VATSTAR

P2 Rating: Flight Fundamentals

(Part 1: Basics of Flight)
Lesson 9: Fit and Trim
Introduction

This Lesson will introduce the trim tab controls and explain their proper use.

Can I Skip This Lesson?

Q: Which of the following is a true statement about trim tab controls?

a. they are only useful in straight and level flight.
b. aileron and rudder trim settings are usually more useful in single-engine props.
c. all aircraft have adjustable elevator, rudder, and aileron trim.

If you answered "B", you can trim this Lesson short and skip to the next one. Otherwise, cruise on along, below.

What You Need to Know

Vocabulary

• phase of flight: one of the segments of a typical aircraft flight. The general phases are: preflight, startup, taxi,
takeoff, climbout, cruise, descent, approach, landing, taxi, parking/shutdown. Occasionally and in some contexts,
one of these might be further divided into smaller sub-phases (for example, to include "boarding", or to separate
"startup" and "warmup", or to include a checklist for "run-up / control check" just before takeoff, etcetera). But
regardless of the open arena for interpretation regarding the exact number and nature of proper phases that make
up a flight, the term generally refers to what major segment of a flight you happen to be in at the time.

Concepts

• Setting the trim on a given control surface (ailerons, rudder, elevators) is a method of adjusting the surface's
behavior in a neutral control position.
• Almost all planes have the ability to adjust elevator trim from the cockpit. Some planes have cockpit-adjustable
rudder and aileron trim; some have trim tabs which are adjustable from outside the plane; some do not have trim
tabs on rudder nor aileron at all.
• The purpose of being able to set the trim on a given control is to make it so the pilot does not have to maintain
constant, prolonged pressure on that control to achieve the phase of flight he or she wishes. A properly trimmed
aircraft should be able to maintain straight and level flight without pilot input, except for the occasional reaction to
turbulent air.
• Since single-engine propellor-driven planes have that natural left-turning tendency discussed in the last lesson, some
right aileron or right rudder trim can help stabilize it in climbout or in straight and level flight. In fact, since multi-
engine props and jets are so laterally stable, especially in flight simulation, aileron and rudder trim controls are
seldom used in such aircraft, in my experience.
• While in a climb or descent, the amount of pitch required during the manueuver will vary slightly (for reasons we'll
cover in the next lesson), but the pilot should be able to make these adjustments via trim rather than a constant and
prolonged pressure on the control stick.
• An important safety precaution before taking off is to ensure that the trim tabs are all set to a neutral position.

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More Detail

Trim controls are used by pilots to adjust the neutral behavior of

control surfaces. Nearly all airplanes have the ability to adjust
elevator trim from the cockpit. With rudders and ailerons, some
aircraft offer cockpit controls to adjust the trim on those as well,
some have tabs that can be adjusted externally while on the
ground but cannot be changed while in-flight; and others don't
have any trim controls for rudder nor ailerons whatsoever.

The mechanism for delivering the trim control setting to the

stream of airflow around the plane varies from one aircraft
design to the next. In many designs, the trim tab is a small
moveable panel on the trailing edge of the control surface
itself -- like a little rudder within the rudder, if you will. To
add rudder-right trim, the trim tab would actually deflect to the left, which would deflect the main rudder to the
right, and that is what delivers the slight right yaw effect with the neutral rudder control. In other designs, the trim
tab is alongside the main control surface, but usually smaller; in still other designs, there is no second control
surface at all -- the trim setting mechanically or electronically affects the neutral resting position of the main control
surface. Good news -- for simulator purposes, since you don't have to to an external inspection of the airplane, you
don't have to know which design yours uses. You only need to know how to control it and what it's used for. (We're
getting to all that!)

The controls themselves can vary widely from one plane to another as well. In many modern aircraft, particularly
jetliners, the elevator trim is electronic, and activated by a rocker switch on the control yoke near the pilot's thumb.
This gives the pilot incredibly easy access to adjust it while applying force to the control yoke. In more primitive
designs and many inexpensive light planes, the elevator trim is a fairly sizeable wheel mounted next to the pilot seat
on the center console in such a way that the pilot turns the wheel forward or back to adjust it. The Douglas DC-3C,
pictured above left, is one such model. It is unclear from this picture whether the copilot has a wheel on his side of
the engine console as well (it actually doesn't appear that there is); but, in most dual-cockpit aircraft, there would be
duplicate controls for either crew member to adjust as needed.

(INTERESTING TIDBIT: take note of the hand-crank just below that wheel -- that happens to be the rudder trim
control. The Douglas DC-3C, at least as represented in this particular version, does not include an aileron trim
control.)

So now that we know what the controls look like, and what they do in a physical sense, what are they used for in
practical terms?

The purpose of having adjustable trim tabs on an airplane is to prevent the pilot from needing to provide a constant
force on any of the control surfaces (elevator in particular) for any prolonged amount of time. Once the aircraft is
stabilized in whatever phase of flight it happens to be in, whether that is a straight-and-level cruise, climbout,
descent, or landing approach, the pilot can adjust the trim tabs so that the plane's natural tendency when letting go of
the controls is to maintain that phase of flight wihout additional pilot input. This can free up the pilot's arms and
hands to do other things like check navigation or approach charts, re-brief himself on the missed-approach
procedure, tune navigation or communication radios, confer with his copilot or crew, or communicate with air
traffic control. He or she should scan the gauges every few seconds to make sure things are still going along the way
they are intended to; but, the need for constant, hands-on flying is eliminated with a properly trimmed plane.

