Helm

Helm (or helm control) was a term derived from old Earth navy parlance used to describe the person either steering or commanding a sailing vessel. By the age of spaceflight, the term was used to describe the flight control operations on board a starship or shuttlecraft, located on the bridge. ()
== Role ==
On a number of occasions whenever the Captain left the bridge, he would tell his second-in-command that they had the helm.
This was the case in 2254, when Captain Christopher Pike left Number One in command of the , informing her, "You have the helm. Maintain present course." ()
When the USS Enterprise was under the temporary command of Commodore Stocker in 2268, he decided to fly the ship across the Romulan Neutral Zone in a concerted effort to make it to Starbase 10 to save Captain James T. Kirk and his senior staff, believing it to be the best way to save the crew in question who were suffering from premature advanced aging. Following the restoration, Kirk explained to Stocker that "there's very little a Starbase can do that a starship can't," to which Stocker replied, "If I may say so, Captain, I am now quite aware of what a starship can do with the right man at the helm." () 
In 2364, on two occasions when Captain Jean-Luc Picard excused himself from the bridge of the , he told Data "you have the helm." ()
While speaking to Worf of the power of the Enterprise-D, Klingon renegade Konmel spoke of "what magnificent battles we could have at the helm of this ship." () 
== Position ==
The helm was responsible for controlling the flight operations of a ship, including warp, impulse and thruster control. The helm was also responsible for controlling the ship during a landing sequence or docking procedure. ()
In the 23rd century, in Starfleet, the helm was usually manned by a helmsman. Sometime during 24th century, the position became merged with the navigator position creating a single flight control officer or pilot (; ) position, and the station itself referred to as the conn. () Nevertheless, the term "helm" was still generally used to refer to flight control operations and the position manning it. (, et al.)
Aside from piloting the ship, the helm position aboard a controlled the tractor beam (), the viewscreen (), and had ready access to the ship's chronometers. ()
The actual helm console was usually positioned near the front of the ship's bridge. On some vessels, the helm stood alone, such as aboard the , , or . (; ; ) Other Starfleet vessels had two forward positions, in which case the helm was paired with another station, such as the operations station on starships, or the tactical console on starships. ()
The helm station aboard an NX-class starship had small monitors on which information could be displayed. In 2151, Travis Mayweather used the console to display information about the Terra Nova Expedition from the historical archives. ()
File:NX helm station.jpg|A close look at the helm console of an NX-class starship
File:Shuttlepod helm.jpg|A close look at the helm of a 22nd-century shuttlepod
File:Fortunate bridge.jpg|The helm of the , a freighter in 2151
File:Franklin helm console.png|The helm on a starship in 2164
File:Constitution helm console with viewer.jpg|Hikaru Sulu operates the helm on the 
File:Constitution helm closeup.jpg|A close look at the helm console on a Constitution-class starship
File:Constitution helm station (alternate reality).jpg| operates the helm on the in the alternate reality
File:Constitution II helm console.jpg|Valeris at the helm console of the 
File:Excelsior class helm.jpg|A close look at the helm console on an starship
File:Galaxy helm station.jpg|A close look at the helm console on an starship
File:Defiant helm station.jpg|Jadzia Dax operates the helm console on the 
File:Sovereign helm console.jpg|Lieutenant operates the helm console on the 
File:Runabout helm console.jpg|Benjamin Sisko operates the helm on a Starfleet runabout
File:Intrepid helm station.jpg|Tom Paris operates the helm console on the 
File:Delta Flyer II helm.jpg|Tom Paris operates the helm's manual steering columns on the 
File:Spore Drive Helm Console.jpg|The helm, with spore drive activation control
== External link ==
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Category:Spacecraft components