Back in the ole' day's, pilots used to sneer at us simmers for enjoying this hobby so much, with what might be called comic book familiarity for a college level vocation. But a flight simulator programs get more and more sophisticated and real pilots start offering guidance and input, it adds entire new dimensions to this hobby, taking it to unimaginable levels, never considered in the"DOS" days, truly making it "As Real as it Gets!" Loved this lesson, keep it up!

Thanks Russ, I’m brand spanking new to this hobby, coming off being a musician/photographer. I’m a database programmer by trade, and I wanted to find something I could learn while being home. Learning to fly is it. Bought a high end pc and now I’m learning the basics. Your channel keeps coming up. I have learned a lot from you, so thank you. I have a quest 2 as well, and have done the Vr piece a couple times. What I realized is that I want to really learn the basics, before I get immersed. The VR will be my reward when I’m educated. The trim has been baffling me, and your lesson helped a great deal. Thank you!

Wish I had seen this b4 getting the same yoke. It was also driving me crazy. Felt so relieved when I heard expert Russ explanation. I'm also an ex flying [PA30] captain [but a lot less experience than Russ]. Thank you for the great videos. It does help an aged ex--pilot come to terms with a new & exciting hobby. Trying out VR Xplane as well in Quest3. Incredible!

Excellent video, I love the mixing of VR and physical equipment that you have done.

Thanks this was a really good video, explained trim in more detail and way better than anything else that I've seen both in theory and practice. Also really appreciated the parts about how it differs in a sim and what you should look for in a sim yoke.

Good instructual approach to trimming. After also flying in the military and airlines we sometimes forget the importance of trimming, especially when teaching a new pilot. Good trimming is extremely important in instrument flying. I have had pretty good luck with Honeycomb's yoke and throttle set up.

Excellent instructional video. Thank you! I learn a little more each day and your videos are a BIG help.

Hi Russ, nicely done on a area of flight control that is seldom mentioned.was a good refresher for me as a pilot with many many hours, as to what we are trying to achieve and using real world experience in a virtual platform, thanks

Thanks Russ. Good advice all around, including the yoke discussion. I tried the "springs to rubber bands" alteration to my Saitek yoke, including the hardware fix - no good. I love my Honeycomb yoke. Keep 'em coming.

Excellent format! Thanks Russ.

Thanks Russ for another great and interesting video! :). Even though i like your more technically aimed videos, your experience in flying, and you´re teaching abilities make this kind of "flying theory" videos very welcome to the scene. But please dont stop with the wonderful series of cockpit control & building ideas!! :) Thanks again / David.

Thanks for the illustration with the trim wheel. Just a beginner here, so I will have to try this.

Hi Russ, want to thank you for this video, brought back my training days. My instructor instilled in me that once at altitude you trimmed until plane stayed in level flight and very little throttle adjustment to maintain speed. I also had a Saitek yoke and had same problems with the dead zones, a 1/4 inch movement before yoke would respond. Since watching your video and some others, purchased the Honeycomb yoke and throttle and now landing are smoother and have better control. Did consider the Yoko, but price kinda put a damper on that.

Awesome videos! Thank you for great work! Very informative and excellent presentation!

Very good 👍 instruction, Russ. You are very correct about the need for proper trim and for something so simple to learn, it seems to take some of us forever to learn. Everyone wants to over control the airplane. Small inputs were the key for me. I really like your videos and appreciate your format. I just received an early Christmas present 🎁 in the form of an Oculus Quest 2. I haven’t figured out how to use it with X-Plane yet, so if you have any videos on the subject or if you plan to make any, I would love to watch and learn from them. Thanks as always.

Trimming during landing has always made for such a smooth landing for me. It a great feeling when you can get that hands off trim setting.

Thank you so much for making this video. You gained a new subcriber. You are an awesome teacher.

