Flight Control System

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SCHOOL YEAR 2023-2024
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Learning Outcomes:
• Identify the different flight controls and how they operate.
• Differentiate the primary from the secondary flight controls.
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Aircraft flight control systems consist of flight control surfaces, the respective
cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to
control an aircraft's direction in flight.
They can be divided into three main groups:
-Primary flight control
-Secondary flight control
-Auxiliary flight control (includes high lift devices).
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*Airplane control systems are carefully designed to provide a natural feel, and at
the same time, allow adequate responsiveness to control inputs.

*At low airspeeds, the controls usually feel soft and sluggish, and the airplane
responds slowly to control applications.

*At high speeds, the controls feel firm and the response is more rapid.
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Four Forces of Flight
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Primary Flight Controls
Aircraft control systems are carefully designed to provide adequate
responsiveness to control inputs while allowing a natural feel. Movement of any
of the three primary flight control surfaces changes the airflow and pressure
distribution over and around the airfoil. These surfaces are those that are
considered required for safe and controlled flight.
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Three primary flight control surfaces
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AILERONS
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Ailerons control roll about the
longitudinal axis. The ailerons are
attached to the outboard trailing
edge of each wing and move in
the opposite direction from each
other.
Ailerons are connected by cables,
bell cranks, pulleys or push-pull
tubes to each other and to the
control wheel.
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Moving the control wheel, or control stick, to the right causes the right aileron to
deflect upward and the left aileron to deflect downward. The upward deflection of
the right aileron decreases the camber resulting in decreased lift on the right wing.
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What is an Adverse Yaw? results in
the aircraft yawing toward the wing
which had experienced an increase
in lift (and drag)more pronounced
at low airspeeds.
How to counteract Adverse Yaw?
In an attempt to reduce the effects of
adverse yaw, manufacturers have
engineered four systems: differential
ailerons, frise-type ailerons, coupled
ailerons and rudder, and flaperons.
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Differential Ailerons
one aileron is raised a greater
distance than the other aileron is
lowered for a given movement
of the control wheel or control
stick.
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Frise-type Ailerons
The leading edge of the up-going
aileron protrudes below the lower
surface of the wing, causing high
drag. The leading edge of the down-
going aileron remains shrouded and
causes less drag.
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Coupled Ailerons and Rudder

This is accomplished with rudder-aileron

interconnect springs, which help correct
for aileron drag by automatically
deflecting the rudder at the same time
the ailerons are deflected.
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ELEVATOR
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An elevator is a primary flight control surface that controls movement about
the lateral axis of an aircraft. This movement is referred to as "pitch".
The elevators respond to a forward or aft movement of the control column or
control stick.
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Example of Elevators
*T-tail
-an empennage configuration in which the
tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin.
The arrangement looks like the capital letter
T, hence the name.

-The T-tail is very common on aircraft with

the engines mounted on the rear of the
fuselage, as it keeps the tail clear of the jet
exhaust.

-susceptible to a deep stall.

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Example of Elevators
*Canard
-creates lift and holds the nose up, as
opposed to the aft-tail design which
exerts downward force on the tail to
prevent the nose from rotating
downward.
-provides longitudinal stability about
the lateral axis.
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RUDDER
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Rudder
The rudder controls movement of the
aircraft about its vertical axis. This motion
is called “yaw”. Like the other primary
control surfaces, the rudder is a movable
surface hinged to a fixed surface in this
case, to the vertical stabilizer or fin.
The rudder is controlled by the left and
right rudder pedals.
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Rudder
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SECONDARY FLIGHT CONTROLS
Secondary flight controls or Auxiliary Control Surfaces are intended to improve the
aircraft performance characteristics or to relieve excessive control loading.
Flaps - most common high-lift devices used on aircraft.
Leading Edge Devices - high-lift devices also can be applied to the leading edge of the
airfoil.
Spoilers - deployed from the wings to spoil the smooth airflow, reducing lift and
increasing drag.
Trim Systems - used to relieve the pilot of the need to maintain constant pressure on
the flight controls
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High-lift Devices
In aircraft design, high-lift devices are moving surfaces or stationary components
intended to increase lift during certain flight conditions. 
Most jet transport aircraft are fitted with high lift devices on both leading and
trailing edges which increase the lift coefficients to enable the aircraft to generate
large amounts of lift at low speed for take-off and landing. Smaller aircraft are
usually just fitted with trailing edge flaps.
Aircraft are fitted with high lift devices to reduce the take-off and landing distances.
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Flaps
Flaps are the most common high-lift devices used on aircraft. These surfaces,
which are attached to the trailing edge of the wing, increase both lift and
induced drag for any given AOA. Flaps allow a compromise between high
cruising speed and low landing speed because they may be extended when
needed and retracted into the wing’s structure when not needed. There are four
common types of flaps: plain, split, slotted, and Fowler flaps.
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Flaps
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Flaps
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Flaps

Plain Flaps
The plain flap is the simplest. It
increases the airfoil camber, resulting
in a significant increase in the
coefficient of lift (CL) at a given AOA.

Plain flap increases the lift by

approximately 55 %.
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Flaps
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Flaps
Split Flaps
A hinged flap attached to the upper
surface of a wing of an airplane
usually at the trailing edge to be
raised for lateral control or to the
lower surface of a wing to be
deflected downward for giving
increased lift and drag

Split edge flap increases the lift by

approximately 65 %
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Flaps
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Slotted Flaps Flaps
-Similar to a Plain Flap but
incorporates a gap between the flap
and the wing to force high pressure
air from below the wing over the
upper surface of the flap. This helps
reduce boundary layer separation
and allows the airflow over the flap
to remain laminar.

