Skip to main content

Flight Controls

Objective​

To understand the primary and secondary flight controls on an airplane, how they work, and how to use them.

Motivation​

Knowledge of the flight controls is important so a student can recognize abnormal operation, and they gain an intuitive understanding of their construction.

Format​

  • Slides

Timing​

30 minutes

Elements​

  • Three basic flight control: Elevator, aileron, and rudder
  • Airplane rotates about its center of gravity
  • Control surfaces are lifting surfaces, and require airspeed to function
  • Ailerons: Control wheel, bank left or right
  • Elevator: Control wheel, pitch up or down
    • Airplanes can also have a stabilator, where the entire surface moves
  • Rudder: Yaw left or right
    • Most airplanes have brakes on the top of the rudder pedals
  • Flaps
    • Increase chord of the wing, which increases angle of attack
    • Increases lift and increases drag
    • Useful when you want to descend without gaining airspeed, like during landing
    • Types of flaps
      • Some types produce more lift
      • Some types produce less pitching up movement when deployed
  • Leading edge devices
    • Types of leading edge devices
    • Delay the separation of the boundary layer until a higher AoA
    • Slower stall speed and more lift
  • Trim
    • Elevator trim
      • Can be a trim tab (e.g. Cessnas)
      • Anti-servo tab (e.g. Pipers)
        • Stabilators can produce a lot of force, so the antiservo tab counteracts the motion, making the controls less sensitive
        • They are still adjusted up/down with the trim control in the cockpit
    • Rudder trim
      • May be flight or ground adjustable
  • Construction
    • Most flight controls are cable driven
    • Flaps are often driven by an electronic motor, or a manual rod

References​