Rudder and Elevator Trim center marks

Hello All! I’m a new member and I have a 1966 182J (between my uncle, father, then sister and myself, we’ve had it since 1970). I had the panel upgraded a few years ago and the plastic shroud was replaced where the elevator and rudder trim controls are located. They put sticker labels where the neutral trim points were located, and…both stickers eventually came off. While playing “find a trim” adds to the excitement of flying, I would like to mark the neutral locations with a more permanent identifier. Is the trim neutral point for the elevator located where it makes the plane of elevator trim tab parallel with the elevator itself? And is the neutral point of the rudder trim located where the rudder itself is aligned with the fuselage, or is there a slight offset due to the direction of rotation of the propeller? Thanks!

Comments

  • HESSAEROHESSAERO Comml SEL/MEL, Inst, A&P/IA

    In my maintenance manual, the elevator and rudder trim rigging instructions specify where the surfaces need to be at center and limits. The rudder trim is set AFTER FIRST rigging rudder travel. Then you weight the tail to get weight off the nose wheel, so the strut is extended. At full extension the nose wheel gets centered. With the nose wheel centered and the rudder pedals clamped even (centered), the linkage at the bungie is adjusted to put the indicator at the rudder trim center-of-travel mark.

    Elevator trim is similar. FIRST you rig the elevator to proper limits, THEN you rig the elevator trim to NU and ND limits. After all of that is done you can re=install pedestal cover and adjust trim tab pointer to the center of the "TAKEOFF" triangle with the trim tab set at 0°.

  • Thank you!

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