I've been somewhat curious about the yaw-dampers that I see featured on certain payware twins for FSX, specifically the Beech Duke and the Piper Cheyenne. Aside from being a prerequisite for Autopilot activation, they don't seem to do anything noticeable.
Since straight winged aircraft don't suffer from Dutch Roll, what is the purpose of the YD? Automatic turn coordination? The RA Beech Duke in the sim doesn't appear to have any form of auto-coordination whether the Yaw Damper is on or off. The Cheyenne by contrast, seems to be auto-coordinated even when the YD is Off (and consequently "feels" somewhat unrealistic, as if it is riding on rails, completely devoid of inertia, with no tendency to slip or skid)
So in the real world...what are the Yaw Dampers doing on light twin GA craft, and what role do they play in auto-coordination? I gather that the presence of a Yaw Damper does not always imply auto coordination? Are the aforementioned sim planes true to their real world counterparts?