Aircraft control surfaces

•Aircraft flight control surfaces allow a pilot to adjust

and control the aircraft's flight attitude.
•The main control surfaces of a fixed wing aircraft are
attached to the airframe on hinges or tracks so they
may move and thus deflect the air stream passing over
them. This redirection of the air stream generates an
unbalanced force to rotate the plane about the
associated axis.
PRIMARY CONTROL SURFACE
 AILERONS
• The Ailerons, located on the outer part of the trailing edge of the wings,
control the roll or bank of the airplane. The two ailerons (one on each wing),
work in opposite directions to each other.
• The ailerons are movable parts on the wing. They are controlled by the
stick. When you turn the stick (just like a steering wheel in a car) to the left,
the ailerons move as such that the right aileron goes down and the left
aileron goes up. This makes the airplane turn left. When you turn the stick to
the right, the right aileron goes up and the left aileron goes down. This
makes the airplane turn right.
 ELEVATORS
• Elevators are control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which
control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and
also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the
aircraft nose-up or nose-down.
• The elevators are the horizontal part of the tail. You control them, just like
the ailerons, with the stick. But to move the elevators, the pilot has to pull or
push on the stick. Pulling the joystick back will move the elevator up,
causing the nose of the aircraft to point up. Similarly, pushing the joystick
forward will move the elevator down and pitch the nose down.
 RUDDER
• On the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer is the Rudder .The rudder is
typically mounted on the back edge of the fin in the empennage..
• Centering the rudder pedals returns the rudder to neutral and stops the yaw.
• This controls the yaw or the left/right sliding movements of the aircraft. On a
real aircraft, this is controlled by the foot pedals.
• When the pilot pushes the left pedal, the rudder deflects left. Pushing the
right pedal causes the rudder to deflect right. Deflecting the rudder right
pushes the tail left and causes the nose to yaw right.
 Secondary control surface
• The secondary flight controls are: flaps, trimming devices, spoilers, slats,
slots and speed brakes.
 Flaps
• Flaps: The flaps are found on the trailing edge of the wing. They are
usually the surface inboard in relation to the ailerons. Unlike the ailerons,
they move collectively rather than inversely. When extended, their trailing
edge is moved downward in relation to the fulcrum near their leading
edge. Depending on the aircraft, they may be manipulated manually or
with electric actuators/hydraulics. The effects of flaps on lift listed above
are long term effects if the airspeed is maintained.
• Types of flaps
1- Plain flaps: this flap rotates on a simple hinge.
2- Split flaps: the upper and lower surfaces are separate, the lower
surface operates like a plain flap, but the upper surface stays immobile or
moves only slightly.
3-Fowler flaps: this flap slides backwards before hinging downwards,
thereby increasing both camber and chord, creating a larger wing surface
better tuned for lower speeds.
4-   Slotted flaps: a gap between the flap and the wing enables high
pressurized air from below the wing to re-energize the boundary layer
over the flap. This helps the airflow to stay attached to the flap, creating a
lower stall speed. There are also double slotted flaps and triple slotted
flaps.
 Spoiler

• Spoilers are plates on the top of a wing which can be extended upward into
the airflow to reduce lift and speed.
• They are mostly used on landing, because they cause a dramatic loss of lift
and hence the weight of the aircraft is transferred from the wings to the
undercarriage, allowing the wheels to be mechanically braked with much
less chance of skidding.
• The difference between airbrakes (speed brakes) and spoilers is that
airbrakes are designed to increase drag while making little change to lift,
while spoilers greatly reduce lift while making only a moderate increase in
drag.
 Speed breaks
• Speed brakes are not a common sight on civilian aircraft, although the Bae
146 has speed brakes. Some military jets have speed brakes (e.g.
Blackburn Buccaneer, Su-30,...). The meaning of speed brakes is, as the
name says, reduce speed during landing.
 Slats
• Slats are aerodynamic surfaces on the leading edge of the wings. When
deployed, there exists a hole between the wing and the slat, this allows the
air to flow from below the wing to its upper surfaces. This way the wing still
provides enough lift when flying with a higher angle of attack. The slats are
mostly used when landing or when doing operations at low speed. During
normal flight, they are retracted. There are two types of slats:

