Development[edit]

The Wright brothers are credited with developing the first practical control surfaces. It is
a main part of their patent on flying.[1] nli!e modern control surfaces" they used wing
warping.[#] In an attempt to circumvent the Wright patent" $lenn %urtiss made hinged
control surfaces. &inged control surfaces have the advantage of not causing stresses that
are a problem of wing warping and are easier to build into structures.
'(es of motion[edit]
)ain article* 'ircraft principal a(es

+otation around the

three a(es
'n aircraft is free to rotate
around three a(es that are
perpendicular to each other and intersect at its center of gravity ,%$-. To control
position and direction a pilot must be able to control rotation about each of them.
.ateral a(is[edit]
The lateral a(is passes through an aircraft from wingtip to wingtip. +otation about this
a(is is called pitch. /itch changes the vertical direction that the aircraft0s nose is pointing.
The elevators are the primary control surfaces for pitch.
.ongitudinal a(is[edit]
The longitudinal a(is passes through the aircraft from nose to tail. +otation about this
a(is is called roll. +olling motion changes the orientation of the aircraft0s wings with
respect to the downward force of gravity. The pilot changes ban! angle by increasing the
lift on one wing and decreasing it on the other. This differential lift causes ban! rotation
around the longitudinal a(is. The ailerons are the primary control of ban!. The rudder
also has a secondary effect on ban!.
1ertical a(is[edit]
The vertical a(is passes through an aircraft from top to bottom. +otation about this a(is is
called yaw. 2aw changes the direction the aircraft0s nose is pointing" left or right. The
primary control of yaw is with the rudder. 'ilerons also have a secondary effect on yaw.
It is important to note that these a(es move with the aircraft" and change relative to the
earth as the aircraft moves. 3or e(ample" for an aircraft whose left wing is pointing
straight down" its 4vertical4 a(is is parallel with the ground" while its 4lateral4 a(is is
perpendicular to the ground.
)ain control surfaces[edit]
The main control surfaces of a fi(ed5wing aircraft are attached to the airframe on hinges
or trac!s 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 a(is.

3light control surfaces of 6oeing 7#7

'ilerons[edit]
)ain article* 'ileron

'ileron surface
'ilerons are mounted on the trailing edge of each wing near the wingtips and move in
opposite directions. When the pilot moves the stic! left" or turns the wheel counter5
cloc!wise" the left aileron goes up and the right aileron goes down. ' raised aileron
reduces lift on that wing and a lowered one increases lift" so moving the stic! left causes
the left wing to drop and the right wing to rise. This causes the aircraft to roll to the left
and begin to turn to the left. %entering the stic! returns the ailerons to neutral maintaining
the ban! angle. The aircraft will continue to turn until opposite aileron motion returns
the ban! angle to 8ero to fly straight.
9levator[edit]
)ain article* 9levator ,aircraft-
'n elevator is a moveable part of the hori8ontal stabili8er" hinged to the bac! of the
fi(ed part of the hori8ontal tail. The elevators move up and down together. When the pilot
pulls the stic! bac!ward" the elevators go up. /ushing the stic! forward causes the
elevators to go down. +aised elevators push down on the tail and cause the nose to pitch
up. This ma!es the wings fly at a higher angle of attac!" which generates more lift and
more drag. %entering the stic! returns the elevators to neutral and stops the change of
pitch. )any aircraft use a fully moveable hori8ontal stabili8er called stabilator or all5
moving tail. :ome aircraft" such as an )D5;<" use a servo tab within the elevator
surface to aerodynamically move the main surface into position. The direction of travel of
the control tab will thus be in a direction opposite to the main control surface. It is for this
reason that an )D5;< tail loo!s li!e it has a 0split0 elevator system.
In the canard arrangement" the elevators are hinged to the rear of a foreplane and move
in the opposite sense" for e(ample when the pilot pulls the stic! bac! the elevators go
down to increase the lift at the front and lift the nose up.