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During a straight-and-level cruise, in theory, a properly trimmed plane should hold its altitude and heading perfectly
on its own, indefinitely. In reality (and even in simulation), wind shifts, temperature or barometric pressure changes,
movement in the center of gravity as caused by fuel consumption, and the occasional bounce of rough air will
require near-constant adjustment. However, in a climb or descent, the adjustment will need to be even more
constant, and the attention paid to proper trim will need to be increased. This is due to the effects that changing
altitude, changing air pressure, and changing airspeed have on lift (which is covered in more detail in a later lesson);
for now, just know that executing a proper climb will usually require the gradual addition of nose-down trim in
order to maintain airspeed through the maneuver, and managing a descent will usually require a gradual nose-down
trim as well, to maintain the descent rate while the air is getting more dense and the wings get more "lift-y".

One thing that I have found in my own experience as a simulator pilot is that it is ALWAYS important to have easy
access to my elevator trim controls (so, in my sim career, they have almost always been assigned to buttons right on
the joystick); but that the use of rudder and/or aileron trim controls has been minimal to none except when flying
single-engine props. Because of their left-turning tendency (as we discussed in detail in the last lesson), having a
rudder or aileron trim control at my fingertips is also vitally important, but only when flying this sort of plane.
(INTERESTING TIDBIT: this is one of the main reasons I strongly advocate that the paid version of FSUIPC as
an add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator is well worth the small investment. Unlike the default menus in FS,
FSUIPC allows you to create different control assignments for different aircraft. I use one set for jets, which do not
include mixture or prop-pitch controls nor aileron nor rudder trim, and one for props, which do include all of those
things. My "jet set" is therefore freed up to add other useful controls to my switches, buttons, and levers instead.
And with FSUIPC managing the control assignments automatically based on my preferences, I don't have to
manually change all of them each time I load up a new plane.)

One very important safety measure that all pilots should employ somewhere in their pre-flight checklists is to
ensure all trim controls are set to neutral. The last thing you want to happen when you get to rotation speed on your
takeoff roll and go to pitch-up is, well, nothing, because you have the elevator trim adjusted all the way forward
from your previous landing. (HINT: you can run out of runway extremely quickly while trying to figure out why you
aren't climbing off of the pavement at 3000 feet per minute, but instead cruising down a dead-end road at 160+
knots!)

(IMPORTANT NOTE TO KEYBOARD USERS: if you use your keyboard to control elevator/aileron/rudder, your
button-presses are already acting in the same manner as trim tab controls, because your virtual control stick does
not have a self-centering tendency when let go. When you stop pressing buttons, your control stick will remain
exactly where it is. So it doesn't make much sense to worry about pressing one set of buttons to adjust the neutral
settings of your plane's control surfaces so you can press another set of buttons to return the stick to the center. But,
for the time that you hopefully will eventually graduate from flying by keyboard to flying with some sort of joystick
or yoke control, it'll be vital to good airmanship that you remember what the trim tabs are and how to use them. In
the meantime, you must still be familiar with the terminology and know what is meant, for example, by the
instruction "trim your aircraft for a 100-knot climb.")

Summary

Trim controls are used to adjust the behavior of the rudder, ailerons, or elevator when each is in a neutral position. This can
aid the pilot by relieving the necessity to maintain a prolonged constant pressure on the control stick, yoke, or pedal during
any certain phase of flight. Almost all aircraft have adjustable elevator trim, but some planes lack aileron and rudder trim, or
have trim tabs which are set externally and are therefore not adjustable during flight. In flight simulation, rudder and aileron
trim tabs are generally much more useful in single-engine prop airplanes, since they are the planes that exhibit turning
tendencies during certain phases of flight -- multi-engine props, turboprops, and jets all are typically fairly stable already on
the yaw and roll axes. Elevator trim should not only be used during straight and level flight but also in climbs and descents,
since these typically take an extended amount of time and would otherwise require constant up-elevator or down-elevator
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application. The trim will need to be adjusted during the course of the climb or descent to maintain the target airspeed or
descent rate, but it can all be done without constant pressue on the yoke. One important safety measure that should be
included in all preflight checklists is that all trim settings should be reset to neutral ranges prior to takeoff.

Quiz

1: Which of the following most accurately describes the reason for using trim controls?
a. they help make the plane fly straight and level.
b. they relieve the pilot of holding constant pressure on a given control surface.
c. they are necessary for climb and descent.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.

2: What form do trim controls typically take?

a. a wheel mounted alongside the pilot's seat.
b. a button or switch on the pilot's control yoke or stick.
c. a crank located somewhere near the pilot's knee or leg.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.

3: Which of the following is a potential danger when using trim controls?

a. forgetting the elevator trim is set fully down when about to take off.
b. using the trim control rather than the control stick to make climbs or descents.
c. trimming the elevator slightly right to counteract a single-engine prop plane's left-turning tendencies.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.

ANSWERS: 1. B ... 2. D ... 3. A

Back to Section Table of Contents

Rob Shearman, Jr. (cfi@vatstar.com)

Chief Flight Instructor, VATSTAR
DISCLAIMER: all information contained herein is for flight simulation purposes only.
revised December 2015

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