How to fly an airplane

How to Fly an Airplane (1) Ailerons, Elevator and Rudder The flight controls consist of various services around the aircraft that manipulate the aerodynamic forces on the plane, allowing the pilot to control the aircraft. The three primary flight controls are the ailerons, elevator, and rudder. The pilot controls the ailerons and elevator with a yoke or stick, and the rudder with the rudder pedals. The ailerons are located on the back end of the wings out towards the tip, and control the aircraft's roll or bank. When the pilot moves the controls to the left, the left aileron is deflected up, creating a downward force, and the right aileron is deflected down, creating an upward force. This results in the airplane rolling to the left. The opposite would happen if the pilot were to move the controls to the right. The elevator is attached to the back of the horizontal stabilizer and controls the airplane’s pitch, which allows the airplane to climb or descend. When the pilot moves the controls forward or aft, the elevator rotates, deflecting the air and creating a force that results in the airplane’s pitch changing. If the pilot pulls back on the controls, the elevator will move up, creating a force that pushes the tail of the airplane down, thereby making the nose pitch up and causing the airplane to start climbing. Finally the rudder, which is controlled by the rudder pedals, is attached to the back end of the vertical stabilizer. As the pilot pushes on one of the rudder pedals, a cable connected to the rudder allows the rudder to move. Just like the other flight controls, as air moves around the deflected rudder, a force is applied, making the airplane yaw. Simply, if the pilot pushes the left rudder pedal, the nose of the airplane will slide to the left. The easiest way to envision this is to think of an airplane suspended on a string above the ground. If you and your friends were to walk up to the rudder and push as hard as you could towards the right, what do you think would happen? The tail of the airplane would move to the right, and the nose would move to the left. It's that simple. We use the rudder in coordination with the ailerons to turn the airplane. The primary flight controls then fundamentally work the same. The pilot moves a control on the cockpit, which through cables and other linkages, moves that control. As that control is moved, the airflow around it gets deflected, creating a force, and results in the airplane either rolling, pitching or yawing.