| By Wayne Arbon. | | | | A properly-trimmed aircraft increases fuel efficiency |
| Are you a pilot and seek the secret to a smooth, easy | | | | by reducing drag. A climbing aircraft has a tendency to |
| flight? | | | | yaw which increases parasitic drag because more of |
| If you are forever wrestling with the controls and you | | | | the fuselage is facing into the wind. |
| have aching arms when you land, you are not using | | | | Elevator trim balances the control force necessary to |
| the pilot's best friend - the trim wheel. | | | | maintain the aerodynamic down force on the tail. |
| Trimming the controls allow a pilot to balance the lift | | | | Certain flight configurations, such as slow flight, require |
| and drag being produced by the wings and control | | | | a lot of trim to maintain the desired angle of attack. |
| surfaces over a wide range of loads and airspeeds, | | | | Trimming increases aircraft stability as a |
| reducing the effort required to adjust or maintain a | | | | properly-trimmed aircraft will return to the same |
| desired flight attitude. | | | | attitude and airspeed after encountering any |
| A properly-trimmed aircraft can be flown literally with | | | | disturbances such as turbulence or gusts of wind. |
| your fingers lightly on the controls. Get into the habit of | | | | There is also trim for the rudder and ailerons used to |
| trimming every time you change attitude or power | | | | counter slipstream or the effects of the centre of |
| settings, first letting the aircraft stabilise into the desired | | | | gravity being to one side. |
| attitude. | | | | This can be caused by a larger weight on one side of |
| Use small corrections and take the time to trim | | | | the aircraft compared to the other, such as when one |
| correctly - the aircraft will naturally want to stay in | | | | fuel tank has a more fuel in it than the other or when |
| equilibrium whether in straight-and-level flight or in a | | | | there are heavier people on one side of the aircraft. |
| constant ascent or descent. | | | | Aileron trim is found mostly on large fixed-wing aircraft. |
| If you can take your hands off the controls and the | | | | If the aircraft has a rudder trim wheel, use it - it's a lot |
| aircraft stays in the same attitude, it is trimmed | | | | easier than flying with one foot on a rudder pedal to |
| correctly. | | | | centre the ball. |
| The most common example of a trim tab is the | | | | Take the time to learn the skills of correct trimming |
| elevator trim found in almost all aircraft. The elevator | | | | and you will be surprised at just how easy a |
| trim tab is adjusted to maintain the angle of attack | | | | properly-trimmed aircraft is to fly. |
| without pilot interaction. | | | | |