Excellent video Russ very well done! I hope you'll be having more! I'm a VR sim flyer using the Honeycomb Alpha yoke and Bravo throttle and love them. Prior to that I only flew with the CH Fighterstick as mainly I flew il2 Sturmovik ww2 combat sim but when I got into msfs I went up. I flew xp11 quite a bit at 1st but I've been flying Sims since my old Amiga500 had Fighter duel. Back almost to the Pong days! Can't wait to see more of your content!

Great video! I am lapsed private pilot (kids and family life has taken over), and I just am just tiptoeing back into aviation. After hanging up the David Clarks, I always said to myself that if I ever got back into the cockpit, I didn't want to compromise on the plane to fit the mission (an engine failure during training really shaped my perspective). So right now, funds constrain any serious consideration to actually getting back into the air. Simming though is a different value proposition, so I decided to buy FS2020 with a gift card and just trying things out. Flying Diamonds with an old HOTAS has been terrible, so I am naturally thinking about different peripherals. This was a fantastic discussion, thanks!

Great Presentation, Russ

Thank you Russ I learned a lot from this video.

Amazing video and I learnt a lot about trim that i thought i already knew :) I tried VR on a Reverb G2 but while the effect and realism was amazing and really improved my landings, I just could not get used to the poor visual quality of the cockpit controls, maybe I'll try it again one day.

This is an excellent video, thanks Russ 😎✈

Thanks Russ, very helpful!

Great video. Wish I had seen it two years ago. Just this year I ponied up for the Honeycomb bravo throttle because it includes a trim wheel.

Your real pilot experience is very impressive and makes you a terrific resource to bridge the sim to real differences - as you did here. My real pilot experience is very limited but I do recall that trimming a 172 was so easy it was almost subconscious. That Has to be because of the forces on the stick in the seat of your pants. MSFS, totally different and difficult. Your video contains a very helpful key, trim based on the rate of change in the angle of the nose. I fly the C208 a lot and I find much harder than elevator trim is yaw trim. Take off torque is readily corrected but once in the air, how does one stop this thing from turning left? Both rudder trim and aileron trim are available in the C208, but I really can’t figure out when and how to successfully use them. Maybe it’s just me, but if any of you flight sim folks out there could use Russ’s help with this, vote 👍for a video on this subject from, Russ. Thx

I went threw the same thing with finding the right yoke. I researched trim and found the most realistic trimming in a sim is with Brunner FFB. The pressures are as you say in your video, and are programable to individual aircraft. And, with FFB the yoke stays where you put it.. It's a bit pricey, but ended my struggle. After getting pitch trim figured out, I opted for the FFB rudder pedals, so now rudder trim plays a big role as well. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge...Great video... PS. I also followed your sim platform build and you inspired me to build my own. Just as I needed it to be...

I have a better understanding of how the trim works now, thanks.

I came across this video in my suggestions, I wasn’t looking for it but I did find it enjoyable to watch. If you want a yoke with with an all in one solution with throttle levers and the best trim wheel you’ll ever feel (its best feature ever) the turtle beach velocity one will get your trim-gasms going ;)

You are right about VR, the first time I put on a VR headset I was BLOWN away. That said in Microsoft Flight Simulator I only VR maybe 5% of the time because even with a Ryzen 5800X, 48 Gig of ram and a Geforce 3060TI the frame rate issues and having to lower settings to get an acceptable framerate outweigh any advantages. I have a 49 inch curved 32x9 aspect ration monitor and the clarity and smooth experience is slightly preferable compared to VR, not to mention I have a yoke, switch panel, multi panel and radio stack and they are very hard to use in VR.

Great video, thanks!

I’m just starting out I don’t know half the stuff you talked about however I watch the entire video and it was helpful I’ll keep what you said in mind probably watch this video again later when I have more experience overall good video man I can tell it was a good video even thoe “what did you say” hahaha

I’d appreciate more videos like this to help me learn to fly.

