controlling aircraft in fs2004

Nothing wrong with your joystick -- and nothing wrong with you...I hope__? 😀

Try again! It is important to remember that you have established a constant speed and possibly attitude before you start trimming.
Do it gradually - maintain your speed, maintain your attitude.

There is the additional issue of the type of aircraft you're flying.
Some need very little trim, some need a lot.
Also, if you fly the same aircraft and you use realistic settings and scenarios, it will depend on your weight and other factors.

The other problem im havin is that i cannot keep the airplane centred. It keeps swaying to the left and then i hav to move joystick bit to the right to try to centre it again but then i end up going to far to the right etc. This problem affects my overall control of the aircraft and has made flying really difficult. I am currently flying the cessna 172 in the private pilot lessons. Again is this supposed to happen or is it my joystick?

Try going to the FS settings and reduce the null zones.

uzi121 wrote:

The other problem im havin is that i cannot keep the airplane centred. It keeps swaying to the left and then i hav to move joystick bit to the right to try to centre it again but then i end up going to far to the right etc. This problem affects my overall control of the aircraft and has made flying really difficult. I am currently flying the cessna 172 in the private pilot lessons. Again is this supposed to happen or is it my joystick?

I think both. Its really hard to control a joystick, or at least some of sticks. They dont have a precise back-to-center force, so you dont know where is the center of the control. I had the same problem before I got my CH yoke. Turning to the left is perfectly normal, its the torque that causes the left turn force. you do have to pull to the right to correct the torque.

regarding trimming this may be of intererst to you

New! RealTrim 1.0

File Description:
RealTrim is a Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004(tm) module that makes trimming aircrafts more realistic and resemble real-life. It can be activated via key- or button-press when the sim-pilot moves the joystick from deflection to neutral, hence converting the movement of the joystick into movement of the trim wheel. This matches real-life where back/forward pressure on the elevator applied by the pilot is trimmed out by ONE operation: moving the trim-wheel. As the sim-pilot smoothly moves the joystick into neutral position RealTrim automatically adjusts the elevator trim by a corresponding amount. The airplane keeps its current pitch configuration - only ONE control input is required instead of the pilots having to move the joystick into neutral while tapping the trim-key. RealTrim also comes with an option to reduce trim increments making it more precise to adjust trim in flight with the trim up/down keys.

Filename: realtrim-1-0.zip
License: Freeware, limited distribution
Added: 1st February 2006
Downloads: 783
Author: Nils Meier
Size: 53kb

http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=80716

Make sure you have Auto rudder checked in the aircraft Realism settings. That will help with the aircraft wagging left and right. Now for the Trim. This is a computer program so your controller will always recenter no matter how much trim you use. What your looking for is the reaction of the aircraft when properly trimmed(Joystick centered). The joy stick will not maintain it's physical position as a result of trim. Try this short demo to get the feel for the trim:

Setup(Start position) - C-172, full throttle,pitch at 10 degrees(second line above horizon on attitude indicator). Start at low altitude, below 1,000 MSL.(sea level)

1. Run the elevator trim full nose down( pointer will be at top of scale on instrument panel)
Note the force required to hold pitch attitude. Momentarily release stick to centered position. Plane will dive at ground strongly! Return to start position.

2. Run trim nose up until the pointer in on the forth line from the top. Does not require as much force to hold and when you release ,it doesn't dive as hard. Return to start position.

3. Run the nose up trim until the pointer in on 6 1/2 line from the top. It should be close to what you need. You may need to nudge the control wheel forward or backward but it should not dive or climb wildly. This is the correct amount of trim for full power climb at a 10 degree angle.

You don't normally climb a C-172 at a particular angle, it's just for this demo. It is not a autopilot. Even the best trimmed plane will wander in 5-10 seconds. Think of it like the front end alignment of a car. You don't want it to pull left or right so you align them to drive straight. You still have to nudge the wheel left and right even on a straight road. If you take your hands off the wheel for a long time, it will still run off the road eventually.

You don't fly an aircraft by looking at the trim indicator pointer. This is just to demonstrate the effects of the trim system.🙂

Put the aircraft at the pitch that gives you the performance that you want. Climb, descent, or level. Release the control pressure. If it moves substantially, give some trim until you can release the control and the aircraft stays close to where you want it. It will still wander a bit but just nudge control wheel to keep it where you want it. Trim is only good for one power setting, attitude, airspeed. If any of these things change, you have to re-trim. You want to assign two easily accessible buttons on your stick for elevator trim because you use it constantly.

Thanks for the help guys. I have autorudder on and the aircraft still sways to the left. I have installed realtrim now and hopefully i think trimming will be easier now.
Any of u suggest i use aileron trim to stop aircraft swaying to the left?

uzi121 wrote:

Thanks for the help guys. I have autorudder on and the aircraft still sways to the left. I have installed realtrim now and hopefully i think trimming will be easier now.
Any of u suggest i use aileron trim to stop aircraft swaying to the left?

Your aileron trim would make your craft tend to roll. You usually don't have to fool with it much but rudder trim will adjust for left or right. I believe the autorudder is just for applying rudder in turns.