Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's pitch, and therefore the angle of attack and the lift of the wing. The elevators are usually hinged to the tailplane or horizontal stabilizer. They may be the only pitch control surface present, and are sometimes located at the front of the aircraft (early airplanes) or integrated into a rear "all-moving tailplane", also called a slab elevator or stabilator.
Elevators' effect on pitchElevator and pitch trim tab of a light aircraft
The elevator is a usable up and down system that controls the plane, horizontal stabilizer usually creates a downward force which balances the nose down moment created by the wing lift force, which typically applies at a point (the wing center of lift) situated aft of the airplane's center of gravity. The effects of drag and changing the engine thrust may also result in pitch moments that need to be compensated with the horizontal stabilizer.
Both the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator contribute to pitch stability, but only the elevators provide pitch control.[1] They do so by decreasing or increasing the downward force created by the stabilizer:
an increased downward force, produced by up elevator, forces the tail down and the nose up. At constant speed, the wing's increased angle of attack causes a greater lift to be produced by the wing, accelerating the aircraft upwards. The drag and power demand also increase;
a decreased downward force at the tail, produced by down elevator, causes the tail to rise and the nose to lower. At constant speed, the decrease in angle of attack reduces the lift, accelerating the aircraft downwards.
On many low-speed aircraft, a trim tab is present at the rear of the elevator, which the pilot can adjust to eliminate forces on the control column at the desired attitude and airspeed.[2]Supersonic aircraft usually have all-moving tailplanes (stabilators), because shock waves generated on the horizontal stabilizer greatly reduce the effectiveness of hinged elevators during supersonic flight. Delta winged aircraft combine ailerons and elevators –and their respective control inputs– into one control surface called an elevon.
Several technology research and development efforts exist to integrate the functions of aircraft flight control systems such as ailerons, elevators, elevons, flaps and flaperons into wings to perform the aerodynamic purpose with the advantages of less: mass, cost, drag, inertia (for faster, stronger control response), complexity (mechanically simpler, fewer moving parts or surfaces, less maintenance), and radar cross section for stealth. These may be used in many unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 6th generation fighter aircraft. Two promising approaches are flexible wings, and fluidics.
In fluidics, forces in vehicles occur via circulation control, in which larger more complex mechanical parts are replaced by smaller simpler fluidic systems (slots which emit air flows) where larger forces in fluids are diverted by smaller jets or flows of fluid intermittently, to change the direction of vehicles.[6][7][8] In this use, fluidics promises lower mass, costs (up to 50% less), and very low inertia and response times, and simplicity.
Galleryedit
A drooped elevator, nearly touching the grass, on the horizontal stabilizer of this Currie Wot biplane
The tail of an Airbus A380, showing the elevators at the rear of the horizontal stabilizer
Pre-installed elevators for a small Airbus. The elevator is the silver surface on the right hand side of the picture, immediately below the red pipes on the factory wall.
^Phillips, Warren F. (2010). Mechanics of Flight (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley & Sons. p. 385. ISBN978-0-470-53975-0.
^"3 - Basic Flight Maneuvers". . U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. 2004. FAA-8083-3A. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30.
^Scott, William B. (27 November 2006), "Morphing Wings", Aviation Week & Space Technology
^. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^Kota, Sridhar; Osborn, Russell; Ervin, Gregory; Maric, Dragan; Flick, Peter; Paul, Donald. (PDF). Ann Arbor, MI; Dayton, OH, U.S.A.: FlexSys Inc., Air Force Research Laboratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^P John (2010). . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering. London: Mechanical Engineering Publications. 224 (4): 355–363. doi:10.1243/09544100JAERO580. hdl:1826/5579. ISSN 0954-4100. S2CID 56205932. Archived from the original on 2018-05-17.
^. BAE Systems. 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
^"Demon UAV jets into history by flying without flaps". Metro.co.uk. London: Associated Newspapers Limited. 28 September 2010.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elevators (aircraft).
