This document provides an overview of advanced flight controls. It begins by outlining four learning objectives related to describing aerodynamic forces, standard flight controls, secondary effects of controls, and alternative control types. It then defines the four basic aerodynamic forces and three axes of aircraft movement. Standard flight controls like ailerons, elevators, and rudders are illustrated. Secondary effects like adverse yaw are described. Finally, alternative control types such as stabilators, tailerons, spoilerons, and ruddervators are defined and their advantages and disadvantages discussed.

1. Welcome
A D V A N C E D F lig h t
C o n t r o ls
Presented by
2LT Kevin McNulty
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2. Learning Objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to…
v Describe four basic aerodynamic forces and three
movement axes of aircraft
v Identify standard flight controls of modern aircraft
v Describe some of the secondary effects of flight
controls in use
v Identify alternative flight controls of high performance
or non-traditional aircraft
v Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each
type of alternative control
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3. Four Basic Forces
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4. Three Axes of Movement
Lateral Longitudinal Vertical
Pitch Roll Yaw
Elevators Ailerons Rudder
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5. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
1 WINGLET
Keeps high pressure air under the wing from spilling over the wingtip
and robbing the tip of lift or creating drag and vortices
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6. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
2 LOW-SPEED AILERON
Wider for increased lift; placed at wingtip for better control at slower
speeds
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7. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
3 HIGH-SPEED AILERON
Narrow for reduced drag; placed closer to fuselage to reduce
overcontrol at higher speeds
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8. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
4 FLAP TRACK FAIRING
Houses the flap extension mechanism since flaps separate from wing
edge as they deploy
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9. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
5 KRUGER FLAP
Hinged leading edge flap increases lift while
slow, stowed while fast to reduce drag
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10. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
6 SLATS
Sliding leading edge flap increases lift while
slow, stowed while fast to reduce drag
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11. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
7/8 THREE-SLOTTED FLAPS
Increases lift at slower speeds; increases stall speed; slotted
configuration allows more surface area to be deployed
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12. Standard Flight Controls
Modern Complex Wings
9/10 SPOLIERS
Disrupt airflow over the top of the wing to dump lift; also provides
drag for airbraking
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13. Secondary Effects
Adverse Yaw
Left aileron
down increases
LIFT on left This pulls the
wing nose to the left,
producing
ADVERSE YAW
But since aileron
dips into high
pressure air stream,
it also increases
DRAG on the left
side of the plane
RIGHT AILERON ROLL
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14. Secondary Effects
Adverse Yaw
Rudder can be By producing a
used either counteracting
manually in a yaw force, the
COORDINATED rudder can
TURN or it can
be linked to overcome
aileron controls adverse yaw
OVERCOMING ADVERSE YAW
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15. Secondary Effects
Adverse Yaw
FRISE-TYPE This
AILERONS pivot produces
further back on equivalent
their chord,
dipping the drag in both
leading edge of ailerons,
the aileron into negating
the high- adverse yaw
pressure stream
OVERCOMING ADVERSE YAW
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16. Secondary Effects
Adverse Bank
Since rudders
generally Pushing the rudder
extend above to the right not only
the aircraft's pulls the tail to the
center of left and the nose to
gravity, a torque the right, but it also
is imparted to "spins" the aircraft
the aircraft as if a left turn were
resulting in an going to be made
adverse bank
Out of all the control inputs, rudder input creates the greatest
amount of adverse effect. For this reason ailerons and rudder
are generally used together on light aircraft
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17. Alternative Controls
Stabilators
Subsonic aircraft, like the C-5, Supersonic, high-performance
commonly use a horizontal fighters like the F-16 use a single,
stabilizer and elevator fully-movable, stabilator.
arrangement
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18. Alternative Controls
Stabilators
ADVANTAGES
Generate greater pitching moment
with little effort
One-piece design more
aerodynamic at supersonic speeds
(no hinge to generate shock wave)
Increase lift in bank, allowing
tighter turns for dogfighting
DISADVANTAGES
Require increased strength and Due to high tail loads, stabilators
weight in empannage
pivot about their aerodynamic
Must be rigged to avoid center - this is the point at which the
overcontrol tendancies pitching moment is constant
regardless of angle of attack
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19. Alternative Controls
Tailerons
ADVANTAGES
Drastically improve
maneuverability
Flight control software or
mechanical mixers can blend
control inputs so that elevator and
aileron functions can be performed
by the same control surfaces
DISADVANTAGES
Complex design & control needed
Expense, complexity and weight Stabilators always move up and
make tailerons impractical for most down together. Tailerons can move
applications in opposing directions to impart
further roll.
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20. Alternative Controls
Spoilerons
ADVANTAGES
Very effective quickly
Used in large aircraft like
the B-52 to avoid flexing
long wings excessively by
using wingtip ailerons
(ailerons must be near tips
to be effective at low speed)
DISADVANTAGES
Add weight and complexity
Spoilers dump lift from both wings or
Net loss of lift serve as airbrakes. If they are
Bumpy ride - harsh turns deployed individually (over the inside
wing) in a turn to aid roll, they are
spoilerons.
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21. Alternative Controls
Ruddervators
ADVANTAGES
Reduces drag and weight
Keeps stabilizers out of
wing air (F-117) or
engine wash (Predator and
Global Hawk)
DISADVANTAGES
Requires more complex
control system
Stresses empennage A V-tail serves the functions of
during pitch and yaw elevators and rudders. And I
promise it’s the last silly name.
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