What is tension in aviation terms?

• A. Quick, jerky control inputs.
• B. Relaxed grip on the control column.
• C. Maintaining an excessively strong grip on the control column, usually resulting in an overcontrolled situation.
• D. Constantly varying the grip to keep a neutral attitude.

Answer: (C)

Tension in aviation terms means gripping the control column too tightly, which makes control inputs stiff and leads to overcontrolling the aircraft. The best answer describes maintaining an excessively strong grip on the control column, usually resulting in an overcontrolled situation. In flight, the goal is a light, relaxed touch so your inputs are smooth and proportional to the desired change in attitude or flight path.

Relaxed grip helps you make precise, clean adjustments with less chance of overshooting. The other descriptions don’t capture what tension fundamentally is: a hard, rigid grip that causes the airplane to respond too aggressively, whereas a relaxed grip (B) and constantly varying the grip to stay neutral (D) describe different approaches that don’t embody the concept of tension. Quick, jerky inputs (A) can accompany tension, but tension itself is about the firmness of the grip and the tendency to overcontrol, not just the resulting input style.