Trim the elevator

Set the angle your aeroplane flies at with your hands off the buttons, so it climbs, cruises or descends on its own.

You need this once the aeroplane is flying and you want it to hold an attitude without holding a button. The pitch buttons only move the elevator while you press them; the trim is where it rests when you let go.

• The ship carries a TL-1 Tail.
• To steer by the pitch buttons you need air to fly on. The trim slider can be set in the hangar too.

Steps

1. Fly the attitude you want with the pitch buttons. With the nose pointing right, the left turn button lifts it; with the nose pointing left, the right one does. Hold it and the elevator swings that way; let go and it springs back within half a second. Watch PITCH under the navball.
2. Tap the tail. Its sheet opens over the flight screen, with an Elevator trim slider from −25° to +25°.
3. Drag the slider a little way. Take your hands off the pitch buttons and watch PITCH. If the nose drifts the wrong way, drag the other way.
4. Repeat until the aeroplane holds the attitude on its own: nose up to climb, near the horizon to cruise, a few degrees up to land. Tap Close.
5. To start over, tap the tail and choose Centre elevator. The trim returns to zero and the toast reads the part's name followed by "elevator centred".

What you should see

The back edge of the tail's stabiliser rests at the angle you trimmed, and the aeroplane turns until the tail balances it, then holds there with your hands off the buttons. The pitch buttons still work on top of the trim: press one and the elevator swings away from the trim, let go and it comes back to it. If the nose rises but the aeroplane sinks, the trim is past the stall: drag it back down. Why the elevator behaves this way is on Aeroplanes.