Aircraft Control Surfaces – Explained
The Ailerons, Elevator (or stabilator), and Rudder constitute the primary
control system and are required to control an aircraft safely during flight.
The Ailerons are the flight control surfaces at the outboard trailing edge
of each wing and move in opposite direction from each other. If the one
side goes up then the other side will go down and vice versa. This will
create different forces in each wings. The one with the aileron down will
have increased lift and the one with ailerons up will have reduced lift.
Now we have up and down acting forces away from the center of the
gravity. The net effect? The aircraft will then roll. That is to say it will
rotate about its longitudinal axis.
The Elevator are the flight control surfaces that are situated at the tail
part of an airplane, on a horizontal tail and rotate up and down
simultaneously, unlike the ailerons. As they move up or down, which is
achieved through linkages, in older aircrafts, and through fly-by-wire
systems in modern airliners, there is a net up or down force. When the
elevator moves down, since it increase the chamber, the lift on the
horizontal will increase. This increment in lift will create an upward force
away from the center of gravity. Result? The aircraft will rotate nose
down about its center of gravity. In the same way the nose can be
pointed up just by moving the elevators up.
Rudder is the surface that is located at the tail part on a vertical stabilizer
and can rotate side to side about its hinge axis. They are simply the
elevators, turned vertical. But unlike the elevators, Rudders are
controlled by the rudder pedals on an aircraft not through control stick
though the mechanisms are about the same. Okay, When the rudder are
deflected to the left the aerodynamic force to the RIGHT is created. Its
same as the creation of more lift as the elevator does, but its sideways.
And as the force is created to the RIGHT AND away from the center of
gravity, the nose will then rotate towards LEFT.