Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 16

PREFLIGHT WHAT AM I?
BY IAN J. TWOMBLY
Control cables run along the bottom of
the tailcone of a Fairchild 24.
COMPLETE CONTROL
Most airplanes use one or a
combination of three types of
materials and methods for the
flight controls.
Cables and pulleys
Generally light and easy to route
through an aircraft structure, control
cables also require some light
maintenance and upkeep, but can
result in a sloppy feel.
IN CONTROL
A COMPLEX YET RELIABLE SYSTEM
HANG AROUND AIRCRAFT LONG ENOUGH AND YOU'LL START TO BECOME VERY
curious about how it all works. Not the gee-whiz aerodynamics, but the
machine itself. You'll find an urge to get deep into the internal workings to see,
visually rather than conceptually, how the whole system functions.
Aircraft control is a good place to start. When you turn the yoke or
deflect the stick, what's actually happening? In the case of a typical trainer,
generally the tube of the yoke turns a sprocket that's connected with an
identical sprocket on the co-pilot's side. The sprockets are connected, sometimes
through a series of braided steel cables and pulleys, and sometimes
with hollow tubes called pushrods, to the ailerons and elevator. Move the
yoke to the right and the right aileron goes up, the left down. Pull back, and
the elevator rises.
One of the remarkable things about flight controls is how reliable they are.
Flight controls rarely fail, and when there are problems they tend to follow
one of a few patterns: something jams the control and it can't move, the control
direction is switched in maintenance, or the airplane is overstressed due
to pilot error. The controls also require very little maintenance. Cables sometimes
need to be lubricated. Pushrods are virtually maintenance free. This,
despite tens of thousands of repeated motions over an airplane's life.
The next time your airplane is in its annual inspection, take a few minutes
in the shop with the mechanic and ask him or her to show you the cables or
pushrods. You'll have a new appreciation for the engineering that went into
designing such a complex, yet reliable system.
ian.twombly@aopa.org
16
FLIGHT TRAINING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
Pushrods
Pilots often describe airplanes that
use pushrods as feeling crisp and
tight.
Fly-by-wire
Computers are the future of aircraft
control. In fly-by-wire a computer
takes the pilot's inputs and translates
them to a servo that moves the flight
control.
CHRIS ROSE

Flight Training - September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - September/October 2021

Contents
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - Intro
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - Cover1
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - Cover2
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 1
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 2
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - Contents
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 4
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 5
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 6
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 7
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 8
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 9
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 10
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 11
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 12
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 13
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 14
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 15
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 16
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 17
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 18
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 19
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 20
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 21
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 22
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 23
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 24
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 25
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 26
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 27
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 28
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 29
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 30
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 31
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 32
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 33
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 34
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 35
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 36
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 37
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 38
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Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 40
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 41
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 42
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 43
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Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 63
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Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 67
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 68
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - Cover3
Flight Training - September/October 2021 - Cover4
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