Rod Machado

[Kasmar45]

I think Rod Machado is a terrible instructor. Any chance I can get someone good. I been on climbs and descents now for over 2 days and he never tells me what I am doing wrong or how to correct it. All he does is make some dumb remark and ends the lesson.

[Fozzer]

I think Rod Machado is a terrible instructor. Any chance I can get someone good. I been on climbs and descents now for over 2 days and he never tells me what I am doing wrong or how to correct it. All he does is make some dumb remark and ends the lesson.

Its his way of telling you that you will NEVER, EVER be a Pilot....

...in the nicest possible way....

So forget the whole idea!.... ...!

Paul.... .... ....!

[Kasmar45]

Oh no Paul. Please say it isn't so. If I could just figure out how the trim is suppose to work... I thought it was suppose to hold the plane steady in one place, but it sure doesn't for me.

[Bass]

I think Rod Machado is a terrible instructor. Any chance I can get someone good. I been on climbs and descents now for over 2 days and he never tells me what I am doing wrong or how to correct it. All he does is make some dumb remark and ends the lesson.

Its his way of telling you that you will NEVER, EVER be a Pilot....

...in the nicest possible way....

So forget the whole idea!.... ...!

Paul.... .... ....!

It must be the heat, Paul

Kasmar, any flight instructor will come with a lot of dumb remarks and end lessons quickly, IF the students are not listening carefully

Here you maybe can read what trims are all about
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/inde ... 332AAXmWS7

As some said, its a poor mans "autopilot"

[Kasmar45]

thanks for all the explanations. I think I understand trim a bit better now. So, when I am climbing I apply trim down at the end of my climb and when I am descending I apply trim up at the end of my descent???

I bought a T.Flight Stick X so now I expect to be flying like a bird.

[Fozzer]

Every time that you make a change to your flight path, when completed, re-trim the aircraft again for straight and level flight.
Also, after cancelling the Autopilot...every time, re-Trim the Aircraft!
Trim for take-off...Trim for landing.
In free flight, keep one hand on the Yoke/Joystick, the other hand on the Trim Wheel.
Juggle the two together!

Paul....Trim, with a short back and sides... ...!

[Rocket_Bird]

When I started with Flight Sim, I failed some of Rod Machado's instruction too! *Cries*

I instructed in real life for a bit, and with regards to trim, I normally tell students that the point of the trim isn't to fly the aircraft, hold it steady, and so on. It is to make your life easier so that you don't have to constantly put pressure on the controls to keep it straight and level.

If you trim your aircraft properly, you can let go of the controls in straight and level flight and it will maintain straight and level flight. Likewise, if you put the aircraft in say a 70 knot climb and trim it out, it will maintain a 70 knot climb if you let go of the controls.

Essentially, the objective of the game is to fly with minimal effort.

So if you find you are pulling on the joystick to maintain your altitude, you need to trim so that are don't have to pull.

The major trim axis to worry about is the up and down trim on the elevator since that is where most of the work is. Some airplanes have trim for ailerons and rudder as well, and those are mostly there so you can keep the aircraft from rolling, or keep the ball centered on the turn coordinator.

You should be able to fly with a couple fingers if you do it right. If you are using any pressure on the controls, trim it to get rid of that pressure.

[Hawkeye07]

Very nice explanation Rocket_Bird! It's almost exactly word for word of what my flight instructor told me 20 years ago. The trim is to unload the pressure on the yoke and thereby reduce the pilot's physical workload.