WHILE TRANSITING NEW YORK CLASS B WITH N90 APCH CTL; TRIN (TB20) PLT HAS ELECTRIC TRIM MALFUNCTION CAUSING HEADING AND ALTDEVS.

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FLYING VFR FROM PNE TO BDR VIA COL; JFK VORS; USING GPS NAV; AT 5500 FT. PRIOR TO ENTERING NYC CLASS B AIRSPACE; I CONTACTED NY APCH; REQUESTED AND RECEIVED CLRNC INTO THE NYC CLASS B AIRSPACE. SHORTLY AFTER ENTERING THE CLASS B; I EXPERIENCED A PROB WITH THE ELECTRIC TRIM ON THE TB20; INDICATED BY A CONTINUOUS ILLUMINATION OF THE TRIM LIGHT AND A VERY EFFECTIVE (REAL DISTRACTING) AUDIBLE WARNING. NATURALLY; IT WAS AT THIS TIME THAT NY REQUESTED A FREQ CHANGE AND ROUTING CHANGE. I FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE CTLR'S REQUEST FOR 3 REASONS: 1) THE TRIM PROB. IT SHOULD BE NOTED I HAD A TOTAL OF 3.5 HRS PIC IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL AT THE TIME OF THE TRIM PROB. FORTUNATELY; I HAD SPENT A FAIR PORTION OF MY FAMILIARITY WITH FLT LEARNING THE KFC-150 AND ITS ELECTRIC TRIM; BUT IT STILL TOOK ME SEVERAL MINS TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS WRONG -- COULDN'T MAINTAIN ALT; ISOLATE THE PROB; FIND THE AUTOPLT DISCONNECT PWR SWITCH; MANUALLY UNJAM THE TRIM WHEEL; ETC. DURING THIS TIME; I WAS REQUESTED TO CHANGE FREQ AND PROCEED DIRECT TO WHAT I NOW BELIEVE WAS CANARSIE VOR. AFTER THE 3RD REQUEST; I WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THE FREQ TO SWITCH TO AND WAS GIVEN A HEADING VECTOR IN PLACE OF THE DIRECT CRI CLRNC. (NOTE: AT THIS POINT I WAS NO LONGER FIGHTING THE TRIM AND THE AUDIBLE ALARM HAD BEEN SILENCED.) CONTRIBUTING FACTOR #2: THE CTLR'S NY ACCENT. ALTHOUGH I HAVE LIVED IN THE NY AREA FOR APPROX 8 YRS NOW; I STILL HAVE A PROB WITH SOME OF THE PRONUNCIATIONS IN THESE PARTS. CONTRIBUTING FACTOR #3: AS THIS WAS A DAY VFR FLT; I DID NOT HAVE A LOW ALT ENRTE CHART OPEN TO THIS SECTION OF AIRSPACE AND I WAS TOO DISTR FIGHTING THE TRIM AND TRYING TO HEAR WHICH FREQ AND FACILITY (I AM NOW SURE IT WAS CRI) TO MORE THAN GLANCE AT THE NY SECTIONAL IN THE R SEAT. ALSO; WHILE I LEARNED TO FLY IN THIS AREA; I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH CRI AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPOT ON THE CHART. I DO NOT THINK AT ANY TIME I CREATED A HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT; HOWEVER; I FULLY APPRECIATE THE INCONVENIENCE AND INCREASED WORKLOAD MY FAILURE TO SWITCH FREQ UPON 1ST REQUEST AND PROCEED DIRECT TO CRI MAY HAVE CAUSED. HOWEVER; BUT FOR THE TRIM/KFC-150 AUTOPLT MALFUNCTION AT THIS INOPPORTUNE TIME; I HAVE NO DOUBT I WOULD HAVE AT WORST SIMPLY NEEDED A CLARIFICATION ON THE FIRST REQUEST TO HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE CTLR'S REQUEST. LESSONS LEARNED: 1) BETTER SYS KNOWLEDGE; 2) KEEP LOW ALT CHART OPEN EVEN VFR IN CLASS B AIRSPACE.