After years of desktop simming, I quickly learned the importance of proper trimming when having a ride in a professional full-size & full-motion 737 simulator. My arms were killing me while pulling the yoke when the instructor kindly pointed out that trimming would surely give me relief.😅 Behind a pc it’s hard to get the ‘feeling’. Maybe a force feedback yoke comes close. Thanks mr. Barlow for yet another nice video.

The best yoke I've ever had is the Fulcrum One yoke. I've had CH, Honeycomb, and Precision Flight Controls and the Fulcrum One is the best. 90 degress both ways on the ailerons, long pitch axis, no center detent, and very smooth. I can make small corrections on final and it's amazing!

Thanks Russ. I haven't flown in the last 21 years. I decided to try xplane 11 with a new honeycomb yoke. Loaded in my C177 Cardinal took off from KUKT as I used to do and couldn't control the pitch at all. The yoke has trim switches on the left horn, tried that. Seemed not to have the needed smoothness. it was too high then too low. Trying to use the wheel with the mouse pointer was a no-go try. I haven't tried the throttle quad yet. Hope the wheel trim on there works better. It was a real crappy landing at Penridge !!! I'm also trying to get air manager down, still a study in progress . Thanks for your videos. George

I've wanted to build an X-Plane sim for years and your videos that I've watched these past two weeks have been an invaluable source of information. If I could make one suggestion to make them more informative, please list the hardware that you're using in the description of the video. I've never been a Windows user, let alone build a PC and the combinations of tower size, motherboard form factors, cores, clockspeeds, etc has been overwhelming. My goal is the 5-screen setup: (3) 55" HDTVs for the scenery and (2) 15.6" touchscreens for the panel. Thanks for all the videos you've shared. You present them well.

Very good video

What an excellent tutorial! Many thanks. I agree about the Saitek yoke. I rarely got a smooth landing with it. With my new Honeycomb it is much easier. The saitek feels like a toy in comparison.

Great Video. Will check out your other video's. Thanks

I really enjoy the basics of flying. Great video.

Great video Russ, very useful indeed....tho for me it would have been nice to see what you were also doing with the yoke to get a greater understanding as I was guessing what you was doing with the yoke

Interesting, I've always had that frustrating experience you were describing with the Saitek, but with the CH Eclipse. Just impossible to trim out. No detent, but outrageously sticky, at least mine is. Over a cm of shaft involved in the lottery of where it would "center" when you let go. I've recently tried dabbing some oil on the shaft, and that's helped a bit, but definitely hoping to find something better. Every time I get up in the real Skyhawk, I'm blown away by how easy it is to trim hands-off. Sure would be nice to get the sim to reflect that. Thanks for the vid, Merry Christmas!

You are great. Thank you for your contribution. I have another idea, using a motor to change the position back to the midpoint. I use DIY yoke. When I use trim, the motor is adjusted back to the center position, the yoke position remains unchanged, and the lever force will gradually decrease. When the AP is connected, the short card yoke is connected to the system electronics, and the yoke and the motor return to the initial state. In this way, the relationship between the change of the rod force and the trim can be simulated. In all flight simulation software simulations, the overall tail rudder trim is inconsistent with the real 172.

Great video. I loved the detailed explanation. Could you tell us which Vr headset you use please. I am thinking of vr but also notice that they have different memory configs too. Thx

Great video Russ. Thanks. What headset are you using for msfs?

gday Russ.. yet another video of yours I found very interesting. trim your sim. . I am wondering can I use a 10k linear slider for my trim rather than a trim wheel using arduino and air manager and xplane ?

