RL 182 Handling Characteristics in Pitch
Posted: 12 Nov 2017, 19:25
I was doing touch and go landings today at KCDW in our C182T and thought I'd share a little something about what sets sim handling apart from RL.
The lack of control forces are one of the biggest problems I see with simulations. This lack of feedback likely gives rise to questions about the accuracy of the simulations with some saying that there too much sensitivity in the simulated controls, particularly when it comes to pitch.
When we use our controls at home, we have no feedback control pressures to tell us that we are fighting against the trimmed state of the aircraft. We are also able to make excessive control inputs that would require a lot of strength in the real machine.
Today was a case in point for me. On my third touch and go, I was trimmed just a tiny bit nose up when I retracted the flaps and added in full power. The aircraft promptly rotated upward and I knew right then that I was not trimmed where I wanted. I was fine for now with the nose pitched up about 15 degrees, climbing at 1600 FPM and making 80 KIAS. Airspeed was bleeding off and I started to push forward on the yoke. First I pushed lightly, then I pushed very firmly as I realized I simply do not have the strength to overcome the out of trim condition I found myself in. I immediately trimmed a little nose down and everything was back to normal. The yoke felt like it was set in cement! In the sim, I know I could apply full forward input and the simulated aircraft would happily respond to my command. IRL, I imagine that might well require 50+ lbs of force in an awkward position. This is one airplane where you do not want to be late in dealing with a runaway electric trim, or missing the trim position check pre-takeoff checklist item!
As it stands, the simulation cannot represent the pitch control "heaviness" of an aircraft like the 182. The RL aircraft is nimble and the controls are very effective if you apply the force required to manipulate them. In the sim we can see the nimbleness of the aircraft and as a result of the lack of feedback we can easily overcontrol it if we aren't careful about the way we operate the stick or yoke.
The lack of control forces are one of the biggest problems I see with simulations. This lack of feedback likely gives rise to questions about the accuracy of the simulations with some saying that there too much sensitivity in the simulated controls, particularly when it comes to pitch.
When we use our controls at home, we have no feedback control pressures to tell us that we are fighting against the trimmed state of the aircraft. We are also able to make excessive control inputs that would require a lot of strength in the real machine.
Today was a case in point for me. On my third touch and go, I was trimmed just a tiny bit nose up when I retracted the flaps and added in full power. The aircraft promptly rotated upward and I knew right then that I was not trimmed where I wanted. I was fine for now with the nose pitched up about 15 degrees, climbing at 1600 FPM and making 80 KIAS. Airspeed was bleeding off and I started to push forward on the yoke. First I pushed lightly, then I pushed very firmly as I realized I simply do not have the strength to overcome the out of trim condition I found myself in. I immediately trimmed a little nose down and everything was back to normal. The yoke felt like it was set in cement! In the sim, I know I could apply full forward input and the simulated aircraft would happily respond to my command. IRL, I imagine that might well require 50+ lbs of force in an awkward position. This is one airplane where you do not want to be late in dealing with a runaway electric trim, or missing the trim position check pre-takeoff checklist item!
As it stands, the simulation cannot represent the pitch control "heaviness" of an aircraft like the 182. The RL aircraft is nimble and the controls are very effective if you apply the force required to manipulate them. In the sim we can see the nimbleness of the aircraft and as a result of the lack of feedback we can easily overcontrol it if we aren't careful about the way we operate the stick or yoke.