Aileron

An aileron is a hinged control surface, usually near a wingtip, that rolls an aircraft by increasing lift on one wing and decreasing it on the other.

Aircraft flight control system: The systems and surfaces that control an aircraft’s attitude and movement. Ailerons are one part of the system that translates pilot or computer commands into aircraft motion.
Lift (force): The aerodynamic force perpendicular to an airflow that supports an aircraft against gravity. Ailerons command roll by changing lift on opposing wings.
Elevator (aeronautics): A hinged tail or canard control surface that primarily changes an aircraft’s pitch. Unlike an aileron’s roll command, an elevator primarily changes nose-up or nose-down attitude.
Aileron trim: A control adjustment that biases aileron position to maintain a desired lateral balance. Trim reduces sustained control force when an aircraft tends to roll to one side.
Adverse yaw: Yaw opposite the direction of a commanded roll, caused mainly by unequal drag on the wings. The descending aileron usually creates extra drag that initially yaws the aircraft against its turn.
Angle of attack: The angle between an airfoil’s chord line and the oncoming airflow. Aileron deflection changes local airflow and lift partly by altering effective angle of attack.
Rudder: A hinged vertical control surface that primarily changes an aircraft’s yaw. The rudder controls yaw directly, while ailerons create roll and may induce adverse yaw.
Aileron tab: A small hinged surface attached to an aileron that changes its aerodynamic force or control force. Tabs can reduce the effort required to move or hold an aileron.
Differential aileron: An aileron arrangement in which the upward-moving surface deflects farther than the downward-moving one. Unequal deflections reduce the drag imbalance that causes adverse yaw.
Airfoil: A shaped body, such as a wing cross-section, that produces aerodynamic forces as air flows around it. An aileron is a movable extension of the wing’s aerodynamic surface.

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