Editing Aircraft flight control system (section)

{{Short description|How aircraft are controlled}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Flight Control|Flight Control (video game)}}
{{about-distinguish|the fixed-wing concept|Helicopter flight controls|Orbital spaceflight control}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2009}} 
[[File:ControlSurfaces.gif|thumb|upright=1.14|A typical aircraft's primary flight controls in motion]]

A conventional [[Fixed-wing aircraft|fixed-wing]] '''aircraft flight control system''' ('''AFCS''') consists 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 flight controls as they change speed.

The fundamentals of aircraft controls are explained in [[flight dynamics (fixed-wing aircraft)|flight dynamics]]. This article centers on the operating mechanisms of the flight controls. The basic system in use on aircraft first appeared in a readily recognizable form as early as April 1908, on [[Louis Blériot]]'s [[Blériot VIII]] pioneer-era monoplane design.<ref>{{cite book |title=Blériot XI, The Story of a Classic Aircraft |last=Crouch |first=Tom |year=1982 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |isbn=978-0-87474-345-6 |pages=21 & 22 }}</ref>