Unit 71

THEORY OF FLIGHT

0UTCOME 02
CONTROL SURFACES & LIFT AUGMENTATION DEVICES

WEEK # 03
PRIMARY FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS

CONTENTS:

3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 DIRECTIONAL CONTROL

Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
PAGE }

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Flight controlling surfaces, and cockpit controls and their basic classifications/groups
were introduced in WEEK 1. This week elaborates directional control system as one
of the three primary flight control systems.

3.2 DIRECTIONAL CONTROL

It is easy for us to think of the rudder, the movable portion of the vertical tail surface
of an airplane, as an airplane's directional control, but this is not true, because the
rudder cannot turn an airplane. The rudder can only rotate the airplane about its
vertical axis, an action called yawing.
An airplane is turned by banking it with the ailerons. When it is laid over, the lift force
is tilted, since lift always acts perpendicular to the wings, and the horizontal
component of the lift vector, Figure 3.1, will move the airplane in the direction it is
tilted. The wind pushing on the tail surface will align the nose of the airplane with its
relative wind, and the airplane will turn in a smooth circular flight path.

Figure 3.1: A turn is caused by tilting the lift produced by the wing. The vertical
tail surface keeps the airplane turned into its relative wind
Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
PAGE }

The vertical component of the lift vector must be equal to the weight of the airplane,
and while the airplane is turning, the centrifugal force adds an apparent weight, and
the total lift must be equal to both the weight of the airplane and the centrifugal force.
In order to prevent the nose of the airplane dropping in a turn, the pilot must pull the
control wheel back to increase the angle of attack enough to produce the additional
lift needed.
To appreciate the amount of apparent weight the centrifugal force adds to the load
on the wings in a turn, look at Figure 3.2, where we see the load factors that are
developed in a coordinated turn. If a 6,000-pound airplane is in a coordinated 60degree banked turn, its load factor is 2.0, which means that the wings will have to
support 12,000 pounds.

Figure 3.2: Load factor curve

The ailerons and rudder are both used in turning the airplane. If you want to turn to
the right, move the control wheel to the right. The right aileron moves up, decreasing
the angle of at of the right wing tip, which decreases its lift. The aileron on the left
wing moves down and increases the lift of the left wing, and the airplane starts to
bank. The deflected ailerons which cause the bank also cause the airplane to yaw.
The problem is that the direction of yaw is opposite that which we want. The left
aileron moving down increases not only the lift of the left wing, but it also creates a
good deal of induced drag centered out near the wing tip, and this drag, since it is
Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
PAGE }

not countered with a similar drag on the right wing, will cause the nose of the
airplane to start to move to the le ft. A smooth turn entry can be made only by the
coordinated use of ailerons and rudder When you move the wheel to the right, apply
a bit of right rudder pressure, just enough to prevent the nose moving to the left.
Once the nose has started in the correct direction, the rudder is no longer needed
and it can be streamlined
Lateral and directional controls: As we have seen, turning an airplane requires
rotation about both the longitudinal and vertical axes, and so we must use both the
rudder and ailerons. In most modern airplanes there is some form of mechanical
interconnection between these two systems, usually not a positive one, but one that
can be overridden if it is necessary to slip the airplane.
In Figure 3.3 we see the basic aileron control system for a high-wing airplane.
Rotation of the control wheel turns the drum to which the aileron control cables are
attached. If the wheel is rotated to the right, the right cable is pulled and the left one
is relaxed. The cable rotates the right aileron bell crank, and the push-pull tube
connected to it raises the right aileron. A balance cable connects both aileron bell
cranks, and as the right aileron is raised, the balance cable pulls the left bell crank
and its push-pull tube lowers the left aileron.
Adverse yaw is the big problem caused by the displacement of the ailerons, and
there are two expedients in use to decrease this undesirable effect. The aileron that
moves downward is the one that causes the problem, as it creates both lift and
induced drag, and this drag way out near the wing tip pulls the nose of the airplane
around in the direction opposite the way the airplane should turn. The geometry of
the bell cranks is such that the aileron moving upward travels _a greater distance
than the one moving_ down, and it produces `enough parasite drag to counteract the
induced drag on the opposite wing.

Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
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Figure 3.3: A typical aileron system

The Frise aileron (Figure 3.4) is the type most commonly used today, and it
minimizes adverse yaw because of the location of its hinge point. These ailerons
have their hinge point back a way from the leading edge, and when the aileron is
raised, its nose sticks out below the lower surface of the wing and produces enough
parasite--drag to counter the induced drag from the down aileron.

Figure 3.4: The Frise aileron has its hinge line back a way from its leading
edge to counteract adverse yaw
Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
PAGE }

Since adverse yaw is produces each time the control wheel deflects the ailerons,
many manufacturers connect the control wheel to the rudder control system through
an interconnecting spring (Figure 3.5). When the wheel is moved to produce a right
roll, the interconnect cable and spring pulls forward on the right rudder pedal just
enough to prevent the nose of the airplane starting to the deft.

Figure 3.5: Rudder-aileron interconnecting springs

Airplanes whose rudder pedals are connected rigidly to the nose wheel for steering
have the interconnect cables attached to the rudder cables with connector clamps in
the aft end of the fuselage. The effect is the same for connection at either location. A
small amount of rudder force is applied when the ailerons are deflected, but this
force can be overridden because it is applied through a spring.

Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
PAGE }

Figure 3.6: A typical rudder control system

The rudder pedals are connected to the rudder horn with steel control cables and, on
an airplane with a nose wheel, also to the nose wheel steering mechanism. Forward
movement of the right rudder pedal will deflect the rudder to the right. (Figure 3.6)

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Unit Name
Outcome 2
Week 3

THEORY OF FLIGHT

Unit No

71

Unit value: 1

Unit level: 3
Core unit:

Issue Date
15-02-2008

Page {
PAGE }