I think you wanted to say: "pulled the right stick down for up elevator to get into the air."

The fundimentals are keep the green below you and the blue above.

Mode 2, standard in the U.S., assigns the left stick to control throttle in the vertical (up is more) and rudder in the horizontal. Right stick is ailerons horizontal (moving the stick to the right causes the right aileron to rise & that side to roll down) and elevator vertical (pushing up for down and pulling back for up).

Are you starting with a high-wing trainer in the simulator? Some models (and their simulations) do exactly what you tell them . . . which can be to fly all over the place wildly. Trainers do some righting on their own.