EridanMan writes:

Neutral position is a bit of a 'bad' term here, because unlike a
simulator's joystick, there is no defined "Central" location for a
yoke. Yes, of course wing's level is fairly 'central', but for rudder
and elevator, there is quite a bit of play as to where 'neutral' is
(where neutral is fundamentally defined as the point at which the
controls naturally go when you apply no force to them).

I was kind of thinking along those lines. So I presume that I need
not fret about not necessarily having an obvious neutral position in
the sim. If I understand correctly, in a real aircraft, it all just
depends on circumstances, and you don't have to know or care about any
"exact" neutral (?).

The "neutral point" described above is is set by your trimming
mechanisms. In my PA-28-140, I have 3 mechanisms to trim the plane - I
have the pitch trim handle, I have a rudder trim mechanism (which
actually just manipulates the pedals) and I have the ability to control
my fuel burn on one side or the other to trim for roll.

Do you have a marked "zero point" for the trim, or do you just trim
until it feels right for the circumstances, and then trim again the
next time as required, without worrying about whether the trim is
truly "zero" or not?

This is one of the areas where flying a real plane is fundamentally
different than flying with a computer joystick. with a computer
joystick, there is always a "center point", and trim is simulated by
having the aircraft turn to one side or the other while the joystick is
in the center point. In a real aircraft, the physical point where the
control's center themselves varies based on trim, but AOA effect of
having the controls at any given point is usually the same. (I.E,
having the yoke 3" out from the panel will try to move the aircraft
towards the same AOA, regardless if this is 'trimmed as neutral' and I
can take my hand off, or the aircraft is trimmed for another speed and
the yoke is pushing against my hand).

So in a real aircraft, a different trim position also represents a
different yoke position? That seems logical.

I wonder how fly-by-wire aircraft handle this.

Also note that this is all very delibrate- The anti-servo tab on a
PA-28's tail is explicitly designed to provide this very type of
tactile feedback - that's its whole point.

I read that a drawback to Cirrus aircraft is that they use springs for
feedback, so it's hard to tell where the control surfaces actually
are.

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