Looks like I have to use buttons as opposed to levers/axis for flaps, trims(elevator, rudder, aileron) but levers OK for throttle, prop pitch, radiators for water and oil

[Uriah]

Looks like I have to use buttons as opposed to levers/axis for flaps, trims(elevator, rudder, aileron) but levers OK for throttle, prop pitch, radiators for water and oil.

I know that some planes like many of the German plans actually had buttons for some of these things.  But some of the Soviet fighter planes actually had wheels and levers for gradual/incremental control.  But I have the understanding that in Great Battles that even if the real life plane had a wheel or lever for gradual control of such things as flaps, trims and that buttons must be assigned.  The exception seems to be the radiator flaps for water and oil.  Is this understanding correct? 

[GrumpyGnome]

Hi, @Uriah,

This is not correct. If the aircraft had wheel/lever for trim ect.. then you can use a lever/axis. 

[Czech693]

Even some toggles in the sim can be assigned to axis lever such as the intercooler doors and oil cooler doors on the P-47.

[Uriah]

Thanks all.  I think my confusion was just not seeing the effect from an assigned lever.  I was trying this out on the Yak-1 and either not seeing the animation and or not noticing the affect when flying the plane.  This has all come up because I now have a Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Quadrant.  I am trying to make best use of the six levers on it and the throttle slider on the joystick.  It seems to me that some of the assignments I have set to a lever are likely best set to a button.  Aileron and rudder trim seem best candidates to stick to a button.  Even gradual flaps seem to best be operated by button.  But radiators for water and oil doors and mixture still seem good options for levers.  

What are the thoughts on this from the folks here? 

[Czech693]

I used to use a Bravo for upper and lower cowl flaps, turbo (P-47), and oil and water radiator flaps (5 out of 6).  But, you can use the water radiator flap axis for turbo as th P-47 is air cooled.  They also work with throttle, prop, and mixture, but I had those on another controller system.  I would use the six levers for upper cowl flap, lower cowl flap, oil radiator, water radiator (and turbo), mixture, and prop since you have a separate throttle.  I used a custom 3-way trim wheel controller.

[Uriah]

Czech693, did you ever get the elevator trim wheel to work on the Bravo for Great Battles?   I am trying to use Joystick Gremlin to do so but it does not seem to even notice that trim wheel.  

[Czech693]

Not very well.  It's a rotary so it spins around and around.  It would have to have some adjustment to get more accurate results from minor movements.  Since Honeycomb doesn't put out a configuration software for IL-2, it would have had to have been adjusted in an external program, some how.  I took it off.

Look in the picture and you can see it's missing (that's a shop vac nozzle on the landing gear lever).  I use the 3-way trim controller at the lower right corner of that picture.  I bought that from a guy on Etsy.  It's not a rotary (it's an axis) and has upper and lower limits and gets very accurate single degree movements.

Just as an aside, I cut the back of the Bravo module off as it took up a lot of space and was not being used (it's used by the Alpha for the yoke shaft).

I loved the Bravo axis and flap lever.  I have several third party lever combinations.  Didn't like the small push buttons so close together (I couldn't pick out one at a glance, I had to put my finger on them and count over to the one I wanted), and the toggles were useless in IL-2 unless you program them, along with the gear lever, in an external program.

I would assign the pitch trim to an axis if you have one available.  Can be a wheel or a lever.

Edited December 22, 2025 by Czech693

[Uriah]

So far I can't get the elevator trim wheel to work.  But I have been able to get all the toggle switches and gear lever using Joy2Key.  But it is going to take some thought to figure out what is appropriate to assign to the toggle switches as most things that I have in mind are best left to 'press' buttons like on the keyboard and the small push buttons designed for autopilot.  I think the super charger might be one.  

[Mark_Krieger]

On 12/24/2025 at 7:55 AM, Uriah said:

So far I can't get the elevator trim wheel to work.  But I have been able to get all the toggle switches and gear lever using Joy2Key.  But it is going to take some thought to figure out what is appropriate to assign to the toggle switches as most things that I have in mind are best left to 'press' buttons like on the keyboard and the small push buttons designed for autopilot.  I think the super charger might be one.  

Be sure that you are in a plane that uses Elevator trim and not horizontal stabilizer trim (german planes). Take into account too that some planes use switches for the trim and some others use axis.

Edited December 29, 2025 by Mark_Krieger