarse, the problem is the strange tiny delay where nothing happens, followed by too fast movement.
Makes trimming in pitch noticeable more difficult than in other sims.
The trim issue is well known. The problem is that the pitch trim on many MSFS aircraft is exponential. i.e. when you start trimming not much happens at the beginning. If you then hold the electric trim switch a little longer, the trim speed increases very quickly and the trim runs away.
All airplanes with electric pitch trim, which I have flown IRL had an even trim speed.
Please MS/Asobo make the trim linear and its effects more even.
The yoke go in and out while trimming in a real plane and in a expencive FFB yoke. As said above the lift and speed always make you trim. A second nature coming pretty fast.
I flown cessna many times in the past, having friends with PPL , Being a sim nut I always willingly joined them and shared the expences when I had time.
It has been a while now, many just let their PPL run out. But I can remember how fast you get accustomed to control the aircraft and make it behave. Really effort less flying in good wether.
Personally I never did PPL , I found it a bit timeconsuming taking a flight, with all its preperations just for flying in circles. I wish I could have use for it. Then I would
For those who want a little fun they can even control the plane with the trim the rudder and the power no need to touch the yoke it is necessary to make small adjustments.
You can even land that way.
I can tell you it works I did it several times with a Da40 a Pa28 with my instructor
I had an hour in a Eurofox last year. I trimmed out the elevator and just used light touches on the rudder to stay on track. No need for autopilot or aileron inputs.
I flew Cessna 172’s. You feel pressure on the yoke when the aircraft is not trimmed. You trim until the aircraft maintains what ever attitude you desire for the situation. You then will have a neutral feel on the yoke.
The only force that makes an aircraft turn is lift, which means you usually need to bank the aircraft.
Primary controls for banking are the ailerons, so that’s the one you should use to maintain or adjust the heading/track.
You can use the rudder, but this will initially only yaw the aircraft without changing the track. It will just increase drag.
Depending on the aircraft design, the outboard wing might raise as well, which banks the aircraft and creates the necessary lift to actually turn the aircraft, but that’s only the secondary effect of the rudder input.
I’ve been watching a ton of videos, and from what I gather is in a 152/172 that after I take off and get up to full speed, I should lower the throttle to get my plane into level flight. That is my cruise speed. Then use my throttle for any climbing / descending.
You only really need to use elevator trim if you want to climb faster than full throttle’s climb rate.
I’ve been flying like that and I’m able to do everything I need without ever touching the trim. Even landing.
One more related question, after you trim, does the yoke stay in the same position right when you started to trim? Or it moves back as you trim?
Hope my question is clear, essentially, in simulator yoke always goes back to same neutral position once you let go due to internal springs. Even after you trim. I suppose this is not the case in real airplane and yoke neutral position will be different based on trim amount?
Most, not all, real world trim systems displace the flight controls appropriately. It’s a human factors thing since the position of the flight controls gives unconscious feedback to the pilot and aids in situational awareness. The pilots brain wants to associate what he/she feels in the flight control position with what they are seeing on the attitude indicator.
I’ve never had an issue with trim using the Saitek trim wheel built into the multi panel. It’s much more easy to use than the digital trim lever on my Yoko. I can make much quicker, courser changes that way, which I might do while trimming I meditate after making changes to flap configuration, but for take off, landing, and cruise, having an actual wheel to roll feels so much better.