I was reading through the advisories listed for my airplane (a Beaver RX 550) and one of them said that trim tabs - adjustable or otherwise - were not allowed. It mentioned that many aircraft accidents have been caused by trim tabs and that it was better to trim the aircraft via weight and balance instead.
When I bought the airplane, it had some crude but effective fixed trim tabs riveted onto the elevator. Upon closer inspection after reading this advisory, I noticed that one of them was beginning to get loose. Since I know of no way to tighten a rivet, I removed the tabs altogether and have installed a spring trim system instead.
But just out of curiosity, how can a trim tab - adjustable or fixed - cause an accident? Especially on a light aircraft?
When I bought the airplane, it had some crude but effective fixed trim tabs riveted onto the elevator. Upon closer inspection after reading this advisory, I noticed that one of them was beginning to get loose. Since I know of no way to tighten a rivet, I removed the tabs altogether and have installed a spring trim system instead.
But just out of curiosity, how can a trim tab - adjustable or fixed - cause an accident? Especially on a light aircraft?
