Categories: EquipmentFlightFlight simulatorReal World Pilot

VR Flight Sim – Coordinated Turn

This is the first of many posts for VR flight simulation, where I will give a tip, trick or skill to use with your VR Flight Sim setup.

Today, I will go into a simple coordinated turn. Now, keep in mind that my instructions are for VR flight simulation and not for the real world pilot. I am not a flight instructor, however I do have lots of experience in flight simulators and I also have experience flying a real plane.

With that said, lets get on with the learning.

What is a coordinated turn?

A coordinated turn, is a turn in coordinated flight…. Coordinated flight means that your plane is flying without slipping or skidding. You can think of slipping and skidding in a similar manner to a vehicle. When your vehicle goes around a corner too fast, and the backend slides out, this would be a skid. The slip is the opposite. The slip means that the backend would be slipping to the inside of the turn.

Why does this matter?

There are several reasons why you wouldn’t want to make a turn without skidding or slipping. The first reason, is if you make the turn without coordination, you have a higher risk of going into a spin. Flying out of coordination is also less efficient, creates more drag on your plane and just isn’t comfortable for your passengers.

How do I keep the plane coordinated during my turn?

There is one instrument that can really help you out in this regard. This is especially important, because you don’t get to feel the motion when you are flying in a flight simulator. This is the turn coordinator.

Take a look at the gauge in the bottom left of the photo. This is the Turn coordinator.

When the ball in the lower portion of the turn coordinator is centred, then you are in coordinated flight. Easy, right?

How do I make a coordinated turn?

It’s fairly simple, however using rudders is a must while practicing this. I would definitely suggest getting rudders if you are serious about flying. A coordinated turn can be done without the pedals, however it is like cheating, all the work will be done for you by X-Plane or your flight sim of choice. If you are interested in getting rudders or other items, take a look at my other post Top 5 things you need for VR Flight.

To do a left turn, you will first apply your left rudder, while turning your aileron to the left. This will initiate the turn. You should apply enough rudder to keep the ball entered in the turn coordinator. If you don’t apply the rudder pedal, you will see the ball initially go towards the left in a left turn. The easy way to remember, what pedal is needed, is to think of yourself as stepping on the ball. If the ball goes to the left, then step on the left rudder pedal and vice versa.

How far should you bank?

Once you initiate the turn, you can bank as far as you want, however the plane will handle differently as you bank. For a shallow bank (approximately less then 20 degrees), you will notice that if you let go of the aileron, that the plane will want to return to level. This is what planes are designed to do. This makes planes stable. Once you enter a medium bank, the plane will most likely remain in this bank, however adjustments to stay in the bank and adjustments to keep from banking further will probably be necessary at times. In a steep bank of 60 degrees, you will most likely have to use opposite aileron to keep your plane from rolling further. If you are banking to the left, then holding some right aileron will keep you from going beyond a steep turn.

Getting the plane out of the turn

To get your plane out of the turn, level your wings, as you use your rudder pedals to maintain your plane in coordinated flight.

It’s not rocket science, however it is nice to understand what you are doing and how to do a proper turn in a plane. Most people that fly a flight sim, just jump in the chair and start cranking the ailerons back and forth, which creates bad habits when you going up in a plane.

One thing I will mention, is that you should get comfortable with how much rudder to apply with the type of plane you are flying. Each plane will be different. If you can fly without watching the gauge, then that is the best way to fly. The turn coordinator is great at first, however try not to watch it all the time. It is more realistic if you can keep your head out of the plane to watch for traffic.

That’s all for me today… thanks for reading.

If your interested in using the
Oculus Rift , please check out my link. I want to be 100% transparent, and let you know that I do get an affiliate commission from the link. I plan to put out lots of great content in the future and would appreciate it a lot if you used my link.

Also, here is the Yoke and Rudder Pedals I use in case you were interested in that as well.

bento4d