Aircraft Pitch Motion (elevator function explanation, NASA website)
February 29, 2024
elevator, aeronautics, other, uses, elevator, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, elevat. For other uses see Elevator disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Elevator aeronautics news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Elevators are flight control surfaces usually at the rear of an aircraft which control the aircraft s pitch and therefore the angle of attack and the lift of the wing The elevators are usually hinged to the tailplane or horizontal stabilizer They may be the only pitch control surface present and are sometimes located at the front of the aircraft early airplanes or integrated into a rear all moving tailplane also called a slab elevator or stabilator Elevators effect on pitchElevator and pitch trim tab of a light aircraft Contents 1 Elevator control effectiveness 2 Elevators location 3 Research 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksElevator control effectiveness editThe elevator is a usable up and down system that controls the plane horizontal stabilizer usually creates a downward force which balances the nose down moment created by the wing lift force which typically applies at a point the wing center of lift situated aft of the airplane s center of gravity The effects of drag and changing the engine thrust may also result in pitch moments that need to be compensated with the horizontal stabilizer Both the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator contribute to pitch stability but only the elevators provide pitch control 1 They do so by decreasing or increasing the downward force created by the stabilizer an increased downward force produced by up elevator forces the tail down and the nose up At constant speed the wing s increased angle of attack causes a greater lift to be produced by the wing accelerating the aircraft upwards The drag and power demand also increase a decreased downward force at the tail produced by down elevator causes the tail to rise and the nose to lower At constant speed the decrease in angle of attack reduces the lift accelerating the aircraft downwards On many low speed aircraft a trim tab is present at the rear of the elevator which the pilot can adjust to eliminate forces on the control column at the desired attitude and airspeed 2 Supersonic aircraft usually have all moving tailplanes stabilators because shock waves generated on the horizontal stabilizer greatly reduce the effectiveness of hinged elevators during supersonic flight Delta winged aircraft combine ailerons and elevators and their respective control inputs into one control surface called an elevon Elevators location editElevators are usually part of the tail at the rear of an aircraft In some aircraft pitch control surfaces are in the front ahead of the wing In a two surface aircraft this type of configuration is called a canard the French word for duck or a tandem wing The Wright Brothers early aircraft were of the canard type Mignet Pou du Ciel and Rutan Quickie are of tandem type Some early three surface aircraft had front elevators Curtiss AEA June Bug modern three surface aircraft may have both front canard and rear elevators Grumman X 29 Research editSeveral technology research and development efforts exist to integrate the functions of aircraft flight control systems such as ailerons elevators elevons flaps and flaperons into wings to perform the aerodynamic purpose with the advantages of less mass cost drag inertia for faster stronger control response complexity mechanically simpler fewer moving parts or surfaces less maintenance and radar cross section for stealth These may be used in many unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs and 6th generation fighter aircraft Two promising approaches are flexible wings and fluidics In flexible wings much or all of a wing surface can change shape in flight to deflect air flow The X 53 Active Aeroelastic Wing is a NASA effort The Adaptive Compliant Wing is a military and commercial effort 3 4 5 In fluidics forces in vehicles occur via circulation control in which larger more complex mechanical parts are replaced by smaller simpler fluidic systems slots which emit air flows where larger forces in fluids are diverted by smaller jets or flows of fluid intermittently to change the direction of vehicles 6 7 8 In this use fluidics promises lower mass costs up to 50 less and very low inertia and response times and simplicity Gallery edit nbsp A drooped elevator nearly touching the grass on the horizontal stabilizer of this Currie Wot biplane nbsp The tail of an Airbus A380 showing the elevators at the rear of the horizontal stabilizer nbsp Pre installed elevators for a small Airbus The elevator is the silver surface on the right hand side of the picture immediately below the red pipes on the factory wall See also editRudder AileronReferences edit Phillips Warren F 2010 Mechanics of Flight 2nd ed Hoboken New Jersey Wiley amp Sons p 385 ISBN 978 0 470 53975 0 3 Basic Flight Maneuvers Airplane Flying Handbook U S Government Printing Office Washington D C U S Federal Aviation Administration 2004 FAA 8083 3A Archived from the original on 2011 06 30 Scott William B 27 November 2006 Morphing Wings Aviation Week amp Space Technology FlexSys Inc Aerospace Archived from the original on 16 June 2011 Retrieved 26 April 2011 Kota Sridhar Osborn Russell Ervin Gregory Maric Dragan Flick Peter Paul Donald Mission Adaptive Compliant Wing Design Fabrication and Flight Test PDF Ann Arbor MI Dayton OH U S A FlexSys Inc Air Force Research Laboratory Archived from the original PDF on 22 March 2012 Retrieved 26 April 2011 P John 2010 The flapless air vehicle integrated industrial research FLAVIIR programme in aeronautical engineering Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part G Journal of Aerospace Engineering London Mechanical Engineering Publications 224 4 355 363 doi 10 1243 09544100JAERO580 hdl 1826 5579 ISSN 0954 4100 S2CID 56205932 Archived from the original on 2018 05 17 Showcase UAV Demonstrates Flapless Flight BAE Systems 2010 Archived from the original on 2011 07 07 Retrieved 2010 12 22 Demon UAV jets into history by flying without flaps Metro co uk London Associated Newspapers Limited 28 September 2010 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elevators aircraft Aircraft Pitch Motion elevator function explanation NASA website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elevator aeronautics amp oldid 1184041060, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
