If you have ever used any trim wheel circuited with an encoder before, you should have experienced that the last position remembered by it could be very annoying if you forget to set its position back to the center at the start of a flight.

Since I got the Cessna Trim Wheel from Saitek many years ago, I’ve been looking for a solution to this annoyance.   But search is futile.

So when I found out Flight Velocity was soon to release a new product called Trim Wheel Pro which would use new software last Decemeber, I was quite excited, hoping that it could be a remedy to my agony.

Unfortunately, after checking with the company, the new player is no exception.  The issue seems to be unsolvable.

Nevertheless, as the product is equipped with a control knob to allow users to adjust the rotation speed of trimming, I decided to get one to give this interesting idea a try.

The Body

After unboxing the package, my first impression was, “Gosh…a hand-made DIY?”

Unlike the Saitek trim wheel which was made of plastic by proper molding in factory production, the Trim Wheel  Pro from Flight Velocity, even it is not DIY, I bet it is at least 50% hand-made.  I never bought such kind of hand-made gear before.

In addition, except the front plate and the trim wheel parts are in plastic, the rest of the body is made of wood.

(Edit: Tiger Summers, CEO and Founder of Flight Velocity, sent a clarification in the Comment section that there is no wood in this or any product they make, and they design and manufacture all of their products in-house in the US using precision CNC machining, ABS, and PVC plastics — see more details in the Comment section at the end of the post.)

Frankly speaking, it’s fine with me whether it is hand-made or not, and I don’t care much about what materials it uses either.  But truly, the assembly is a bit coarse.

The body parts were polished a bit for sure.  But there are still tiny debris on the wooden plastic fiber parts, and improper sharp edges on the wheel, not to mention the side boards were not cut precisely.

Furthermore, due to the connecting screws chosen are too big or the wooden fiber boards are too thin, there are pop-outs and tiny cracks on the wooden fiber around the joins.

Fortunately, they still hold firmly together, and the body as a whole is sturdy.

Dimension-wise, it is about the exact size of the Saitek unit and weights about the same.   And users can even mount it onto the original bracket coming with the Saitek unit via the 4 screws included in the package, if such a need is required.

Installation

It is not required.  It’s plug and play and works like a normal USB game controller.

In addition, assigning the elevator trim functions to the product in MSFS is straight forward, too.

The Wheel

The wheel of the unit is about the same size and thickness of the Saitek one.   Since I didn’t open the chassis, I couldn’t tell how it is hold inside the unit.  But one big difference of it from the Saitek one I’ve been using for years is the wheel moves swiftly, very swiftly.

The wheel can be moved by very little force.

I would imagine, if the Trim Wheel Pro were to be put on a real aircraft, the vibration of the aircraft itself might be strong enough to cause displacement to the trim already.

Fortunately or unfortunately, my flightsim cockpit is a static one.   So the concern should not be a problem.   But I still need time to get accustom to the lightness of it.

Comparatively, the Saitek Trim Wheel does a better job in this respect.

The Knob

Due to the swifty nature of the wheel, I couldn’t stop thinking the original intention of the adjustable knob might be a device to counteract the “looseness” of the wheel in the first place.   Just another fancy imagination.

Anyway, the adjustable knob does prove its value.

For instance, in a situation where an aircraft is rising or dropping crazily because you forget to reset the trim wheel to its center position at the start of the flight, you can quickly turn the knob to its maximum, so as to speed up the trimming action to rectify the aircraft back to normal flying via relatively smaller movements on the wheel.

In another, when an aircraft is about to get level, you can turn the knob closer to its minimum, so as to be able to finetune the trim movement effectively.

Nevertheless, I found the first 10% of the adjustment range (from minimum onwards) the most effective in normal operation.  To be honest, the remaining 90% is only useful during unusual circumstances.

On the webpage of the product, the company mentioned that new software was written for the product.

But frankly I don’t feel any difference from it.  Probably the new software refers to the knob adjustment so that trim rotations can speed up or slow down accordingly.

Modification

I have a few times seriously thinking to open the chassis to see how the wheel works inside, so as to come up with any possibility to tune down the “looseness” of the wheel.

I didn’t do it eventually (might be in the future) because I was scared that I might crack the joins as there are pop-outs around the wooden fiber already as I mentioned earlier.

Hm…could these cracks be a strategic design to prevent users from opening the unit?  Another crazy imagination.

So, nothing was changed on the unit…ar…wait…yes

I found the cap of the control knob a bit small and not efficient to use.  So I replaced it with a bigger one.

Now the knob can be turned fast or slow effortlessly, which is a lot more efficient and effective than with the original cap.

Conclusion

• So, is the Trim Wheel Pro good?

Well, no doubt it has imperfections.  But it is still a reasonably good device.

Besides, since there aren’t much choices available on the market and the price of it ($99.99) isn’t expensive, it should worth a place on anybody’s flightsim gear purchase list, if a trim wheel is being considered.

• Will it replace my Saitek Trim Wheel ?

Possible.  But I still need a bit more time to support my decision.

• Is the adjustment knob an “overdo” since no such feature is found on the real aircraft ?

Who cares!  It’s for flight simulation, and we are not talking about any FAA certified device.  Most importantly, it adds fun.

The Verdict

By no means to be harsh, if 5 stars rate the best,

The body construction quality of the Trim Wheel Pro worths 3 stars

The wheel design & performance 3 stars

The adjustment knob 4 stars; and

Overall operation and performance 4 stars

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