Randall Snow's T-6 Texan mod query

[Paul K]

On the mod's checklist, the pre-take off trim settings are stated as:

Rudder Trim...................2 O'Clock
Elevator Trim................10 O'Clock

I assume the 10 O'Clock elevator trim is the position of the red line on the trim wheel disc, as if it were a clock face.

The problem is that I can't find anything in the cockpit that indicates the rudder trim setting. There must be some sort of dial, otherwise where would the 2 O'Clock reference come from ? Am I missing something ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Unfortunately, in the Asobo/MS cockpit textures, there is no indicator mark/line added to the rudder trim wheel like there should be. That is something I've never paid attention to until now, after reading your post, as I have never used the rudder trim in the T-6/Harvard, to-date. I should update my couple of T-6 repaints to include a red mark on the rudder trim wheel to match the elevator trim wheel. As Randall continues to work on the T-6 Improvement Mod, rudder trim may become more important, as I know the T-6/Harvard has been described as needing a fair amount of right foot at times on takeoff (right now, with the Improvement Mod, the aircraft also takes about twice as long/twice the distance to accelerate to takeoff speed as it should, which Randall mentions is in the plans to be fixed).

All of the original T-6/Harvard manuals state that for takeoff trim, the rudder trim wheel is to be set to the 2 O'Clock position, and the elevator trim wheel is to be set to the 11 O'Clock position (as you mention, putting the red line on the trim wheel to the hour position). The manuals don't say how many degrees of trim those settings equate to, but in the sim this places the elevator trim to 2-degrees nose up, and puts the rudder trim to about 7.5 degrees nose right, which I think is too much rudder trim for that setting. In the real aircraft, I would assume the 11 O'Clock position on the elevator trim likely equates to about 1-2 degrees nose up, while the 2 O'Clock position on the rudder trim in the real aircraft likely equates to about 3-4 degrees nose right.

 

[Paul K]

Unfortunately, in the Asobo/MS cockpit textures, there is no indicator mark/line added to the rudder trim wheel like there should be. That is something I've never paid attention to until now, after reading your post, as I have never used the rudder trim in the T-6/Harvard, to-date. I should update my couple of T-6 repaints to include a red mark on the rudder trim wheel to match the elevator trim wheel. As Randall continues to work on the T-6 Improvement Mod, rudder trim may become more important, as I know the T-6/Harvard has been described as needing a fair amount of right foot at times on takeoff (right now, with the Improvement Mod, the aircraft also takes about twice as long/twice the distance to accelerate to takeoff speed as it should, which Randall mentions is in the plans to be fixed).

All of the original T-6/Harvard manuals state that for takeoff trim, the rudder trim wheel is to be set to the 2 O'Clock position, and the elevator trim wheel is to be set in the 11 O'Clock position (as you mention, putting the red line on the trim wheel to the hour position). The manuals don't say how many degrees of trim those settings equate to, but in the sim this places the elevator trim to 2-degrees nose up, and puts the rudder trim to about 6-7 degrees nose right, which I think is a bit too much. In the real aircraft, I would assume the 11 O'Clock position on the elevator trim likely equates to about 1-2 degrees nose up, and the 2 O'Clock position on the rudder trim likely equates to about 3-4 degrees nose right.

John, this might sound stupid, but where is the rudder trim wheel ? Currently, I have the rudder trim mapped to two buttons on my X-52, but I can't see anything moving in the cockpit when I press either of them. I've looked all over the VC, but I can't see a physical wheel at all. Thank you for your help in this.

 

[Bomber_12th]

The rudder trim wheel is positioned between the elevator trim wheel and the left wall of the cockpit (in size, it's identical to the elevator trim wheel), with the wobble pump positioned between the two wheels.

 

[Paul K]

The rudder trim wheel is positioned between the elevator trim wheel and the left wall of the cockpit (in size, it's identical to the elevator trim wheel), with the wobble pump positioned between the two wheels.

Ah, I see it now - thank you very much. There is just enough texture to gauge what position it moves to, so I assume that's how Randall arrived at the clockface approximation. However, a red mark would be very helpful, if you can add one

John, thanks again for your help, and your observations on the mod. Thanks also for the superb repaints at FS.to - N29931 'Popeye' is getting a lot of hours!

 

[Bomber_12th]

The clock face approximations are actually what all of the WWII flight manuals say too, since there was no other means of gauging the trim positions in the cockpit. However, all of the original flight manuals I've looked at, they all say to set the elevator trim in the 11 o'clock position for takeoff, not 10 o'clock as is in the checklist included in Randall's mod.

 

[Paul K]

The clock face approximations are actually what all of the WWII flight manuals say too, since there was no other means of gauging the trim positions in the cockpit. However, all of the original flight manuals I've looked at, they all say to set the elevator trim in the 11 o'clock position for takeoff, not 10 o'clock as is in the checklist included in Randall's mod.

I'll try it with 11 o'clock elevator trim, then - while keeping 2 o'clock rudder trim, as a starting point for further experimentation. Thanks for the info. Along with the HU-16 / G-111 Albatross, the Texan is becoming a favourite aircraft in FS24.