Had Dcs been more realistic, I'd already have been washed out

[Delta-canard]

So here I am struggling. After 10 years away from simming that is not surprising but still. I got the L-39, the JF-17 and the Kursant campaign as a "starter pack". I already passed once the first mission but then the saved games file got corrupted and so I am back at struggling to do the basic pattern.

I manage to keep speed and altitude constant in straight flight but I can't get the right amount of back pressure to keep level in a turn and when the instructor yells at me (Altitude 200!) I have tocmoye the stick a lot, then overcorrect.

I tried trimming the aircraft,
but it seems to be pitching down no matter what I do with the trimmer.

I did slightly better with curves on both stick axes (although Chuck's Guide says I don't need them) but I feel with a long stick (I have a vkb Gunfighter with 20cm extension) I shouldn't be needing this.

Any tips on getting the basics right besides "Study more and we will try again tomorrow"?

[Art-J]

Although I don't think fiddling with trims in a turn is a good idea, let's establish if they work at all. Do they in level flight?

[Delta-canard]

I don't try to fiddle with trim in a turn but wondered if it wouldn't be easier if I entered the turn with a correctly trimmed plane.  I managed to trim it in the quick action mission (I wanted to practice without getting kicked off the plane by the IP and skip the taxiing). I don't really have time for that in the campaign mission.
 I tried to fly ba the variometer, I think my free patterns got slightly better but still not enough.  Also, I theoretically should be looking outside and only glancing at the panel, instead of that I keep staring at the instruments.

[jurinko]

Add power in turn. Your plane loses speed by increased drag so you need to compensate it.

I am in the glider course now and we started with fly straight and keep speed 100 kph, then make a 30 degree level turn and keep speed 100 kph. In this case I need to slightly go nose down to compensate drag. With engine you add gas.

[Baltic Pirate]

On 7/7/2022 at 4:26 PM, Art-J said:

Although I don't think fiddling with trims in a turn is a good idea, let's establish if they work at all. Do they in level flight?

Set attitude as you wish and trim control forces away. repeat. Turn, climb. Just basics. That said, in a standard rate turn with aircraft trimmed to level flight, there should be  no need for trim. I'd check your control axis tuning. Mine are pretty close to the real thing. Mind you I have yet to use the pitch trim in flight on the real thing. It is so light on controls.

[Tiger-II]

It's a requirement to hold in some back-pressure during a turn. You converted some of the lift to turn rate, so you now need to increase AoA to increase lift in order to maintain altitude.

It requires practice, and there is no substitute.

I have thousands of hours flying sims like DCS, and yet I'm more often than not just beating up the pattern flying the aircraft at the most basic level. It's a skill you lose if you don't keep practicing it. Basic airmanship is the foundation of literally everything else you will do in flying.

I also practice aerobatic maneuvers. These help sharpen your accuracy in pulling g (loops/Immelmanns/split-S), managing airspeed, altitude awareness, and control of heading (a barrel roll, if executed correctly, will end up at the same altitude and heading as the entry).

Keep practicing. If you feel youreslf getting burned out, stop flying for the day. There are good and bad days.

Also a real-world glider pilot here. If you're able, I strongly recommend it!

Edited August 9, 2022 by Tiger-II

[TasDozer]

What's this about not adding trim in a turn? If you're gonna be doing anything for more than about five seconds, go ahead and apply some trim to help stay stable. In real aircraft and in flight sims. Remember your ABCs: Always Be Ctrimming

[average_pilot]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:55 PM, TasDozer said:

What's this about not adding trim in a turn? If you're gonna be doing anything for more than about five seconds, go ahead and apply some trim to help stay stable. In real aircraft and in flight sims. Remember your ABCs: Always Be Ctrimming

But if you intent to maintain the same IAS after the turn you may instead prefer to maintain some back pressure during the turn and after the turn you only need to readjust the throttle since the plane is already trimmed for the right IAS.

[TasDozer]

In a glider, the trim is often a lever or a sliding handle, and the stick forces are light. So you can hold the stick lightly and, at any moment, instinctively apply trim to make the remaining stick forces go away instantly - subjectively I think it's easier than holding down a hat switch or turning a trim wheel. So you can retrim when you exit the turn with no effort anyway.

Unless you're flying the SzD-51Junior where the trim is only adjustable between sprung detents, theoretically giving a 5- or 10-knot graduation in airspeed between each, but inevitably always being slightly too nose-down or slightly too nose-up... or so I'm told. I've never had the privilege of flying one of those

[average_pilot]

Maybe it's just me that once I finally manage to be trimmed at the right IAS I don't feel like touching the trim again even if it isn't set correctly temporarily during the turn. Especially when there is no AoA indicator to be found in the cockpit (how I hate that!) I find the whole process too cumbersome to be willing to change my trim unless I really want to fly at a different speed. I guess in a glider where you don't have to worry about the throttle it's less of a hassle.

Actually, the one thing I love about simulators is that while the virtual plane may behave to some extent like the real one, which is the whole point, I'm free to do with it what I want how I want! 

[Delta-canard]

Hey, I didn't notice my old thread had been revived! Well, I did gradually become somewhat better. I probably don't trim nearly as much as I should (I guess it would have been way more intuitive IRL with changing forces and physically moving stick center). Also, the Kursant campaign might actually be too hard for a complete beginner, I feel I'm grinding my way through it more easily after going through the Mirage campaign

[A10Yoda]

On 7/10/2022 at 4:35 AM, jurinko said:

Add power in turn. Your plane loses speed by increased drag so you need to compensate it.

I am in the glider course now and we started with fly straight and keep speed 100 kph, then make a 30 degree level turn and keep speed 100 kph. In this case I need to slightly go nose down to compensate drag. With engine you add gas.

This is great advice and you additionally need to keep her slippery.   The L-39 is very rudder dependent to keep the nose clean.  Unlike other designs the t shape of the L-39 gives some ugly drag and flight characteristics if the nose doesn't lead the maneuver. 

Imagine the aircraft being pulled by an imaginary string that was attached to the nose of the aircraft.