Editing Aircraft flight control system (section)

==Cockpit controls==

=== Primary controls ===
[[File:Cessna 182D Skylane Cockpit.jpg|thumb|Cockpit controls and [[Flight instruments|instrument panel]] of a [[Cessna 182]]D Skylane]]
Generally, the primary cockpit flight controls are arranged as follows:<ref name="SaR">Langewiesche, Wolfgang. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CPdDju21zt0C Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying], McGraw-Hill Professional, 1990, {{ISBN|0-07-036240-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-07-036240-6}}.</ref>
* A [[Yoke (aircraft)|control yoke]] (also known as a control column), [[centre stick]] or [[side-stick]] (the latter two also colloquially known as a control or [[joystick]]), governs the aircraft's [[Flight dynamics (aircraft)|roll]] and [[Flight dynamics (aircraft)|pitch]] by moving the [[ailerons]] (or activating [[wing warping]] on some very early aircraft designs) when turned or deflected left and right, and moves the [[elevator (aircraft)|elevators]] when moved backwards or forwards.
* [[Rudder pedals]], or the earlier, pre-1919 "rudder bar", control [[Flight dynamics (aircraft)|yaw]] by moving the [[rudder]]; the left foot forward will move the rudder left for instance.
* [[Thrust lever]] or [[throttle]], which controls engine speed or [[thrust]] for powered aircraft.

The control [[Yoke (aeronautics)|yokes]] also vary greatly among aircraft. There are yokes where roll is controlled by rotating the yoke clockwise/counterclockwise (like steering a car) and pitch is controlled by moving the control column towards or away from the pilot, but in others the pitch is controlled by sliding the yoke into and out of the instrument panel (like most Cessnas, such as the 152 and 172), and in some the roll is controlled by sliding the whole yoke to the left and right (like the Cessna 162). Centre sticks also vary between aircraft. Some are directly connected to the control surfaces using cables,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Theories_of_Flight/control/TH28.htm |title=Control surfaces directly controlled using cables |access-date=2017-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202024101/http://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Theories_of_Flight/control/TH28.htm |archive-date=2017-02-02 |url-status=live }}</ref> others (fly-by-wire airplanes) have a computer in between which then controls the electrical actuators.

[[File:Sports Aviation - Issy-les-Moulineaux (10 septembre) - Le Blériot VIII … (7843390842).jpg|thumb|right|Blériot VIII at [[Issy-les-Moulineaux]], the first flightworthy aircraft design to have the initial form of modern flight controls for the pilot]]
Even when an aircraft uses variant flight control surfaces such as a [[V-tail|V-tail ruddervator]], [[flaperon]]s, or [[elevon]]s, because these various combined-purpose control surfaces control rotation about the same three axes in space, the aircraft's flight control system will still be designed so that the stick or yoke controls pitch and roll conventionally, as will the rudder pedals for yaw.<ref name="SaR" />  The basic pattern for modern flight controls was pioneered by French aviation figure [[Robert Esnault-Pelterie]], with fellow French aviator [[Louis Blériot]] popularizing Esnault-Pelterie's control format initially on Louis' [[Blériot VIII]] monoplane in April 1908, and standardizing the format on the July 1909 Channel-crossing [[Blériot XI]]. Flight control has long been taught in such fashion for many decades, as popularized in [[ab initio]] instructional books such as the 1944 work [[Stick and Rudder]].

In some aircraft, the control surfaces are not manipulated with a linkage. In ultralight aircraft and motorized hang gliders, for example, there is no mechanism at all. Instead, the pilot just grabs the lifting surface by hand (using a rigid frame that hangs from its underside) and moves it.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

===Secondary controls===
{{Main|Trim tab|Flap (aircraft)|Air brake (aircraft)|Spoiler (aeronautics)|Leading edge slats|Variable-sweep wing}}
In addition to the primary flight controls for roll, pitch, and yaw, there are often secondary controls available to give the pilot finer control over flight or to ease the workload.  The most commonly available control is a wheel or other device to control [[Flight control surfaces#Elevator trim|elevator trim]], so that the pilot does not have to maintain constant backward or forward pressure to hold a specific pitch [[Aircraft attitude|attitude]]<ref>Thom,1988. p. 87.</ref> (other types of trim, for [[rudder]] and [[ailerons]], are common on larger aircraft but may also appear on smaller ones).  Many aircraft have [[flap (aircraft)|wing flaps]], controlled by a switch or a mechanical lever or in some cases are fully automatic by computer control, which alter the shape of the wing for improved control at the slower speeds used for take-off and landing.   Other secondary flight control systems may include [[Leading edge slats|slats]], [[Spoiler (aeronautics)|spoilers]], [[Air brake (aircraft)|air brakes]] and [[variable-sweep wing]]s.