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a constant heading with level wings and equal engine power, by definition, means that the airplane is perfectly coordinated. It is my belief that comparing wingtip- to-horizon alignment – in almost all cases – is a more accurate way of gauging the true state of coordination than the ball.
You will come to find that adding some right rudder trim will always be required as you climb after takeoff unless you dialed in a little while setting trim wheel positions before takeoff. A small left rudder trim tweak will invariably be required as you level off and accelerate into cruise. If speed picks up in the descent, you’ll need a dab of more left rudder trim. Extension of flaps and gear? Because other things are changing so quickly now – airspeed, power, probably altitude – there usually won’t be enough time to make the wing-low evaluation of trim. But be alert to the ball. Trim as needed.
As you all know, trim merely lets us reduce control forces. Everything I am saying about rudder trim could be accomplished by pushing the correct rudder pedal. Of course, there are times when forceful and timely rudder pedal input is necessary ... like when an engine experiences a loss of power! When hand-flying without the Yaw Damp engaged, yes indeed, it may be easier to just press a little harder on one pedal than spending time adjusting the trim. However, since we almost always have Yaw Damper engaged – and 90% of the time, the
autopilot as well – the rudder pedals resist our attempts to move them due to the Yaw Damper doing its thing. Rather than overpower the rudder servo or get a leg cramp because of the continuous force being applied, I suggest adjustment of rudder trim is much preferred to the application of actual pedal force when correcting the wing-low problem.
If this sounds familiar to you, you are not mistaken. I included a reference to the need for rudder trim adjustment in a previous article discussing Yaw Dampers. However, I believe this is an important topic that deserves another look. I still see a lot of King Air pilots accepting one-wing-low as normal. Folks, we can be better than that! KA
King Air expert Tom Clements has been flying and instructing in King Airs for over 50 years and is the author of “The King Air Book” and “The King Air Book II.” He is a Gold Seal CFI and has over 23,000 total hours with more than 15,000 in King Airs. For information on ordering his books, contact Tom direct at twcaz@msn.com. Tom is actively mentoring the instructors at King Air Academy in Phoenix.
If you have a question you’d like Tom to answer, please send it to Editor Kim Blonigen at editor@blonigen.net.
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JUNE 2024
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