Definition
A cockpit display, usually a small marked scale next to the trim wheel or trim control, that shows the current position of the elevator trim relative to a neutral reference point. It indicates how far the trim has been set nose-up or nose-down from neutral.
Plain English
A small gauge in the cockpit that shows where you have set the elevator trim — how much it is currently helping to push the nose up or down.
Context Anchor
Seen in the cockpit near the trim wheel, trim switch, or instrument panel, especially during preflight, before-takeoff checks, and after adjusting trim in flight.
Derivation
From 'indicator' (Latin indicare, 'to point out'). The instrument literally points out where the trim has been set, so the pilot doesn't have to guess from feel alone.
Why Pilots Care
It allows the pilot to confirm proper trim settings that relieve control pressure, reduce fatigue, and maintain stable pitch attitude during all phases of flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read “trim” as decoration or neatness here. In this term, elevator trim means an adjustment that reduces the force the pilot must hold on the pitch control, and the indicator only shows that adjustment; it does not make the adjustment by itself.
Example Sentence 1
Before takeoff, she checked that the elevator trim indicator was set to the takeoff mark.
Example Sentence 2
In level cruise the pilot fine-tuned the elevator trim indicator until the yoke pressure was neutral.