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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
Differential mechanism
Greater up than down
tail left and causes the nose to yaw right. Centering the
rudder pedals returns the rudder to neutral and stops the
yaw.
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.
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. Fowler flap: slides backwards before hinging downwards, thereby increasing both camber and chord, creating a larger wing surface better tuned for lower speeds. 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. Blown flaps: systems that blow engine air over the upper surface of the flap at certain angles to improve lift characteristics.
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.
Leading Edge Extension Leading edge extensions or LEX (also referred to as leading edge root extensions or LERX or strakes or chines) are fillets added to the front of a modern fighter aircraft's wings in order to provide usable airflow at high angles of attack. They are typically roughly triangular in shape, running from the leading edge of the wing root to a point near the cockpit along the fuselage. They tend to be fairly small in span, extending out less than a meter. In effect, they are small delta wings grafted onto the front of the normal wings.
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.
characteristics.