Russ, thank you for all your helpful videos. I have a question. In one of your videos you mentioned that you are using a trackball with a scroll ring strapped to your leg when flying in VR. Is it possible to use the scroll ring to dial headings, frequencies, etc.?

nice to see ch product, i think it s the best budget sim gear you can get.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I am trying to keep my desktop/cockpit as uncluttered as possible and was hoping the trackball with the scroll ring would be a good multi-purpose tool. Do you think the same problem would exist using the trackball scroll ring with a touch screen and Air Manager? I really like the idea and functionality of the knobster and I may just have to move in that direction. I have a commercial/instrument rating and have been out of flying for many years and am using X-plane to brush up on my rusty skills. In that vein, I look forward to viewing and learning from all your videos. Thanks again for sharing your experience and knowledge.

Hey Russ, I just had an idea and I wonder what you think. We have 'the hood' and now we have glasses that block outside but still allow you to see and manipulate the panel. What do you think of a partial 'hooded' vr set for flight simming?

Was useful to me, as a newbie :) Thanks. I observe trim going on all the time when I use the autopilot. I only have a thrustmaster T6000 I think it is. I fly mostly with auto pilot because it is a pain to constantly have to apply trim to maintain level flight. Is there a rudder trim also?

Russ, thanks for your videos! I’m curious to get your take on VR in my situation as I’ve got a Real Sim Gear G1000 setup with a glare shield setup and triple monitors. Seems like the VR action is probably more realistic, but likely negates the benefit of all the G1000 gear. Would it maybe be a good option for me if I wanted to fly a steam gauge setup only or is it still handy if I have physical knobs to twist? I went with the G1000 setup as it seemed like the best way to try different aircraft running G1000. I have family with a Frasca G58 Baron sim so I’ve gone back and fourth with the C172 and a G58 baron at home once I got real familiar with the G1000. I’d love to fly a steam gauge setup C172 or other planes too, but not ideal given my physical setup, wondering if VR might be the way.

Have you ever tried a Brunner Yoke. It costs you two legs and two arms. They have also Rudder Pedals.

this is really a good video that explains it clearer. I had been wondering how exactly to keep the vertical speed more stable and i find microsoft simulator training doesnt really help much. during the flight，i noticed my settings for trim always set to auto mode. because my level was set as easy？ i just started not long ago. sorry it is a dumb question.

Another great video, Professor. Thanks very much. I have a question/comment. The Bravo trim wheel is NOT an AXIS. If I understand how it works, it therefore should not give more or less movement of the trim tab depending on how far you spin it. I think that a spin whether a few degrees or a half revolution gives one " tab-up" or "tab-down" signal to the plane. But you have a lot more experience with the Bravo than I do, and I see you using pretty large wheel movements. I think that it's the NUMBER of movements you perform rather than the MAGNITUDE of the movements that determines how many times you'll have to move the wheel to get into trim. Have you tried making your movements of the wheel smaller to see if you get approximately the same trimming action per each movement?

Hey Russ: I have been on that same journey as a rated pilot trying to get hardware to replicate the right “feel” for my sim. Happy with what I have, but that Thrustmaster TCA Boeing yoke interests me. Any thoughts on that?

Hello Russ, are you using the Honeycomb Aeronautical Bravo Throttle Quadrant with the CH Flight Sim Yoke and pro rudders?

Are there any force feedback yokes, joysticks? Are the flight controls very different in modern military aircraft? No trim, all computer controlled fly by wire? VR is great, trim during IFR with artificial horizon?

tnx Russ

How do you use your real-world yoke and other accessories while using VR? If you look down, you don't see your real yoke, you see the virtual instruments in the simulator, right? Do you have to memorize your real yoke buttons/switches and blindly fumble around with them?

Russ, have you ever found a way to reset the trim in MSFS? I don’t have a physical trim wheel and it’s a pain to try to reset it without looking at the trim wheel in the sim which is difficult for me.

Great video. Where though would you keep the trim during the landing phase. Or does it become unnecessary because your using the yoke for elevator etc?

Really helpful video...I hope when MSFS20 gets shared cockpit you do some virtual flight instruction!

Thus is really helpful, what's that throttle quadrant you using, please.