-automatic: the slat lies flush with the wing leading edge until
reduced aerodynamic forces allow it to extend by way of \
springs when needed. This type is typically used on light
aircraft.
-Fixed :the slat is permanently extended. This is sometimes used on

specialist low-speed aircraft (these are referred to as slots)

or when simplicity takes precedence over speed.
-powered : the slat extension can be controlled by the pilot. This is
commonly used on airliners.
 Slots
• Slot is a span-wise gap in each wing, allowing air to flow
from below the wing to its upper surface. This allows the
wing to provide lift up to a higher angles of attack than
would be possible without the slot.
• In this manner they allow flight at higher angles of attack
and thus reduce the stall speed. But the slot produces
more drag in normal flight. A way to overcome this, is
making slots retractable and then you have slats.
 Lift augmentation

• Generally refers to leading and trailing edge devices which means

flaps, slats and etc which deployed during take off and landing.
 Flaps
• Flap are lift augmentation devices normally deployed during take-
off and landing.
• When lowered, it increased the camber of the wing thus
increasing lift and drag.
• Advantage:
-Lower the landing speed.
-Drag created will shorten the landing run in stopping the aircraft.
-Provide the steeper angle of approach aircraft on landing.
• There are several of flaps:- plain, split, slotted and fowler.
 Trailing edge flap

• Plain flap -simplest method to change the camber of airfoil

-same size as the aileron and hinged so can deflect.

• Split flap -when lowered, the shape of the upper surface of the wing is
unchanged and it creates more drag because of its turbulent
wake.
• Slotted flap -flap permitting a smoother flow of air over the flap.
- the advantage is longer delaying boundary layer separation
and maintaining a high degree of lift.
• Fowler flap - increase the upper camber as well as the wing area.
- Increase in lift for this type of flap is up to 90%
 Leading edge flap
• Used to augment low speed lift is especially on swept wing aircraft.
• Prevent leading edge separations that take place on thin sharp edge wings
at high angle of attack.
• Type of leading edge flap

1-Krueger flap- consists of two basic sections; flap assembly and

hinged fairing.
2-Droop flap - folds down when the trailing edge flaps are lowered
allows the wing to reach a higher angle of attack
before the airflow breaks away from its upper surface.
 Slots and Slat
Slats
• main advantage is that it control
boundary layer on top of the wing
and increase the lift by 60%
• Are employed for the low speed
operation other than takeoff of
landing
• the state are three position unit:-
retract, extend, and full extend.
Slots
• Built into the wing structure near
the wing tips leading edge.
• Slots guide and accelerate air
from below the wing and
discharge it over the upper surface
to re-energize the existing airflow.
• Maybe fix, controlled, automatic or
blown.
 Trim tabs
• Tabs used to trim any out-of-balance forces and permit a hand-off flight at
normal speeds. These tabs are mounted on aircraft primary controls and
can be operated from the cockpit either by hand wheels or electrically. Also
called trimmers.
• are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control
surface on a aircraft. The angle of the tab relative to the larger
surface can be adjusted to null out hydro- or aero-dynamic forces
and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a particular desired attitude
without the need for the pilot to constantly apply a control force.
• When mounted on a control surface (such as an elevator or rudder), the trim
tab allows the pilot to easily adjust the position of the control surface, and to
adjust the large force generated by the control surface.
• The trim tab acts as a servo tab. Because the center of pressure of the trim
tab is further away from the axis of rotation of the control surface than the
center of pressure of the control surface, the moment generated by the tab
can match the moment generated by the control surface. The position of the
control surface on its axis will change until the moments from the control
surface and the trim surface balance each other.