WWI pilots couldn't adjust the trim. So in WOFF manual or Auto Trim would be like using Chaff and Flares. As an answer to "how can it be used?"I infer that you are not a pilot IRL. I apologize if I've inferred something you did not imply.
The purpose of trimming the airplane is to take physical pressure off of the stick in a stable (think one g, wings level) condition. Your arm gets tired having to hold constant pressure. You could be descending on a stabilized glidepath for landing, or cruising straight and level, or climbing at a constant speed. You trim the pressure off allowing you to remove your hands from the stick/yoke while the airplane maintains the state you trimmed for. As long as you don't add or subtract too much power, the airplane will remain approximately (airspeed and pitch) where you trimmed. As we frequently heard our IPs (Instructor Pilots) say, "trim is your friend."
In dogfighting you would not actively trim because of the dynamic conditions. As a "traveling tip" or "gouge" I was taught and continued to teach to trim a little bit of forward stick in the F-4 and F-16 prior to air-to-air, and when setting up to drop bombs (helps prevent a banana pass when trying to get your bomb on target).
Desktop flight simulators present a whole host of challenges with trimming. As 1GCCFPs (One G Comfy Chair Fighter Pilots) we lack the physical feedback cues of real airplanes or high-fidelity military/commercial flight simulators.
As far as WOFF goes, trim is a non-issue.
I am sincerely grateful for your detailed response, busdriver! I've actually flown at the controls of a piston aircraft and a couple of times in a modern fighter jet in the back )). In WoFF, for instance, I don't use Time Compression, HUD, TAC and even in-game GPS but I can afford the occasional Level Auto Pilot and even (oh my God!) Basic Auto Pilot out of curiosity. In WW1, I read somewhere that you could ask the workshop on the ground to tighten the control surfaces of the airplane, so sometimes I simulate that by trimming the plane (aileron and elevator trims work in the game btw), at least before takeoff, if not in the flight, and I don't feel much remorse in that. ))
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Thanks!
