AIRCRAFT CONTROL SURFACES

INTRODUCTION

During flight an air plane is rotated about the, three axes by means of the three primary flight controls.

 MOVEABLE CONTROL SURFACE

01.   AILERONS

 Ailerons are primary control surfaces, control aircraft movement about the longitudinal axis used to provide lateral control of aircraft.

 

02.   ELEVATORS

 Elevators are the control surfaces. Which   govern the movement of the aircraft around the lateral axis (Pitch).
 

 

03.RUDDERS

  Rudder is vertical surface control that is usually hinged to the tail post after of the vertical stabilizer and designed to apply yawing moments to the air plane. 

UNUSUAL CONTROLS

 

 01.    “T”-TAIL 

 “T”-Tail arrangement positions the stabilizer and elevator at the top of the vertical fin.

This design makes the fin and rudder more effective because of the end plate action of the stabilizer location and avoiding the wing turbulence.

 02.  RUDDERVATORS

    Ruddervator are used on V - Tail and the surfaces serve both as rudders  and  elevators. 

 

when the pilot wants to increase the angle of attack, he pulls back the control wheel and both ruddevaters move upward and inward and pushed forward to decrease the angle of attack, the ruddervator move down ward and out wards to turn the air plane to right = right pedal is applied right ruddervator moves downward and out ward, while the left ruddervator upward and inward.

  

03.  ELEVONS

Elevons are combination of Elevators and Ailerons used on outer tips of some wings. When used as elevators, they both move in the same directions. When used as ailerons they move in the opposite direction, used on all wing air planes or flying wings.

04.  FLAPERONS

 These are ailerons rigged to serve as ailerons or flaps. When use as ailerons, flap Ron moves in opposite directions. When used as flap, flaperons on opposite wings move upward or downward together. ­

                TRIM TAB

Trim tabs are small secondary flight control surfaces, set in to trailing edges of the primary control surfaces.

            The Purpose of trim tabs is to permit the pilot to fly the airplane in a desired attitude, under various load and airspeed conditions without the need to apply constant pressure in any particular direction on the flight controls, this is done by “loading” the control surfaces to a neutral or timed centre position tabs can be fixed or variable.

  FIXED TRIM TABS

 This is normally a piece of sheet metal attached to the Trailing edge of the control surface? This fixed TAB is adjusted on the ground by bending it in an appropriate direction to eliminate flight control forces for a specific flight condition. These are used to adjust Rudders and ailerons of light Aircraft. Fixed tab is normally adjusted for zero control forces in cruise flight adjustment of the tab is trial and error method based on the pilots report..