This document describes aircraft flight control systems. It discusses the primary flight controls of elevators, ailerons, and rudders and how each control affects the aircraft's pitch, roll, and yaw. Secondary flight controls include trim tabs for stabilizing the elevators, ailerons, and rudder. Auxiliary controls are flaps and high-lift devices that increase an aircraft's lift during takeoff and landing. Flaps extend on the trailing edge of wings to increase their camber and reduce stall speed, while leading edge slats and spoilers disrupt airflow over wings.

1. AIRCRAFT
MECHANICAL
CABLE CONTROL
SYSTEM
FLAPS, AILERON, RUDDER, ELEVATOR, TRIM TAB
SYSTEM

2. INTRODUCTION
 Aircraft flight control systems consist of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls,
connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in
flight. Aircraft engine controls are also considered as flight controls as they change speed.
 They can be divided into three main groups:
- Primary flight control
- Secondary flight control
- Auxilliary flight control

3. CONTROL SYSTEM
 Primary flight control
- Elevator Control System
- Aileron Control System
- Rudder Control System
 Secondary flight control
- Elevator Trim Tab System
- Rudder and Aileron Trim Tab System
 Auxilliary flight control
- Flap Control System
- High Lift Devices

4. PRIMARY FLIGHT CONTROL

5. Elevator Control System
 An elevator is mounted on the back edge of the horizontal stabilizer on each side of
the fin in the tail. They move up and down together.
 When the pilot pulls the stick backward, the elevators go up. Pushing the stick
forward causes the elevators to go down.
 Raised elevators push down on the tail and cause the nose to pitch up.
 This makes the wings fly at a higher angle of attack which generates more lift and
more drag.
 Many aircraft use a stabilator — a moveable horizontal stabilizer — in place of an
elevator.

7. AILERON Control System
 Ailerons are mounted on the trailing edge of each wing near the wingtips, and move
in opposite directions.
 When the pilot moves the stick left, or turns the wheel counter-clockwise, the left
aileron goes up and the right aileron goes down.
 A raised aileron reduces lift on that wing and a lowered one increases lift, so moving
the stick left causes the left wing to drop and the right wing to rise.
 This causes the plane to bank left and begin to turn to the left. Centering the stick
returns the ailerons to neutral maintaining the bank angle.
 The plane will continue to turn until opposite aileron motion returns the bank angle
to zero to fly straight.

9. RUDDER Control System
 The rudder is typically mounted on the back edge of the fin in the empennage.
 When the pilot pushes the left pedal, the rudder deflects left. Pushing the right pedal
causes the rudder to deflect right.
 Deflecting the rudder right pushes the tail left and causes the nose to yaw right.
 Centering the rudder pedals returns the rudder to neutral and stops the yaw.

11. SECONDARY FLIGHT CONTROL

12. Elevator Trim Tab System
 Elevator trim balances the control force necessary to maintain the aerodynamic
down force on the tail.
 When aircraft is flying, a lot of trim could be required to maintain the desired angle
of attack.
 This mainly applies to slow flight, where maintaining a nose-up attitude requires a lot
of trim.
 An important design parameter for aircraft is the stability of the aircraft when
trimmed for level flight.
 Any disturbances such as gusts or turbulence will be damped over a short period of
time and the aircraft will return to its level flight trimmed airspeed.

14. Rudder and Aileron Trim Tab System
 Trim doesn't only apply to the elevator, as there is also trim for the rudder and
ailerons.
 The use of this is to counter the effects of slip stream, or to counter the effects of
the centre of gravity being to one side.
 This can be caused by a larger weight on one side of the aircraft compared to the
other, such as when one fuel tank has a lot more fuel in it than the other, or when
there are heavier people on one side of the aircraft than the other.

16. AUXILLIARY FLIGHT CONTROL

17. Flap Control System
 Flaps are hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft.
As flaps are extended, the stalling speed of the aircraft is reduced.
 Flaps are also used on the leading edge of the wings of some high-speed jet aircraft,
where they may be called Krueger flaps.
 Flaps increase the camber of the wing airfoil, thus raising the lift coefficient. This
increase in lift coefficient allows the aircraft to generate a given amount of lift with a
slower speed.
 Therefore, extending the flaps will reduce the stalling speed of an aircraft. They also
increase drag which helps to slow the aircraft.

18. Types of flap systems:
1) Krueger flap: hinged flap on the leading edge.
2) Plain flap: rotates on a simple hinge.
3) Split flap: upper and lower surfaces are separate, the lower surface operates like a plain flap, but
the upper surface stays immobile or moves only slightly.
4) Fowler flap: slides backwards before hinging downwards, thereby increasing both camber and
chord, creating a larger wing surface better tuned for lower speeds.
5) Slotted flap: a slot (or gap) between the flap and the wing enables high pressure air from below
the wing to re-energize the boundary layer over the flap. This helps the airflow to stay attached
to the flap, delaying the stall.
6) Blown flaps: systems that blow engine air over the upper surface of the flap at certain angles to
improve lift characteristics.

21. High Lift Devices
 Spoilers- On low drag aircraft like sailplanes, spoilers are used to disrupt airflow
over the wing and greatly increase the amount of drag. This allows a glider pilot to
lose altitude without gaining excessive airspeed. Spoilers are sometimes called "lift
dumpers". Spoilers that can be used asymmetrically are called spoilerons and are
able to affect an aircraft's roll.

22. High Lift Devices
 Slats- slats also known as Leading Edge Devices, are extensions to the front of a
wing for lift augmentation, and are intended to reduce the stalling speed by altering
the airflow over the wing. Slats may be fixed or retractable - fixed slats give excellent
slow speed and STOL capabilities, but compromise higher speed performance.
Retractable slats, as seen on most airliners, provide reduced stalling speed for take-
off and landing, but are retracted for cruising.

23. High Lift Devices
 Leading edge cuffs- are a fixed aerodynamic device employed on fixed-wing aircraft
to modify the airfoil used. They may be either factory-installed or, more commonly,
an after-market modification. In most cases a leading edge cuff will “droop” the
leading edge of the airfoil. This has the effect of causing the airflow to attach better
to the upper surface of the wing at higher angles of attack, thus lowering stall
speed. This allows lower approach speeds and shorter landing distances.

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