Skip to main content

Control Surfaces of Aircraft

Hey, what is up folks hope you all are doing well. In the last blog, we discussed the different parts and the functions they serve in a propeller-driven A/c. This article is a follow up to that blog. Today, we will be talking about the CONTROL SURFACES of an A/c.

Now before we start our discussion about the control surfaces, we first need to talk about the 3 different axes about which an A/c can move.

  1. The first one being the LATERAL axis, marked in yellow. It spans from wingtip to wingtip.
  2. The second one is the LONGITUDINAL axis, marked in blue. It spans from the nose to the tail of the A/c.
  3. The third one is the VERTICAL or NORMAL axis, marked in red.                                                                                                     
Note that all 3 of these axes pass through the CENTRE OF GRAVITY (CG) of the A/c.

Alright, now that we know of the 3 different axes about which an A/c can manoeuvre, we need to talk about the parts that enable the A/c to do so.  Those being the control surfaces. These control surfaces can be divided into 2 major categories.

PRIMARY CONTROL SURFACES

We have 3 different primary control surfaces that control the 3 main movements of the A/c.
  1. The Ailerons: They are attached at the trailing edge of the wing near the wingtip marked in blue in the above picture. The ailerons enable the A/c to ROLL about the LONGITUDINAL AXIS also marked in blue. The deflection of the aileron causes the rolling motion. This motion can be defined as the up and down movement of the wings of the A/c. Take a look at the animation below.
  2. The Elevator: It is attached at the rear end of the horizontal stabilizer marked in yellow enables the A/c to PITCH about the LATERAL AXIS of the A/c, also marked in yellow. The deflection of the elevator causes the pitching motion. This motion is the up and down movement of the nose of the A/c.
  3. The Rudder: It is attached to the rear end of the vertical stabilizer marked in red allows the A/c to YAW about the VERTICAL AXIS also marked in red. The deflection of the rudder causes the yawing motion. Now, this type of motion is the left and right movement of the nose of the A/c. Yawing also helps while taxing the A/c.

SECONDARY CONTROL SURFACES

We have got a few of these, so let us not waste words and get straight into it, shall we?

  1. Flaps; These are attached near the wing-root on the trailing edge of the wing. Using the flaps changes the shape of the wing, thus allowing the pilot to control the generation of extra lift or drag. Flaps provide us with a plethora of advantages. They provide us with maximum lift at lower speeds, they also provide us with a steeper gliding angle, and they also help reduce the takeoff and landing distance.
  2. Trims: Also known as TRIM TABS, it is a small surface connected to the trailing edge of the elevator. These keep the A/c stable by keeping the speed and the altitude constant.
  3. Slats: These are attached to the leading edge of the wing towards the wing-root. Its purpose is to increase lift during low-speed operations like takeoff, initial climb, approach and landing.
  4. Spoilers: These are small hinged plates on the top portion of the wings. You may have seen them deployed through the window of the aircraft once it has landed and is rolling on the runway. They are generally used to create drag in order to slow down the A/c. When deployed on both wings, it can also cause the A/c to descend.
With that, we have concluded our discussion on the control surfaces of the A/c. Now throughout this article, you may have come across the words LIFT and DRAG a couple of times. Well, these along with THRUST and WEIGHT are known as the fundamental forces that govern an A/c. In the next article, we will discuss these fundamental forces in much more details until then keep dreaming big, and this is your Soaring Pilot signing off 🛫💖.

For all the latest updates follow me on:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bernoulli's Principle

Hey, what is up folks hope you all are having a wonderful day. On today's blog, we will discuss a very basic topic that most of us have already learned back in school, BERNOULLI'S PRINCIPLE .  So, without any further ado, let's get straight into it, shall we?  Alright, so in fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's Principle states that an increase in the speed of a fluid co-occurs with a decrease in static pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy and vice-versa. A quick note air-flow is treated as a fluid. Now, let's understand what all the fuss about. To do so we're gonna take the help of a VENTURI TUBE . Alright, folks so this what a venturi tube looks like. So let's start from the extreme left of the tube, we can see it has a large area of cross-section facilitating the flow of the fluid with HIGH PRESSURE and LOW SPEED . As we move towards the right we can see the tube converging into an area with a much smaller cross-section, and it is due to thi
Post a Comment
Read more

Propeller Aircraft

Hey, what is up folks hope you all are doing well. In the last blog, we discussed all the various topics for your DGCA exams and how to get your computer number. Now before we start with any of the concepts in details, I want to talk a bit about the essential components of a propeller-driven aircraft and the functions they serve, build the basics. Starting from the propeller, we are gonna go  clockwise  and talk about each and every component marked in this diagram of a propeller-driven A/c. So, dig in! The propeller: Well in a propeller-driven aircraft it is this part which pulls in the air in front of the aircraft (A/c) providing it with a forward thrust. The engine: I don't suppose I need to explain  much , but here's something to get your basics right! The engine is the component that makes the propeller turn and enables the A/c to function. The metallic cover that covers the engine is known as the  COWLING . The fuel tank: Its definition is quite literal; it stores fuel. T
Post a Comment
Read more