Sometimes called the “joystick,” it controls the airplane’s attitude and altitude in the same way as the yoke. The control stick is usually located on the floor of the cockpit the pilot straddles it in his or her seat. While some modern aerobatic airplanes and fighter jets use center sticks to more effectively work with G-forces, most pilots opening the door of an older airplane will see a stick instead of a yoke. Some pilots prefer them over more traditional forms of controls. This placement allows for a larger instrument display and is more lightweight than a traditional yoke. Yokes are seen on fixed-wing airplanes, and are also known as the “control wheel.” Conventional yokes are shaped like either a W or a U, with a few available as a M or “ram’s horn.”Smaller aircraft’s yokes are attached directly to the instrument panel with a sturdy tube.Ĭirrus SR airplanes and some light sport aircraft are equipped with side sticks instead of yokes. Pushing forward on the yoke directs the nose of the airplane towards the ground pulling back on it commands the nose to pull up. In simplest terms, it allows the pilot to move the airplane “up,” “down,” “over left,” and “over right.”Twistingthe yoke side to side controls roll and pitch. The yoke is the airplane’s “steering wheel.” The yoke controls the airplane’s ailerons. They’re usually in the thick of mid-flight action, yoke in hands. When pilots are depicted in movies, they’re rarely shown making weight and balance calculations or dutifully filing flight plans. Paying close attention to pre-flighting procedures can head off common problems in the ignition control. The “right,” “left,” and “both” refers to the magnetos, or electrical generators, within the airplane’s engines. Most ignition switches have five positions: Off, right (R), left (L), both, and start. Older airplanes could require the operation of a lever during the ignition process, but the majority of pilots work with automatic starters. While a series of switches are used to rev up a small APU in the startup procedure of large commercial jets, pilots of a few smaller aircrafts might demand an actual car-like key. The “key” in this instance is the ignition control system. The same principal applies to small airplanes. When you start an automobile, you need a key or key fob to bring the engine to life. For example, a pilot will have a better understanding of how to efficiently operate an airplane’s rudders if he or she is confident in the knowledge of how a vertical stabilizer operates. Becoming familiar with the major control surfaces of an aircraft will make it easier to command a cockpit. Knowledge about the controls of an aircraft goes hand in hand with a strong grasp of the forces of flight and how an airplane operates. But for the purposes of the next few hundred words, this article will focus on typical cockpit controls in smaller airplanes. Fortunately, the most “hands-on” elements of the cockpit-those which enable the pilot to direct the airplane’s actual movement from taxiing to landing-are usually similar from one cockpit design to another.Įven if a new single-engine student pilot had never seen the astounding Boeing 777 cockpit, he or she could probably pick out its most basic control elements. The cockpit of even the smallest and simplest airplane can be an overwhelming place.
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