Su-33 recommended carrier approach and touchdown speeds..

[Maverick-X]

What?

 

Don't trim?

 

All trimming does is lessen pressure on the flightstick - nothing more. In this instance, as per the OP's statement, trimming over-compensates and accordingly is a hindrance, ergo don't trim.

 

Don't be lazy - fly her down hands-on :)

 

 

 

 

Music is the Food of the Soul. Eat on 'ol Pip, eat on :D

 

All trimming does in a flight sim is recentering the stick, so you have a neutral position of the stick for your current flight state. "Don't trim" is pretty much the worst thing you can tell anyone, anywhere. regardless of simulator or real pilot. ALWAYS! trim the aircraft in a new state of flight!!!

 

As for approach speed: The speed does not matter at all. Its all about angle of attack (AoA). You will have a higher AoA at the same speed if your weight is higher, the AoA is extremely important for carrier landings as it indicates your Eye/Hook value. That is basically the difference of cockpit height to arrestor-hook-height. Your approach may look right, but if your pitch is too high your hook is too low, resulting in an air-hook if you wave off your approach. If your pitch is too low your hook ends up to high and will not hit the arrestor cable.

 

So the correct AoA gives you the correct Eye/Hook (pitch) and also the correct speed for your current weight in order not to get too close to the stallspeed.

[159th_Viper]

ALWAYS! trim the aircraft in a new state of flight!!!

 

Excellent advice there pertaining to FC3 KNOWING that trim is currently 'buggy'/not working satisfactorily :thumbup:

 

:doh:

[Maverick-X]

Its an overall excellent advice. Trim in FC3 is... lets say special. best way to achieve a well trimmed aircraft in fc3 without fiddling around with the trim for 30 mikes is switchung on/off attitude control autopilot. That said I'd still stick to >always trim your aircraft<

[159th_Viper]

Its an overall excellent advice.

 

And that right there is the problem: Don't go throwing the kitchen-sink at a problem in an attempt to cloud the issue with irrelevant white-noise.

 

The OP specifically referred to the SFM SU-33's trim characteristics and I replied thereto. 'Overall' has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Trim has been buggy in the SFM planes for years and years and until it's rectified it's best not to rely on it for minute corrections, unless of course you resort to the hack you are referring to. Then again, that's not trim is it, justifying my advice as to not rely on trim in the first instance in that specific scenario ;)

[Maverick-X]

I understand the Issue with the current SFM trim, but not trimming the aircraft can't be a reasonable approach!

I don't think hack is the right term, as there is nothing to be modified in order for it to work. Furthermore it is a very good work around for the great SFM trim system.

 

I perhaps get the term "minute correction" wrong, as I'm not 100% sure what you mean with that. Basically you trim your aircraft for every new flight state: you change your speed, altitude or both -> retrim the aircraft so controls are neutral again. For correction I understand correcting my current attitude, which would not be something to be done with trimming.

 

In general you can't argue that >always trim< is simply a basic rule of flight. A bug in a simulator might make trim uneasy or even impossible, but that does not change basic rules of aviation, even more so as there is a workaround to get a working trim. Trimming makes life easier, especially for a hard task like carrier landings. It might be a bit too easy with exploiting the autopilot, but attempting to land a badly trimmed aircraft on a carrier is a no-go

Edited March 25, 2014 by Maverick-X

[159th_Viper]

I understand the Issue with the current SFM trim, but not trimming the aircraft can't be a reasonable approach!

 

In this specific instance it is - read what I said above.Gawddamn I'm done with this merry-go-round :megalol:

[Maverick-X]

I ofc read what you wrote, I simply disagree with you.

I might not be able to convince you, but as long as there is a way to get your aircraft trimmed to a new state of flight you should. If there really was no reasonable way to set a satisfying trim I'd agree to just skip that, but there is, so do it! Perhaps I'm phrasing this a little to strict... If you have a very light roll or pitch change with centered stick it's nonsense to try and trim this, but in any larger or lets say annoying rate trim is the answer

Edited March 25, 2014 by Maverick-X

[VincentLaw]

On a kind of related topic, does the Su-33 have a HUD mode that shows the velocity direction vector? I feel a little insecure doing carrier landings without one.

[Robin_Hood]

No, there is no velocity vector in the Su-33, in FC3 (and I would expect not in real life either). Just check your glideslope and AoA and you'll make it.

 

About trim, for carrier traps, I'd say, don't try to trim your aircraft to the exact slope, but you can trim to lessen your stick deflection. Make it so that you always have to pull the stick slightly aft. Don't overtrim, because you don't want to be pushing the stick forward, and that may induce unwanted oscillations.

 

That being said, I often land and trap untrimmed (but not always).