Which AFCS mode allows for hands-off flight?

• A. Auto
• B. Trim
• C. SAS
• D. Attitude Hold

Answer: (B)

Hands-off flight is achieved by trimming. Engaging trim sets the control surfaces to a steady bias so the aircraft tends to stay near the chosen attitude with much less ongoing control input from the pilot. It reduces the force you must apply on the controls and lets you momentarily release your hands while the aircraft remains in the trimmed state. The other modes serve different roles: Auto autopilots the aircraft along a programmed path, SAS provides damping to stabilize motion but doesn’t fix a maintained attitude on its own, and Attitude Hold keeps the current attitude but is more about locking that state rather than maintaining flight with minimal input. Trim specifically creates that low-workload, steady condition that enables hands-off flight.