PDA

View Full Version : Enhanced flying experience



Ghostrider
January 20th, 2010, 12:44
Some of you guys will probably chuckle at this embarrassing revelation: I have just recently gotten serious about my trim and mixture settings in CFS2. (And FSX too). Going all the way back to my first flight sim, the original "Falcon" from Spectrum Holobyte circa 1989, and even CFS2 since day 1 in what, 2000? I have not paid any attention to trim or mix. In my defense, they weren't part of those early sims anyway. If you wanted to change the path of your flight, push the stick - simple. It's just a sim, right? Why worry about trim?

Having just a very small amount of flight experience, though, I know how important it is in real aircraft, so I thought "Let's try this in the sim." Lo and behold, trim works just as well, and is just as important in the sims as it is in real flight! Go figure... The same thought process applies to mixture, and getting the maximum power out of your engine at altitude. It adds so much to the experience, IMHO, I thought it was worth mentioning. Instead of "horsing" the aircraft around the sky, and down onto the airfield to land, you "fly" it. A well-trimmed aircraft, just like a well-trimmed sailboat will just about fly or sail itself, no autopilot needed, assuming fairly calm conditions. An airplane is a whole lot nicer, easier, and more realistic to land with good trim as well.

Just wanted to share what was a fun discovery for me and my virtual flying experience.

When was the last time you bought a computer program, and were still enjoying the heck out of it ten years later?

Shadow Wolf 07
January 20th, 2010, 13:05
I trim all the time but tend to get a little shakey in combat.

Jagdflieger
January 20th, 2010, 13:08
Don't forget your prop settings too. Fine pitch for take off and your climb out and a fairly corse setting (low RPMs) for cruise. In a way, it's like the transmission in your car. Fine pitch is like 1st gear and corse pitch is like overdrive or high gear.

Using a combination of these settings, throttle, mixture and pitch, Lindberg helped increase the PNG based P-38 Lightning's range to almost unbelievable distances.