I fly with a Fulcrum Yoke, MFG rudder pedals, & logitech throttle quadrants, working great for me..... Bill

I really enjoy your videos, and looking to get into flying school in the next 2 to 3 years (I am 28 now) and hopefully getting my ATPL by the age of 35, what do you think as a pilot, would that be too late? I know the ceiling is 65y but it's hard getting to that age as a pilot if no one would even bother hiring a 35 year old pilot with only ATPL

So in short, push down (pull back) on the trim wheel several times whenever you come in for a landing and want better float / balance

Why do I often suddenly get the "spiral of death" when using MSFS and Turtle Beach VelocityOne yoke?

New to sim in computers. CFI/ATP with 20 years in airline. I’m trying to start a sim class using VR. Do u recommend xplane12 or MSFS. My impression the former is more like real flying and former still a game. What (not minimum) are recommended PC or Mac requirements for such a setup? Appreciate info

Do you adjust trim the whole time while landing?

Great video. I also fly in VR using a Fulcrum One yoke and a MFG Crosswinds pedals and use my Valve index controllers for everything else in the cockpit. I do find it much easier to do in X-Plane than MSFS because of the heptic feedback that X-Plane provides. Hopefully MSFS will bring that also some time soon. Thanks Bill

My only beef about trimming in the sim (and I don't know if this is true in real life or not) is that I can never perfectly trim. There is always the point where one notch up or down is too much and one notch the other way is not enough. I have a Honeycomb Bravo on order (no idea when they'll ever ship it sigh) and I'm hoping that the trim wheel as an analog trim axis rather than the digital thumb rockers on the Alpha will be better.

Hello. I have a question and a problem. Can you please help? Also i hope you will read my message. I was playing very well. But for the last 2-3 weeks i open the A320 and when i am at the cockpit i change the camera angle, near, wide etc than the game freezes. I restart the computer and start the msfs again. The same things happen. Do you have a solution for this? Or a setting about mouse, camera etc? I will be very happy if you can help and answer my question? Thank you very much 🙋🏼‍♂️🙏

Why not fly with trim? I understand this would be bad practice in a real plane, but if we are never going to fly real planes, does it matter? I got the Bravo quadrant and flying with trim was very intuitive for me.

I had student trim full nose down, i didn't check trim indicator. I asked student to relax on yoke to see if it was trimmed. Seat of the pants told me we were no longer attached to the aircraft.

Sim trim should be attached to the yoke mount. So that the feel of trim could be felt and load reduced by mechanically moving the yoke springs neutral position. So as you pull back, slight load, turn trim and remove load. Not perfect.

I have that Saitek yoke now plastered with progamable buttond and switches,Its a memory test just to remember what does what.I have hardly used it for that reason,what a waste of money.I fly single engine planes and gliders mostly and use the old Microsoft forcefeedback 2 along with the xpforce app.Trimming is always difficult as I have benign essential tremor and inspite of a brain implant its still a pain to use the mouse on cockpit switches.I use the default keypad option which works kinda,but different aircraft respond differently with sensitivity being vairiable......................................................

I am (was) a SEL pilot and I find the trim in MSFS 2020 to be infuriating but I don't have a lot of expensive flight controllers. I wish that MSFS would do something to improve the AI trim, which seems to be pretty useless to me, but if you have tips on how to make that work, that would be a good video, but I think it is simply broken. According to what I have read is that if AI trim is on, if you hold the stick in a spot for a couple of seconds, the AI will trim to that, but it does not appear to actually do that.

like the videos wish you could turn down the engine sounds some

A well trimmed aircraft is no yoke. :-(

Ya, nobody needs a detented sticky shaft.

Lets make this simple All airplanes fly at the speed they are trimed at. Period. Control of where you want to go is controlled by the throttle. Trim the airplane to the speed you want, only than use the power to mantain where you want to end up. Our sims do a terrible job of allowing us to do this'

There are scumbags selling your flap mod designs