All About Ailerons

Last month in this space we tackled “Proper Rudder Use,” pointing out that in many situations involving angles of attack (AoA) at or near the stall, rudder and not aileron should be the control used to maintain both heading and a wings-level attitude. We also explored how rudder is used to compensate for adverse yaw, and presented a simple exercise pilots can use to demonstrate both its proper and improper application.

Michael J. Banner

Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Ailerons control aircraft bank by changing wing angle of attack, but create adverse yaw due to differential drag, requiring rudder input for coordinated flight.
At high angles of attack (near stall), use rudder for minor wing-leveling corrections to prevent inadvertently increasing one wing's angle of attack past the stall point, which aileron deflection can cause.
Coordinated turns necessitate the synchronized application of rudder, ailerons, and elevator (often in the RAE order) to manage bank, counteract yaw, and maintain altitude, thereby avoiding dangerous slips or skids.

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Of course, any complete discussion of how to use an airplane’s rudder must also include ailerons and the how and why of their workings, how they create adverse yaw and how we use rudder to maintain coordinated flight. Finally, we want to address an age-old question: Which to apply first when rolling into a banked turn: Rudder? Aileron? Both? Why?