Guide to planes for people who have barely if at all built them.
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To preface this, I have 2k+ hours in TM. I'm going to assume you have absolutely zero experience in planes.
1. Intro:
Planes are the simplest vehicle in trailmakers, requiring a minimum of 5 parts. The simplest plane is a seat, 2 flap wings, an elevator, and a propulser. For me they were very simple to learn and nowadays I don't even look at forces, it just flies.
2. Balancing forces:
Forces are things such as propulsion, aerodynamic drag, lift, CG(center of mass), and directional drag. You want them to mostly line up. Directional drag needs to be behind CG and CG needs to be in almost the same place as lift. Propulsion needs to be inline with CG, not above or below.
3. Controllability
There are two main ways of turning; gyros, and control surfaces. I don't like gyros so I won't explain them. For control surfaces, aelerons(roll) need to be on the tips of the wings, elevators(pitch) need to be at the tail but canards can be at the front for even better control, rudders(yaw) are also on the back, and flaps(takeoff/landing) won't be needed unless it's a very big plane but the go on the inner wing.
4. Tail configurations
Tails come mostly in 5 shapes; V,H,T, inverted T, and Cruciform. The each have special uses.
\-V is shaped like a V and is the most complex, acting as both rudders and elevators at the same time. They are best used on supersonics because they have less drag
\-H is my favorite and the easiest to use. H tail is H shaped and is easy because it simply balances the rudders above and below CG so you don't have unintentional rolling.
\-T is also used for big planes like the c-17 and has the elevators at the top of the rudder. This is sometimes hard to do in trailmakers but still simpler than V.
\-inverted T is the most common type of tail and is similar to the T but more suited for Smaller planes like fighters. It is shaped like an upside down T with the elevators level with CG.
\-Cruciform is like T and inverted T but with the elevators in the middle.
5. Wing configurations
There are 3 wing placements and 3 common wing geometries. The wing placements being high, mid, and low. The geometries being straight, delta, and Variable sweep wing(VSW). I will go over placements then geometries.
\-Placements
\+High wing places the wings at the top. Good for clearance. Used on seaplanes and cargo planes.
\+Mid wing places the wings in the middle. Good for meneuverability. Used on fighters almost exclusively.
\+Low wing places the wings on the bottom. Good for performance and stability. Used on most passenfer planes.
\-geometries
\+Straight is generally straight in shape. Offers better stability and roll control, as well as more lift.
\+Delta is generally triangle shaped. Offers more aerodynamics but harshly effects lift and control.
\+VSW can be straight and delta by moving the wings while flying. Offers a cross between the other two but can negatively effect durability.
6. Close
I hope this offers a comprehensive guide to planes. It took me about 2 hours to write all this and sorry if I made mistakes. I recommend you start with a straight, low wing, H tail propeller plane. Have a good day.