trim tab
Small control surface
A trim tab is a small adjustable surface on the trailing edge of a larger control surface—rudder, elevator, or aileron—on an aircraft or boat.
By making minor adjustments to the trim tab, a pilot or helmsman can balance control forces and maintain a desired attitude without constant manual pressure: She adjusted the trim tab to keep the plane level.
Buckminster Fuller popularized the trim tab as a metaphor for small changes that produce large effects—a modest intervention that redirects the whole system.
- control surfaceMovable aircraft steering element
- slatNarrow wooden strip
- aviationFlying or operating aircraft
- trailing edgeRear border of airfoil
- actuatorDevice producing controlled motion
fin · servo · aerodynamics · pilot · stabilizer · airfoil · steering · fine-tune · aircraft · control · yaw · balance · pitch · small · adjustment · correction · boat · angle of attack
- aircraft partswing, wings, fuselage, aileron, ailerons
- boat partshull, keel, mast, rudder, helm
- flight controlsailerons, elevators, yoke, rudder, aileron
- stabilizersgimbal, tripod, ballast, counterbalance, camera stabilizer
- flight stabilitydihedral, anhedral, roll, yaw, pitch
- glider partsailerons, rudder, elevator, fuselage, wing