Aileron Trim To Counter Payload Asymmetry

Hello fellow Hornet drivers,

Like many of you, I have recently been dropping lots of JDAMs onto unsuspecting targets using my shiny new Litening pod. However, the asymmetry created when dropping these payloads has prompted me to retrim the aircraft (using the aileron trim function). This works perfectly well and once I have expended all of my bombs, I then manually retrim again for straight and level flight. However, this process has prompted a few of questions with regards to how the Hornet's FCS responds to manual input/requests:

1. Should I have to keep retrimming the aircraft's roll axis (to account for changes in airspeed), if I have trimmed manually in the past to account for a particular loadout/cg? For example, when I'm just messing around or practicing traps (with a symmetrical config), I never normally need to account for any kind of rolling moment. So once I have dropped my ordnance (returning to a symmetrical loadout) why do I need to continue retrimming? From my point of view, it is as if the FCS needs to be "reset", as to automatically resume trimming my ailerons for me.

2. If my above assumption is true, is there a way to give roll trim authority back to the FCS?

3. Is there a way to better monitor the amount of roll trim induced? I.e. the FCS page shows little to no aileron movement despite considerable roll trim input on the stick.

If I am misunderstanding how roll trim works in the Hornet, please correct me. I suspect that my lack of experience with asymmetric loadouts, has led me to believe that the FCS is trimming the ailerons for me (as to cancel any sort of rolling movement) when in fact it is simply the effect of a well balanced aircraft loadout.

Digby

The FCS does no trimming in roll. It only manages pitch. The pilot (you) has to do all the roll trimming to account for loadout asymmetries. So you cannot hand roll trim back to the FCS as it never had that control in the first place.

The FCS does no trimming in roll. It only manages pitch. The pilot (you) has to do all the roll trimming to account for loadout asymmetries. So you cannot hand roll trim back to the FCS as it never had that control in the first place.

Ok cool, thanks for clarifying! :thumbup:

you only trim untill the roll stops, then you level out by aileron