What retrim action is specified for an out-of-trim emergency descent?

• A. Yaw left 1 ball, Cyclic right 8-10 deg
• B. Yaw right 1 ball, Cyclic left 8-10 deg
• C. Pitch down 5 deg
• D. Bank left 20 deg

Answer: (A)

In an out-of-trim emergency descent, the aim is to regain a safe, controllable descent by quickly neutralizing the trim imbalance and creating forward motion for translational lift. This means a small amount of pedal input to counter the yaw tendency you’d get from rotor torque, plus a modest cyclic input to tilt the rotor thrust so you move forward rather than straight down. The chosen action uses a slight left yaw (pedal) and a cyclic input to the right of about 8–10 degrees. The pedal helps keep the heading from wandering, while the cyclic tilt provides forward airspeed, improving stability and rotor efficiency during the descent. A large change in pitch or a bank would destabilize the descent or reduce translational lift, so those aren’t the preferred retrim actions in this scenario.