-Slotted flap increases the lift by

approximately 70 %
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Flaps
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Flaps
Fowler Flaps
A split flap that slides rearwards level
for a distance prior to hinging
downwards. It thereby first increases
chord (and wing surface area) and
then increases camber

Fowler flap increases the lift by

approximately 90 %
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Flaps

Fowler Flap
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Leading Edge Devices
Leading edge devices are located at the leading edge of the wing and can be
deployed during different flight phases (take off, landing and cruise) in order to
improve the aerodynamic performances of the aircraft.
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Leading Edge Devices
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Leading Edge
Devices-Slot
Profile
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Fixed Slots Leading Edge Devices
Fixed slots direct airflow to the upper
wing surface and delay airflow
separation at higher angles of attack.
The slot does not increase the wing
camber, but allows a higher
maximum CL because the stall is
delayed until the wing reaches a
greater AOA.
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Movable Slats Leading Edge Devices
Movable slats consist of leading edge
segments, which move on tracks. At
low angles of attack, each slat is held
flush against the wing’s leading edge
by the high pressure that forms at
the wing’s leading edge.
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Movable Slats Leading Edge Devices
Movable slats consist of leading edge
segments, which move on tracks. At
low angles of attack, each slat is held
flush against the wing’s leading edge
by the high pressure that forms at
the wing’s leading edge.
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Leading Edge
Devices-Flap
Profile
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Leading Edge Devices
Krueger Flaps/Leading Edge Flap
-Part of the lower surface of the
leading edge, which can be rotated
about its forward edge
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Leading Edge Devices
Leading Edge Cuffs
Unlike leading edge flaps and trailing
edge flaps, leading edge cuffs are
fixed aerodynamic devices.

A leading-edge cuff is a wing leading-

edge modification, usually a lightly
drooped outboard leading-edge
extension, employed on fixed-wing
aircraft to improve the stall and spin
characteristics.
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Spoilers
Spoilers are panels mounted on the upper surface of the wing that, when
extended, both increase drag and decrease lift by disrupting the airflow over the
wing.
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Spoilers
Dependent upon the aircraft type, spoilers can serve as many as three distinct
primary functions:

Ground spoilers
Roll spoilers
Flight spoilers or Speed brakes
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Trim Systems
An airplane is trimmed when it will maintain its attitude and speed without the
pilot having to apply any load to the cockpit controls.
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Trim Systems
Trim Tabs
-Trim tabs are small, secondary flight control
surfaces that are attached to the trailing edge
of a larger, primary control surface such as an
elevator or rudder.

-The trim tab is used to "trim", or counteract

the aerodynamic force on the control surface
and thus stabilize the aircraft in the axis of
rotation associated with the primary control.
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Trim Systems
Balance Tabs
-Balance tabs are usually linked directly to the
control surface linkage so that they move
automatically when there is an input for
control surface movement.

-Balance tabs reduce the control load of the

aircraft's wheel and allowing the aircraft to fly
efficiently.
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Trim Systems
Antiservo Tabs
-It deploys in the same direction as the
control surface, making the movement of the
control surface more difficult and requires
more force applied to the controls by the
pilot.

-The anti-servo tab serves mainly to make the

controls heavier in feel to the pilot and also to
increase stability.
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Trim Systems
Ground Adjustable Tabs
A ground adjustable tab is used on the rudder
of many small airplanes to correct for a
tendency to fly with the fuselage slightly
misaligned with the relative wind.

The correct displacement is determined by

trial and error.
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Dual Purpose Flight Control Surfaces

The ailerons, elevators, and rudder are considered conventional primary control
surfaces.
However, some aircraft are designed with a control surface that may serve a dual
purpose.
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Dual Purpose Flight Control Surfaces
Elevons
Elevons or tailerons are aircraft
control surfaces that combine
the functions of the elevator
and the
aileron, hence the name. They
are frequently used on tailless
aircraft such as flying wings.
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Dual Purpose Flight Control Surfaces
V-Tail
The V-tail design utilizes two
slanted tail surfaces to perform the
same functions as the surfaces of a
conventional elevator and rudder
configuration.

The fixed surfaces act as both

horizontal and
vertical stabilizers.
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Dual Purpose Flight Control Surfaces
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Dual Purpose Flight Control Surfaces
Stabilators
Sometimes referred to as an all
moving tail, is a fully movable
aircraft horizontal stabilizer. In this
type of installation, the entire
horizontal tail surface is responsive
to pilot control wheel or control
stick inputs.
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Dual Purpose Flight Control Surfaces
Flaperons
Flaperons are a specialized type of
aircraft flight control surface that
combine aspects of both flaps and
ailerons.
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Autopilot Concepts

An autopilot can be capable of many very time

Intensive tasks, helping the pilot focus on the overall status of
The aircraft and flight. Good use of an autopilot helps automate the
process of guiding and controlling the aircraft. Autopilots can
automate tasks, such as maintaining an altitude, climbing or
descending to an assigned altitude, turning to and maintaining an
assigned heading, intercepting a course, guiding the aircraft
between waypoints that make up a route programmed into an FMS,
and flying a precision or non-precision approach. You must
accurately determine the installed options, type of installation, and
basic and optional functions available in your specific aircraft.
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