Hey Guys,
Just got my simulator today and was trying out the pt-40 I am surprised that in order to turn (in flight) i dont need to use the rudder, just the ailerons. Iam new to this, but i was under the impression that the ailerons just tilted the wings back and forth and would not make the airplane do a nice bank turn. Is it because of the generous dihedral (SP?) of the pt-40. Any input would be great.
Tim

Actually, most of the turning is caused by the change in the lift vector when you bank the airplane in one direction or another. If you think of the lift component of a flying machine (remember the four forces of flight?....lift, weight, thrust, and drag) as an arrow pointing straight up from the center of the wing, you can imagine that this imaginary arrow is always pointed perpendicular to the wing (meaning if the wing banks left, the imaginary arrow also tilts the same amount toward the inside of the bank). The wing continues to provide lift no matter which way you point it, but the "lift vector" changes depending on if you're flying wings-level or banked in one direction or another. Bank left, and the lift vectormoves to the left also, which is what causes the turn. The rudder meanwhile is used to make the turn coordinated (or if not used correctly, the airplane will slip or skid through the turn, The airplane will still turn...it just isn't as pretty ;-)

You'll need the rudder mostly for takeoffs (to keep the plane tracking straight...it wants to swing left due to torque and a couple of other factors) and during climbout to a lesser degree. For most trainers, you'll barely use the rudder after that except on landing to keep the thing going the way you want it.

Have fun learning! That's a great program and good training for the real thing (especially practicing flying when the plane is headed at you!).

Regards,

David