  This study investigates the impact of spacecraft positioning and trajectory
on in situ signatures of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Employing the 3DCORE
model, a 3D flux rope model that can generate in situ profiles for any given
point in space and time, we conduct forward modeling to analyze such signatures
for various latitudinal and longitudinal positions, with respect to the flux
rope apex, at 0.8~au. Using this approach, we explore the appearance of the
resulting in situ profiles for different flux rope types, with different
handedness and inclination angles, for both high and low twist CMEs. Our
findings reveal that CMEs exhibit distinct differences in signatures between
apex hits and flank encounters, with the latter displaying elongated profiles
with reduced rotation. However, constant, non-rotating in situ signatures are
only observed for flank encounters of low twist CMEs, suggesting the existence
of untwisted magnetic field lines within CME legs. Additionally, our study
confirms the unambiguous appearance of different flux rope types in in situ
signatures, contributing to the broader understanding and interpretation of
observational data. Given the model assumptions, this may refute trajectory
effects to be the cause for mismatching flux rope types as identified in solar
signatures. While acknowledging limitations inherent in our model, such as the
assumption of constant twist and non-deformable torus-like shape, we still draw
relevant conclusions within the context of global magnetic field structures of
CMEs and the potential for distinguishing flux rope types based on in situ
observations.
