Movement about the horizontal axis is called pitch and is controlled by which surface?

Movement about the horizontal axis is called pitch and is controlled by which surface?

• A. Ailerons
• B. Rudders
• C. Flaps
• D. Elevators

Answer: (D)

Pitch is rotation about the airplane’s lateral axis, meaning the nose moves up or down. The surface that controls this movement is the elevator, located on the horizontal stabilizer at the tail. Deflecting the elevator changes the tail’s lift and angle relative to the airflow, producing a pitching moment: raising the elevator makes the nose go up, lowering it makes the nose go down. Ailerons, by contrast, control roll about the longitudinal axis and cause the wings to tilt, not the nose up or down. The rudder controls yaw about the vertical axis, steering left or right. Flaps increase lift and drag on the wings to aid slow flight and landing, and they aren’t used for controlling pitch in steady straight-and-level flight.

Pitch is rotation about the airplane’s lateral axis, meaning the nose moves up or down. The surface that controls this movement is the elevator, located on the horizontal stabilizer at the tail. Deflecting the elevator changes the tail’s lift and angle relative to the airflow, producing a pitching moment: raising the elevator makes the nose go up, lowering it makes the nose go down.

Ailerons, by contrast, control roll about the longitudinal axis and cause the wings to tilt, not the nose up or down. The rudder controls yaw about the vertical axis, steering left or right. Flaps increase lift and drag on the wings to aid slow flight and landing, and they aren’t used for controlling pitch in steady straight-and-level flight.