Trim switch orientation?

I've decided to keep things simple and cheap for now on my elevator trim, Ray Allen switch in the panel. Should I:

1. wire the top of the switch to be nose up?
2. wire the top of the switch to be nose down?

I would like to keep it "intuitive," but I've only flown electric trim on the stick/yoke. I'm also using the Ray Allen rocker switch for my flaps so I would prefer to keep the top of the switch up on both.

I put mine with the top being up. They make both styles of legends however...

Which ever way you want it is fine. But it MUST be labeled.
Most people mount the switch as if were a trim wheel; i.e. push the top for down trim as if you were rolling a trim wheel forward.
But again, the choice is yours. Whatever you are most comfortable with.

Don't feel bad - I presented this same problem to three different top military test pilots one time, and got four different answers....

Hmmm...the trim wheel theory does seem more intuitive but seems backward with the button on the panel. I do have the labels for both directions. Either way It can't be anymore confusing then the Comanche's trim crank on the ceiling.

crabandy said:

Hmmm...the trim wheel theory does seem more intuitive but seems backward with the button on the panel. I do have the labels for both directions. Either way It can't be anymore confusing then the Comanche's trim crank on the ceiling.

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My switch is also mounted so up (top) is nose UP. That being said....I still hit the wrong side a few times in my first few flights.... (as long as the trim governor is turned down, its not a big deal to be wrong), you find out pretty fast that you are pressing the -wrong- side. (My excuse is my eyes are focused outside...not on the switch labels)

hat switch

Not to hijack the thread, but it got me thinking.
If you have a hat switch on the stick...
1. Is it used for trim?
2. How should it be set up.
3. How does it trim for roll? Or is it just adjustment for the autopilot?
Sorry, sounds stupid now when I write it down but honestly I don't know.

Evaluate based on your past experience

Mel said:

Which ever way you want it is fine. But it MUST be labeled.
Most people mount the switch as if were a trim wheel; i.e. push the top for down trim as if you were rolling a trim wheel forward.
But again, the choice is yours. Whatever you are most comfortable with.

Click to expand...

If the switch were to be mounted horizontally on a side panel, then pressing the rear-most part of the switch would be up trim, and forward would be down trim, and this would also match the typical directional alignment of a hat switch or with the actual joy stick - easier to remember that way. Mounting on the face of the instrument panel does kind of throw a bit of a twist on things though.

If it were me, I would at least take a minute or two to ask myself (CFIs do that anyway out of habit) what would I instinctively want to do if I were in a stressful situation that required immediate action without really thinking about it too much? I would also rely on past experience and training to help me decide. I.e. if you flew a lot of Cessnas with a trim wheel then it might be worth keeping that same orientation just because you are used to it. If you flew with electric trim then I am willing to bet that you had a trim switch mounted horizontally on the yoke of the aircraft - basically the same situation I described above. if you fly IFR alot, then you may also want to consider some other less obvious things, such as the affect of your hand on the stick as you move your other hand to press the switch on the panel. The typical response is for the pilot to push forward slightly on the stick and/or bank slightly in one direction or the other whenever you have to reach forward to do something on the panel (radios, etc.). Now if you are on autopilot all the time, or only flying VFR, well I suppose you can dismiss such tedious things then.

It's true you would have to run some additional wire to either a side panel or to the joystick hat switch, but I don't think that is inherently more compilcated than mounting it on the panel. I could be wrong.

As Mel says, whatever you do - it must be labled.
I'll be curious about your final decision and also where you ultimately decide to mount the switch.

wirejock said:

If you have a hat switch on the stick...
1. Is it used for trim?
2. How should it be set up.
3. How does it trim for roll? Or is it just adjustment for the autopilot?
Sorry, sounds stupid now when I write it down but honestly I don't know.

Click to expand...

I have a two axis trim on the coolie hat, the switch movement is the same as the stick movement. Push is down pull is up. Right is right, left is left.

roll trim

Mike S said:

I have a two axis trim on the coolie hat, the switch movement is the same as the stick movement. Push is down pull is up. Right is right, left is left.

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So is there an aileron trim tab or does it actuate the aileron auto pilot servo?

I went thru the same

I have pilot trim on the stick and a copilot trim switch on the the panel. I initially set the panel trim as up = up but later changed to be same as stick, down = up.

Comanche's trim crank on the ceiling.

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My first airplane boss told me this: "Pipers. You screw them up"

I am planning for the trim switch to be just above the throttle, and the flap switch to be just above the mixture. I can't justify the cost/time of adding trim to the stick right now, maybe after I get it flying.

wirejock said:

So is there an aileron trim tab or does it actuate the aileron auto pilot servo?

Click to expand...

Ya'know, I realized after posting that someone might ask that

Rudder actually, but the plane still moves the way the switch goes.