Total Sim noob here. Please explain "trim"

[Æthelwulf]

i see alot of people mentioning "trim" and i see it in the control binds and from how often i see trim mentioned feel like i should probably know what it is.

[Ribbon]

It is small part of flight control surfaces (depending on AC type; trim tab or whole surface trim) which allows you to adjust them so plane could move along desired axis by your needs or to adjust it to be more stable in flight.
Sorry i'm too lazy to type more details, google it!

[Æthelwulf]

how useful is this? do i need to worry about having keys on my throttle for it?

[Ribbon]

It is useful till some degree (slightly better speed and stability), for a start you can ignore it until you get deeper into flight mehanics and systems.
Depending on difficulty you're playing, on normal it is auto adjusted and on extreme you do it by yourself.
Also goes for servers, some are expert some are normal.
But nothing to worry about if you don't do it, take your time and enjoy game, except if you fly bf109 bind the key for stabilizer (vertical) and use it when in dive to pull up the plane faster.

[Æthelwulf]

thanks for that tip, bf-109 is my favorite plane

[Ribbon]

Originally posted by Baraka Obama:

thanks for that tip, bf-109 is my favorite plane

Np, there are vids on youtube how get maximum out of your plane (regarding tactics and maneuvers), i would recommend it to every axis pilot since those planes are not so good turn fighters as allied planes and demand a bit different approach.
Expecially if you fly in MP.

[DropnFbombs]

As was said, definitely do the stablizer. I can't remember if the 109 has roll trim or not, but I do know that it's pretty well automatic when it comes to its engine. I think the earliest one is the only one you have to do engine management and that's just dealing with the radiator.

Once you decide to move around to other planes though you'll need to start looking at those engine management controls. They're more important than trim controls, but a proper trim is really helpful. I used to ignore it and just hold the stick to where I needed it. Turns out it's harder to get a good aim that way, and a proper trim just helps the plane move faster and straighter. I think using trim really helped (or it could just be experience), but it's not necessary.

At any rate enjoy the game! The team that made it is constantly improving it and if you haven't tried it yet you may want to look at Rise of Flight. Made by the same team, it's WWI planes. The engine is older but graphicly it still looks great and flight wise, it's crazy how well they did. You really feel like you're flying some contraption made out of twigs and canvas with a lawnmower engine attached and for some reason it has guns. I've gotten that pit of the stomach feel a few times coming out of a dive and the way you can almost feel the plane regaining lift is just nuts.

Also if you're into modern aircraft check out DCS World. It's very in depth (to the point a variation of the A-10 module is used by the Air National Guard as a trainer for the A-10c cockpit) Before you know it you'll be looking at a whole bunch of fun toys like a hotas, rudder pedals, and a VR headset. Also like I said IL-2 is very much alive, the team is coming up with new planes, maps, and features on a regular basis (as does DCS, both platforms are very much alive, this one has better AI, DCS is more in depth but the AI cheats [uses a simpler flight model]).

[SweatyNeckbeard]

Originally posted by Baraka Obama:

how useful is this? do i need to worry about having keys on my throttle for it?

Don't worry about it so much when starting out. It will keep the plane easier to fly level if you use it. Once you get good enough to fly against other people it is absolutely vital to use it properly. At that level you need to eke out every advantage you can to fly your craft to the edge. Using trim properly can help you turn tighter and fly faster. I have it bound to my hotas and next to the actual flight controls its the next most used control I have. I am constantly adjusting it in battle to get an edge. So yes at some point you will need to master using it.

[martin77]

i have my trim keys on keyboard since dont need often.
I trim before start, or before a fight or before landing.

[Æthelwulf]

thanks for the responses so far guys

[NETSCAPE]

Originally posted by Ribbon:

It is useful till some degree (slightly better speed and stability), for a start you can ignore it until you get deeper into flight mehanics and systems.
Depending on difficulty you're playing, on normal it is auto adjusted and on extreme you do it by yourself.
Also goes for servers, some are expert some are normal.
But nothing to worry about if you don't do it, take your time and enjoy game, except if you fly bf109 bind the key for stabilizer (vertical) and use it when in dive to pull up the plane faster.

I disagree about ignoring it. If you are flying a Stuka or 111 for example you NEED to use trim to climb. Climbing with your control stick will not work efficiently at all. This seems to be an issue I see or hear about with newer players (I was one of those people).

