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In an effort to cut down the time spent trimming I started telling my students to just move the trim wheel 5 full "rolls" up and that would be close. But the results were mixed because my 5 rolls are not the same as somebody else's 5 rolls.
And while it might be OK in a Cessna 150 or 172 it probably won't work in a Piper Warrior or a Beech Musketeer. Dr. Fries has a better way. How about full nose- up trim? Just move the trim wheel in the nose-up direction until it hits the stop. Full nose-up trim? Won't it stall? That would be way too slow!

No, it won't stall, and it won't be way too slow. Try it. In a 1980 Cessna 172-N, full nose-up trim gets me 62 or 63 knots against a book best-glide speed of 65 knots. That's close enough for me, especially considering that at any weight less than max gross the best glide would be a bit slower anyway. And your Piper Warrior of Beech Musketeer won't stall either. Why not? Because it is a certification requirement for light single-engine aircraft that they won't stall power-off with full nose-up trim.

A few words of caution: When recovering to normal cruise flight expect a substantial pitch-up as power is applied. You'll have to hold substantial forward pressure on the control wheel until you get the trim readjusted for level, power-on flight.

From now on I'm going to teach the full-nose-up-trim procedure to all my students and flight review applicants, as well as tell other flight instructors in my geographic area. I'm a DPE, so I come in contact with a lot of pilots and instructors. This might be a bit long to be called a "quick" tip, but it's too good a procedure to not pass along.

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Larry Bothe

Gold Seal and Master CFI, 8000 hours in over 90 types of small planes. Past Treasurer of SAFE, AirVenture forum presenter.