In short: In calm air, hold the yoke lightly with your whole hand so you can feel both the pressure you apply and the pressure the controls return. Rod Machado explains that a tight grip or a three-finger grip dulls that feedback, and that the elevator trim exists so you never have to hold pressure just to keep an attitude.
Video: “How to Hold the Controls for Student Pilots” by Rod Machado, from his YouTube channel.
What you’ll learn
- Why a tight grip makes it harder to sense control pressure
- Why a three-finger grip gives a student too little sensory input
- What the pressure discrimination threshold is and why it matters
- When a firmer grip is appropriate, such as steep turns or gusty landings
- How the trim wheel and trim tab relieve unwanted control pressure
A Light Grip, Not a Death Grip
After five decades of teaching, Rod says improper hand placement is one of the most common issues he sees in student pilots. Grab the yoke tightly and it becomes hard to tell how much elevator or aileron pressure you are applying, let alone feel how the controls respond. You lose access to the smallest pressure your hand can detect, which he calls the pressure discrimination threshold.
The opposite habit, a dainty three-finger grip, causes its own problem. Less skin contact means less sensory input, so the student gets an inaccurate sense of that threshold. Since much of flying is done by applying pressure rather than by moving a control a set distance, that feel really matters.
Rod offers a memorable image: hold the yoke the way you would hold a rare and valuable egg, firmly enough to control it but lightly enough to feel exactly how much pressure you are using.
Use Only the Force You Need, Then Trim
There are times for a firmer grip, including steep turns, accelerated stalls and landings in gusty winds. Still, Rod points out that good pilots never use more force on the yoke or pedals than necessary, and never less than necessary either.
That is where trim comes in. Turning the trim wheel moves a small tab on the trailing edge of the elevator, which aerodynamically deflects the elevator so you do not have to hold pressure to maintain your target attitude. Many airplanes also have trim for the ailerons or rudder. Once you trim away unwanted pressure, the airplane tends to stay where you put it.
This lesson is excerpted from Rod’s How to Fly an Airplane eCourse, and he notes that all of its writing, animation and narration are his own work.
Go deeper with Rod Machado
Rod’s flight training course builds on basics like grip, control pressure and trim to teach the full set of fundamental flying skills. Learn more in How to Fly an Airplane eCourse.
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