Aircraft flight control systemA conventional fixed-wingaircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft engine controls are also considered flight controls as they change speed. The fundamentals of aircraft controls are explained in flight dynamics. This article centers on the operating mechanisms of the flight controls.
Aircraft principal axesAn aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: yaw, nose left or right about an axis running up and down; pitch, nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing; and roll, rotation about an axis running from nose to tail. The yaw, pitch, and roll axes are alternatively designated as vertical, lateral (or transverse), and longitudinal respectively. These axes move with the vehicle and rotate relative to the Earth along with the craft.Elevator (aeronautics)Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's pitch, and therefore the angle of attack and the lift of the wing. The elevators are usually hinged to the tailplane or horizontal stabilizer. They may be the only pitch control surface present, and are sometimes located at the front of the aircraft (early airplanes and canards) or integrated into a rear "all-moving tailplane", also called a slab elevator or stabilator.
AileronAn aileron (French for 'little wing' or 'fin') is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around the aircraft's longitudinal axis), which normally results in a change in flight path due to the tilting of the lift vector. Movement around this axis is called rolling or banking.
Aircraft flight dynamicsAircraft flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of gravity (cg), known as pitch, roll and yaw; these are collectively known as aircraft attitude, often principally relative to the atmospheric frame in normal flight, but also relative to terrain during takeoff or landing, or when operating at low elevation.
RudderA rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft.
Fixed-wing aircraftA fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generates lift), and ornithopters (in which the wings oscillate to generate lift).
Spoiler (aeronautics)In aeronautics, a spoiler (sometimes called a lift spoiler or lift dumper) is a device which increases the drag and decreases the lift of an airfoil in a controlled way. Most often, spoilers are hinged plates on the top surface of a wing that can be extended upward into the airflow to spoil the streamline flow. By so doing, the spoiler creates a controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly reducing the lift of that wing section.
Leading-edge slatA slat is an aerodynamic surface on the leading edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. When retracted, the slat lies flush with the rest of the wing. A slat is deployed by sliding forward, opening a slot between the wing and the slat. Air from below the slat flows through the slot and replaces the boundary layer that has travelled at high speed around the leading edge of the slat, losing a significant amount of its kinetic energy due to skin friction drag.HelicopterType of rotorcraftVH-SUF, a McDermott Aviation Bell 214 taking off after refuelling.Cabin view looking out from a helicopter in flightBell 412CF looking forward from the tail, showing its twin turbine engine exhausts1956 Hiller YROE-1 one-man "Rotorcycle" being tested at NASA Ames Research CenterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors.
AeronauticsNH90 TTH Caïman (EBU) at the Paris Air Show - Le Bourget 2025Air France, Airbus A380-861, F-HPJASpace Shuttle Atlantis on a Shuttle Carrier AircraftAeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere.Flap (aeronautics)A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stalling speed of an aircraftwing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landing distance. Flaps also cause an increase in drag so they are retracted when not needed. The flaps installed on most aircraft are partial-span flaps; spanwise from near the wing root to the inboard end of the ailerons.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.