So is it needed to cimb for a fighter, no. Is it needed for some bomber/attack planes? Yes. Is it ideal to use for all planes, Yes.

Trim is your friend, regardless of aircraft type. Start using it immediately. I wasted a good 2 weeks of gameplay by just ignoring it at first. This resulted in frustration while landing, climbing and performing dive attacks. I trim constantly now, landing, cimbing, cruising, before slant attack, before dive attack, in hard turn to get guns on a plane ect ect...

Happy (smooth) flying!

[NETSCAPE]

Originally posted by martin77:

i have my trim keys on keyboard since dont need often.
I trim before start, or before a fight or before landing.

I have my Vertical/Pitch and Yaw Trim set to my shift+hat direction on my VKB Gladiator. I have roll trim on my keyboard since it is only used for cruising smooth and I never "need" to access it quickly.

Now that I think about it, I do trim a lot more than most people judging by all the youtubers playing this game...

STEP UP YOUR TRIM GAME PEEPS!!!

[Ribbon]

Originally posted by NETSCAPE:

Originally posted by Ribbon:

It is useful till some degree (slightly better speed and stability), for a start you can ignore it until you get deeper into flight mehanics and systems.
Depending on difficulty you're playing, on normal it is auto adjusted and on extreme you do it by yourself.
Also goes for servers, some are expert some are normal.
But nothing to worry about if you don't do it, take your time and enjoy game, except if you fly bf109 bind the key for stabilizer (vertical) and use it when in dive to pull up the plane faster.

I disagree about ignoring it. If you are flying a Stuka or 111 for example you NEED to use trim to climb. Climbing with your control stick will not work efficiently at all. This seems to be an issue I see or hear about with newer players (I was one of those people).

So is it needed to cimb for a fighter, no. Is it needed for some bomber/attack planes? Yes. Is it ideal to use for all planes, Yes.

Trim is your friend, regardless of aircraft type. Start using it immediately. I wasted a good 2 weeks of gameplay by just ignoring it at first. This resulted in frustration while landing, climbing and performing dive attacks. I trim constantly now, landing, cimbing, cruising, before slant attack, before dive attack, in hard turn to get guns on a plane ect ect...

Happy (smooth) flying!

I was thinking on fighters and new players until they get more familiar with basic plane control and behaviour(even trim goes into that category but still...).
Let them first learn how each plane behave on different speeds and have feel of it so they can apply appropiate trim settings according to it later.
Wrong trim input on cetrain speeds will do more damage than no trim at all. Step by step!
Yeah climbing with ju88 and heinkel is nightmare without pitch trim.

[Æthelwulf]

I appreciate the feedback so far, but i still dont really understand what "trim" IS... Is it like a flap or something? is it something you have to do constantly while flying or does it "set" where you "put" it?

If it requires constant control / adjustement / attention i will probably just have to ignore it... although i did notice how ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hard it is to climb in the ju-87 and he-111.. and yeah, i totally failed on the dive attacks, made me just want to go back to War Thunder.

[Ribbon]

Originally posted by Baraka Obama:

I appreciate the feedback so far, but i still dont really understand what "trim" IS... Is it like a flap or something? is it something you have to do constantly while flying or does it "set" where you "put" it?

If it requires constant control / adjustement / attention i will probably just have to ignore it... although i did notice how ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hard it is to climb in the ju-87 and he-111.. and yeah, i totally failed on the dive attacks, made me just want to go back to War Thunder.

Trim is small flight control surface placed (or part of) on main flight control surfaces.
Like small aileron on aileron, small elevator on elevaror and small rudder on rudder. Again depending on AC type, some don't have those small surfaces called trim tabs and instead use special column to adjust whole aileron/elevator/rudder surface but with great precision, and later it's not affected by moving your stick/control column.
But when you set it up it stays that way until you adjust it again to your needs and enables your plane more in flight stability so you can even let go your control column and plane will keep it's vertical/horizontal stability.
IRL pilots use it all the time depending on aircraft type.
https://www.google.hr/search?q=trim+on+aircrafts&client=ms-android-tmobile-hr&prmd=ivmn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiB3dLg_aDYAhWCa1AKHXXSA8kQ_AUIESgB&biw=360&bih=560#imgrc=Xs6VbsakFmoabM:

[Ribbon]

Google it if my explanation is horrible, and don't confuse it for spring tabs!